confusion and amusement. His body was covered in small black curls of hair, and his head was no exception. A bushy beard filled out his face, making him look exceptionally manly. His eyes were searching, hard, and a steely shade of grey. Harper narrowed her eyes, staring into the orbs for a moment. So fast she wasn’t sure if she imagined it, they flashed a brilliant shade of gold for only a second.
“What are you doing here?” The voice brought her out of her fantasies.
“W-what do you mean? This is my house.” Be cool, Harper, be cool .
“You sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure!”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Harper put her hands on her ample hips, indignant. Just who did he think he was? “Excuse me?” She asked, tilting her head in challenge. “As far as I can tell, you’re the intruder here.”
The man looked annoyed, running a hand through his curls. “Ah, woman. You don’t know. You don’t belong here. Now go before I say anything about it to my clan.”
Clan? Dude had a clan? Oh, come on now. What could possibly happen—
Suddenly, two large grizzly bears appeared behind the naked man.
Harper stopped in her tracks, fear tracing a web of adrenaline through her cells as she pointed a shaking finger at the bears behind him. No one had said there’d be bears! Her heart beat at the prospect, and at how close they were. She’d never known bears would get so close to a human, and if they did…Harper gulped. She was going to get mauled by a bear, wasn’t she?
“B-bear…” she croaked, staring at the two hulking frames behind him.
“That’s right woman, these are my people.”
Bears? Just what was he talking about? Dude had to be crazy . He was a human, not a bear.
“Just leave me alone!” Harper yelled, backing away slowly. “I own this house now! Take your…bears and go!”
“I can’t do that. This belongs to my people too, you know.”
“My father gave this to me! It’s in his will! Look!” She shoved the paperwork at him frantically. As if showing legal paperwork would sway a man who thought he was a bear.
He took the paper, holding it gingerly in his large hands. Suddenly, something changed. His eyes grew wide, and Harper could almost see a flash of gold within them again. The man spoke slowly, carefully.
“Your father is Evan Stone?”
“Of course he is. Now see, its legal paperwork, and I’m sorry to tell you, but he’s dead now. Saw it myself. He handed this to me as he died, so unless you want to disrespect a dying man’s wishes, go now and leave me be.” Harper felt on the brink of tears. She was trying to deal with the death of her father and this strange new place, and some naked guy had to come and insult her over it? What did it matter if he was extremely sexy…
The man looked back to the bears behind him, nodding to them. He exhaled a long breath. “Well, this changes everything. Come along.”
“Come along? Where? I’m staying here, thank you very much.”
“Listen, woman. It may not be…” he looked around warily. “…safe if you’re here alone. And besides, there’s some things you need to know.”
Harper gazed up at him, part of her wishing that he was right. She was curious – she wanted to go with him, but who knew what would happen if she did. Her mind flitted back to the books about bears again. What if my father had known these…men?
“I knew your father,” said the man in the doorway, almost in response to her thoughts. “He was a good man, and we worked closely with him. It is a tragedy to hear of his death. But I sense, Harper, that there were things he was not telling you. Come with us, and find out.”
Chills like ice water ran down her spine. I hadn’t told him my name… Was it all really true then? Did he know my father?
“He talked about you a lot, you know. I’m sure he would have
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