Gray Back Bad Bear (Gray Back Bears Book 1) by T. S. Joyce Page B

girls. In some, his eyes were glossed over as if he’d been drinking. In others, he was clear and smiling. The happiness never reached his eyes in those, though. All of the women were beautiful, but after scrolling a while, they all looked the same. Matt certainly had a type. There were videos of him making out with women at Sammy’s bar. One of him doing karaoke with a set of gorgeous twins who did a triple kiss with him at the end. Willa’s stomach curdled, and she felt sick.
    In another video, one of his crewmates—Jason?—had walked in on Matt in the bathroom at Sammy’s bar with his jeans lowered to halfway down his ass as he tried to cover up a girl he was obviously fooling around with. Matt said, “Come on, man. This is sacred.” He put his big hand over the camera lens, but the entire time, he and Jason were laughing.
    More selfies of women biting his ear, arms around his neck, a video of him skinny dipping in a steaming pool with a bevy of beauties. Hashtag spring break. Hashtag did a werebear. Hashtag bucket list.
    Just like the bombshells had come for, Matt had given into so many others.
    Warm tears streaked down her cheeks and landed with soft splats against her board shorts.
    “What are you searching for, Matt?” Her voice came out broken and sad.
    “A mate.”
    “Is sex an addiction for you?”
    “No.” He stood and locked his hands on either side of her hips, rocking the truck with the force of it. “Willa, it’s not like that. I know the difference. My sister…shit.” He took a deep breath and tried again. “This isn’t every night or every week. Those posts are the highlight reel. My bear needs a mate, or I’m going to lose my mind.”
    “Matt, be serious.”
    “I am! I am being serious. He’s never been right. My animal is wild and wants to fight everything, all the time, and I can feel my control slipping with each year. I’ve seen it happen—seen a dominant bruin go mad because he loses control of his animal. I want a mate.”
    “As a hail mary to save yourself from insanity? And what if that doesn’t work? Where will that leave your mate?”
    “It will work, Willa. You have to trust me, it will. I can already feel it working.”
    She drew back and froze, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
    “It’s you.”
    Her face crumpled, and she couldn’t hold his blue gaze any longer. “What do you mean it’s me?”
    “You’re my mate.”
    “Aw, fuck off, Matt. I don’t want to play this game.” She shoved him back and slid off the tailgate, then slammed it closed as fury pounded through her. He had some nerve.
    “It’s not a game, Willa, I swear. I knew at the bar, the first time I talked to you.”
    “You didn’t even notice me until I ran into you! And you just left me to go swim with Brittney. I don’t know how this mate stuff works, but I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to be chasing other tail. Are you even capable of monogamy?”
    “Yes! I haven’t even thought of another woman since I’ve met you.”
    “For one whole day you haven’t thought of another woman.”
    “This is why I wanted to take things slow, Willa. It’s instant for me. Dammit, I thought I’d never find you, but now my bear is ripping me up from the inside out because I made you cry. I know it’s not the same for humans, though, so I thought if we could just date, and you could see how happy I can make you, you’d give us a chance.”
    “But…” She thought of all the drop-dead gorgeous women he’d been with. “I’m not your type.”
    “You’re exactly my type.”
    “Fearful nerd is your new thing?”
    Matt let off a surprised laugh. “Yeah. I guess so.”
    “I’m leaving to go back to my life in Louisiana in a week,” she said softly. “I’m going to get a job and go back to my apartment and my worm farm and live a normal life.”
    “Well, I was hoping to court you into sticking around here a little longer. We can bring your worm farm here. I can build you one as big as