Mating Dance by Bianca D'Arc Page A

applications Tom had received from business people who wanted
to open stores in their town.
    The decision had been made to allow the
bakery—and the three sisters—as a trial run. Their food was
excellent, from all accounts, and most of the shifters in town
liked the women and were glad one of their comrades had found a
mate.
    Humans made decent mates, and bears couldn’t
be picky. There weren’t a lot of bears in the first place, and it
wasn’t uncommon for them to find mates outside their species. A lot
of bear shifters took human mates. It didn’t diminish the magic.
Bears had more than most shifters, and Tom often thought, that’s
why they were kind of rare. But what did he know? Only the Mother
of All—the Goddess who watched over all shifters—knew for
certain.
    The bell over the door tinkled as Tom pushed
into the bakery. Immediately, he was surrounded by the most
scrumptious scents of baking bread, honey and some kind of cheese.
He took stock of the place and realized he was the only customer
this early in the day. Only one of the sisters was there, working
in the back.
    That would be the middle sister, he’d been
told. She worked the morning shift, and her name was Ashley Baker.
The irony of the Baker sisters owning a bakery had struck Tom as
suspicious when he’d first seen their application, but he’d done
thorough background checks on all three women, and they really were
named Baker and had been since their birth.
    The blonde woman came out from behind one of
the ovens, wiping her hands on her apron as she greeted him. She
took up her position behind the counter with a brisk sort of
efficiency, and Tom was struck momentarily dumb when she
smiled.
    “Good morning,” she said brightly. “What can
I get for you?”
    Sonuva… Tom’s bear sat up and wanted to
roar. It liked the woman.
    Hell, it more than liked her. It was
thinking mate .
    No way.
    Tom cleared his throat, realizing the woman
was looking at him strangely. She’d asked him something…
    Oh, yeah. She wanted to know why he was
there. He stuck his hand out over the counter with a jerky
movement.
    “Hi, I’m Tom. Tom Masdan.”
    Smooth, buddy. Real smooth. Tom
grimaced inwardly at his own awkwardness.
    She wiped her hand once more and took his
for a brisk shake. She was eyeing him with a sort of amused
wariness as she looked more closely at him.
    “You’re the town lawyer. I recognize your
name from the contracts we signed when we moved in.”
    His turn to talk. Dammit. He wasn’t ready
for this. He’d been caught completely flat-footed by the woman. His
discomfort turned to anger as he shook her hand. Anger at himself,
for being such a dork.
    Then he got lost in the feel of her soft
skin against his palm. She was delicate and womanly, and her hand
held a faint grit of powder. Probably flour, he reasoned with the
small part of his brain that was still functioning.
    She was looking at him strangely again. Oh,
yeah. He was supposed to say something.
    “Yeah, uh…” He cleared his throat as she
withdrew her hand, and he had to let her go. He didn’t want to let
her go, but he couldn’t very well drag her over the top of the
counter by her fingertips, now, could he? “Yes. I’m the
lawyer.”
    Also, apparently, he was an idiot. Stating
the obvious. He mentally kicked himself and cleared his throat
again, looking around the bakery, searching for something to say
that wouldn’t make him appear even stupider. Breathing in the
delicious aromas, he was struck with inspiration.
    “So, uh, what are you baking back there? It
smells really good.”
    She smiled again. He’d said the right
thing.
    “I’ve got one oven full of artisanal breads,
a tray of honey buns, and I’m just putting the finishing touches on
some cheese danish. Any of that strike your fancy? The danish are
delish.” Was she teasing him or was this her normal manner? He
couldn’t be sure, having stayed far away from the Baker sisters
since they’d moved