Brash Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 3) by Natalie Kristen Read Free Book Online Page A

the green light, the guys had started work straight away on
her house. They seemed anxious to get the job done quickly. She had
no doubt that there were many other projects in the pipeline for
them. Compared to their other projects, this was just a simple,
small-scale job. They would be done in less than a week, Nick had
told her.
    Bella glanced over at Celia's
neat little house that was right next to hers. She hoped she wasn't
causing too much disturbance to her lovely neighbor. Celia was a
retired teacher and she was thoughtful and caring. Bella
instinctively trusted her. She had taken the small box that held her
grandmother's ring over to Celia's house just before the guys started
work on her house and asked Celia to take care of her ring for her.
She knew the guys wouldn't touch her things, but anyone could walk in
and out of her house while they were working at the back. If she
lost the ring, who could she blame? Herself. No one but herself.
    Bella stood under the shade
of the enormous tree across her house and watched Nick, Damien and
Joshua. Nick and Damien were carrying some planks towards the back
of the house while Josh was perched on the roof.
    Bella tried not to stare, but
her eyes greedily roved down Joshua's handsome face to his
glistening, ripped torso. His bare, tanned body was hot as sin.
Every inch of his powerful body was hard defined muscle and his old,
faded jeans hung deliciously low on his narrow hips.
    The sight of his muscles
rippling as he worked was making her stupid with lust. She could do
nothing but stand and ogle openly at the gorgeous, half naked man on
the roof of her house.
    And apparently, she wasn't
the only one. A few ladies had also stopped by to gawk and giggle at
the sweaty, sexy men in her yard. The women smiled coquettishly and
made a few flirtatious remarks to Josh and his team.
    Nick and Damien grinned and
came forward to chat and flirt with the women. But Josh didn't even
seem to notice the women. His brows were furrowed in concentration
as he worked steadfastly, replacing the broken roof tiles and
patching up holes and leaks in her roof.
    One of the ladies called out
to Josh, and he merely glanced over his shoulder and nodded in
acknowledgment. Then he turned his back on her and continued
working.
    Bella found herself
inexplicably happy and triumphant at his response. She huffed and
hurriedly wiped the smirk off her face. What was she feeling so smug
and satisfied about? Josh wasn't hers. It shouldn't matter to her
how he responded to other women.
    He was an attractive, single
guy, and he could date and bed any woman he wanted. It wasn't any of
her business.
    There was the sound of
gnashing teeth and Bella started. She spun around but there was no
one behind her.
    She clapped a hand to her
mouth when she realized that she was the one gnashing and grinding
her teeth.
    “I'm crazy,” she
muttered with a wince. She was acting all possessive and territorial
over a guy who wasn't even hers.
    Why are you fighting this?
    She hadn't answered Josh's
question directly that night but she knew the answer all too well.
    Because I'm afraid .
    Bella shook her head at
herself. She was almost thirty-six. She had a job, owned a house,
yet she was so timid when it came to love. Yes, she had been burned
and yes, her marriage had failed. But that didn't make her a
failure. And it shouldn't make her a coward.
    When the group of women
left, Nick caught sight of her and whistled. “Bella!”

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

    Josh was scrambling down a
ladder and he turned at the sound of her name. Bella smiled and
lifted a hand to wave at Nick, but her eyes were fixed on Josh.
    She was vaguely aware of Nick
crossing the road to her, but her whole body seemed to be in tune
with Josh's. She took in every nuance of his expression, every
twitch of his body and memorized every scar on his broad, powerful
body.
    There was no denying it.
    Josh was the one she wanted.
    It was obvious to everyone.
Even Nick.
    Nick's smile