Read Bearly Ever: An Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Arcadia Knights Book 1) for Free Online Page A

didn’t seem surprised when she pushed against his chest with both hands. Ever crawled backwards, almost falling off the bed before catching herself against his knee. She let him go as if he burned her, levering herself up onto trembling legs. Turning her back to him, she searched for her jeans, struggling to regain control of her senses.
    She heard Aidan’s low voice as he answered the phone but ignored it, her thoughts too scrambled up to process anything effectively. What had she been thinking, climbing up a man she barely knew? Okay, sure, so there was some chemistry; that much was blatantly obvious. But to jump his bones before they’d both even woken up fully? And anyway, wasn’t he supposed to be sleeping on the couch or floor or something?
    Oh no, Ms. McHussypants, you don’t get to shift blame that easily. She’d been the aggressor here, and while he hadn’t kept his hands to himself, he’d let her go the minute she’d pushed away.
    Not all men in her experience did that.
    “We have a lead on your sister.”
    That got her immediate attention. Aidan was watching her, his face blank. “Marshall’s sending me the coordinates now.”
    “You know,” Ever said, grabbing her shirt and pulling it back down over her body, “you told me yesterday we were going to see your father. So why is your brother the one sending us information?”
    He didn’t answer for a moment, then sighed. “My family situation is complicated.”
    “Isn’t everyone’s?”
    His lips tipped up in one corner, although his face lacked any real humor. “Mine’s a little weirder than most.”
    Ever hitched her shoulder, pulling on her shoes hurriedly. Being in the same room as him was temptation incarnate. Her heart had melted at the tiny smile, and she’d wanted to jump his bones all over again.
    Seriously, what was wrong with her?
    “Meet you out in the car,” she said over her shoulder, pulling open the door and stepping outside without waiting to hear his reply.
    Their hotel room was on the far side of town from her house. She still wasn’t sure how he’d convinced her that this was a safer place than her house. Probably because she’d completely nixed his suggestion of staying at his place, despite his assertion he’d be a perfect gentleman. One simply didn’t go into another man’s home territory, especially a stranger’s; she’d learned that the hard way before, but the lesson stuck with her.
    The hotel had seemed an acceptable compromise, but now in the light of day the similar stupidity struck her like a smack to the face. She wasn’t thinking clearly, that had to be it; her sister’s disappearance was playing havoc with her sense of safety. That’s the only reason she’d share a hotel room with a man she’d met the day before—Ever knew better than that.
    Their room was on the first floor, the Sheriff’s car parked nearby. On the other side of the lot was a small forest of evergreens, likely marking the northern edge of town. A metal playground stood nearby, with the swimming pool attached, but she couldn’t see anyone around.
    Ever had gone maybe three steps toward the car when something small and furry came ambling out from around their vehicle. She froze, staring wide-eyed, as the bear cub sniffed something on the ground, caught sight of Ever, and galloped toward her almost happily.
    She turned tail and ran back inside the hotel room, slamming the door closed and leaning against it.
    Inside, Aidan was on alert. He’d put his pants on but not the shirt yet, and his hand was on the gun at his hip. “What’s wrong?”
    Ever jerked a thumb toward the door at her back. “There’s a bear outside!”
    Contrary to everything she would have expected, the infuriating man actually relaxed , pulling his hand away from the gun. “Did you see what kind of bear?”
    What the hell kind of question was that? A bear was a bear, right? “A baby bear, but you know the mama has to be around someplace!”
    “True