Bearing It All (Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance) by Lynn Red

all that strength and letting-him-chase-you stuff that Henry and I talked about?
    I put my hands up, laying them flat on his gorgeous, knee-shakingly perfect chest.
    “I can’t do this,” I said.
    Crag reached for me like he was going to kiss me again and stopped half-way. “Huh? I didn’t mean to—”
    I took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m doing this because I’ll be damned if you’re not exactly what I started this morning wanting. But... I just can’t. Not like this.”
    Memories of The One Who Got Away hit me like a truck in the chest. I had done so well for the last year to forget. Well, more like The One Who Broke My Heart.
    Reid Blaze was a dick. The worst kind of dick.
    The kind you can’t say no to, the kind you can’t get over.
    He’s the guy who made me swear off bears. It lasted for, oh, until right this second.
    “If I did something wrong, I’m sorry,” Crag said.
    “It isn’t,” I trailed off, looking at the floor and wishing I hadn’t had that flash of guilt that kept me from letting me go absolutely nuts for once in my life. For a twitchy fox girl, I’m so goddamn reserved sometimes that it gets me all boiling hot inside... but there’s nowhere for the steam to go.
    I took a deep breath, looked right into Crag’s big, brown eyes.
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just... something popped into my head and it’s gonna take a while for it to go away.”
    All the while, of course, I was thinking about what Henry and I talked about during the time it took to drink those beers. “Why not let one of them chase you for once? Why are you always the one doing the hunting? Foxes are supposed to be hunted Violet, not the other way around.”
    “Look,” he said, grabbing my shoulder. “Really, I didn’t mean to do anything you didn’t want.”
    His grabbing my shoulder made me feel more “caught” than “hunted” and it freaked me out a little. I twisted away, but he held on just long enough that I thought it wasn’t going to work.
    “Thank you,” I said, not knowing what I was thanking him for. “I... I’m really sorry I did this. I didn’t mean to string you along or make you feel bad or anything else. I’m sure you’re a really great guy and I really like you and hope maybe we can have a nice dinner sometime and get to know each other, and—”
    “Tomorrow,” he said. Those eyes were burning right through me. “We’ve got another fight tomorrow about an hour away. I’m not letting you get away from me.”
    “What?”
    “Tomorrow. You said you wanted a date, and I’m not going to let this chance get away without at least trying to catch you.”
    Catch. He said catch. My heart skipped a beat.
    “What do you mean, catch?” I asked, hoping he was going to tell me what I wanted to hear.
    “You said you liked me, that I was a good guy, and all that stuff?” He gave me a crooked grin that made me wish he had me pinned up against the wall again. “Nod if you’re listening.”
    I nodded.
    He made another move and I thought – no, I wanted – him to grab me again and make me do whatever he wanted. God that’s so not who I am, but I’m not going to pretend it isn’t what I wanted to be.
    “Okay, good. Well, you said all that stuff, and I think it too. I don’t exactly have the easiest life, and I know it’s not something most people want to share, but Violet?”
    His eyes had my stomach all swirly and ridiculous. “Yeah?” I breathed.
    “I don’t care what anybody says. Not even you. The first time I saw you, I knew it was you and me. I felt that twinge, that little tug inside my chest.” He stepped back a little, and took a breath. His eyes never left me. “I’m not letting you get away. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth if I have to. I’m gonna hunt you down and make you mine, little fox.”
    My mouth hung open so wide he probably could’ve stuck a beer bottle in it. “Tomorrow?” I squeaked.
    “Tomorrow,” he said again. “I’ll let