She shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she watches me. I can tell her brain is turning. I wish I could peer inside to see what she’s thinking.
“Come and stay at my place tonight,” she finally says. “It’s nice and warm. I’ll get you something to eat. You can have a hot shower.”
I shake my head, immediately dismissing that idea. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I sigh as I run my hand through my hair. “Because I would never put you in that kind of danger.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” she says defiantly. “I know he would never hurt me.”
“I appreciate it, but you don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“I want to learn. I felt his intentions when I came in here and pet him. He’s not vicious with me.”
“What about your neighbors, though? Who’s going to stop him when your neighbor’s TV sends him into a vicious rampage?”
She exhales as she looks at me with sad eyes. “So, you’re just going to stay out here in the cold?”
I shrug. What can I say? “It’s what I’ve done all these years. Leaving is too dangerous. I don’t trust him around anyone.”
“Do you trust him around me?”
“I don’t even trust myself around you.”
“What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath as I stare at her beautiful face. Her lips are pulled into a straight line and her forehead is scrunched up. Even when she’s worried, she looks stunning.
“My feelings for you are… intense to say the least. If I was a weaker man, I’d tie you to a tree and never let you leave.”
Her lips soften as she looks at me. “It’s okay, Adrian. My feelings are pretty intense too.”
The sound of my name on her lips rocks me. It staggers me. It fills me with a comforting warmth unlike I’ve ever felt before.
“You know my name?”
“Jane and Zoe told me,” she says. “Do you want to know mine?”
“More than anything.”
“I’m Courtney Gibbs. I teach kindergarten at the school in town. That was my class that was here this afternoon.”
“And the kid? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“Not too traumatized?”
“Actually, he quite enjoyed telling the story to anyone who would listen. He felt like the bravest kid in the world.”
“You’re the brave one. You stepped right in front of my bear to protect him.”
“Yeah, well… I didn’t want to have to call his parents to tell them that he was eaten by a bear,” she says with a laugh.
“It’s no joke,” I tell her. “It’s amazing. You’re a real hero. Not many people would have done what you did.”
She starts to blush and the sight of pink in her cheeks sends a jolt straight to my cock. I try to push the dirty thoughts away so I don’t get hard and ruin the moment.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asks after a while.
“I don’t get cold,” I tell her. “But you look freezing.”
She raises her shoulders and shivers. “A little bit.”
“You should go.”
She steps back, looking hurt. “You want me to?”
“No!” I snap. “I just… It’s been so long since I’ve talked to another person. I don’t always find the right words.”
She steps toward me again. “That’s okay. I’m on your side, Adrian.”
I swallow hard as I wonder how I could get so lucky. This girl is a dream.
“I don’t want you staying out here in the cold dark woods for me. You deserve better than this.” I hold up my arms as I look around at the trees.
“I don’t mind it here,” she says as she steps close enough to touch. She reaches out and takes my hand. The feeling of her soft skin on mine makes my breath quicken. It makes my heart do flips in my chest. “As long as you’re here, it’s pretty nice.”
“Okay,” I say as I hold her hand, not knowing what else to do. “Maybe ten more minutes.”
“If you’re staying here all night,” she says defiantly. “Then so am I.”
“You want to sleep out here?” My mouth drops open in shock.
She nods. “I want to stay with you.”
I look around at my paltry home. I have nothing out here to offer a girl like her and yet, she wants to stay. She’s fucking incredible.
I do have a house on the ranch, although it’s been rundown for years. There’s probably at least a few animals living inside it, so I don’t want to bring her there.
“Wait here,” I tell her. “I’ll be right back.”
She looks around nervously as I drop her hand. “Are there any animals to worry about? Wolves or mountain lions?”
“No,” I say, trying not to laugh. “They know better than to come near my crazy territorial bear. The place is clear. I could smell anything if it wasn’t.”
“Okay,” she says in a whisper. “I trust you.”
She shouldn’t, but she does. I think she’s the only person on the planet who trusts me.
“I won’t be long.”
Without another word, I sprint out of the woods as fast as I can, flying over the valley in record time. The lights are still on in my brothers’ cabins, which means they’re awake. It’s been so long since I’ve been out here in the open. It feels eery to be so exposed.
It hits me while running that my bear is oddly quiet. He’s not thrashing around, snarling, and trying to break free. He’s letting me live in peace. He’s letting me breathe.
I head right to Cameron’s cabin. There’s talking, music, and laughter coming from it.
I bound up the steps and open the door. Cameron, Julian, Logan, and two girls I don’t recognize are sitting at the table playing poker. They all gasp as they turn to me.
“Who’s that?” one of the girls asks as she jumps up from her chair.
“Adrian?!” Cameron gasps as he stares at me in shock.
All of them are gaping at me with open mouths and wide eyes like a ghost just walked into the room.
I don’t want to explain to them what’s going on. I just want to get back to Courtney as quickly as possible. Animals or not, I don’t like the thought of her in the woods all by herself. The protectiveness I feel toward my mate is already kicking in.
“Where’s the tent?” I ask them in my raspy voice.
They just stare as the music plays in the background.
“The tent,” I snap. “Where is it?”
“In the garage,” Julian quickly says.
I burst out of the room and into the garage as one of the girls says, “That’s Adrian?”
It doesn’t take long to spot the camping gear on a high shelf. I grab the tent, some padding, a couple of blankets, and on my way out, I spot a pair of old faded jeans hanging over a sawhorse. I snatch those too and throw them on.
I chuckle to myself as I run back to the forest with the gear, imagining what my brothers and those girls are thinking.
“I’m here,” I say as I duck under branches and arrive back at my mate’s side. “Were you okay?”