Taming the Bear Collection by Jessica Ryan

especially not with a half-empty bottle of liquor sitting on his table. He was hunched over at his table, his violent eyes smoldering with intensity as he furiously discussed something with another person.
           Beside him was the man who immediately caught Rain's eye. He was the biggest man Rain had ever laid eyes on, bigger than even Rowan and Aster. Immediately she could feel the area between her legs getting slick as her body responded to the raw sexuality the man exuded. His large, burly frame was barely hidden by the tiny white cotton t-shirt he was wearing. It sported a V-neck that dipped down to reveal a mat of brown hair that undoubtedly covered his entire chest. Rain hated boys who shaved everything, and the bear was pure man. It was hard to make out his facial features due to the large beard he wore, but his nearly black eyes were the most engaging part. There was great intelligence in them coupled with a burning passion for whatever he was discussing with Thorn. Rain suddenly wanted those eyes to be planted on her naked body, their passion burning for her and only her. There was a rugged quality to him that no man or wolf could ever match. The wolves in Bucklin had become humans who played as animals, but this was an animal playing as a human. He needed to be tamed, he needed a woman to rough up and release his beast with—and Rain was that woman.
           "What are you doing?" Eva asked as Rain slowly rose from her chair.
           Rain felt dazed, like she had just woken up from a long slumber. Eva's words seemed distant and hazy; the only thing in her world was the bear.
           "You can't just walk over there," Eva scolded.
           Her words fell on deaf ears, though; Rain was going to meet this bear no matter what. Nothing could stand in her way—this was the man she had been waiting for her entire life. It was as if her sexuality had been hibernating through a long winter, but the sexuality of the bear had brought it back to life and it was hungry for love. Her groin ached with desire, demanding to be filled by every inch of the bear. Something inside her begged to have his long tongue run over every inch of her fresh young body.
           "Can we help you?" a voice asked, breaking through her sex-induced coma.
           Rain snapped to attention, finally seeing the world in front of her. She was standing beside the bear, nearly straddling one of his beefy legs as he glanced up at her. His expression remained unchanged, as if he was completely nonplussed by her overture. Thorn was leaning back in his chair, one eyebrow cocked as his bright white teeth gleamed in the low light. If he was annoyed, he was hiding it very well.
           "I'm sorry," Rain said, taking a step away from the bear. "I'm Rain. I belong to Rowan. Well, no, I didn't mean it like that, he's my father. Wait, wait, he's not my father, but he raised me. He....hi, I'm Rain! I live across the street from Rowan!"
           Smooth, you idiot, she thought.
           "I know who you are, sweetie," Thorn said, drawing an internal growl from Rain. She didn't enjoy pet names at all. "You know who I am, too, I assume?"
           "Yes," she said. "You're Thorn. Everyone knows Thorn."
           "Well, then, let me introduce you to Beorn," Thorn said, sweeping his hand in a grand gesture as if he was revealing his friend from behind a curtain.
           Rain's eyes fell on the mysterious Wizard of Oz who had just been introduced, hoping for just a second that she could register some sort of pleasure and approval in those black pools that right now wouldn't reveal a thing.
           "Another wolf," he finally replied gruffly. "I didn't know Rowan was in the business of raising wolves. I thought he was too busy killing people who piss him off and sleeping with his human."
           Rain started to feel her heart dropping, but then she perked up as she remembered Eva telling her what an