One in a Bear-llion (Polar Heat Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

possibility of what was happening to him with this female came to him, but he immediately brushed it away.
    That wasn’t possible.
    He wasn’t a romantic like his dad. He didn’t get caught up in things like that.
    Needing something else to focus on, he moved to the next most troubling thing for him.
    The stalker.
    Just the thought of someone bothering Mara in any way enraged him. He was the oldest brother in his family and could at times be protective of his siblings. They’d quickly grown into huge bear shifters that didn’t need anyone’s protection, but still…
    But it’d been a while since he’d seen something like this. Sure, he sometimes had to deal with an unruly guest harassing another, but what was scaring Mara seemed to be on another level.
    She’d stopped going outside.
    He didn’t go out often because of work, but that was different, his choice.
    “So tell me more about this man,” he said. While he waited for her to respond, he took an iced coffee from the cooler and downed it in several gulps. “So I know what I’m up against.”
    “Well, he doesn’t know I’m here,” she said. “And if he did, I doubt he’d come all the way here when he knows I have to come back home.”
    “Do you, though?” he asked. “I mean, you could probably stay as long as you liked, and maybe that would be best until this guy can be dealt with.”
    She shook her head. “He’s not going to be dealt with . I’ve already made myself okay with that.”
    Rage formed a bigger and bigger ball in his chest as he saw her just calmly accepting a half life where some douchebag got to ruin things for her.
    “No,” he said. “He’ll be dealt with. I’m sorry everyone in your life has been so remiss, but you’ve just told someone who can’t let it go.” He gave her a wry smile he hoped was reassuring. He knew she had no real reason to trust him, but despite his occasional grumpiness, he wasn’t a bad person. “I may be a work-obsessed asshole, but I get shit done. We will solve this, Mara,” he said. “We can work on it at night after I finish my work.”
    She nodded. “But what if things get busy? Don’t promise you’re going to help if you’re going to just get caught up in other things. I’ve had too many people make promises and then back out when it was too much for them.”
    He gave her a cocky smile and cracked his knuckles. “Oh, I’ll be making sure I’m too much for him, not the other way around. But I get why this is important. And hell, it’s almost as much fun as work, knowing I’ll be solving a problem for you that no one else has been able to.” He stood and stretched. “At least I won’t just be bending to my dad.”
    She grinned at him. “Rocky relationship there?”
    “Yup,” he said.
    “I have one request, though,” she said quietly.
    He looked down at her. She was staring at a chilled soda she’d pulled from the cooler, a pensive look on her face. “What?”
    “I just… Let’s keep it from being complicated.”
    “Complicated?”
    Her eyes flashed at him. They were dark and a clear, rich brown with long curled lashes. Adorable eyes. Beautiful eyes. “You know, like what you did out there in the sea,” she said. “I get you’re attracted to me, but I also know that doesn’t change anything. You aren’t looking for anything serious, and I’m just grateful to have a safe place and don’t want to ruin that. So let’s keep it uncomplicated.”
    “So I can’t kiss you?” he asked.
    “Do you normally kiss people you’re showing around the island?”
    “I don’t normally show anyone around the island,” he said, beating around the bush. “I only show clients around the resort.”
    “Well, do you normally hit on clients?” she asked.
    “If I want to,” he lied. He didn’t really meet any clients he wanted to hit on.
    But he didn’t think he could promise not to kiss her if they spent time together, so he decided to be straightforward and tell her