Dani rubbed at her throat and coughed, wishing for a glass of water like she used to wish for her Gramma’s apple butter. The bear cantered towards her, whuffling as he sniffed at her. He flopped his considerable weight down next to her and curved his paws around her body, pulling her toward him. She had to assume this was Zed. She didn’t know of any other bears that would want to rescue and/or cuddle her.

Dani was finally able to focus on the sheer ridiculousness of a freaking bear cuddling her like she was a comfort toy. Holy hell, his head was the size of a car engine. She ran her fingers over his velvety nose, which prompted more sniffing. She gave a watery laugh, stroking the fur between his eyes.

“Okay,” she sighed, rewarding him with a scratch behind the ears. “I’m okay.”

The bear grumbled, nosing at her neck. His breathing evened out and Dani relaxed against him, taking the moment to appreciate being held by a creature of such immense size and strength. In this form, Zed could break her by sneezing too hard, and yet, he was curved around her like a wall of furry protection, like he needed her more than sleep or food or air. And it was nice, being wanted that much, to know she meant so much to Zed. If relationships could just be this, minus the fangs and fur, she might not run from them like they were emotional lava.

The bear, for a lack of a better term, melted away, easing back into Zed’s human shape. His very naked human shape, which was cuddling her. “You sure you’re okay? I probably should have gone after her, but it was a choice between her and checking on you . . . and my instincts were to stay with you.”

“It was a she?” Dani asked, her voice gravelly.

“Definitely,” Zed told her, sitting up and pulling Dani into his lap. “And she smelled weird. Did you notice that she smelled weird?”

Dani nodded. “I was a little more focused on drained, but yeah, she definitely smelled weird. Like industrial air-freshener. I’ve smelled something like it before, but I can’t think of where or when.”

Zed nuzzled her neck. Dani wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, for saving me. I’m probably going to get pissed off later and insist that I could have taken care of this myself, but thank you.”

“Any time. I know you’re a strong, independent person, but it really pisses me off when people try to strangle girls I like.”

“Reasonable,” she told him, patting his bare chest. “Not that I’m complaining, but where are your pants?”

“I may have shredded them running toward the library when I heard you scream.”

“How did you hear me scream?” Dani asked.

“I may have been waiting outside to make sure you get home safe.”