“I hate you.”
“Noted. Now talk.”
“Fine.” I throw up my hands. “I was going to set up a booby trap. One of those trip wire things where the rope will wrap around your ankle and pull you up into the air. I wasn’t going to release you until you agreed to a truce. A real one.”
He stares at me, very intensely, for several long moments. His upper lip twitches, then he bursts out laughing. He laughs so long and hard he falls over.
“It would have worked.”
“You don’t even know what it’s called.” He pulls himself out of the snow, wiping tears from his eyes with his gloved hands.
“I don’t need to know what it’s called for it to work.” I consider dodging him while he’s still laughing and stealing his snowmobile, but I don’t actually know how to drive it.
He crosses his arms over his chest and rocks back on his heels, which are sinking into the snow at an alarming rate. “First, you’d need some sort of pulley system, do you have one of those?”
“No, but I—”
“You wouldn’t be able to lift me off the ground without one. Second, there’s snow on the ground, Demon. I would see your tracks all around this booby trap and I’d see where you sunk the rope under the snow.”
“I was going to sweep the snow and—”
“Wouldn’t work. You got lost in the woods and had to be rescued for a plan that was never going to work in the first place. Was it worth it?”
I think the plan could have worked, but he makes valid points. I might have gone in way over my head with this one. “Knowing that you’re never going to let me forget that you had to save me, it’s definitely not worth it. Any chance we can call a truce?”
He rubs his chin like he’s honestly considering it. “Unlikely. Come on, let’s get you home.”
I follow him to the snowmobile and take the second helmet when he offers it to me. I pause before putting it on. “What’s the story with the Holly tree? How’d you know where to find me?”
He stops, helmet in hand, and looks over at the majestic, colorful tree. “That tree’s a bit of a legend. It doesn’t belong here and yet it somehow thrives. No one knows where it came from or who planted it, but it’s been here for decades. Some people believe it’s good luck, some people believe it’s bad. I have no idea how you even found it. None of the trails go past it.”
“But I was on a trail. I was definitely following a trail.”
He snorts. “You were following a deer trail, Demon. It’s possible a few locals have trekked out to the tree recently, though it’s against town regs to take any berries or branches. Either way, you were definitely not following the trail. Hadn’t been for several miles, I’d say.”
That’s disheartening. I pull on the helmet and get on the snowmobile behind him. Thank goodness there’s a handle on either side of my seat, so I don’t have to wrap my arms around his waist.
I scoot as far back as I can and hold my breath as he puts on his helmet and gets on without looking back at me.
He takes off and I grip the bars tight, trying my damnedest not to slide forward and touch him. It’s a lost cause. He goes down a slight incline and I slide forward enough that our thighs touch. We’re both wearing snow pants. I shouldn’t be bothered by this at all, but for some reason, being in Garrick’s space feels intimate, even when it shouldn’t.
I hate that I’m attracted to him, but I can’t make it stop. My body is a fucking traitor.
We bounce up onto a packed trail, clearly one designed for snowmobiles, and the flatter terrain allows me to scoot away from him. It’s not enough.
It feels like days before he parks in front of his headquarters and I feel like I’ve been hugging him for all that time, even though we barely touched. It’s the first time he’s done anything even remotely nice for me, and it’s too much.
I hop off the back of the snowmobile and shove my helmet at him. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
I’m around the front of the building and staring at a small parking lot that doesn’t contain my vehicle when I remember I didn’t park here.
It’s only a five-mile walk home. I can make it.
More likely, I’ll get lost and need him to rescue me again. I turn slowly and walk back over to him. He’s standing next to the snowmobile, waiting, clearly aware of what I’ve just figured out.
I clear my throat and stare up at the overcast sky. Maybe one of his employees would give me a ride to my car.
“Need something, Demon?”
