Read Online Bear to the Rescue (Bear Claw Security Book 3) by Terry Bolryder - Free Book Online Page A

and gave some of us jobs when we were ready to give up that life of danger. As far as I’m concerned, he’s one of the most responsible men I’ve known.”
    Regan sighed. “Then why does he act like such a playboy?”
    Carrie snorted. “You mean the flirting? I think it’s just an act, to make women comfortable.”
    Regan raised an eyebrow. “It makes women comfortable?”
    “Yeah,” Carrie said. “Because it’s over the top, you know? It’s mostly funny, and people get that. He always keeps a polite distance so it’s never threatening. And with his looks, most women really like it.”
    Ha . Bronson had never kept a distance with her. Since she’d first worked there, he’d been all about getting up in her face. But maybe that was because she liked to tease him and get under his skin.
    Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t really remember which had happened first.
    “Hm,” she said.
    “But things are going fine with you two staying together, right?” Herc asked.
    Carrie’s eyes went wide and looked a more vivid blue. “What? Okay, maybe you do need to leave, Herc, because we need to talk about this.”
    Hercules raised his fingers to either side of his ears. “I can plug up if you want.”
    Regan laughed. These two really knew how to make her comfortable. “No, it’s okay. Not much to tell.”
    Carrie glared at her, and Regan got the feeling she was seeing right through her story. “As soon as you’re ready, we are going to talk about this.”
    “You’re a female bear,” Hercules said. “He’s a male. You’re sharing quarters. There isn’t much to tell that I can’t already guess.”
    Carrie looked between them as Regan didn’t deny it and a red flush spread over her cheeks. “What? Seriously?”
    Regan shrugged. “It’s just bears. The same reason I wouldn’t be able to settle down with one. We’re promiscuous.”
    “I haven’t seen Bronson messing around with women,” Herc said. “Not now or in the service. I think you’ve got him wrong. Maybe he doesn’t like women. Maybe he likes a woman.”
    “I haven’t seen Bronson mess around either,” Carrie said quietly. “And I know he wouldn’t take advantage of a woman like that. I mean, he’s just supposed to be protecting you, right?”
    Regan grinned ruefully. “I guess I was the one taking advantage. But I did it knowing I didn’t want more than a night. Or a fling. You know.” She threw up her hands. “My work is my life. And he seems to feel the same.”
    But it was partially a lie. She knew Bronson wanted more, that he loved his job, but when it came to her, at least so far, she would come first.
    It was odd how much she already knew about him after just a few weeks together at work and one night at his house.
    “He has a really nice place,” she said.
    “I know. I’ve been there,” Carrie said. She gave Regan a knowing look. “And that’s no bachelor pad.”
    “What gave you this idea that bear shifters can’t settle down?” Hercules asked.
    “Maybe it’s just ones like Bronson,” Regan said. “Rich playboys that can afford to run from their problems.”
    Herc looked uncertainly at Carrie and then Regan. “I don’t know. I’m not sure you’re looking at this fairly. But all I can say is if I didn’t trust Bronson with my life, I wouldn’t work for him. And I’d never trust a man who ran from his problems.” He gave her a sidelong look. “Then again, if you can’t trust him, I’m not going to try to talk you into him. He deserves someone who wants him as much as he wants her. I’m not sure that’s the case here.”
    Carrie looked at her quietly, and she badly wanted to correct Herc. To say she did want Bronson as much, maybe even more. To say that’s what had been bothering her the whole time, from the first moment she walked in.
    She did want him, and she didn’t like it because he didn’t have any of the qualities she was looking for in someone who could get her to overlook her