by Rachel Lacey
Next, she and Mark talked about money, and once they’d gotten their joint offer all worked out, they sat back and looked at each other.
“So. Business partners.” She forced herself to smile.
“Business partners.” Mark nodded as he gathered the papers from her table. His hand brushed hers, and her whole body lit up from that simple contact.
Business partners. Nothing more.
* * *
By Monday morning, their business partnership was a done deal. The condo developer dropped out as soon as they presented their joint bid for the land to Gordon McDermott, opting instead to build on the other side of town. And so Off-the-Grid Adventures and the Haven Spa became joint owners of the undeveloped land between their properties.
And Mark was feeling pretty damn good about it. Even Jess had looked triumphant as they signed all the paperwork. Because of the nature of the sale, they’d been able to negotiate a closing date the following Wednesday. None of the parties involved wanted to wait any longer than necessary to seal the deal.
Mark welcomed the new project to keep him busy. With Ethan on his honeymoon and Ryan rushing home to Emma at every available chance, initial work on the mountain bike course had fallen to Mark by default. As soon as the closing papers were signed on Wednesday morning, he headed straight out to the new property to start mapping.
Jess planned to come over after she got off work that evening so that they could begin “marking their territory” on the land itself. He was looking forward to seeing her more than he wanted to admit. Since the land negotiations started, he and Jess had spent more time together than they had since high school, and he enjoyed the fact that she was speaking to him again.
A lot.
He struck out into the woods, allowing the forest to swallow him up. The untouched beauty of this land really resonated with him, and he was reassured to know it wouldn’t be clear-cut to accommodate vacation condos but rather subtly altered to accommodate his and Jess’s plans. It didn’t take him long to reach the hilly area they’d been eyeing for the start of the mountain bike course.
They would need to add a small access road or path that connected to Off-the-Grid’s existing network of trails. A wide grin covered his face as he climbed the hill closest to Off-the-Grid’s existing property. Wide and flat at the top, with a sloping front, it was the perfect launching point for the mountain bike course.
Movement caught his eye, and he glanced automatically toward it. He glimpsed a patch of brown fur as the creature moved off into the woods. Hopefully it wasn’t the mama bear and cubs he and Jess had disturbed the last time they were out here. It wasn’t common for bears to hang around one place for this long and might lead to territorial disputes later on. He didn’t want that. Especially since, no matter whose name was on the deed, this land belonged to the bears and other wildlife.
He backed up and pulled out one of the orange markers he’d put in his pack, sticking it into the soft earth at the hill’s summit. He hoped to mark a rough outline for their course before Jess arrived so that he could get her blessing on it.
He made his way down the hill, marking the trail as he went. This hill led to another and then over a small ravine where they would build a raised wooden bridge for the mountain bikes. Again, there was a rustling in the bushes nearby, and again he glimpsed a furry shape in the trees.
The bear was following him.
A frisson of alarm buzzed through his system. This was not normal bear behavior. If the animal was sick or injured, it might become aggressive. Or if it had been fed by humans in the past, it might be hoping for a tasty treat. Neither option boded well, for Mark or the bear. The last thing he wanted was an encounter that might lead to a black bear being put down, which was almost always the result when a bear became a nuisance or aggressive.
Keeping eyes and ears tuned toward the creature lurking nearby, Mark abandoned the path he’d been marking and headed toward the road. He wasn’t armed, had nothing to defend himself with, and though an attack was still unlikely, the bear tracking him was displaying unusual and somewhat alarming behavior.
Better safe than sorry.
The animal darted between two bushes, and Mark’s scalp prickled with misgivings. It was small, most likely one of the cubs he’d seen last week with Jess. Was its mother nearby or had something happened to her?
He stopped, listening. A cub was unlikely to attack, but its mother was another story, especially if she decided Mark was too close to her baby.
Silence in the woods around him.
He started walking again, and immediately the sounds of the bear cub scampering through the undergrowth reached his ears. It was definitely following him and appeared to be alone. Was it injured? How had it become separated from its mother and the other cub?
He might need to put in a call to the Park Service and see how they handled orphaned bear cubs. He’d feel better if he could get a good look at the animal, but so far it had remained concealed in the dense undergrowth.
Mark started walking again, leading the cub toward a more open area of the forest, hoping to get a better look at what he was dealing with. It followed, rustling along about twenty feet away, until it reached the clearing. Mark walked on, continuing a safe distance into the clearing so that the animal could show itself without getting too close.
A brown face peered out at him from a low-lying bush, but it wasn’t a bear cub.
It was a dog.
CHAPTER FIVE
Mark stopped in his tracks and stared. The animal staring back at him from within the bush was definitely a dog. Not a bear. No wonder it had followed him through the woods. But what the hell was a dog doing way out here?
He crouched and held out a hand. “Come here, boy.”
The dog’s ears pricked. Mark couldn’t tell what breed it was. Something brown and fuzzy. Maybe a mutt.
“Hungry?” He sat on a fallen log and unzipped his pack, pulling out a stick of beef jerky.
