Wild Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Rescue Bears Book 2) by Scarlett Grove

date was the meal he’d prepared for her that night.
    Us on a date? I don’t know why, but I can’t stop laughing.
    Don’t you want to go on a date?
    Of course I do. Do you?
    I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.
    She sighed and messaged him back. Let’s go on a date then.
    All right. We’ll go soon, he texted her.
    As Lily pulled her futon out and got under her blankets, her heart felt lighter than it had in recent memory. She was going on a date with Shane Keenan. Master Chef. Bad boy bear. The love of her life.
    Her mate.

9
    S ix years ago on Fate Mountain.
    Lily looked up into the bright azure sky. She’d hiked several miles up Fate Mountain, and had come to a bluff blanketed in wildflowers. The vivid reds, purples, and oranges sprang from the rocky soil. The blue peak loomed in the distance. Snow covered the highest climbs and sent a cool breeze down below.
    She took the rugged hillside in long strides, panting as she made her way up the trail. As the forest overtook the path, Lily looked off to her right and almost peed herself. A giant grizzly stood at full attention.
    “Shane?” she said, moving toward the bear.
    His ruddy fur was exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him after high school. She blinked into his blue eyes. He snorted and fell to his front paws and cantered forward. Lily’s body went rigid from instinct. A giant male grizzly was barreling toward her. The grizzly just happened to be Shane.
    He threw back his head and shifted right in front of her. She’d seen it before, but this time it was a huge shock. She took a step back as he stepped toward her, totally naked. His body was covered in tattoos that hid the scars of his youth. He’d grown a beard since the last time she’d seen him on TV.
    “Lily,” he said.
    “I thought I’d never see you again.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    “I came to clean out my mother’s house. She died.”
    “What happened?”
    “Car accident. She was driving drunk.”
    “Are you all right?” he said, stepping forward.
    She couldn’t help looking between his legs. A perfect v pointed right at it. And the tattoos basically made the eye move right there. It wasn’t really her fault. Shane’s aroma overtook her, just like it always did. His cock twitched and she looked away.
    “I haven’t seen her in a long time. But I’m her next of kin, so…”
    “Where are you staying?” he asked in a husky voice.
    Lily glanced down again; he was at half-mast now. Lily licked her lip and met his eyes again. All the hurt from the past bubbled up inside her, but she was too aroused to care.
    “I’ve been sleeping on my mom’s couch,” she said, frowning. “What about you? What are you doing here, Shane? I haven’t seen you since we were eighteen. You just ran off on me. Then you ended up on television. How the hell did that happen?”
    “I’ve been working,” he said, crossing his arms. His cock was almost completely full now. Lily could see the light of his bear in his eyes.
    “Working? That’s what you have to say for yourself?”
    “Maybe I should put some clothes on,” he said. “I’ve missed you, Lily.”
    Lily stopped short as he pulled back and went to the forest to recover a pile of clothes. He slipped into them and met her on the trail.
    “I’ve missed you too, Shane,” she said.
    She’d missed him every day for seven years, and she’d spent that entire time trying to resolve her feelings for him. And then Shane showed up on TV a few years ago. It hadn’t made her recovery any easier.
    “I’m on my way back down the trail,” he said. “Why don’t we hike down together, and I can cook you something. The food at the diner sucks.”
    “That is so true,” she giggled, walking beside him.
    They made their way through the tall groves of old growth Douglas fir, smelling the rich scent of the forest. Shane stopped and plucked a berry from a tall, lush bush. He popped it into her mouth, and she