by J. K Harper
Behind her, Haley nudged her back with a knee. It was the sort of nudge that said in bestie nudge-speak, “You just scored! Holy shit he's hot!”
Uh-huh, Pix thought to herself. Uh-huh, whoa yeah crazy hot, yep. Nothing else super intelligible materialized in her brain other than that. That, and something mysterious and intriguing that made her dragon pay very focused attention to him.
Slowly, one corner of the guy’s very appealing mouth curled up into a puzzled smile. “Damn. That was pretty good aim for not looking where you were tossing a drink.” His voice rumbled into her, making her insides flip and squeeze in excitement as little tingles raced with speedy shivers up and down her spine. Still looking right into her eyes, his grin slowly tucked up the other corner of his mouth. The longer she looked at him, the more the grin pulled up his entire mouth, finally lighting his face into something even more ridiculously good-looking and, well, rugged. She could tell he didn't smile like that often. He had the dangerous aura of a predator always on the lookout for trouble.
But really, he should smile more often. She liked it.
Mr. Rugged ’n Sexy gestured at his forest-green plaid button up shirt, which sported the wet splash of her drink across one damned well-defined pec that bulged through the flannel material. “This thing’s old. You can toss all the drink you want on it. But if you’d hit my boots, sweetheart, then we would've had a problem.”
Despite her lingering chagrin at being a drink-tosser, Pix couldn't stop her burst of laughter. She glanced down at his feet. They were clad in work boots of some sort, scuffed up and dirty and definitely covered with way worse things than just booze.
She looked back up at him and let her bold inner flirt come out. “We wouldn't want that. They definitely look like they’re in way better shape than your shirt. I mean, those are some clean, tidy boots you have right there.”
Now the guy laughed, a rumble just as deep as his voice. Pix felt completely at ease, even though something deep and real still shivered inside her from the look they'd exchanged. Her dragon, usually fierce and ready to swoop into whatever action was going on, wasn't battering at Pix’s brain the way she normally would, either. She stayed silently fascinated deep within, watching the man through Pix's eyes as he extended a large hand in her direction. "Beckett North at your service, beautiful."
Feeling a tingling pink paint itself across her cheeks just from the sound of his voice, Pix stuck out her own hand, watching as it was swallowed up by his. His grasp was firm, warm, and had just enough electricity that she could feel it sizzle through her. Yeah, she liked this guy touching her. Beckett. Beckett North. She liked that, too. The name fit him.
“Pix Camden.” She sounded a little breathy. Shameless flirt. Happy to flirt with him. Ooh, yeah, he was sexy. Sexy man. Interesting man. Unlike any man she'd ever met before. That sounded dramatic, but it was true. This man was nothing like the men she'd grown up with. The dominating kind she'd fled.
Beckett North nodded at her. Then a super serious look dropped over his face, making it hard and craggy and ferocious in a way she felt all the way down to her lady bits. "It's nice to meet you, Pix," he said in that deep voice. It soothed over her nerves, both electrifying and calming them at once.
The dragon heat that always ran through her, sometimes ready to combust, flared high, but it felt good. Not like it would be out of control. Weirdly, it felt slightly cooled by this sexy, savage man in front of her. Or not cooled, but...handled. At ease. Like her dragon's flames were calm for once, instead of wildly out of control.
Her dragon quietly murmured within her. Quiet? Her dragon? That was a first. A really big first in the history of all big firsts.
Now Pix was more than a goner. She was lost, completely and utterly lost in his fierce gaze, the strength of his voice, the certainty in his grip on her hand.
She nodded, her grin beginning to get dorkily big and goofy on her face. "Yes," she said softly. “Beckett. Hi.” Inside, she cringed. She wasn't usually this stupid around guys. But whoa, his shoulders and chest were broad. He was a bear of a man. That made her perk up even more. Was he a bear shifter? Probably, considering this was grizzly territory. Hmm, more and more interesting.
