BEAR NAKED (Halle Shifters, #3)

Ryan Williams woke with a feeling of renewed purpose. He stretched, yawned widely and sat up, eager to start.

Today was the day, damn it.

He was going to claim his mate.

Of course he woke up every morning lately thinking that, but Ryan refused to allow Glory’s snarly ways to get him down. She was so cute when she was trying to be all big and bad, with those long, powder-blue curls floating around her and the bangles on her arms clinking together. To Ryan, Glory was the size of a donut hole, about as frightening and just as sweet.

He adored the ground she walked on, whether she liked it or not.

He sighed and crawled out of bed, padding naked to the bathroom. It was still early out, but the sun had begun to rise, and there was no sense in remaining in bed. Better to get up, get dressed and work once more on Project Glory.

He brushed his teeth and took a quick shower, all the while trying to think of ways to get the stubborn woman to accept what he’d known since he’d stumbled into her at the hospital all those months ago. He’d looked down at the oddly dressed, blue-haired woman he’d accidentally knocked down and damn near had a heart attack. She’d blown her curls out of her eyes, glared up at him and he’d been instantly smitten.

“And hello to you too.”

At the sound of her voice he’d shuddered. His Bear, still upset over his sister’s brutal beating, had stilled its frantic pacing. All its attention had focused on the gorgeous fairy sprawled at his feet.

Mate.

Ryan hadn’t expected to be so fortunate as to find his mate in the same town his favorite cousin had, but there she’d been, all five foot three of her. Glory had been bristling over the fact that he might have a mate, and she’d been unwilling to acknowledge the pull between them. Tabby had told her

friend he was a shifter, and Glory had growled at him for the first time, winning his heart with her fierceness.

How sad was it that he’d never been so turned on in all his life? His Bear had wanted to growl back, to bite and claim and carry her off to his den where she’d be safe. The knowledge that his baby sister was in the hospital, clinging to life, while his mate stood defiantly before him had made him lose his damn mind. He’d commanded Tabby, a Wolf and the mate of his cousin Alex, to keep Glory safe and forced himself from Glory’s side. He had time to claim her, to mark her as his.

But that time was beginning to run out. The mate dreams had become so intense Ryan was almost afraid to go to sleep at night. Each one had him spending in his sheets, waking lonely and cold and in need of a shower. His Bear was beginning to snap and snarl, and it had only gotten worse since Glory had been injured.

Ryan felt his eyes change, his Bear coming to the fore at the memory of being unable to get to his mate. She’d been in the hospital, shot by the man who’d cast Tabby from her home Pack, and the hospital had refused him entrance. They’d claimed he was acting crazy, that he was a disruption.

His mate had been shot. What had they expected, tea and crumpets?

So instead of being there for his mate he’d gone hunting, looking for the man who’d harmed Glory, trying desperately to keep from slipping over the edge and letting loose his rage on the woman who’d denied him access.

And he’d done it. He’d found Tabby’s ex-Alpha holding Cyn at gunpoint and taken him down, but not before the rogue Wolf had shot and nearly killed her. Julian had almost died saving her, something that still gave Cyn fits. She was almost as protective of her mate as Ryan was of his.

Ryan returned to his mate’s side, happy with the knowledge that the man who had hurt her would never hurt another living soul, let alone Ryan’s tiny mate.

Ever since then, Glory’s stance toward him had softened. She’d let him in a little bit, allowing him to hold her, to shoulder some of the burden she seemed to always carry with her. But she’d refused every plea for a date, every demand that they mate. She didn’t understand how he suffered without her, but the last thing he wanted to do was to force her into accepting him out of pity.

Ryan wanted her heart. Now all he had to do was figure out how to win it, a task that seemed easier said than done. So far, the only place he was

certain he held it was in his dreams.

Ryan needed it in reality as well. The madness the mate dreams could bring was slowly seeping in, and there was nothing he could do about it. If she refused to accept him, Ryan would leave Halle and literally pine away for lack of her.

