by Elena Aitken
She opened her eyes but didn’t move away from his embrace. He still had those dark sunglasses on, but she didn’t need to see his eyes to feel them on her. He looked straight into her soul and she was more than happy to let him in.
After a moment, she blinked and noticed for the first time that the women who’d been flocking around Cyrus a moment ago, the ones she’d made the split-second decision to save him from, were gone. It was just the two of them in the middle of the concourse, as if there were no one else in the world.
Her bear practically purred deep inside her, content to be right there without a care in the world. Like making her flight.
Her flight!
Natalia spun around and looked at the gate where, only minutes earlier, the flight to Montana had just started to board. Or had it been longer than that? How much time had passed while she’d been standing there with Cyrus Steele? Kissing Cyrus Steele.
“Thank you,” he said after a moment.
She couldn’t help but notice that he still made no move to remove his arm from around her. And she was definitely not in a hurry for it to go anywhere, either.
“For the kiss? Or for saving you from a pack of rabid fans?”
His lips twitched up in the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. A panty-dropping smile. Damn. No wonder this man was on everyone’s hot list. He was fire.
“Both. And I don’t even know my wife’s name.”
“Natalia.” It seemed stupid to offer her hand when they’d already kissed. They were a little beyond handshakes. “Natalia Jackson.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Natalia. Cyrus Steele, but I get the feeling you already knew that.”
She shrugged. People started to move around them as a newly arrived plane began to disembark. “We should get out of the way.” Natalia took her new husband’s hand and led him to the side as an announcement called over the loudspeaker.
“Now seating section two on flight AA3543 to Bozeman, Montana.”
Reflexively, Natalia glanced back at her gate.
“Your flight?”
She nodded. There was no point lying. “Where are you headed?” It suddenly seemed very important to know and the thought of him walking away from her, never to be seen again, seemed unthinkable.
“New York.”
“Why do I get the impression you’re not excited about that?”
“I’d rather be in the mountains than a city.” He tipped his head.
And in that moment, he looked so sad and vulnerable that, for the first time, Natalia actually felt sorry for him. He may be a poor little rich boy but he sure didn’t seem very happy about it.
“Come with me.” The words came out of her mouth before she could think about what she was actually saying or, more importantly, what they would really mean.
“To Montana?”
She nodded, an idea taking shape. “To my cousin’s place. Grizzly Ridge.”
“Grizzlies.” He grinned. “I knew it.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Kodiak.”
She wasn’t surprised he was a shifter; she could sense it. And his scent. He smelled of mountains and snow despite the fact that he’d obviously just spent some time in the tropical sun. Only shifters had such strong scents. But it did take her off guard that he was a Kodiak. She’d never met one before. And she told him so.
“Well, I’m glad to be your first. What’s Grizzly Ridge?”
He slipped the dark glasses from his face, and her breath literally caught in her throat. His eyes were absolutely magnetic. The photo on the cover of the magazine that was now tucked in her bag simply didn’t do them justice. They were the color of a glacier. So blue that if she hadn’t seen them for herself, she wouldn’t even believe that color could exist. Beyond the color, mischief sparkled in his gaze, and he winked at her.
“An eco-lodge in the Montana mountains. My cousins own it and run it and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s become very popular, but sometimes they don’t take any guests so we can have a family celebration.”
“Like for Thanksgiving?”
“Exactly.”
“And you’re inviting me?”
“Well, you kind of owe me.”
His eyes widened with surprise and laughter. “I owe you?”
“For saving your ass back there.”
He nodded. There was no way he could deny that. “So, for payback, you want me to come to Thanksgiving dinner?”
Her smile was sly, her idea fully formulated. It was perfect. She’d get to spend more time with Cyrus and it would get her family off her back about all of the setups they had for her. “Not exactly.”
He tilted his head and leaned in to her as one of the women from earlier walked by. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck. So close that she felt his gasp of surprise when she told him what it was exactly that she did want.
“I need you to be my boyfriend.”
“You need me to be what?”
He lowered his voice almost at once, but not in time to avoid a few heads turning their way.
“Look, it’s nothing,” she said. But they both knew it wasn’t nothing. Cyrus didn’t know what it was, but there was definitely something between them. “My family is all over me about finding a mate and maybe if they think I’m happy with you, they’ll back off.”
There was a lot Cyrus wanted to say in reaction to that. He was pretty sure no one would have to think she was happy with him. She would be. That was for sure. “You don’t want a mate?” The question felt suddenly very important. “So you just want to throw them off the track?” It wasn’t uncommon for female bear shifters to not want to take a mate for a variety of reasons. Often, clans—particularly grizzly clans—would dictate mates for the female shifters in an effort to keep the bloodline pure and to ensure future generations of shifters. He wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that was Natalia’s story.
