The kitchen isn’t the only thing heating up this winter…

Tiffany Black, culinary artist and owner of Beary Sweets Café, is determined to make this year’s Winter Solstice celebration one to remember. Especially since it will also be the mating ceremony for her brother, Anthony, and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Connie. She wants everything to be perfect. Unfortunately, you can’t always get what you want. When she falls off a ladder in her café and breaks her ankle, she fears her plans are doomed. Until the sexy bear Healer, Holt, comes to the rescue—stirring up more than just recipes.

Mating has never been at the top of Holt’s to-do list, and he’s known Tiffany all her life. So when the mating urge slams into him after mending her ankle, he’s taken aback—unsure and intrigued at the same time. The girl he watched grow up is now a curvy, sensual woman, and his bear wants to claim her. He wants to claim her.

The stubborn female refuses to follow Healer’s orders and allow her ankle to heal, and she’s hell-bent on catering the winter celebrations. In order to do what needs to be done, she insists that he help her. Since it gives him an excuse to stay by her side, he’s all right with that. As they work side by side to make the Solstice unforgettable, their passions ignite, and things turn utterly delicious.

Nothing says holiday like fresh baked goods, and lots of party foods. No one makes them better than Tiffany and when a storm threatens, she decides to move everything from Beary Sweets to her home. She doesn’t want the food to be stuck far away from the Winter Celebrations of Solstice and Matings.

In the process of moving things to the truck she spots the cake topper she thought she misplaced, out of her reach so she climbs up falls and breaks her ankle.  Shouldn’t be too big a deal Holt will fix her up and she’ll be good as new.

Only Holt doesn’t do a quick heal and quickly finds himself recruited to help. All it takes is a kiss that he’s not sure how happened and he’s fleeing the scene. Leaving Tiffany feeling hurt and rejected thinking he doesn’t feel the mating pull.

That all changes the next day after completing the prep for the next day’s celebration. Tiffany’s Mom takes Kaylee off for the rest of the day, leaving Holt and Tiffany alone. Subtle they aren’t, but they are shifters after all. This was a favorite scene.

Instead of picking up the crutch, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the sofa. “Want anything to eat?”

“Yes, please. There are pre-portioned meals in the freezer.”

He frowned, not at all liking the idea of her dieting. “What for?”

Tiffany laughed. “I get so busy working on new recipes and with the day-to-day at the café, that when I settle down, I’m too tired to cook. So, once a week I cook all my meals for the week and freeze them.”

His cheeks heated with embarrassment. “I’m sorry…”

She pressed a finger to his lips and gave him a smile that made his pants uncomfortable. “Shush. Go warm us up something to eat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Before he straightened, he leaned in and kissed her. Pleasure exploded across his senses. When their tongues touched, a shot of electrified energy blasted through him.

Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. A soft sigh escaped Tiffany. “If you have no intentions to claim me as your mate, you need to leave.”

What? He drew back, confused, and stared into her blue gaze. “Trust me, I have every intention, but I thought you needed time. That we needed time to…I don’t know, date or something.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip briefly before replying. “Dating is for humans. We’ve known each other all my life, even became friends. There’s no one else I’d rather be mated to.”

He scooped her up and proceeded down the hall, thoughts of food forgotten.

Now we can’t have everything go smoothly even at the holidays so the storm has to throw some wrenches into the mix. Not enough to spoil the ceremonies but enough to cause some angst.

Lots of love, laughter and very few tears. A perfect holiday read.

5 Contented Purrs for Lia!

Lia Davis

In 2008, Lia Davis ventured into the world of writing and publishing and never looked back. She has published more than twenty books, including the bestselling A Tiger’s Claim, book one in her fan favorite Ashwood Falls series. Her novels feature compassionate yet strong alpha heroes who know how to please their women and her leading ladies are each strong in their own way. No matter what obstacle she throws at them, they come out better in the end.

While writing was initially a way escape from real world drama, Lia now makes her living creating worlds filled with magic, mystery, romance, and adventure so that others can leave real life behind for a few hours at a time.Lia’s favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties. . She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers, but it’s her home and she loves it!

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