She was used to elitist dragon shifter prep school guys, the kind she'd gone to school with before she'd escaped those confines. They were all suave, sophisticated, and always totally uninteresting to her because all they had to fall back on was money and their family name. Yawn. Not a rugged, sexy, self-made bear shifter among them. This sexy-as-hell mountain man, who clearly was as salt-of-the-earth and no-nonsense as they came, was the most refreshing guy she'd come across in—forever. He looked realer than real. So real that the look in his eyes was making her girl parts tingle with serious interest.
Woo-eee. Her birthday week was getting better and better.
She ignored the low buzz deep inside. The nervous one. That was her old warning system, acting up out of sheer reflex. The one she'd relied upon her entire life to keep her safe. This man, she knew with a deep, unwavering instinct, was no danger to her.
Slowly, reluctantly, he let go of her hand. Looking behind her to where she could feel Haley breathing down her neck, he blinked, like he suddenly realized there were more people in the bar than just Pix. The thought warmed her. He said to Haley, "You look familiar. You live here in Deep Hollow?"
Pix turned and gestured to Haley, suddenly remembering that her best friend had been sitting there ignored. "Haley, meet Beckett North.” Oh, wow. Just saying his name out loud sounded good on her tongue. “Haley's in town housesitting for the winter. I'm here on a visit."
Haley awkwardly reached around Pix to shake Beckett's hand, though she quickly let go and leaned back. He’s all yours, she was telling Pix in silent bff speak. Besides, Haley was sort of head over heels in like with another guy. Very head over heels.
Recognition lit up Beckett's craggy face, which had become a bit ferocious when he didn't smile. "Oh! Haley. Yeah. You're the one housesitting for the Walkers."
Both Pix and Haley stared at him before Haley shook her head. "Seriously, does everyone in town know who I am? It feels like I have a neon sign on my head." She scrunched her eyebrows into a resigned frown. Poor Haley. She liked her privacy. Pix knew her friend had thought she'd be getting solitude here in a little shifter town tucked deep into the Colorado mountains.
But Beckett nodded, finally reaching to the bar top for a napkin to swipe at his gin-sloshed shirt. Pix winced slightly as he did so, shrugging at him again in apology. He waved it away, his eyes still eating her up as much as she did him even as he answered Haley. "Yeah, we all know who you are. The Walkers are the backbone of this town. That crazy old pair of lovebirds, traveling around the world like they're in their twenties.” He shook his head, but a glint was back in his eye. Glancing at Haley, he added, “You know Quentin, then.”
Haley nodded.
“Yeah.” Beckett's eyes landed back on Pix as if he couldn't help himself. “He's the housesitter contact while they're gone because he's the responsible one. Thinks he's in charge and all that. Me, I'm way better friends with his younger brother, Cortez. That guy's a daredevil."
Haley started sharply at that name, and Pix grinned to herself. Haley sure did like Cortez. A whole crazy lot. Pix was sure it was mutual.
A teasing challenge lit Beckett's expression now as he still looked straight at Pix. "I'm more of the daredevil type myself. A wild child. How about you, Pix Camden? You a wild child, too?"
Her breath caught in her throat. Behind her, Haley bumped her again, then coughed and deliberately said, "I’ll be back in a while. Gotta go to the ladies' room.”
Pix barely noticed as her friend slipped away from the bar, obviously leaving them alone to chat. She looked at Beckett. Big, sexy man. Lifting her eyebrows, she countered him with a small challenge of her own. "We just came back from a day skiing at Snow Peak. That wild child enough for you?"
Beckett barked out a laugh, all gravelly and
tough and definitely enough to make her fire roar inside. She could sense her dragon’s wings beating against her mind now, taking the challenge from this very fascinating man. He rested his strong forearms on the bar and turned his body to face Pix. "Sure is. I pegged you for the kind of girl who could handle Snow Peak."
Snow Peak was an experts-only ski area northeast of Deep Hollow. It had backcountry runs that appealed to only the most skilled, adventurous skiers. Since Pix had been skiing almost since before she could walk, Snow Peak offered the perfect challenge for her.
"You on vacation, then?" His words were idle but his eyes probed hers. Seeing if she was just temporary. Only in town for a little while. Well, that was fine. She didn't need permanent any more than he probably did. Permanent meant a gilded cage back where she came from. Permanent was something she'd been running from her entire life. Glancing down at those brawny arms of his, she decided she sure wouldn't mind at least one night spent with them wrapped around her. That, and his voice. She could get used to the sound of his voice.