“No.” She shook her head, surprising him yet again. The woman was absolutely full of surprises. “It’s not that. I do want a mate.” Her words filled him with an entirely unexpected happiness. “Someday,” she added. “What I don’t want is to be set up with a whole series of my cousins’ friends who they think will be absolutely perfect.” She used her fingers to make air quotes. “And that’s why I need you.”
“Now boarding all remaining guests for flight AA3543 to Bozeman, Montana.”
Natalia looked over his shoulder toward the gate. “I’m running out of time.” Her eyes met his and, for a moment, he was lost. “Are you coming or not?”
He had to be in New York in two days for meetings. Always, meetings. If he let her get on that flight, he might never see her again. And that seemed suddenly far more unbearable than sitting for hours in a skyscraper, wearing an uncomfortable suit, nodding and smiling at a room full of people who just wanted to kiss his ass.
“Okay.” He grinned so widely that his cheeks ached from the effort.
How long had it been since he’d smiled so much?
Weeks? Months? Years maybe. And in the span of only a few minutes, he’d smiled more than he had in recent memory.
“You’ll come?” She bounced a little and the innocent action caused Cyrus’s bear to roar a little in his chest. She wore leggings and a button-up, slightly oversized blouse, with her dark hair in a twist on the top of her head. She was dressed for traveling, but she was absolutely the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen, and when she smiled like that…breathtaking.
“I’ll come.” He nodded.
“Can we get you a ticket in time?”
He loved that she didn’t even ask about New York, as if she’d sensed that he didn’t want to go there in the first place and once again she was rescuing him. Which she most definitely was.
“I’m not worried about that.” He took her hand in his and together they moved quickly first to the gate, where a very brief conversation with a very star-struck flight attendant informed him that the flight was, in fact, not full. Cyrus winked at her and asked her very n
icely to hold the flight for a few minutes while he sorted out a ticket, a request she gladly agreed to in exchange for an autograph.
Less than ten minutes later, Cyrus had purchased a first-class ticket in the seat next to Natalia’s. The fact that she was flying first class and traveling alone was one he found very interesting, just like most things about this woman he’d just met.
“You can make anything happen, can’t you?” Natalia laughed as they toasted with their complimentary champagne once they were seated.
“I could say the same about you,” he replied after taking a sip of the bubbly. “After all, you’re the one who got me on this plane.”
“True.” She tipped her glass at him. “I guess I am pretty incredible.”
“I’ll toast to that!”
Chapter Three
It never failed. Every single time Natalia drove through the Montana mountains on her way home, an overwhelming sense of peace came over her.
Even now, with her instincts going crazy, and every nerve in her body on high alert with the most incredibly sexy, ridiculously wealthy and—as the last few hours on the plane had taught her—hilarious and interesting man sitting next to her, being back in the mountains, only a few moments away from her home, had still managed to work some magic.
She did have one quick moment where she wondered whether she was being completely crazy asking Cyrus to be her boyfriend for the weekend, but it was only the briefest of moments. And then, as quickly as it had come, the moment of doubt was gone. Being with Cyrus was natural and easy—and never mind the insane connection between them. That was something she was absolutely going to have to explore a little deeper.
The idea of exploring anything a little bit deeper with Cyrus had Natalia momentarily distracted as she navigated the rental Jeep down the dirt road.
“That sign said Grizzly Ridge.” Cyrus pointed out the window as she drove directly past the exit that would take her up to the ridge. “I thought you said you knew where you were going?” He laughed and winked in her direction as she pulled the vehicle to the side of the road so she could turn around. Natalia had insisted that she drive because he was technically her guest and of course because she knew where she was going.
“I can’t help it if I’m a little distracted.”
She might as well be honest with him. Because as much as she enjoyed his company and found it easy, it was also incredibly hard. Because they’d only shared one kiss, a kiss that hadn’t even been real, and she could not stop thinking about it. To say she was distracted was an understatement.
His hand slipped across the seat between them and rested on top of hers. Like everything so far with this man, his touch was both electric and calming at the same time.
“Do I distract you?”
She twisted in her seat so she faced him. “Probably about as much as I’m distracting you.”
His laugh was quick and hearty. “You got me there.”
She turned his hand in hers and squeezed. “Are you ready for this?”
“For sitting in a Jeep in the middle of nowhere?” He nodded seriously. “Yes.”
Nat couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. “You are pretty trusting.”
Cyrus made a production of looking around. They really were in the middle of nowhere. “I am,” he said. “And I’m also ready for this. I don’t think it’s going to be a very hard job at all to pretend to be your boyfriend.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest and she felt as if she were in junior high again and a cute boy had looked in her direction.
“You haven’t met my family.” Nat shook her head. “And their mates. They’re all…” She trailed off, unsure how to accurately describe the Jackson clan. “Well, they care a lot.”
She expected him to laugh again, but instead he just squeezed her hand and looked in her eyes. “That’s a good thing,” he said seriously. “A very good thing. Don’t worry. It’ll be a good weekend.”
