Page 30 of Grizzly Sleuth
Bad bear.
Very bad bear, who got an instant hard-on when she walked into the room, hair wet, skin still dewy, the wild patterned shirt—not the pink one, but a more sedate blue and green swirling mess—clung to her figure and went down mid-thigh. She’d cinched the waist with a black tie, making it into a dress.
“Where’s Yuri?”
He jerked his thumb in the direction of the yard. “Camouflaging our ride.”
“Good idea.”
Seeing the bruises already turning yellow and green, he frowned. “How’s the face?”
“Sore, but not as bad as expected.”
“We’re going to have to keep you out of sight because a beaten woman will attract attention.”
Her grimace made her lips puff out. “Last thing I need, given my face is plastered on the news channels. At least the swelling and color will make me harder to recognize.”
“Let me see if I can find a hat.”
“Find two, because you also might want to keep your face kind of covered,” she reminded as he stalked for a closet.
He found two hats, neither ballcaps. One was a knit beanie, which Svetlana snatched and jammed on her head. The other was covered in fur and had ear flaps.
“I’ll look ridiculous,” he muttered, turning it over in his hands.
“Actually, the ushanka will help you fit in. Make you look Russian,” she stated with a wide grin.
“It’s not winter.”
“Doesn’t matter. You won’t look out of place, especially if you’re wearing the matching coat.”
“Coat?”
She slipped past him and yanked on a fur jacket, pulling it from the hangar and holding it out to Idris.
His mouth rounded. “You can’t be serious.”
“Very. You’re lucky. This shade of sable fur indicates it’s from the Siberian region, making it very expensive.”
“Then you wear it.”
“It’s much too large,” she scoffed. She reached into the closet and pulled out a knitted sweater with buttons up the front. “This is more appropriate for a woman.” It hung loosely on her, but with the sleeves rolled to her wrists, the baggy fit gave the appearance of a cardigan. “Now you.”
Idris squeezed into the coat, barely managing to get it over his arms and shoulders. He definitely couldn’t button it.
“You look perfect,” she declared.
Not according to Yuri, who walked in a short while later and immediately crowed with laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You look more bear now than when you shift,” Yuri snickered.
“Oh, be quiet,” Svetlana chided. “I think he looks dashing.”
Dashing?
She smiled at him, and suddenly, he didn’t care if wearing dead fur felt wrong.