Ryan turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. If he had to, he was willing to strip his soul bare to win her affection. He’d stop the sun in its tracks for her smile, take the moon and hang it around her neck to hear her sigh. Didn’t she know she was everything to him? And if not, what could he do to make her see it?

Perhaps it’s time I consulted Tabby and Cyn. The girls knew Glory better than anyone, and only his reluctance to air their troubles before her friends had stopped him before. But the stronger the mate dreams became, the more desperate he was to finally mark his mate. The girls would know what to do to win his reluctant mate. She wasn’t immune to him, but she wasn’t letting him any further into her life, either.

Ryan dressed, his thoughts racing. He’d talk to the girls, find out what he needed to do before his Bear decided to take matters into its own paws.

Because if his Bear took over and forced her, Glory would never forgive him.

And neither would Ryan.

Glory couldn’t believe it. It was the sweetest yet creepiest thing she’d ever seen.

Another dozen roses sat in front of her apartment, the same as the week before.

Ryan’s really stepping up his game. She picked up the bouquet and took a sniff, hoping no one saw the sappy smile that crossed her lips.

The week before he’d left not only the roses but a small gold bracelet. The week before that had been a small bottle of her favorite perfume. And the week before that? A premium hand lotion that smelled of fresh pears. How he’d known it was her favorite scent she’d never know. Maybe it was that Bear nose of his.

She couldn’t wait to see what was in the box this time.

Glory carried the roses and her latest present into the apartment, kicking the door shut with her foot. She needed to start dropping hints about the

kinds of things she liked so he’d continue to get it right.

She tore into the box, eager to see what he’d gotten for her. Inside, she found two champagne glasses with a small bottle of Dom Perignon. And this time the note was just as beautiful as the last one. Your sweet smile brightens my day.

Glory stroked the note, glad her friends no longer lived in the two- bedroom apartment with her. If they could see her now, after all the shit she gave them over Alex and Julian, she’d never hear the end of it.

But… She sighed.

Damn it. The son of a bitch was getting to her.

And if she didn’t get her ass in gear for work, Cyn would get her too.

Glory darted out the door and drove like a bat out of hell for the tattoo parlor she now co-owned with Cynthia “Cyn” Reyes and Tabitha Bunsun.

“Good morning, Glory.” Cyn had her back to the front door, and her shoulders were tight as a bowstring. Even her voice was strained. Either she was pissed about something, or trying desperately not to laugh.

“Good morning?” Glory dropped her coat onto the coat rack, ready to open her station for the day. Something was up, but that didn’t mean the girls at Cynful wouldn’t be ready to roll when the doors were unlocked.

Muted giggles sounded from behind her. Glory smiled when she saw their latest employee, Heather Allen, curled up on the gray chaise, her face buried in her hands. Glory was tickled pink that the little Fox had settled in so nicely with them. She’d been shy and withdrawn when she first started with them, a holdover from a trauma she suffered as a child. Some Bear shifters had thought it would be fun to force a twelve-year-old to go through her first shift, something Tabby had told her didn’t happen until puberty.

Bunny had come upon the Bears tormenting his little cousin and gone insane, damaging several of them permanently.

There were still Bears who whispered Alex “Bunny” Bunsun’s name in fear six years later. The downside was Heather had been terrified of Bunny’s anger as well, and began avoiding her cousin like the plague, causing Alex to try to learn control over his Grizzly Bear temper. It had earned him the nickname Bunny, but he wore it as a badge of pride. He’d learned that control he so desired, and become a man more than worthy of one of Glory’s best friends.

His only regret had been Heather’s fear of him, so when the Bunsun- Williams clan descended on Halle, he’d introduced Heather to Cyn with the

hopes that Cyn would see what he saw: a lost little lamb in need. Cyn had taken one look at her, and her artwork, and offered her an apprenticeship. Heather had taken her up on it, and now the shop was complete in a way it hadn’t been in a long time. With the Cynful girls, Heather was open and friendly. She was even beginning to get comfortable around their customers, a feat Ryan had sworn would never happen.