The dog sniffed at the air hungrily and came out of the bushes, walking toward him. It stopped every few feet, eyeing him warily. Mark broke off a big piece of the jerky and held it out.
Apparently deciding beef trumped caution, the dog trotted the rest of the way over and stood before him, brown eyes fixed on the jerky. He was about the size of a German shepherd, but his coloring was all wrong. This dog was a more uniform brown, maybe some kind of Lab mix, but his ears…he had the most ridiculous ears Mark had ever seen. They were big and floppy, and the hair there was significantly longer than the rest of his body, shaggy with some curl to it.
Mark kept holding out the jerky until finally the dog came forward and took it gingerly from his fingers, still watching him warily.
“You lost?” he asked, bending to check for a collar. None.
And “he” was actually a “she.” There were burs matted in her fur, and her ribs protruded slightly, but she didn’t look to be in terrible shape.
“Thought you were a bear,” Mark told the dog as she swallowed the jerky and gazed longingly at the rest of the stick in his hand. “Guessing you’re hungrier than I am.”
He handed it to her, and she swallowed it in a single gulp, licking her lips and staring at him expectantly. With a sigh, he reached into his pack and pulled out more jerky. “This is the last one I’ve got though.”
He broke it into pieces, and the dog gobbled them down as fast as he held them out to her. Mark considered himself well prepared for just about any situation he might encounter out here, but he wasn’t actually sure what to do with a lost dog. Take her to the shelter maybe. They could look for her owners there or find her a new home if she didn’t have one.
He didn’t have a leash so he’d just have to hope she stuck around. Given the way she’d followed him earlier, he figured there was a good chance she would. He pulled out his water bottle and took a long drink and then drizzled some water onto the ground while she lapped at it.
“Mind hanging out while I finish marking
this trail?” He stood, and she darted back a few feet but stayed nearby. Testing his theory, he hiked back to the spot where he’d first heard her in the bushes, near the head of the trail.
The dog followed a few steps behind.
So he got back to work, scouting and marking the mountain bike trail to show Jess when she stopped by later. He had a lot of work to do before he saw her.
* * *
It was just past five when Jessica finally left the spa. She was so excited to explore her new land she could hardly wait. She had her phone ready to take pictures and a copy of the map she and Mark had looked at last week to start scouting cabin locations. She’d already gotten approved for a small business loan so, as soon as she’d gotten the lay of the land, it would be time to hire a contractor and start building.
The sun was starting to dip behind the treetops as she walked out the back of the spa, cutting directly onto her new land. Her land! She was grinning like an idiot. So what if she was going to be stretched as thin as cellophane for the next few years paying for it all? The reward at the other end was going to be so worth it.
Leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked. Around her, the trees blazed with color. The distant babble of the stream filtered through them, steady and soothing. This place was absolute perfection for her spa cabins. She pulled out her phone and started taking pictures, marking dots on the map in her favorite spots.
Eventually, she wound up in the middle of the property, near the area the guys wanted to use for their mountain bike course. In fact, there was a series of orange flags leading over a nearby hill that she suspected Mark had left for just that purpose.
Curious, she walked to them, following the path he’d marked. It led over the next hill and down the other side, headed for a flat patch of land that bordered Off-the-Grid’s original property.
“You approve?”
Stifling a yelp, she whirled to find Mark behind her, a brown dog at his side. It really was unfair that he could move so quietly. “Yes, but…did you get a dog?”
He glanced down at the mutt standing at attention beside him. “Nah. Found her.”
“Really? Out here?” Jessica stepped closer, holding out a hand toward the dog, who eyed her warily, never budging from Mark’s side.
“Yeah. I’ll drop her by the shelter when I leave.”
“Hi, girl.” Jessica crouched down, talking to the dog. “How’d you wind up out here?”
The dog flicked her ears forward and took a step in Jessica’s direction. She was fairly large, with brown fur that was matted in places and adorable, fluffy ears. After a little coaxing, she walked over and licked Jessica’s hand.
“Maybe you should keep her,” she said to Mark. “At least while you look for her family. She’s too sweet to go to the shelter.”
He grunted, gazing down at the dog.
Jessica stroked behind the dog’s ears. “You know what happens to strays at the shelter who don’t find a home, right?”
Mark said nothing.
For some reason, she wanted him to keep this dog. Maybe it would be good for him to have someone at home to greet him. “You don’t want her to be euthanized, do you? She seems so quiet and well behaved.”
“Which means she probably has a family out there looking for her.”
“And you should definitely let the shelter know you’ve found her. I think they can even scan her for a microchip. Up to you whether you leave her there.” She winked at him.
He said nothing.
The dog really was a sweet thing. She licked Jessica’s fingers, her tail wagging shyly, and then returned to Mark’s side, looking for all the world like she was waiting for her next command. When he started walking, she followed right at his heels.
So did Jessica. They walked together in easy silence, following the string of orange flags he had placed on the ground. He’d been busy today and also true to his word. His flags were well away from the area she wanted for her cabins.
