“This is perfectly safe.The ranch is in a remote area.And I bought it out.”
She stood frozen in place for too long, then finally gave me a nod.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”It was hard to read her expression with her eyes obscured by the shade of the cap’s bill.“I’m not one for breaking the rules either.But after you mentioned it, I wanted to make it happen.I would never knowingly put you in danger.My ass is on the line too.”
She stiffened.“So you’ve said.”
Touché.
“You’re the boss.Tell me what you want to do.”
“I’d really like to go,” she said softly.“But I hate to admit I’m scared.It’s a piss-poor reason not to do something.”
“These guys won’t win.”Before I realized what I was doing, I reached for her hand.
Her gaze fell to it before I had a chance to pull it back and pretend it never happened.It wasn’t professional at all, but it felt right.And it didn’t matter why we were here, I liked Kayla.Not just because she was my favorite actress or because she was fucking breathtaking, but because I enjoyed spending time with her.Being trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with one other person was usually my idea of torture, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d be sad to see this arrangement end.
She took it.Her skin was velvety soft against mine, which was rough and calloused.But her grip was firm and sure.Electricity surged through me on contact.
“They won’t win.”She met my gaze, and no shadows could hide the fire in her eyes.
We walked to the SUV.It wasn’t mine, and it had been switched out several times.The only time I’d used it was to pick up deliveries, and I’d used different routes each time.I’d have to make sure it was switched out again after this trip.
How are you going to explain that to Barrett?my bear asked.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to.But hope was a lousy strategy, and I had to keep my head in the game if I was going to keep this woman safe.
ChapterSeven
Kayla
This was risky, and I should’ve said no.Stayed in the cabin like a good little wolf.But I’d done what I was told so many times—kept quiet, been polite, professional, put my image first, tried to be the bigger person.
It hadn’t worked, so fuck that.
When this protective bear who fought fires to battle boredom said he’d keep me safe, I believed him.Just like I’d believed all those other people who’d wronged me.
It’s different this time, my wolf reassured me.He’s not like them.
More than anything, I wanted to believe that.Not that this crush could go anywhere.My heart just needed to know there were still decent shifters left on this earth.
“It’s really beautiful here,” I said, combating the silence.That was one thing I noticed about Sawtooth Forest as soon as the dust settled.The quiet.But this was a different kind of quiet.Beau had a presence no matter where he went.His vibration sang.But now, it had gone almost still.The only movements were his fingers drumming against the steering wheel and the occasional glance at me, like he thought I was made of glass and I could break at any moment.
“I’ve been here for about six months, and it still takes my breath away.”
I waited for him to add more, but he didn’t.
“Where did you live before?”
“I was in the Navy, so I was all over the place.Wherever the assignment took us.But I was born and raised in Wyoming,” he said proudly.
“Is your family still there?”I had so many questions.
“Just my mom.”His whole being lit up.“She wound up leaving our clan and finding a place for us on the outskirts of Yellowstone.There’s a mixed shifter community there.Ones who didn’t fit in anywhere else.In their human forms, some of them work as park rangers.Others run restaurants and some of the cabins, kind of like ours.It was a great place to grow up.”
“Would you ever go back there?”It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why they left, but it seemed like their adoptive clan was better than what they had left behind.
He turned to me, his eyes glittering.“To visit, absolutely.But I needed something bigger.”
