Knox pulled a thoughtful face, pursing his lips as he frowned. He shook his head.
“Is there anywhere else our friends might have ended up?” Karl glanced at Wade.
The bastard meant to silently order his man to be ready to take Knox down. She shot to her feet, drawing Wade’s focus to her instead, and froze. What now? Every man was looking at her. Her pulse thundered and she glanced at them all, and then smiled shakily.
“I thought I heard something. Just a bit jittery I guess.” A lame excuse, but the best she could come up with on the spot.
“Nothing out there that’s going to hurt you.” Knox gave her a look that told her nothing in this cabin would hurt her either.
She wasn’t worried about herself. She was worried about him. She kept facing him as she slid a look towards Karl, trying to tell him that the man was up to something.
Knox looked from her to Karl, darkness reigning in his eyes again. He rubbed his jaw, scratching his stubble close to the dimple in his chin. A dimple she distinctly remembered kissing once. It had made Knox smile, and then he had banded his arms around her, lifted her as if she weighed nothing and kissed her breathless.
She felt a little breathless all over again as she remembered the feel of his lips against hers, how intense his kiss had been, spreading warmth through her that had reached right down to her soul and set her on fire for him.
His gaze skimmed over her, darted back as he pulled in a breath. He stared at her, the hunger that surfaced in his gaze heating her, rousing that ache he had always stirred in her whenever he had looked at her like that—as if he wanted to devour her.
She swallowed hard.
Wade moved, stepping into the room, and she glanced at him. She didn’t like the way he scowled at her and then at Knox, and looked as if he was contemplating hitting him or worse.
Knox casually looked across at Wade and stared him down until Wade looked away from him.
Unfortunately, that meant Wade was looking at her again. She kept her eyes locked on Knox, trying to shut Wade out, telling herself that Wade wouldn’t try anything, not while they were in the cabin at least.
“There’s a lodge up the valley, near the glacier.” Knox dropped his hand to his side, his fingers curled into a fist, and then he folded his arms across his chest.
She had the distinct impression he had been contemplating punching Wade.
“There is?” Her eyebrows rose as she stared at Knox.
He nodded. “Private property. I’m not surprised you don’t know about it. People who own it don’t like trespassers. If your friends went up that way, they’re probably dead.”
It didn’t deter Karl. “Do you have a map you can point it out on? I want to check it out.”
“No. Don’t need a map.” Knox tapped his temple. “It’s all up here. I know every inch of this valley.”
Skye didn’t like the way Karl looked at him, as if he was considering trading up, forcing Knox to guide him instead. Knox looked over his wide shoulder at the window.
“Weather is closing in fast. Last chance to get out of Dodge.” His blue gaze slid back to Karl, as cold as the glacier he had mentioned.
“We’ll be on our way then.” Karl signalled to Wade and Cooper.
Relief swept through her and she silently thanked whatever higher power was watching over her as she moved to let Karl pass her. She was glad he had seen sense and they were going back to town.
Time slowed for her as Karl reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, aiming it right at Knox.
“And you’ll be leading the way to that lodge for me.”
Chapter 12
Knox was like a coiled spring and the moment Karl made the mistake of drawing his weapon, pulling it out into the open, he reacted. He launched forwards faster than the humans could track him and batted the back of his right hand against Karl’s, ripping a bellow from him. Knox caught the gun as it dropped and lunged for Skye’s arm. He snatched hold of her and yanked her forwards with enough force that she yelped.
Knox pulled her to him as he twisted towards the door.
Ducked under the fist Wade swung at him and punched the male hard enough in his side that he heard ribs crack. Wade grunted and began to bend forwards, crumpling. Knox grabbed him and shoved him into the room, hurling him at Cooper and Karl. He didn’t wait to see if Wade took them down.
He pushed Skye in front of him. She stumbled onto the deck and shrieked as a bullet tore through the doorframe just to her right. Godsdammit. More than just Karl had a handgun on him.
Knox saw red.
He growled and released her as he twisted at the waist and squeezed off a few rounds, nailed Cooper in the shoulder but the rest of his shots missed, hitting the doorframe and the log wall of the cabin. Cooper fell backwards but didn’t miss a beat, fired his black pistol again. The bullet whizzed past Knox’s head, dangerously close to hitting him. Too close.
The temptation to deal with the men here and now dissipated in an instant as he spotted Wade drawing another gun from beneath his jacket and sensed Skye growing more distant from him. Getting her to safety took priority.
He fired a few more rounds into the cabin, forcing all the males to duck and take cover, and kicked off as he spun on his heel to face the direction he had been heading before they had shot at Skye.
Only Skye wasn’t there.
His head swung to his left and he growled again as he spotted her running into the woods in the direction she had come to reach the cabin. He caught up with her in a handful of strides and grabbed her arm, tugging her in the opposite direction, towards the glacier.
Knox gripped her hand in his left one and ran with her, weaving through the trees, forcing her to keep up with him. Her loud breaths cut through the thick silence as she struggled to match his pace and he wanted to growl again as he sensed her slowing, as he felt how tired she was and that she was close to stopping.
