Whyrbear Dixie found her mates, but they keep their distance because of someone attacking them. Mating isn’t supposed to go like this. Deep attraction pulls her toward them, but they won’t even talk about it. Yet the arrogant bears still want to boss her around. Not going to happen.

Gable, Maddox, and Micah would give anything to kiss and make love to their mate, but she’s safer away from them, even though every instinct screams for them to hold her close. A kiss after an argument puts them on a time table, and they try to draw the attacker out. When the mating heat hits, they can’t delay any longer. They bring her home and claim their mate.

With the attacker still after them, they try to protect her. Desire flares high and draws them closer even as the danger increases. They’ll hold her tight and keep her safe, right where she belongs—in their arms.

Chapter One

Oh, this would be priceless. Dixie rang the doorbell three times. Excitement pulsed through her, and her mouth ached a little from the grin pulling at her lips. Leslie would love this.

She glanced at the clock on the phone. Still good on time, but they had a lot to do today. Well, Leslie did. Today was all about her.

The door opened, and John scowled at her. “Once was enough.”

“But then I would still be standing here waiting.” Dixie lifted a shoulder.

“Come on in. You’ll have to stand around for a little bit anyway. She’s not ready yet.” John stepped back. “You can go into the living room and wait for her. Judge’s friends are there, as is Archer.”

“They taking you three out for a bachelor party?” Dixie grinned and sniffed. A heady musky scent teased her nose. Her bear rose, and her breath caught in her throat. Her mates.

“Not until later. We didn’t plan an all-day thing.” John waved his hand.

“I’m sorry that your friends don’t like you as much as we do Leslie.” Dixie patted his arm.

John laughed. “Go on in there, troublemaker.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t take your frustration out on the innocent.” Dixie turned and strode to the living room. Were they still in there? Was this just a lingering scent?

She stepped into the living room. A large black couch sat in the center of the open room. She took a deep breath. Still strong. Three men stared at her, but there were no smiles on their faces. The men all wore button-down shirts with jeans. Only the color of their shirts and jeans differed. Archer grinned, came over, and ruffled her hair.

“Where’s the rest of the girl crew?” Archer tugged at a curl before stepping back.

“Waiting for her at the first stop of the day.” Dixie stiffened. Her mates didn’t seem happy. What was wrong with them? They should have caught her scent by now.

“First stop, what are you going to do? Keep her moving all day?” Archer raised a brow.

“She’ll be moving around, but not all day. We have stuff planned that she’ll love to do.” Dixie glanced over at the men. “As I told John, don’t be all jealous that your friends don’t really like you that much.”

“Brat, I’ll be back. I have to check on Leslie and give her a kiss before she leaves. This is Micah, Maddox, and Gable. They’ve moved down here and will be part of our bachelor night.” Archer walked to the door. “And don’t exhaust our woman. That’s our job.”

She waited until Archer was out of the room and down the hall before she turned to the three big men standing stiffly across the room. They didn’t even step closer to her. It was as if they thought she had some dread disease and might be contagious. Not the most heartwarming reaction from her mates.

“So do you three want to get whatever is bothering you done now? Because this doesn’t look good. I’m not allowing you to mess up my friend’s day.” She crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

“We can’t do this.” The big, black-haired man shook his head and ran a hand across his bearded face. He had on a deep maroon shirt with black jeans.

“Can’t do what?” She clenched her jaw. Meet their mate? That was already done. Normally, it would be all about kisses and let’s go to bed. But apparently, not for her. What had she done in a former life to deserve this?

“Mating. We can’t do that now.” A bald man with tattoos on his arms flexed his fingers and bunched them into fists. His shirt was a light blue, almost a match for the faded jeans encasing his strong thighs.

Son of a bitch, what the fuck was their problem? Did they have some other woman in their lives? Were they so stupid they’d walk away from their mate? No one did that.

The blond remained silent, his arms crossed across his green shirt. Apparently, he had nothing to say at all.

She shook her head. This would have to wait. Right now, she couldn’t get into the whys and hows of their reasons. Not enough time.

She straightened and clenched her jaw. Today was not about her. “That’s great. Well, with that out of the way, you can be quiet, stand here, and wait, because if my friend gets upset, I will take you apart piece by piece.”

