Catching Her Bear by Vella Day

lipstick and blush. The woman seemed to be trying to lure him, but he couldn’t let her succeed, but damn that fresh rose scent of her had his bear pushing and growling.
    Due to her time constraint, he drove them to the park just a few blocks away instead of suggesting they walk. After finding a parking space, he carried the bag of groceries to a table close to where the kids were playing. “This okay?”
    Her quick broad smile sent a surge of delight straight through him. “Absolutely.”
    “I hope you like fried chicken.”
    Her bow-shaped mouth reopened. “It’s my favorite.”
    Thank you, Izzy . She hadn’t steered him wrong.
    The table was near to where several toddlers were running around, and Elana’s look of longing piqued his interest. “Those kids sure are cute, aren’t they? You ever dream of a few of your own?”
    She shook her head. “I’m not sure I want any. I’m so busy running my store that I wouldn’t know how to care for them when I’m at work.”
    He should have thought of that. She wouldn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her parents. While he didn’t want to rub it in her face that his parents were always around for him and his siblings, she might think it odd if he didn’t say something about his upbringing. “My mom was lucky that she could stay home and take care of the kids while Dad worked.” He set the bag on the table.
    “I might be in the minority, but I like working.”
    That intrigued him. If he had infinite funds, he probably would still work for the sheriff’s department. “I’m like you. I couldn’t sit home and not help others, but my mom worked hard taking care of us. We were quite a handful.” Shifting, breaking things, and causing a lot of trouble. He placed the container of potato salad on the table along with the baked beans. “I didn’t know what you liked to drink, so I picked up some bottled water.”
    “Water’s fine.” She grabbed the drink, opened it, and took a swig. “I know Blair and your brother Jackson because we were in school together, but do you have any other siblings?”
    “No. I think the three of us were enough to handle.” That was an understatement.
    Elana sat across from him on the wooden bench and picked up a paper plate. With care, she scooped the beans and potato salad onto it. “What made you go into law enforcement?” she asked.
    That was an easy one to answer. “Being six-three and a bit large, I was always called on to break up fights. Since my father used to be in the security business, I kind of fell into the whole protecting others thing. I could have worked for McKinnon and Associates, but I wanted to do something different.”
    When she bit into her chicken, her moan caused his libido to shoot into high gear again. Kalan looked above her head to the children at play, hoping to gain some control. If nothing else, he wanted to figure out what it was about Elana that always had his cock at attention.
    “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get hurt or killed?”
    Her comment cut short his distraction. Now would be the perfect time to tell her he was a shifter, that he healed quickly, and that he was stronger than a human, only it wouldn’t serve any purpose. She might not have blabbed to the world that Izzy’s mate was a werewolf, or that Izzy now was one too, but why chance a leak?
    “There’s always that risk.”
    She swiped a napkin across her luscious lips and his thoughts rocketed to what it would be like to kiss her. Stop it . He might be able to have a coherent conversation with her now, and actually enjoy it, but his inner animal was not willing to cooperate.
    “What was your most exciting case?” Elana rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward.
    The wind brushed back her rather out of control hair, and she couldn’t have been prettier. A hint of honeysuckle tinged the air, making this a perfect day. Thankfully, the pink shirtwaist dress she’d worn covered her tits. If he’d even had a glimpse of her