Showed what he knew. Heather was a lot stronger than her relatives gave her credit for. She just needed a safe place to blossom in, and Cyn was all about taking in strays and helping them do just that. All anyone had to do was look at herself and Tabby to see that.

Glory put her hands on her hips. “What the hell is going on here?” “Hey, Glory.” Tabby slunk glumly out of the back room of the shop, her

head low. Her lime-green bob easily obscured half her face, but it couldn’t hide what had obviously set her co-workers off.

“Guh.” Glory just couldn’t stop staring. It was… It was…huge.

“I know, right?” Heather broke down into breathless giggles, just two shakes away from crying.

“My God.” Glory couldn’t stop staring. “When the hell did that happen?”

Tabby sniffed pathetically. “I woke up with it this morning.” She moved behind the counter, her expression pitiful.

Cyn poked at the thing sitting on the end of Tabby’s nose. “You couldn’t cover it up with something? It’s gonna scare the customers.”

“Cover it? With what, a burka?” Glory stared at Cyn. Was she crazy? “David Copperfield couldn’t hide—” she waved at the humongous growth on Tabby’s face, “—that.”

Heather fell off the chaise with wheeze and a thump. Glory sure as hell hoped she was still breathing. She knew shit about CPR.

Tabby sniffled as she batted Cyn’s finger away. “Pregnancy glow my lily white ass. More like pregnancy oil slick. And don’t poke at it. It might get mad.” Tabby’s Southern drawl was thick with unhappiness. “I think I heard it growl this morning.”

Cyn ignored Tabby’s plea and poked at it again. “Dios. It’s like Mt.

Doom, all ready to erupt and shit.”

“Ew.” Heather picked herself up off the floor and flopped back on the chaise. “Just… Ew.”

Glory shuddered. “Not in here, please.” Just the thought of that monstrosity blowing in the shop made her want to gag. It was the biggest, whitest pimple she’d ever seen. “That thing should have its own zip code.”

“Alex tried to be all helpful.” Tabby sniffled pathetically. “He said I should put hot towels on it.”

“Did you?” Glory couldn’t get over how big the thing was. You couldn’t

not stare at it. It was the huge white elephant in the room.

Literally.

Tabby nodded glumly. “It got bigger.”

Heather began giggling again. She was going to get a stomach cramp at this rate.

Cyn was tapping her lip in that way she had when she was really thinking hard. “What about a hot needle?”

Glory and Tabby shared a look, then both women shuddered, Tabby covering Mt. Doom with her fingers. “I thought the idea was to keep it from getting mad?”

“Yeah. I mean, why poke a sleeping bear?” Glory grinned as all three shifters rolled their eyes at her. So far, Glory was the only member of Cynful Tattoos who wasn’t furry, and she planned on keeping it that way for a little bit longer. Ryan Williams might be the cutest Bear this side of Winnie the Pooh, but when it had mattered the most, he’d done what every other person who’d ever claimed to love her had done.

He’d disappeared.

Oh, he’d come back, and his sucking-up skills were excellent, but she knew the truth. Ryan was just like her family, and Glory had no intention of ever allowing anyone to hurt her that way again. The only people who stood by her no matter what were standing in front of her, discussing Tabby’s pregnancy hormone woes. Even her twin…

Well. Glory tried not to think about her twin.

Cyn nodded once, sharply. “I think we should call in an exorcist.”

Now Glory was the one who started giggling. Trust Cyn to try and make a bad situation better with that sharp tongue of hers.

“Bitch.” Tabby pouted, looking adorably miserable. “Takes a bitch to know a bitch, bitch.”

