Read Bunny Bear - Wild Bear 02 for Free Online Page A

away. It was bad enough her skin felt branded by his touch, and her memories were crystal clear, but she didn’t want any physical evidence of their one night together.
    When the water was warm enough, she stepped into the spray and let the tears fall.
     
    ***
     
    Gabe stood by the bar and scanned the room. He rolled his shoulders and silently dared anyone to challenge him. It had been a week since he’d ordered Michelle into his office, made love to her over his desk, and then ran out on her. He hadn’t gone back to the bar that night until an hour before closing, and that’s when he’d found the note she’d left him.
    I quit.
    The two simple words had mocked him every day and every night since.
    The day after their encounter, he’d walked around the bar in a daze. Both Lucky and Isabelle had tried to talk to him, but he’d blown them both off. The next two days were Sunday and Monday, and without work to occupy him, he’d slowly driven himself insane.
    By the time Tuesday had rolled around, he’d channeled all of his love, desire and desperate longing for his mate into anger and aggression, and he’d been a walking time bomb ever since. To make matters worse, he knew it was his own damn fault.
    He should have never touched her, never known the way their bodies fit together perfectly, as if she were made specifically for him. To make matters worse, her note had struck a chord. For the past three days, he’d teetered a fine line between tracking her down and forcing her to accept him, and going back in time and erasing every memory of her existence.
    Neither were viable options.
    Despite her hatred of shifters, he and his mate were created for each other. Unfortunately, he had to live with the fact that they would never be together. 
    “Do you want a bottle of water?” Isabelle asked.
    “If I wanted water, I would have asked you for it,” he snapped.
    Izzy held up her hands and waved them in a sarcastic, sibling-like apology, but Lucky wasn’t about to let him pick on his cousin.
    “Hey,” Lucky said, “you don’t need to talk to her like that.”
    “What the hell are you going to do about it, big guy?”
    What the fuck?
    He had no idea why he was challenging his cousin’s mate, his longtime friend, but he didn’t back down from the big bear. Jared, who was usually the first in line for a fight, rounded the bar and wedged himself into the small space between them.
    “Back off,” Jared said, his black eyes narrowed. “Both of you.”
    They both refused to budge and he had a feeling he was about to get his ass kicked by his staff. No doubt he deserved it, but it wasn’t the kind of publicity he wanted for the Wild Bear .
    Suddenly, Isabelle stood next to Lucky and whispered something in his ear. The man glared at him, but he took a step back and slowly returned his attention to surveying the room.
    “Jared, cover for me, okay?” Izzy said.
    Jared nodded and returned behind the bar without a word.
    “Your office,” Izzy growled. “Now.”
    He thought about ignoring her, but when he glanced at Lucky, the man raised one eyebrow as if to question his sanity. If he didn’t go with Isabelle, he’d have to fight his friend.
    Damn it!
    He stormed across the room toward the hallway that led to his office and Isabelle followed, hot on his heels. He unlocked the door, and she followed him inside, securing the door behind her.
    “What. The. Fuck?” Izzy asked. “You’ve been in a shitty mood every day this week. What gives?”
    Leave it to his cousin to get straight to the point. They’d grown up together, and the woman was a tomboy to the core. She could take him if she wanted to, and the thought sobered him. He had no desire to fight his cousin, her mate, or anyone else. He especially didn’t want to fight Jared. They’d be equally matched, but Jared’s brand of fighting would most likely earn him a trip to the emergency room.
    She narrowed her eyes when he didn’t answer right away, and he