They straightened and stared at her. She tapped her foot, but they remained silent. Good, at least, they were smart enough to understand that part.

Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. Leslie strolled into the room on Archer’s arm, a big smile curling her lips. Dixie took a deep breath as a pang of regret shot through her. Damn, they were so in love, it was enough to make a girl envious. Especially when her mates were in the same room, but seemed determined to stay as far away as physically possible.

“Are you ready?” Dixie smiled and stepped toward her friend.

“Yeah, but I still don’t know where we’re going. You told me to dress comfortably.” Leslie gestured at her shirt and jeans. “Not what I expected when you told me this was something I’d never forget.”

“Trust me. You’ll remember this, and you’ll have some souvenirs.” Dixie waggled her brows. For the first stop, she could have gone much more casual and it not matter at all.

“Well, then, let’s go.” Leslie hugged Archer and hurried over to her.

Dixie led the way out to her car. Time to go meet up with the others. She got in the car, buckled up, and waited for Les to do the same.

Once on the way, Leslie shifted in the seat. “So what was up in the living room? The tension in there was sharp enough to cut.”

“They’re a little standoffish, I guess. They didn’t say much to me.” Dixie lifted a shoulder. True enough on the surface. A few freaking sentences, and all of it made no sense. The men were bears, for fuck’s sake. “Maybe I was too familiar with Archer, because I teased him before he went for you.”

“They didn’t seem like the standoffish type to me.” Leslie tipped her head.

“Girl, whatever’s up their butts is their business. You have a bachelorette day ahead of you.” Dixie tapped her hand on the steering wheel. “And we’re at our first stop.”

“First stop, here? A photography studio?” Leslie looked up at the black-and-white sign.

“Glamour shots with a makeup artist for you. Something to make you feel hella beautiful and something to fire the blood of your men when they see them, and it’s all on us.” Dixie grinned. The studio came highly recommended. “Come on. You’re not the only one taking photos today. The others are already here and might have taken some of theirs so we can keep on schedule.”

“Schedule? What do you have planned for today?” Leslie turned, her hand on the door handle.

“You’ll have to find that out as we go.” Dixie pushed open her door and got out before Leslie could ask any more questions.

“Mean. You’re mean.” Leslie shook her head and slammed the door.

“Hey, be careful with my baby.” Dixie wagged her finger.

They went into the studio. The makeup artist took Leslie into her hands and guided her into another room. Dixie looked at the other women gathered in the room.

“Did you do some of the shots?” Dixie asked.

“Yeah, we did two of ours so that we’d have plenty of time. We’ll do the last with you and Les so that the experience is still there, but you know we have that thing scheduled for later, and we need a cushion of time.” Shonna nodded. “Go get into your first outfit.”

“Sure, but make sure Leslie has fun while I’m gone.” Dixie pointed at the three women sitting on stools behind the photographer.

“As if we wouldn’t anyway.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

Dixie went into and pulled on her first costume. This one was a black dress with a flirty short skirt and a white frilly underskirt. She opened the dressing room door. Leslie stood in front of the backdrop, posing.

“Come on. John’s right in front of you, tease him. Lean forward and shake that thing,” Chloe teased and then whistled.

“Yeah, I don’t have the boobs for a real tease like this. And my men don’t seem to mind.” Leslie laughed but bent forward.

“Well, then turn around and flaunt that sleek cougar body.” Penny laughed. “I’m sure they like that tight butt of yours.”

“They love my ass.” Leslie grinned. She turned and struck a pose.

The camerawoman snapped away, taking pictures between Leslie’s movements. She straightened and looked over at Dixie.

“Your turn.” Leslie stepped away from the backdrop. “I want to see what you do.”

“You need to get into your next outfit. As I said, we have more than pictures planned today.” Dixie waved her hand.

“But here, take this in the room with you.” Penny handed Leslie a glass with an orange-colored drink.

“Is this a mimosa?” Leslie took a sip.

“No, no alcohol for you right now. I told you we have plans. We’ll get to the wine and mimosas later.” Dixie put her hands on a covered table and leaned forward.

Leslie pouted. “We better. I want something alcoholic on my bachelorette day.”

They all took pictures. On the last round, they had Leslie go last. As soon as the last click of the camera whirred, the photographer took out an envelope. She stepped forward and handed it to Leslie. Leslie frowned and opened it.