BEARing The Frozen Night (Ice Bear Shifters Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

whom?”
    Kenzie laughed and held her hands up in surrender as he peppered her with questions. “I’m not sure. I was kind of hoping you would have more details. Millie was the first one to see one. She was out searching for it with her gun the night her dog got attacked by a wolf. People were actually pretty angry when they found out she was hunting down a polar bear. The polar bear population has dropped sharply over the last year, so no one really wants people going around on bear hunts.”
    “Why was Millie hunting it down, anyways? Was she worried it was going to attack the village or something? And what kind of gun was she using?”
    Kenzie shook her head and smiled. “Man, you’re pretty rapid-fire with the questions when something piques your interest, aren’t you? I don’t know what kind of gun she was using. Some sort of rifle, I guess? And, yes, she’s worried that the bear’s going to attack the village. I guess she heard of another town in Canada where the bears got too bold and started coming into town, running into humans and causing trouble. Millie’s one of those people who watches the news too much and is always afraid that the next big tragedy is imminent. But anyways, then another guy thinks he saw a polar bear when he was out ice fishing the other day.”
    “People still ice fish in this darkness?” Ryker asked, seeming surprised. “My buddy Eric ice fishes, but he takes a break during the dead of winter.”
    “Yeah, I dunno. I think it’s crazy, too. But some people get big spotlights and go even now, in the middle of all the darkness. This guy thought he saw a polar bear, but he wasn’t sure. Now everyone in town is starting to worry. If there’s a bear, or multiple bears, getting too comfortable around humans, then that could cause some real issues. No one wants to kill a bear. Well, no one except Millie, I guess. But if one gets too tame, it might inevitably lead to a confrontation where the bear has to be gunned down.”
    “Hmmm,” Ryker said.
    Kenzie took another sip of her beer and waited to see whether he would say anything else. He seemed to be keenly interested in the polar bear sightings. She wondered if he worried about being alone in a cabin way in the outskirts of town. A hungry bear could make quick work of tearing down his cabin’s door. But he didn’t look worried, exactly. Just perplexed. When he didn’t say anything for several moments, she continued talking.
    “If there is a polar bear roaming around, I wish I would get a chance to spot him.”
    Ryker seemed amused by this. “Do you now?” he asked, his expression lightening as he grinned in her direction. His smile intoxicated her. She found herself wondering if his lips tasted as good as they looked, then forced herself to tear her eyes away from his mouth and focus on his eyes.
    “I love polar bears,” she said. “They’ve always been my favorite animal. They’re just so… majestic. And magical. They seem to be on another level from other bears.”
    Ryker turned his whole body toward her on the barstool, his eyes suddenly blazing and glowing yellow around the edges again. Kenzie was amazed. How did his eyes do that? It creeped her out a little bit, but it wasn’t unheard of, right?—for people’s eyes to change colors with their emotions. Her response seem to hit some sort of emotional chord with him. He must be a big fan of polar bears, as well. He gazed at her with hungry eyes. Kenzie recognized the look. He found her attractive, and he wanted her. Kenzie felt her pulse quicken. She wanted him, too. It had been so long since she felt a man’s touch, and she had a feeling that she had never felt a man’s touch that was quite like Ryker’s. She had never seen hands like his, so big and strong. She wanted to feel those powerful hands holding her. She wondered if other appendages on his body were as big as his hands, then blushed at the thought. She momentarily let her focus drop to the space