Page 48 of Bear In A Boutique
“Yeah, I know you want to kill him, but the humans frown on that.”
Another growl and a massive shake of his head.
Dax rolled his eyes. “Well, then, you should have dragged him out back and eaten him where no one would see you.”
And that’s when Kyle pissed himself.
Ryker snorted and moved off the man. He turned his head, small, bright yellow eyes searching until they landed on her. Olive’s heart lurched as he ambled toward her, his massive body rolling back and forth… and got stuck between the clothing racks. He started to push through them but backed up instead.
Dax grabbed a fistful of Ryker’s neck fur. “You good? We’re going to get him out of here.”
“He’s good,” Olive burst out.
The unsettling lusty tension was back, coursing through her, heating her skin. She wanted everyone gone, all of them, so she could finally be alone with her bear.
Chapter Seventeen
Shifting out of his grizzly took longer than shifting into it. It always hurt more, too, especially if he tried to force the shift to hurry like he was right now.
The added pain was worth it if it meant he could be with Olive.
He was exhausted and everything hurt. But he was so thankful that he’d gotten here when he had.
They’d been heading back into town from the search and rescue when he knew, he just knew, something was wrong with Olive. He hollered at Fox to slow the truck as they drove past the bakery but didn’t wait for his brother to comply. Flinging open the passenger door, he bailed, hit the ground, got up, and ran three blocks to the boutique and found the rear door wide open.
He'd smelled the intruder before he saw him, and though he was primed to barge in and fuck shit up, the sounds of their voices stopped him. It sounded like a somewhat normal conversation at first. Realizing this was someone Olive knew; he didn’t want to disrupt unless she needed him to.
Then she said Kyle had assaulted her and it was game on. He’d never shifted so fast or been closer to tearing someone apart than with that asshole. Olive was safe now and he was so incredibly tired. The urgent shift had completely depleted him. He’d rest for a few minutes… just a few and then he was going to tell her—
“Ryker. Hey, Ryker.”
Olive’s voice sounded far away as his muscles gave out and he slumped to the floor. Dazed, he felt her fluttering around him, putting something soft beneath his head, and covering him with something warm. When he finally opened his eyes, ceiling lights shone down, confusing him until he remembered where he was.
“Olive!”
“I’m here. Are you okay?”
She looked down at him, the ends of her hair tickling his face. It took some effort, but he cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek.
“I’m fine. Are you fine?”
“Thanks to you.”
Groaning, he pushed into a sitting position and realized his lower half was covered with a plush pink blanket with white polka dots and sparkly fringe.
“You were naked, so I grabbed the first thing that I saw.”
“It’ll do.”
“Fox dropped off a red bag. Said it has everything you need inside.”
Hanging onto the blanket, he stood and slid it around his hips. Olive's eyes swept over him with a mix of longing and concern.
“Can I get you anything? Water—”
“Olive.”
Crossing her arms, she diverted her gaze as if she couldn’t look at him. Was she nervous because of his shift? The process was shocking to someone seeing it for the first time, but she’dalready experienced it when she was kidnapped. No, it was something else.
