Bears & Beauties - Complete by Terra Wolf, Mercy May Read Free Book Online Page A

“How do you manage to stay sane back there, tending to all of these snooty miscreants?” He shoved his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing toward the crowd of over-dressed minglers.
    “It’s harder than you’d think,” Amber replied, smiling sincerely for the first time of the night. “To think, I’m back here slaving away, tending to the wealthy masses, while some playboy billionaire heir throws his money at parties and shoddy catering services.”
    The man snorted, which Amber found oddly endearing. “So, you think this thing is being thrown by some snooty playboy? Gotta hand it to him, though, he knows how to draw a crowd.”
    Amber laughed at that. “But is it the kind of crowd any sane person would want? I mean, really, do you think he even knows most of these people?”
    “Hell,” the man offered, “I doubt he even knows a quarter of them. You know how the snooty folk are, though. They go where the money is,and this guy is probably loaded.”
    “Probably. And we both know how hard it must be to inherit money for a living,” Amber rolled her eyes at that, then shot the man a playful wink.
    To her surprise, the man returned the wink, then leaned forward against the table. “So,” he started, “I didn’t catch your name?”
    Amber blushed slightly at his forwardness. It had been over a year since her last date, and even it had turned out to be a disaster. Some blind date set up by one of her few friends from a previous job waiting tables. The guy had been a complete ass, though he’d lacked any of the physical features that would have made up for it. Still, she’d almost let him fuck her, just to say she’d been with at least one man in a calendar year. Fate had intervened, though, when the man had tripped and broken his ankle and she’d ended up sitting in the emergency room with him for the rest of the night. The bum hadn’t even bothered to call her the next day.
    The man in front of her now, though, seemed to be a different sort of specimen than the asshole from a year ago. For one thing, this guy was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, and he had enough swagger about him to show that he knew it. That confidence, however, didn’t seem to bolster over into arrogance, which was something that Amber absolutely disdained above all else. It’s one thing to be confident, it’s something else entirely to be a walking dick.
    “Ma’am?” The guy started, bringing Amber out of her brief mental lapse.
    “Sorry!” Amber offered quickly. “It’s Amber. Amber Kelli. And you are?”
    “Grayson,” the man smiled, offering his hand.
    Amber took his hand and shook it, her body igniting at the sensation of his touch. Despite the man’s more rugged and haughty appearance, his hands were soft like an infant's. Almost as if the flesh beneath the skin was brand new. Grayson’s grip was tight, though, a sure sign of the strength he carried in his broad shoulders, and Amber felt her legs grow weaker the longer they remained in physical contact. Finally, reluctantly, she motioned to pull her hand back, and with an apparent sigh, Grayson did the same.
    They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment and, for whatever reason, Amber felt a strange connection to the stranger she’d just met. Amber liked to think that such a thing as Fate existed and, at that moment, she almost knew her suspicions were confirmed. There was something about the easiness of their conversation and the electricity in their touch that told her that something more was at work here.
    Someone turned on a microphone somewhere in the room and Grayson’s gaze pulled from Amber’s, cutting off the strange connection that the two had briefly experienced.
    “That’s my cue,” Grayson said, smiling back at Amber before darting toward the center of the room and climbing atop a stool. Someone handed him the microphone and Amber felt her jaw drop as Grayson began to speak.
    “I want to thank you all for coming here today. My