"I was referring to the peep show. When you watched me strip."

She looked away, her cheeks pink. "I-I didn't expect you to do that. I just followed you here out of concern for your health."

His mouth twitched. "That was kind of you."

"It was the least I could do. After all, you were injured bringing me flowers."

"Did you like them?"

"Yes." She gave him a sheepish look. "Okay. It wasn't just concern. I was curious. You said you were self-healing, and I wanted to see how it worked. The last thing I expected was for you to..."

"Shift?"

She shuddered. "Is that what you call it?"

"I have to shift in order to heal." He lifted his arms to the side. "See? The sc.r.a.pes are gone. I had a real bad one here, just above my hip." He leaned to the side to show her.

Her eyes widened, then she looked away. "I believe you."

"And my cracked ribs are completely healed."

She turned back to him with an alarmed expression. "You had cracked ribs?"

"Yes." He ran his hands over his chest and across his abs. "I was in a great deal of pain."

Her gaze followed his hands. "I'm glad you're better now."

He lifted his leg nearest her. "I had some sc.r.a.pes along my calf, and even here on my thigh."

A glazed look came over her face.

"Of course, you saw all my injuries when you hid behind the tree over there like a Peeping Tom."

She stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"I believe you gasped when I pulled my underwear off."

She gasped. "I did not! I was very careful not to make any noise-" She winced, and her face turned pink.

He grinned.

"You have some nerve!" Her eyes flashed with anger. "Making it sound like I'm some kind of pervert, when you're-you're a beast beast!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't follow men into the woods."

"Maybe you should have warned me!"

"How? For the past week, you refused to talk to me!"

"If you knew I was behind that tree, you should have warned me." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "You scared me to death."

"A warning would have scared you, too." He raked a hand through his hair. "Try to see this from my point of view. I was in a lot of pain, so I needed to shift. I didn't ask you to come along and spy on me, but when I realized you were there, I thought why not shift in front of you? I was going to have to tell you sooner or later, and I thought I could show you how harmless the bear is."

She snorted. "Harmless? Why would I think a grizzly bear is harmless?"

"Because it's me me! Couldn't you see it was me?"

She bit her lip. "I was too scared to think very well."

"I've been scared since the moment I met you, scared that you would run away from me once you knew the truth." He winced. That was more than he should have admitted. He grabbed his wet briefs and shook them out.

"You cooled down my birthmark with your underwear?"

He gave her a wry look. "They're clean. Reasonably." He'd showered and put them on just over an hour ago. "Do you want to watch again?" He dragged the cotton briefs up his legs.

With a huff, she turned her back to him. "You really are a beast."

"That's true." Smiling again, he stood and pulled his underwear up. He was still semi-aroused from holding her, and the wet material clung to every contour.

"You were so big," she whispered.

"Thank you. I like to think I'm fairly well endowed."

She scoffed, turning to face him. "I meant the bear!" She glanced down at his underwear, then away.

His mouth twitched. He'd known what she was referring to, but it was too much fun teasing her. "I'm actually a Kodiak bear. That's the biggest of the grizzlies."

"Great," she muttered.

He pulled on his trousers. "And in case you're wondering, I'm proportional."

"Huh?" She slanted a suspicious look his way.

"By that I mean-" He carefully zipped his pants up. "I'm big all over."

She snorted and looked away. "As if I'm interested."

"Aren't you?" He leaned against the boulder to pull on his socks. "You followed me here."

She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Fine. I acknowledge your bigness. You have a big chest. And big shoulders."

"Thank you." He tugged on the last sock.

"Big muscles."

"Yes." He stuffed his feet into his shoes.

"An enormously big ego."

He grinned. "That, too." He slipped on his polo shirt. It was ripped in places and still damp.

She lifted her chin. "But I'm not sure you'll do. I hate a man with a big b.u.t.t."

"I love a woman with a smart mouth." He strode toward her, still smiling.

She stepped back, her eyes widening. "What are you-"

He pulled her into his arms.

She stiffened. "Your shirt's wet."

"Relax." He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his chin against her hair. "It's me. Whether I'm human or bear, it's always me."

She groaned. "A man who becomes a bear? It's too strange."

"Stranger than being a Guardian of the Forest?"

"I didn't ask for that."

"I didn't ask to be a were-bear."

She leaned back to look at him. "Is that what you call it?"

He nodded. "Or a shifter. Actually, there are a lot of shifters who didn't come from Scandanavia, so they're not berserkers. I know some panthers and tigers-"

"What?" She pushed away from him. "Are you telling me people turn into those things?"

"There's more to the world than you would normally-"

"I don't want to hear it!" She lifted a hand to stop him. "I'm having supernatural overload. I want a nice, normal world."

"Fine. Then look at it this way. Right now, I'm a man. You're a woman. One h.e.l.l of a woman." His gaze dropped to her chest, which had been dampened by his wet shirt. Her T-shirt was molded to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her nipples clearly defined. "And the feelings we're having are completely normal. The attraction. The desire."

She sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not sure I can handle this."

"I want you." He moved closer. "I've always wanted you."

"No," she whispered, but her body betrayed her. Her nipples puckered, the tips growing tight as beads.

"You want me, too." He cupped her breast, and she stepped back.

"Please. I need more time."

"Elsa." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight. "I'll give you all the time you need, but please don't spend it convincing yourself that I'm dangerous. Or that I'm going to hurt you. How could I hurt you when I'm falling for you?"

"Oh, Howard." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I do want to believe you, but this were-bear stuff is so ..."

"Amazing?"

"Frightening." She leaned back to study his face. "What if you lose control?"

"I'm always in complete control. Of the bear, that is." He glanced down at his swollen groin. "Other parts seem to have a mind of their own."

She gave him a wry look. "Beast."

"Goldilocks." He kissed her brow. "Will you admit the truth?"

"What truth?"

He leaned close to whisper in her ear, "You liked my b.u.t.t."

She swatted his shoulder. "Would you get over yourself?"

He chuckled. "I would actually prefer to talk about your your naked body. If you could give me something to go on." His hand slid over the curve of her rump. "Oh, yeah, this is-" naked body. If you could give me something to go on." His hand slid over the curve of her rump. "Oh, yeah, this is-"

"Will you stop?" She shoved him away with an exasperated look. "I'm still in shock, and you keep trying to feel me up?"

"Right." He nodded. "My apologies." He gave her a forlorn look. "I'm a bad little bear."

Her mouth twitched. "Can you ever be serious?"

"I'm serious about you." He smiled. "Seriously."

She gave him a bemused look. "And this is the personality of a grizzly?"

"Think of me as a big, cuddly, honey bear."

She snorted and turned to walk up the hill. "I don't know what to think."

At least she didn't seem afraid of him anymore. He caught up with her. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know." She slanted him an annoyed look. "Can you manage to stay human for the entire time?"

"Yes. But it would be fun to act like animals."

"Beast."

"Goldilocks." He took her hand to help her up a steep incline. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "It would have to be secret. My aunts would shoot you on sight."

"I understand."

They reached the top of the hill. The walk back to the house would be easy now, but he didn't let go of her hand. With a smile, he realized she wasn't pulling away. Even though she knew he was a beast.