Big Bad Bear Read Online Free Page B

their mate, no matter the circumstances.
    “So what happened?” Zeus asked.
    “As expected, things tanked fast. The business didn’t do too bad, especially the baked goods. But between my ex’s spending, him missing work all the time, and the incredible loan debt we had taken on, it was only a matter of months before the business went bottoms up and we had to shut down. And being the idiot I was, I had cosigned personally on all the loans. So when my ex skipped town one day with a passing trucker, it all fell on me to pay back,” she said with an annoyed sigh.
    “Did you ever think of leaving too?” Zeus asked.
    “All my family ever did was run from problems. But I decided to stay and fight, even if it was going to take me the rest of my life to finally break free,” she responded, finishing off the last bite of steak.
    That made Zeus happy. Not the fact that she’d been through so much crap in her life, but that she was such a strong woman. Someone who didn’t run when things got tough.
    “So here I am. Working as a waitress at the town bar.” She paused for a moment, looking vulnerable for the first time this evening. “You probably think I’m dumb as dirt for doing all of that though, don’t you? Getting in over my head, getting stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with more debt than the government hanging over me?”
    Zeus reached out a hand to cover one of hers across the table. He could see sadness in her eyes, and he wanted to make it all go away if he could. But even if not, he wanted her to know he would never judge her.
    And if she allowed it, he would be hers forever.
    “No, I don’t think you did anything wrong. You took a chance, and the people you trusted most were the ones who failed, not you. I think you’re an incredibly strong woman, Carly. Maybe fate brought you out here for a reason,” Zeus said.
    Carly didn’t recoil at his touch, but instead, just smiled a little. Her hand was soft and warm beneath his, and just the slightest feel of her skin made him come alive inside, made his bear roar with approval.
    “Well, if I’m honest, Bearstone Village isn’t all that bad,” she said, her eyes roving over Zeus’s chest unabashedly before looking back up to him. His mate liked his body. That was definitely good.
    “I’m glad you think so,” he said warmly.
    Right then, Zeus’s phone gave several loud beeps, and he quickly pulled it out to see what the source of the interruption was.
    “What is it?” Carly asked.
    “It’s the perimeter. Someone’s outside,” Zeus said, flipping to the camera that had a view of the front porch.
    “Perimeter? What do you mean?” Carly asked, sounding worried.
    “I have a field of sensors that let me know if anyone is within fifty feet of the house. I don’t like unexpected company.”
    “What do you mean unexpected?”
    A second later, a loud knock sounded on the door.

4
    C arly was petrified .
    Just a second ago, she’d been enjoying the feel of Zeus’s hand over hers and the buzzing warmth it caused to build in her. But now there was someone unknown at the door, and she was suddenly and painfully aware of the fact that she was in a house in an unknown location with a stranger, and the same men that had threatened her earlier in the day could be outside right now.
    “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll go get it,” Zeus said, standing and leaving the kitchen for the front door, out of her sight. The moment he was gone, she wished him back. Even if he was a stranger, he was a stranger she felt safe with.
    Carly heard the door open and two low male voices speaking. One was Zeus’s. The other was a voice she’d never heard before, still low and masculine but more amicable, friendlier sounding. The sound stopped, followed by two pairs of big feet coming down the hall toward the kitchen.
    Around the corner appeared Zeus again, followed by another man who was almost equally huge and every bit as hot.
    Carly couldn’t help but