The banter between Cyn and Tabby was so familiar Glory barely paid attention to it. Soon, one of the girls would probably wind up chasing the other through the shop like wild hyenas, and that was just the way Glory

liked it. It was fun and full of life, and no one could ever make her trade in her life today for what had once been.

Not even Ryan.

“Oof.” Glory rocked against the chair she’d been standing in front of as she suddenly found a hundred and twenty pounds of green-haired Wolf shifter glued to her back. “What?”

Tabby’s pointy chin dug into her shoulder. Thank God Mt. Doom was on the other side of her face, because Glory didn’t want to be that up close and personal with it. “Ryan and Alex are bringing lunch today. Want anything special?”

A picture of Ryan, stripped bare and covered in chocolate, sprang immediately to mind. “Nope.”

Tabby sighed. “You have to give him a shot.”

Glory wrinkled her nose. “I was shot, remember? I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy. Ow.” She reached up and rubbed the back of her head. Damn Cyn and her sneak attacks. “What?”

“That boy’s gonna pine away for you if you don’t accept him.” “Exaggerating much?” Tabby couldn’t be telling the truth.

Could she? Glory had seen the dark circles under Ryan’s eyes.

Tabby sighed in her ear. “It’s true. When a shifter meets their mate, it’s supposed to be this magical thing, right? But if the mate rejects you, or holds themselves back for whatever reason, the magic becomes this itch under your skin that never goes away. It’s a burning need you can’t quench. You start dreaming about them, erotic dreams that fill you with sleepless, lonely nights because your mate isn’t really there. A shifter can slowly lose their mind, pining for someone that doesn’t want them.”

Glory stared at Cyn, who was nodding. “Alex told me all about it, before Julian changed me.”

“They’re right.” Heather shot her a complicated look, both sympathetic and hard. As much as they’d come to love Heather, she was still a member of the Bunsun-Williams clan. Alex and Ryan were her first cousins, and they adored the little redhead. “Ryan needs you.”

“But… That was months ago!” The weather was slowly warming as the small town of Halle, Pennsylvania prepared for another spring.

Cyn sighed and ran her fingers through her multi-colored hair. Julian, Cyn’s mate, always seemed enchanted by the black, blonde and pink strands

Cyn had sported for about six months. “Yeah. Apparently, if they don’t mate us, they…” Cyn shot Tabby a hopeless look.

“Well, he won’t die, but he’ll be one unhappy Bear for the rest of his life.” But the uncomfortable look on Tabby’s face told her it was far more serious than that.

Shit.

“But no pressure or anything.” Glory threw herself into the smoky-gray chaise lounge she’d declared her own spot months ago. She loved lying there when she wasn’t busy, chatting with the women she considered closer than her own sisters. Faith and Hope were long gone, but Tabby and Cyn would be with her forever, if only because Glory knew where Tabby hid her favorite shoes.

Tabby settled carefully into one of the chairs they’d had reupholstered from the old shop. Living Art Tattoos was gone now, their lease given over to a small card- and gift-shop. Glory always felt strange walking past the place that had once housed Cyn’s shop, but she had to admit that losing LA’s lease had been the best thing that ever happened to them.

The new shop was theirs in a way LA hadn’t been. Cyn had made both Tabby and Glory full partners, and each of them now had a say in how the business was run. They’d all decided on the new decor, the new flash art on the walls and even the name, much to Cyn’s embarrassment. Cynful Tattoos was just as popular as LA had been, and Glory knew exactly who was responsible for that.

Cyn settled on the lighter gray sofa that she’d fallen in love with at first sight. The black-and-white floral curtains were pulled back, exposing the large picture window. Cynful was sleek and modern, yet still feminine, and Glory loved it with all her greedy little heart.

Hell, even the floors were nicer here, a gorgeous dark oak that had sold them all on the shop. And the new landlady, Mrs. H., made sure they had all the things they needed to feel safe, even at night. Hell, at least once a week she brought them lunch and just sat and chatted with them. She was the mother Glory wished she’d had, but never did.

