The Bear Who Loved Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

coffee.”
    He arched a brow. “Are you sure you need more caffeine? If I were you, I’d be reaching for a beer.” He flashed her a lopsided smile. “Or a bottle. Or a keg.”
    Charming. The lunatic was being charming . She tried to smile back but didn’t manage to pull it off. Which meant it was time to bolt.
    She did it in one smooth move. She snatched up her cell phone and ran straight for the front door. She wasn’t an Olympic runner or anything, but she could be quick when she wanted to. She was highly motivated to be fast.
    He was faster.
    She barely got the door open when he was on her, pulling the cell from her hand and catching her about the waist. She started kicking him, but if it bothered him, she couldn’t tell. Certainly not when he was lifting her off her feet and carrying her back into her apartment.
    “Becca, listen to me!”
    No way. No how.
    She drew breath to scream.
    She got half a breath in before he dropped a hand over her mouth. She tried to scream anyway, but it came out more as a muffled exclamation. And then every survival instinct she had kicked in. Every dirty fighting trick she ever knew. Every animalistic gouge through his skin, bite through his meaty palm, kick in the gonads, and scream tore through her system as if her life depended on them. She fought like she was a demon possessed.
    And she still lost.
    He was just too big.
    Then he was pressing on her throat, cutting off her air.
    Oh hell. Oh shit.
    She couldn’t breathe.
    “I’m not going to hurt you Becca. I swear!”
    And that was one big fat lie because within in seconds, there were dots in her vision. A few moments later, it all went black.

Chapter 3
    C arl twisted in his desk chair at the quiet knock on his bedroom door.
    “Come in,” he said, keeping his voice low.
    He wasn’t sure he wanted to have the conversation with his brother here, but he was reluctant to leave Becca alone in his massive bed. He didn’t want her to wake and jump to all the wrong conclusions. In the end, his need to stay with her was stronger than his brother’s possible embarrassment.
    Alan pushed open the door. His head was tilted to the side, exposing his neck, as was appropriate when entering an alpha’s bedroom. His lanky frame was stooped as well, though his gaze missed nothing. Not Carl killing time at his desk or the unconscious Becca tucked neatly into his sheets.
    “Did Nick go home or into town?” Carl asked, not because he really cared but as a way to distract Alan’s attention away from Becca.
    “Town,” Alan answered. “Did you really destroy an entire acre by yourself?”
    Carl smirked. Nick Merkel had shown up an hour earlier, screaming about the destruction of his field. He’d stopped short of accusing Carl—which showed the man had some brains—but he had not held back about his opinion of such wanton destruction. On a different day, Carl would have had it out with the man, but the last thing he needed was a grizzly confrontation while a kidnapped woman snoozed in his bed. Both situations required finesse, and he didn’t want to deal with two at once.
    Meanwhile, he kept his tone deadpan as he answered his brother. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Of course you don’t,” Alan said. He leaned against the doorframe, his gaze traveling unerringly to Becca, sleeping in Carl’s massive bed. But he didn’t speak about her. He knew better. His thoughts were still on the Nick Merkel annoyance. “Why don’t you just kill the bastard?”
    “Why is everyone pushing me to murder?” Carl grumbled, even though he knew the answer. He also knew that out of everyone, Alan would give him the most logical answer. That’s because his brother had gotten shorted in the shifter DNA pool. As far as anyone could tell, the man was completely human, even if his eyes were Gladwin grizzly golden brown.
    “He’s outright defied you. And now he’s going around telling everyone that destroying an acre of Christmas