Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears #1)(12)

Sure enough, his long, thick shaft was bulging against the zipper of his jeans.

“My growl gave you an erection?”

“I like the growl, yes, but I like the way you smell without that perfume shit you wore the other day. I can smell your fur and your…”

“My what?”

He inhaled deeply and twitched a glance at her lap, then stared at the toe of his boot. “Forget it. Did you bring a bathing suit?”

“Yeah,” she drawled out suspiciously.

“Good, go put it on. I’m taking you to the hot spring. You can’t leave Saratoga without hitting all the tourist highlights.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’ll be your tour guide. For today, at least. Tomorrow I have work to do.”

“Cutting trees?” she asked as she dug through her suitcase for the black and white striped swimsuit she’d brought.

“Yeah, we’ll do a shift tomorrow, but we’re down half the crew. I have a couple of newcomers moving in tomorrow evening, and I need to help them settle.”

“So they’ll be Boarlanders?”

“Kind of. Kirk is a silverback shifter who works at the sawmill under Kong. Do you know him?”

“Well, I saw them at the bar the other night and I’ve heard of them. Or rather, read about them. I researched the shifters in Damon’s mountains before I came here.”

“Like some kind of detective?”

She giggled and shook her head. “I’m a waitress at a tiny diner in Buffalo Gap. I was just really excited and nervous about coming up here and finally meeting you, and I’m horrible with names, so I studied the crew pages on Cora Keller’s website. Kong and Kirk registered officially around the same time I did last year.”

Harrison was staring at her lips as she talked, and she grew self-conscious under his scrutiny, so she dipped her gaze to hide her flushing cheeks.

“So Kirk will be under me, but not as an official Boarlander. And I’m leeching Mason off the Gray Backs to help as well. He never pledged under Creed. He’s there because his best friend, Damon, settled into Grayland Mobile Park with his mate, Clara, after their house was burned down by a”—Harrison cleared his throat and finished in a murmur—“rival dragon.”

Audrey gave him one slow blink as she tried to absorb all that information. She was beginning to realize Cora’s website was just scratching the surface. “Is Mason a shifter? I didn’t see him on the website.”

“And you won’t if he can help it. You know how it is. When we register, we have to update where we live. Mason cut himself off from his people and likes living here without them coming after him.”

“What is he? Wait, don’t tell me. That’s rude to ask, right?”

Harrison grinned such an easy smile, his dark blue eyes danced with the expression. God, he was stunning. “It’s considered rude to come out and ask someone what kind of animal they are, but it’s different in Damon’s mountains. Everyone knows everyone, and nobody gives a shit about etiquette. Not the Ashe Crew, not the Gray Backs, and certainly not my crew. Mason is a boar shifter. Not like one of those domestic pigs that lays around in the mud and eats slops, but a muscle-bound, razorback feral hog five times the size of the biggest one you’ll see in the wild with long, curving tusks, eyes like a demon, and pitch black fur. He’s a beast, but more importantly, he’s a really hard worker and a good guy. I need him bad, and I owe Creed for letting me have him for the rest of the logging season. We’re still short on labor, but with these guys, at least we have a shot at hitting Damon’s numbers.” Harrison frowned suddenly. “I can’t believe I just told you all that.”

“I won’t tell anyone. I’m from a tiny town, and I was the only shifter there. I hid what I was for the first twenty-five years of my life. Your secrets are safe with me.” Audrey held up her bathing suit. “I’m going to get dressed. I’ll be right back.”

Thank God she’d already shaved this morning because she was excited about seeing the famous hot springs and spending time with Harrison. The Harrison, not the made up imposter who had tricked her into coming here.

In front of the mirror, she pulled her straight brunette locks into a high ponytail, slathered on another layer of lip gloss, then glared thoughtfully at the bottle of perfume sitting next to the sink. That had been her crutch. She’d used it for years, paranoid that other humans would somehow smell her fur and deem her “other.” But here, she didn’t have to wear that horrid scent-mask. There were shifters all over these mountains, and the people of Saratoga were used to them. Accepting even. It wasn’t like Buffalo Gap where the town had revolted with the news that one of their own was a tiger shifter.

Plus, Harrison liked the way she smelled.

Audrey picked up the cold, half-full bottle and set it gently in the trashcan so the glass wouldn’t break. And when she stood back up and looked at her reflection, she was proud of herself. Straightening her spine, she pulled on her swimsuit cover-up, opened the bathroom door, and walked out, a ready smile for Harrison on her face.

But when she saw what was settled in his lap, she lurched to a stop and gasped.

He turned the page and looked up at her with a slight frown marring his face. Uncertainty had pooled in his stormy eyes. He asked, “So, is this some kind of book about your life?”