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before she realized the word had come out of her mouth. “Why not? And you’re right. I need to have a little fun.”
    Nina clapped her hands and bounced on the bed. “Perfect, because tonight, after the scheduled activities, apparently there’s a group dinner and drinks downstairs. Everyone should be there.” She wiggled her eyebrows again.
    “Everyone? As in...”
    “All the brothers. I saw the way you looked at Axel and I don’t think anyone missed the way he was looking at you. I swear I almost heard him growl.”
    Harper laughed and went to look at herself in the mirror. In her skinny jeans and cotton t-shirt that hugged all her curves in just the right places, she did look good. She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, turned and offered a hand to Nina. “Well, let’s get on with it then. The sooner this day is over, the sooner it will be dinner time.”
----
    F or the majority of the day, Axel had managed to avoid Harper. Not that he wanted to. Hell, what he wanted was exactly the opposite. His animal wanted to hunt her down and claim her. Hard and fast. Which was exactly why he needed to keep his distance. He couldn’t risk the future of Grizzly Ridge just because he had some sort of urge.
    Some sort of urge. He snorted as he stepped into the hot shower. That was an understatement.
    It was more than an urge. A lot more. From the moment he laid eyes on Harper and scented her on the air, his bear had been wide awake and ready to roar. It wasn’t an urge. It was a primal need to have the woman.
    “Dammit.” Axel turned and cranked the tap to the right. A hot shower wasn’t going to help a dammed thing. The icy water hit him with a sting, but it had little effect on calming his desire.
    After rushing through his shower, Axel tried to figure out how to get out of joining the group for dinner. It would be pure torture to sit across from Harper, with those round, full breasts straining against her t-shirt, just waiting for him to reach over and tear the thin cotton from her— no . He had to stop letting those thoughts in. They’d been driving him crazy all day and it was beyond ridiculous considering he didn’t know a single thing about her. Except her name.
    And her scent.
    That was enough.
    A knock on his cabin door distracted him from his thoughts, which was a damn good thing considering they were only taking a turn for the dirtier.
    “Who’s there?”
    The door opened and Luke walked in. “I see you’re still in a mood.”
    Axel glared at him but didn’t deny it as he grabbed a shirt from his drawer and pulled it over his head. “What do you want?”
    “Time for dinner. You need to be there.”
    “Not going.”
    “To hell you’re not.” Luke leaned his bulk against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “You’re supposed to be the face of Grizzly Ridge and so far you’ve spent the entire day hiding in the woods like a little—” He broke off when Axel growled at him. “Whatever,” Luke said. “Get your ass in gear. You’re coming.”
    “Try not to forget who’s in charge here.” Axel rarely pulled rank. It wasn’t usually an issue. Of course, he’d never had the scent of his potential mate driving him crazy before. “I make the decisions around here.”
    “Right.” Luke clenched his jaw and pushed up from the doorjamb. “Well, boss. I’m sure you’ll feel good about your decision to skip dinner knowing that for the last hour, since their hike, our guests have been in the Den. The reporter started working on her piece, but her friend, Harper”—Luke paused and made eye contact with his brother—“she’s been in the kitchen, drinking wine and helping Kade cook.”
    At the mention of Harper spending time with Kade, especially if alcohol was involved, Axel’s bear reared up. Jealousy and protectiveness overwhelmed him. He shoved his feet into his boots and without another word, pushed past Luke on the way out of the cabin.
    “That’s what I thought,” he heard Luke