Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears Book 1) by T. S. Joyce

was covered in layers of newspaper clippings, all about her, and all with that awful picture of her tranquilized and semiconscious on the pavement. “Less than a thousand people live there, so this was huge news. I was forced to register, and Rhett came over right after it happened and said he didn’t want January around someone like me. He said it was wrong for us to be together, and he didn’t want me anymore. He asked for his ring back.” She swallowed hard and closed the book on Harrison’s lap. “And that was that. The tiger took everything.” A long snarl vibrated in her chest, but she didn’t stifle it. Both she and her animal had been devastated in the aftermath.
    Harrison set the book aside and wrapped her up in a hug, pulling her tight against his chest as he rocked them back and forth slowly. “The town would’ve gotten used to you eventually, Audrey. Humans aren’t bad. They’re just scared of what they don’t understand.”
    “ You don’t understand. It’s not the same out there in the world for people like us. If there is only one shifter, people don’t get used to them. It only works if there are big groups and humans willing to accept them or move away. I saved all year to move to Breckenridge, Colorado because the Breck Crew have paved the way for a really accepting community. I thought I could be safe and happy there. Like people wouldn’t stare at me, whisper, and shield their kids when I passed them on the street. I thought maybe if I was part of a pro-shifter community, I could feel normal. When you responded to my message on the matchmaking site, I thought it was a sign that my life was moving in a different direction. Maybe a better direction than I imagined.”
    “So you spent your savings to come here and meet me.”
    “Yeah. Pretty pathetic, huh?”
    Harrison rested his cheek against her hair and murmured, “Hell no. It’s brave. You wanted a different life, and you went after it. There’s nothing pathetic about that, Audrey. What you’ve done is admirable.”
    He felt so good, so strong, holding her like this. Like everything hadn’t gotten messed up. She inhaled his scent—shaving cream and crisp, masculine soap—and closed her eyes just to get lost in this moment. She might never get another like this, where she felt utterly safe.
    Harrison eased back by inches, and his lips were so close. She could hear the hitch in his breathing as he froze there, hesitating. Kiss me.
    He lifted his lightened gaze from her lips to her eyes, then closed the last bit of space between them. His mouth turned soft, kneading against her, drinking her in. Audrey gripped his T-shirt and parted her lips slightly. Harrison slipped his tongue inside and brushed against hers, just barely, then withdrew with a sexy smack. It had ended too soon, so she waited a moment too long to open her eyes.
    Harrison was looking at her with the strangest expression. Confusion mixed with wonder.
    “Did I do it wrong?”
    He barked a laugh and pulled her hand against his crotch. His boner was back and bigger than ever. “Woman, you did nothing wrong. I just don’t want to push too hard too fast.”
    “Too hard, too fast,” she repeated in a dreamy voice as she brushed her hand up the hard length of his dick.
    Harrison let off a tiny moan and relaxed back on locked arms, pushing his hips up to meet her touch. “You’re purring.”
    Startled, Audrey stifled the sound in her throat and jerked her hand away from him. “I’m not some housecat and technically, big cats don’t purr,” she rushed out. “We snarl, and sometimes it just sounds happier than other times.” She winced at how lame she was being right now.
    “That sounded like a purr to me.” Harrison caught her fingertips and brushed his lips against them with a wicked smile. “I love that sound,” he growled out, eyes locked on hers.
    She relaxed and let off a soft, happy, vibrating noise, just for him, because she trusted him. Because he had