She licked her lips and nodded. There was a flash of something in Cyrus’s eyes, but she swallowed back the urge to mention it. As much as she wanted his lips on hers and his hands all over her, she needed to take one thing at a time.
First, Grizzly Ridge.
“Assuming you remember how to get there, that is,” Cyrus added with another wink.
“Smart ass.”
“You have no idea.”
Natalia shook her head, slipped her hand away from his, and spun the car around to take the proper turn off to the ridge. “Here we go.”
A few minutes later, they pulled into a parking spot in front of the large log-framed main building, dubbed the Den. Grizzly Ridge consisted of a clustering of log buildings and cabins, with the biggest main building being the Den. It had the kitchen, main dining room, large living room, and a handful of guest rooms. It was where most of the gatherings took place. Across the yard was the adventure center where all the snowshoes, cross-country skis, mountain bikes, and other toys were kept. Throughout the property were more and more little private cabins. Aside from having some guest cabins to rent, almost all of Nat’s cousins, and now her brother Ryker, had their own personal cabins scattered among the trees.
She had to admit, maybe one day when she was done traveling, settling down in a place like Grizzly Ridge would be pretty appealing. She’d never been there in the winter before, and now that they were approaching the end of November, there was a thick coating of snow on everything, lending an even more magical quality to the ridge, just like her childhood home in Jackson Valley.
They’d barely had a chance to get out of the car and gather their things when the heavy wooden doors of the Den flew open and a handful of people ran out to the porch.
“You’re here!”
“She’s here!”
“I told you she’d come.”
Nat couldn’t help but laugh, especially when the next thing she heard was one of the women say, “Who’s that with her?”
Next to her, Cyrus didn’t look at all fazed as he grabbed the bags from the back and asked, “Ready, my love?”
It was too easy to pretend to be Natalia’s boyfriend.
Not that Cyrus expected it to be difficult in any way. Why would it be? She was stunning, smart, fun, sexy, and every single time she looked at him with those sultry eyes, it took all the willpower he could muster not to take her up against the wall.
No, it would definitely not be difficult to be her boyfriend. Or, more specifically, to pretend to be her boyfriend.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him as the barrage of questions continued.
“We didn’t know that Nat was seeing someone.”
“Where did you meet?”
“How long have you been together?”
“Is it serious?”
They both handled the questions easily, as they’d rehearsed some of the details on the flight. Nat was pretty sure her family would want to know everything and thought they’d come up with a plausible story. Mostly they’d tried to keep it simple and stick as close to the truth as possible.
“It’s still new.”
“At the airport in the Bahamas.”
“We’re still getting to know each other.”
“We’re waiting to see where it goes.”
The last answer wasn’t one that they’d rehearsed, but Cyrus wasn’t willing to commit either way. After all, they’d only known each other less than twenty-four hours, so if you went by time, it wasn’t serious. But if your level of measurement was the way his bear was trying to break free and take her up to one of the guest rooms, where he could throw her onto the bed and get to know her exactly the way he wanted to, then yes—it was serious. Very serious.
“Cyrus, let me grab you a beer and show you around the ridge.” The man he’d been introduced to as Axel, the alpha of the ridge, waved him over to the bar at the far side of the room where a cluster of men stood.
They’d already done the massive round of introductions, and Cyrus w
as almost sure that as good as he was with names, he was going to screw one or two of them up before the end of the weekend. One of the women, Nina, had recognized him right away, which led to a new, but not unexpected, round of questions. And although no one was asking for autographs, he recognized the star-struck look in a few of the women.
As nice as everyone was, the idea of escaping for a few moments, especially with a cold beer in hand, was appealing.
“Thanks.” He tipped the bottle toward Axel and took a sip of the cold liquid. “I needed this.”
Axel laughed and led him out to the porch. “I thought as much. Meeting a group of clan members like this all at once can’t be much fun. And with Nat, well, she’s our little cousin, which means she’s like a little sister to me.”
With almost any other man, there would have been an implied threat in Axel’s words. And although there was no mistaking the seriousness of the man’s tone, in no way did Cyrus feel anything but acceptance from him.
“I get it.” Cyrus nodded and lifted his beer. “And I appreciate your protectiveness. I think if I had sisters, I’d feel exactly the same way.”
Axel tapped bottles with him and they drank deeply before he said, “Now, it might be a different story when you meet Ryker later. He’s her actual brother.” He laughed, but Cyrus couldn’t be sure whether he was serious or not.
Instead of asking, he figured it wouldn’t be long before he’d find out for himself, so he went with Axel on the tour of the ridge and the outbuildings. Thirty minutes later, the tour finished, they leaned against the benches in the adventure center and cracked a new bottle of beer. Axel’s brothers Luke and Kade, and their sister’s mate, Nash—who he was surprised to find out was a wolf shifter—joined them as well.
“You’ve got a great place up here,” Cyrus said honestly. “It reminds me of home in a lot of ways.”