Maybe she should change her last name from Walsh to H—

“Earth to Glory.” Tabby sat in her favorite chair and propped her feet up on the distressed chest-slash-coffee table Glory had discovered at a secondhand shop. It had seen far better days, but with a little polish and

some elbow grease it had become a thing of beauty despite its scars. “You’re going to have to make a decision about Ryan.”

Glory whimpered and tossed her head back. “Why? Why do I have to do anything?”

“Don’t you feel anything for him?”

Cyn’s serious tone caught her attention. “I do, but…” “This is because he left, isn’t it?”

Glory couldn’t look at them. They must think she was crazy. “Glory, honey. Ryan didn’t leave you. He was—”

“Hunting the bad guy. I know.” And no matter how many times they tried to tell her, her heart just wasn’t hearing it. Every time she thought about being in the hospital, hurting and alone, with Ryan nowhere to be found, she wanted to scream and cry. She had, back in the hospital, crying out for Ryan while half out of it on pain meds and anesthetic.

Ryan never came.

“He went after that guy and tore him into dog kibble. Cut him some slack, okay?”

Glory shrugged. So what? Ryan had destroyed the man who’d nearly killed Glory, but he should have been with her. He was supposed to be her mate, not her avenger. Still, she could understand why everyone, including herself, was frustrated. She liked Ryan, but she just couldn’t get past feeling abandoned. “It’s…complicated.”

“Maybe you should talk to someone.”

Glory stared at Tabby, blinked at Mt. Doom (was it bigger?) and sighed. “You think I should have my head shrunk.”

“You know I love you, Glory, but you’re being a bitch.” Cyn shrugged when Glory turned and glared at her. “My family is the one that took you in, remember? I know all about your abandonment issues, and Ryan didn’t do that. He’s here, every day, and he’s not going to go anywhere.”

Glory lay down with a sigh. She really needed a chaise like this in her apartment. It was so much nicer than the lumpy couch she had now. “I know that up here—” she pointed to her head, “—but not here.” When she laid her hand on her heart, Tabby began to cry. It seemed she did that when the wind blew, when the bell jingled, hell, when the coffee pot turned off. The woman was trying to drown them all in salt water and pregnancy angst. “Aw hell. Not again.”

The bell over the door jingled, and the deep voice of Alex “Bunny” Bunsun, Tabby’s mate, rang through her like guilt in hammer form. “Why are you crying, sweetheart?”

Before they knew it Alex had Tabby in his lap, cuddling her close and cooing in her ear. It was revolting. Hell, he’d even sat her so the growth was against his chest.

Glory had the sick urge to poke at Tabby’s head and see if the thing was bouncy like a ball.

Ugh. She really needed to get a life.

“Hey, pretty girl.” Ryan squatted next to her chaise and brushed some of her powder-blue curls from her forehead. The hopeful expression on his face had her heart pounding in both fear and longing. God, she wanted what he was offering so badly, but the courage she thought she had disappeared whenever he turned those blazing sapphire eyes on her. “I brought ham and cheese subs.”

At that, her stomach growled loud enough to startle a grizzly. “Spicy brown mustard?”

He nodded.

“Tomatoes and lettuce?”

He was smiling, watching her with all the wonder of a boy with his first love. “Would I bring you anything else?”

She reached with greedy hands toward the bag he was holding between his knees. “Gimme!”

He leaned over her, caging her with his body. “Say the word, and you can have that any time you want.”

There was no doubt what he was talking about, since he was still holding the bag between his knees. She pushed him back and glared. “I want the ham, not the salami.” Behind him, Cyn barked out a laugh. “Gimme.”

Ryan chuckled, and oh God, what that low, seductive sound did to her. It was like feeling his joy feathering over her skin. “Here, you greedy little thing.”

Glory took the bag and dashed off the chaise, heading for the back room. “Meat! Woo-hoo!”

Ryan’s chuckles followed her the entire way.