Bear Naked Truth (Southern Shifters Book 7) Read Online Free PDF

his touch. "Yeah, cause that's not creepy at all."
    He frowned. Maybe she didn't know as much about shifters as she thought she did. Before he could explain, some of the crowd exiting the bar got a little rowdy.
    One idiot thought it was a good idea to threaten Niki and another shifter took up her defense. Before Calder could intervene the man wanting to protect the women raised his arm and landed a bone crunching punch into the surly jerk's face. Several men around them tried to grab them both, but neither of them knew when to quit.
    Calder growled. "Stay put," he said to Jessa and moved toward the fighting crowd.
    When he got close enough to grab one, a small roar sprang from his throat making all heads turn his way. Some looking at him with abject fear.
    Niki also turned and snarled at him. "I said I got this. Now get her out of here so these idiots will calm back down. And before your woman sees something she shouldn't." She ducked to prevent someone's wild swing from clocking her in the side of the head. "Or maybe they won't and I'll get to relieve a little stress by kicking their asses out into the parking lot."
    His growl still rumbled in his throat. He wanted to help deflect the crowd even though he knew Niki and Kitty did not need his help. But his bear instincts told him to take care of Jessa first. Protecting the mate would always take priority.
    He rushed back over to Jessa and grabbed her hand. "Follow me."
    "But-but- What about those guys. Those ladies need your help." She tried to pull free from his grasp and he tightened his grip.
    "Trust me, they don't." He skirted around the bar and pushed through the swinging kitchen doors from the back corner. For half a second he thought about leaving her in the cavernous industrial styled kitchen and returning to the chaos out in the bar area to ensure everything was under control.
    Fortunately, he liked his balls right where they were.
    They exited the kitchen via the rear door and followed a short hallway that led to both the business office and the back stairs for the upper floor apartments.
    "Where are you taking me?" she asked, pulling a little on his arm.
    "Somewhere we can talk."
    "I told you I can only talk to Bhric, and I meant it. My situation is serious."
    "And I told you both Bhric and his second are not here which leaves Gage and me in charge unless Dean wants to intervene."
    She pulled her hand harder trying to break his hold. "Can we just stop a minute? I don't know who any of those people are so taking me to some back room for interrogation isn't going to work."
    At the entrance to the office, Calder turned back to her. "This isn't an interrogation, sweetheart. You came here to ask for help, remember?"
    Her heavy sigh filled the space around him and made his bear grumble a little in response.
    "I'm beginning to think that was a grave mistake." She pulled harder from his grip and this time he let her go so he didn't hurt her. "I'm leaving."
    She started to march down the hallway in the direction they'd come from when he called after her. "What are you so afraid of? Or more precisely why are you so afraid of me?"
    She swiveled around. "If you knew me you wouldn't have to ask that question."
    "Then let me get to know you. You can trust me with whatever is bothering you. Let me show you."
    She chewed on her bottom lip as she obviously thought about his sort of offer. Although what exactly he was offering he wasn't sure. His feelings and the attraction between them muddled up some of his thoughts.
    If she was, in fact, his mate, and he was pretty sure that was a thing, then he would do anything and everything in this world and the next to protect her. But she wasn't shifter and that made everything more tenuous.
    There were enough human/shifter matings happening around him to get an idea of how it would work, but that didn't necessarily mean every human would be the same. It was always possible she wouldn't feel the mating connection right away or at all.
    His