Sam was standing next to his desk, talking to a bear shifter she recognized as Flint McCoy. The furniture in the room was dark cherry wood and leather, and framed family pictures crowded the walls, along with pictures of Sam and his brother hunting and fishing. A police radio sat on Sam’s desk, its red light blinking. There was a tray sitting on Sam’s desk with several open jars of honey on it, a spoon sticking out of each jar. The sweet smell tickled her nostrils, but she ignored it and glared daggers at Sam.
Sam and Flint turned to look at her, and she felt her heart stutter in her chest for a minute. Sam had gotten even more handsome. He had the faintest hint of stubble on his strong jaw. He now stood about six-foot-ten, typical for a male bear shifter. His lips still had that amused quirk to them, and his eyes still had that devilish gleam. His brown hair was thick and shiny, begging for fingers to run through its silky strands.
He wore faded denim jeans and a blue denim shirt that buttoned up the front.
His eyes lit up when he saw her, as if he’d seen something even tastier than the jars of gourmet honey on his desk. Yeah, right. She was hardly his type. She was no skinny bleach-blonde debutante; she was a round-faced, big-hipped bear shifter with frizzy hair and murder in her heart. And this jerkwad was not going to charm the panties off her the way he had with every single member of the cheerleader squad, the pep squad, and the drama club. Or so she recalled from when she was a twelve year old with an aching heart and an unrequited crush.
“Well, hello. I don’t believe we’ve met.” His deep voice boomed out, and he stuck out his hand to shake hers. “Sam McCoy, head of security for the McCoy clan. And you are?”
She hauled off and slapped his smug, smirking face.
“I’ll tell you what I am. Really, really pissed off,” she snapped.
Chapter Two
Sam rubbed his stinging cheek in astonishment as his cousin Flint slapped his thighs and roared with laughter.
“Damn, that was fast.” Flint could barely catch his breath, he was laughing so hard. “Usually you have to take a girl out on least one date to get that reaction.”
Sam shot him a glare. So he was married to his job and too busy to remember to call women back a lot of the time. Most of the time. All of the time. Flint didn’t need to advertise that fact in front of this deliciously sexy, very angry bear female who did not happen to be wearing a wedding ring.
Why was she so mad at him, and how fast could he sweet-talk her into accepting his invitation for a dinner date?
There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. He would very definitely have remembered if he’d met her before. She was stunning. She had a full, lush figure with the kind of hips he wanted to grab and pull towards him. Her plump lips begged him to nibble on them and her scoop-neck white T-shirt revealed a generous swell of cleavage and just the tiniest bit of her white lacy bra peeking out. She wore some kind of perfume that smelled like cinnamon and he wanted to lick her and see if she tasted like it, too.
“Did you actually go to the town hall last week, just as my sister and Jeffrey were walking up the steps ready to get married, and haul him off in your truck?” She bit out the words, tilting her head back to glare up at him.
Light dawned on him. “Clover Jones. My God, have you grown up.” He looked her up and down with an appreciative glance, the kind of glance that never failed to make a woman melt into a puddle at his feet. All women except for Clover. Apparently she was immune.
“Yes, Sam, that’s generally what happens.” She stood there glowering at him.
“I’ll let you two work this out on your own,” Flint said with a grin. “Unless you think you need backup, Sam.”
“I think I’m good.” Sam scowled at him, and Flint sauntered out of the room, chuckling quietly to himself. Jerk. Now that Flint was happily married to that redheaded wolf shifter, he was all smug and superior about Sam’s love life.
He returned his focus to the hot bear.
“Yes, is the answer. I did indeed do that,” Sam said. “But let’s talk about you. Where have you been all these years? What brings you back to town? Not that I’m complaining.”
“I’m the one asking the questions here. I cannot believe you are attempting to ensure that my sister is a single mother. I thought you McCoys had strong family values.”
He nodded agreeably. “Very strong.”
“So what the hell is it? The premarital sex? It takes two to tango, you know.”
“Tell you what. Let’s swap information here. Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours.”
“I’ve been travelling around the country with my parents and my sister,” she answered grudgingly. “Then I went to college to get a degree in social media marketing.”
He nodded. “I heard something about a family of bears coming to stay at Imogen’s. I meant to stop by with a gift basket to welcome you to town. Didn’t realize it was you, or I’d have come over sooner. Who are all the younger kids? Brothers and sisters?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t in a chatty mood, obviously.
“Are your parents coming too?”
“Really not your concern. It’s also not your concern whether your brother gets married or not; he’s a grownup.”