One night. Yes. She could do that much, and no more.
She nodded, curving her fingers around the still cold base of her glass to cool her heated skin. "Vacation. I grew up in Boston. I've lived there my whole life, but we always went skiing. Once I found out that Colorado had way better snow and slopes than anything back east, I was hooked. I ski out here every year, though this is the first time I've ever been to Deep Hollow. I'm also celebrating my birthday. It was yesterday."
“Really?” His sudden smile was so genuine it made her feel light. “Happy birthday, Pix. How young are you now?" His fingers curved around his glass as well. Pix's mind danced with the thought that maybe he was trying to cool his own heat.
Feeling flustered and keyed up at once, she paused before answering to be sure her voice would stay steady. "Twenty-nine. I decided it needed celebrating by doing one of my favorite things, which is skiing. Two of my favorite things, if you count visiting my best friend. Which I do count." Then she shrugged a bit self-consciously. "And maybe also to prove that I'm not all washed up just because I'm almost thirty now. So ancient!"
Beckett laughed again, the baritone sound of it tickling along Pix's body in a very pleasant way. She decided she could bathe in his golden whiskey eyes and happily drown. "Hell, woman, if you're washed up now, I'm a downright fossil. I turn thirty-three a couple weeks from now."
A fossil? Oh, heck no. Thirty-three meant Beckett was a real man. An actual grown-up, hewn from the mountains, tough and real like none of the guys she'd ever before dated. Pix smiled back, letting it turn into a laugh. It felt natural to laugh around him. "Great. We can both roll through this new year like the ancient fuddy-duddies we are now."
Beckett's expression suddenly grew serious again, making Pix catch her breath. He was really damned good looking. Crazy good-looking. The whole package of rugged mountain man made her sizzling nerve endings sit up and pay attention as if they were saluting him. She could tell he didn't bullshit around. He wasn't a political maneuverer like the guys she'd grown up with, nor was he lurching around way out on the edge of nowhere, dazed and confused, peering into the abyss and wondering who the hell he was, like most of the non-dragon shifter guys she'd met ever since she broke free of the strictly regimented ways of her family's world. No, Beckett North knew exactly who he was and exactly what he wanted.
His deep voice sent mini shock waves through her sharply attuned body. "Pix the newly minted twenty-nine-year-old, that sounds like a great idea. I'd be down to help you celebrate your birthday. I think,” he said more slowly, watching her with real interest, “we should celebrate being in the prime of our lives. If you like to backcountry ski, I know a great spot up the mountain right above Deep Hollow. What do you say?"
His voice was neither overbearing nor hesitant. It was an open, direct question that allowed her to say either yes or no. She studied him for a moment longer. Well, she had a feeling he really wanted her to say yes. But he wasn't going to force it. Chalk up another reason to really like him. No pushy, overly arrogant alpha male—though she could tell he definitely had that alpha quality—he was giving her all the freedom to say yes, or to say no. Oh, she liked that. She also really liked that he knew the owners of the place Haley was housesitting. It meant they could ask around to make sure he was on the level.
Deep inside, something in her whispered that he was more than on the level. He was the real deal, through and through.
With a big smile, Pix nodded. "I'm game. Haley has to do some work tomorrow anyway. She's a writer," Pix added with pride, because she was hella proud of her bestie for that, "so she can work from anywhere. That's why the housesitting deal was such a good thing for her. Me, though? My days are free. So,” yeah, inner flirt was on a tear now, “game on for tomorrow, big guy." She watched to see how he'd react to her candor.
Beckett nodded, his eyes catching some lights in the bar and seeming to sparkle. Or maybe glow from what had to be his bear being close to the surface. "I like your enthusiasm, Pix.”
Whoa, she really liked how her name sounded in his mouth. The deep tone of his voice rolled over it like he was tasting it. He cocked his eyebrows now, like he was a little worried, although a devilish little grin still played on his firm lips. “But after a whole day skiing at Snow Peak, are you sure you can still handle another day in the backcountry? Might be kind of tough for a little thing like you."