She couldn’t help smiling every time she glanced at the dog by his side. The pooch clearly already viewed Mark as her master. It was easy to see why. He moved with a quiet confidence that obviously set her at ease. Not sure which way to go? Just follow Mark.
Jessica was so busy doing just that that she didn’t even see the hole in front of her until she’d stepped in it. Thrown off balance, she groped blindly for something to hang on to, her fingers latching on to Mark’s arm. He turned in surprise and grabbed her before she went down in a heap.
His hands gripped her arms, warm and strong, his eyes locked on hers. “You okay?”
She nodded because her heart was pounding so hard she didn’t trust herself to speak. There was so much electricity in the air between them that her whole body sizzled with it. Her stumble had landed her close in his arms, so close that, each time she drew breath, the space between them seemed to shrink.
His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips.
He’s going to kiss me!
Her blood heated, and her lips parted, and…what the hell was she thinking? Grabbing on to the last glimmer of reason in her brain, she stepped backward out of his arms. Pain knifed up her left leg, and it folded beneath her, dropping her in a heap onto the forest floor.
The air left her lungs so fast she felt dazed, sitting there, staring at Mark’s boots. Then the dog was there, nuzzling her cheek, tail wagging.
Mark crouched in front of her. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Not wanting to get lost in his eyes again, she looked down at her left knee, which, now that she was no longer drunk with lust, hurt like a son of a bitch. “I think I twisted my knee.”
“Let me have a look.” He straightened her leg out against the bed of pine needles and gently felt her knee through her jeans.
She winced. “It’s been bothering me off and on for a few weeks. I don’t know what I did to it.”
“You have it checked out?”
“No.” She sighed. Dammit, she hated going to the doctor. Maybe because, having a nurse for a mother, she’d spent way too much time around hospitals as a kid. “I guess I should though. I thought it was finally better.”
She accepted the hand he held out and pushed to her feet, putting all her weight on her right foot. Her left knee throbbed. She could feel the heat radiating out of it. Son of a bitch.
“You able to walk on it?”
“Of course.” She took a halting step, biting her tongue to hold back a groan. Well, better to get this over with. She hobbled away from Mark in the direction of the spa.
“In the interest of getting home before dark…” His arms came around her, and he swept her off her feet, lifting her into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all (and thank goodness for that because it took a little of the sting off her pride).
“I can walk,” she said, her voice gone all low and husky because now she was closer than ever to him, wrapped up in his warm, masculine scent. She felt his heart thumping against her, and as she met his eyes, it quickened.
So did hers.
Her hands tightened behind his neck, causing his head to dip toward hers. Helpless to fight the pull, she leaned in, and her lips brushed his. Her entire body lit with awareness from her scalp to her toes, like she’d just turned on the light after a very long time in the dark. Whoa.
Yeah. Sparks. She and Mark still had them.
She sucked in a ragged breath, her eyes locking on to his, and then he kissed her back. This time his lips crashed into hers with an urgency that matched the need flaring inside her. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lips parted.
“Woof!”
Jessica’s forehead bumped into Mark’s. He was looking down at the dog, his expression a mixture of amusement and frustration. At his feet, the dog was staring right back in rapt attention.
Way to ruin the moment, Fluffball.
Mark’s gaze flicked back to Jessica’s, and almost without thinking, she tipped her face, bringing her lips back to his. Everything inside her went all
hot and tingly as his tongue swept into her mouth.
“Woof!”
“Seriously, now you discover your voice?” She glared down at the dog in mock exasperation.
Mark let out a rough laugh. “She hasn’t made a peep all day.”
“I don’t think she likes us kissing.” As she spoke, her gaze dropped to his lips. The damn dog was probably the only one here that had any sense. But right now, Jessica. Did. Not. Care.
The only thing she could think about was kissing him again. And again.
Mark shifted her in his arms, reaching behind him. He pulled something out of the pack he wore and tossed it to the dog. She immediately crouched on the ground to eat the treat.
Then he was kissing Jessica again. She leaned forward in his arms, clinging to him as their tongues tangled together, tasting, devouring. It was hot and messy and perfect. His arms tightened around her, holding her close as he kissed all the logic right out of her. Because right then, right there, who cared about being wrong if wrong felt so amazingly right?
“Mark,” she murmured, pressing a hand over his heart. It pounded against her palm, hard and fast, and already he was kissing her again. It was too much, and not enough, and oh, she had no idea what to do with this man!
She wanted his hands all over her, wanted to explore every inch of his body, so much bigger and stronger than he’d been in high school. She wanted to know if it would be as good between them now as it had been then. Better. Could it possibly be better?
Each stroke of his tongue against hers promised a resounding hell yes.
There was only one small problem with their current position. While it was quite romantic to be held in his arms while he kissed her bones to jelly, it kept him from being able to do anything fun with his hands…like touch her in any of the places that were screaming to be touched. To fit her good parts against his and see if they still lined up just right.