title: Taste of Spice
author: Mane, Chrysta
description: A park ranger's call about a bruised child was nothing out of the ordinary for the local medical clinic. Then Doctor Andrew Prentiss got an eyeful of the ranger and almost lost all common sense. Taller than average, curvy in all the right places - even under the nondescript Park Service uniform - the female ranger, inexplcaibly, did what no other woman had before. Called to him on a subliminal level that sent his inner black bear into a frenzy. MATE, it roared incessantly. Andrew couldn't believe it. Forever a firm believer in Fate, now thirty-eight he'd begun to think a mate of his own was not in the cards. But here she was. The one Fate picked for solely for him. Only problem with that, the female in question made it abundantly clear she was against the idea, though refused to explain why. Andrew refused to be deterred. She was his forever mate, as he was hers. Somehow, someway, he'd convince her the risk was worth it.  Park Ranger Kendall Humphrey fled the place of her birth and the gut-wrenching knowledge she'd been the cause of her mother's untimely death. If the childhood loss taught her anything, it was mating and bonding resulted in extreme pain and death of loved ones. One such loss was enough for a lifetime, meaning absolutely no long-term relationships. Keep things casual was now her motto. Meeting Doc Prentiss changed everything, but she fought it tooth and nail, despite the man being tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, and way-too-Alpha. At every turn, he was in her space, making her insides go all freaky, and making no bones he lusted for her and only her. Even his new nickname for her drove her crazy, irritating like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. Who called someone by the name of a pungent spice? The man was nuts. Maybe certifiable. But he was proving inescapable. The good doctor might be smart, have a host of hidden talents, but he was also quirky beyond words. Yet, slowly his persistence wore her down, allowing the notion of a mate sink in. Dare she resist the pull, risk one of them dying, to find true love?