She straightened up a bit. “Them's fighting words." Something sensuous sparked in the air between them. "You tell me when and where to meet you in the morning."
He shook his head, signaling to the bartender although he didn't take his eyes off Pix. "No way. I know where you're staying. I'll come pick you up at seven. We have to skin up the mountain a good ways to get to the best spot, but trust me. It'll be worth it."
The promise in his voice told Pix he meant more than just skiing would be worth it. She swallowed hard as the spark of heat inside her turned up even higher. Nodding, she said in a suddenly thick but firm voice, "I'm in. All the way."
The way his eyes lit up even more at her words told her how very appreciative sexy Beckett North was of her agreement. The way her whole body seemed to tingle and twang, like a musical instrument about to be played, told her how freaking amazing her birthday week was still becoming.
“Sounds good.” He leaned a little closer, his eyes holding hers and feeling comfortable despite the intensity. “It'll be my pleasure to show you around my mountain, pretty little badass Pix Camden.”
She smiled back at him, feeling slightly breathless as the fire licked through her. She was pretty sure the pleasure of Beckett North's company would be all hers. For one day, and maybe one night. But after that, Pix Camden would be rolling on. That's what she did. Sexy, rugged guy notwithstanding, she couldn't stay here forever. Pix had a mission to stay footloose and fancy-free—and nothing and no one, not even a really interesting man like Beckett, could keep her from it.
Unless, something deep and quiet and oddly certain whispered inside her, he was the one man who could.
2
Beckett North kept glancing at the crazy hot woman next to him, wondering how he'd gotten so lucky to meet her. His bear softly snorted within him, a dark breath of barely controlled energy locked deep inside. Beckett frowned and firmly leashed his hot-headed animal. Not fucking now, damn it. He shook off his bear's edgy pacing inside him and made himself focus on the simple, easy pleasure of this moment.
He and Pix—such a cute name for such a cute little thing—had puffed their way up to his favorite backcountry runs on the mountain, laughing and talking the whole time. He'd already laughed more times since last night than he usually did in an entire month. Pix was in killer good shape, easily able to keep up with him. Skinning up a mountain, or walking up with special “skins” covering their skis so as not to slide back down, was the price avid backcountry skiers paid to enjoy a winter paradise few others would ever experience. He knew sexy little Pi
x could ski like a pro, since she said she’d skied at Snow Peak, but huffing it up an alpine mountain on foot, at elevation, was another thing entirely. Frankly, he was impressed.
He wasn't usually into small women—being a bear shifter, he was six and a half feet tall and built stouter than the mountain itself, and he liked women who could handle that—but she just felt right beside him. His bear grunted in approval, also just as taken with the sweet little thing even if he was being a surly bastard at the same time. Beckett grunted back at himself. Living with a see-sawing monster inside him was the norm. It fucking sucked a lot of the time, but at least he was used to it.
Once they got to the top of the first run Beckett had planned, he glanced at Pix with eyebrows raised to judge her reaction. It was a fairly burly run, with trees and boulders and a few fairly steep drops to navigate.
She pushed her goggles up on her purple helmet as she surveyed the run, which was strewn with snow-covered trees and lumps and bumps that indicated the rocks and bushes hidden beneath the blanketing white powder. Eyes widening and a grin cracking over her pretty face, she breathed out in what almost seemed like worship. "Oh, wow. Sweet spot you have up here, Beckett." Casting him a sidelong glance, her huge smile lit up the already brilliant day. Damn, he was practically halfway in love now. Or at least in lust. "A man who's willing to share freshies with me? On a run like this? Be still my heart." She winked as she said it, but her eyes lingered on him for a moment.
Skiing freshies, or laying down fresh tracks after new snowfall, was pretty much the ultimate dream for any skier. He cocked one shoulder at her, admiring her sky-blue eyes one more time before he lowered the goggles that gave the landscape a yellowish cast that allowed them to see better. "I had the impression last night you know what you're doing on a pair of sticks.” He nodded at her skis. “Don't let me down now. You got this?"