“I know you’re tiring,” he panted between breaths, his gaze zipping around ahead of them, charting a course that provided them with plenty of cover. “You can’t rest now.”
Behind them, gunshots rang out and she ducked. She stumbled into his side and he pulled his arm up, hauling her up with it, and yanked her against him. He turned with her, tugging her behind a tree, and plastered her to it, pinning and shielding her with his body. He peered around the broad trunk, breathing fast as his senses stretched out around them. Wind whipped past them, chilling his nape and his damp hair as it hurled snow at them, fat flakes that were growing more numerous as the seconds ticked past.
Knox inhaled a deep breath and looked over his shoulder towards the head of the valley. The storm would hit soon and it was going to hit hard. He didn’t have much time to get Skye to the lodge.
He looked down at her, grew painfully aware of how he was pressed against her and how she was looking at him.
How warm and soft she was.
Gods, he hadn’t been lying in the cabin. She was as beautiful as he remembered. She was older now, but if anything, she had only grown more beautiful. He touched her reddened cheek and frowned as he found she was freezing, the coldness of her skin against his shattering the moment and kicking him back into gear. He jammed the gun down the back of his pants and pulled her hood up for her, covering her hat and her braids, and lingered with his hand close to her face.
“Ready?” he breathed.
She nodded and he grabbed her hand and broke east, towards the mountain, hoping to throw the males off their trail. They hollered to each other in the distance, closing in fast. He kept running with Skye, his pace slower now, matching hers. The wind grew stronger, catching snow that had already fallen and swirling it up into the air. It gusted through the trees, causing the dark green canopy to sway and shed snow in places.
The storm hit as they reached an area of the forest where the trees were spread out, allowing the wind and the snow to gust down to the ground to batter him and Skye. The voices of the males grew more distant. Kn
ox kept ploughing forwards, heading into the wind now. He grimaced as snow bit into his face and peered into it.
He brought his arm up and shielded his face with it as he ran, trying to keep his vision clear.
“How can you see where you’re going?” Skye panted, sounding as tired as she felt on his senses.
Senses he was relying on more and more as the blizzard set in, stealing his sight from him.
“I know this valley like the back of my hand, remember?” He looked back at her, worry arrowing through him when he saw how tired she looked and how she was struggling to keep going.
“Where are you taking me?” She frowned and glanced around them, squinting as she tried to make out the forest.
“The lodge.”
She missed a step. “Private property. Remember? Trespassers will be shot… or whatever you said.”
“It is private property.” He slowed a little for her, sure that the three males wouldn’t be able to spot them in this storm. He couldn’t see shit in it, so he doubted they could see more than a foot in front of their faces. “My property. Or at least it belongs to me and some friends.”
Skye stumbled again.
Knox stopped, his heart thundering, blood pumping hard as he fought the fatigue running through him. The temperature was dropping fast and he needed to get Skye to shelter. He couldn’t afford to rest. He couldn’t afford to waste a single second.
“Here. Get on.” He turned his back to her, offering it to her as he crouched slightly. He had thought it was better than carrying her princess style, but she still huffed. He looked back at her. “Get on, Skye. You’re slowing me down and maybe one set of footprints in the snow will throw them off our trail.”
His right eyebrow arched.
“In fact.”
He went to the nearest fir, broke off a low branch that looked long enough, and strode back to her. She had huddled down into her jacket and tucked her hands beneath her arms, looked close to turning into a popsicle as she leaned into the wind and snow.
“Take this and hop on. You can cover our tracks behind us.” He held the branch out to her, and she took it and stared at it. He turned his back to her again. “Now, get on.”
She huffed. “No. If you want to cover our tracks, then we’ll need to be walking anyway.”
Knox grunted and looked to the forest canopy, seeking help there or maybe a sign from his ancestors, some way of keeping his temper in check as Skye pushed every damned button he had. “What is it with Grayson men and stubborn women?”
“Grayson?” she murmured, sounding intrigued.
So he might have never told her his last name. Another black mark against him probably.
“If you get on, I’ll tell you my whole damned life story.” He crouched again, making it easier for her and making it clear that he wasn’t going to give up. He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrows drawing down. “Either you get on my back or I carry you. Choice is yours.”
That had her rich brown eyes widening, revealing the flecks of gold that spotted the dark backdrop of her irises. Those eyes had bewitched him once and they still held power over him, made him want to stare into them forever to chart every spark of gold they contained and how they seemed to change with her mood or the lighting.
This time, she didn’t put up a fight. She strode up to him, her eyes slowly narrowing, revealing she wasn’t happy about being carried by him or his threat to hold her tucked against his chest, as if she was a fair damsel. She never had liked anyone making out she couldn’t take care of herself.
She angled the branch away from him and clambered onto his back, and the moment he reached back and caught her under her thighs, he wanted to groan and his bear side instantly calmed. He straightened and started walking, tried to ignore the heat of her against his back or how her thighs were clamped tightly against his hips or how she was trying to throttle him with her right arm as she angled her chest away from him to sweep their tracks into the deepening snow.
He tried and failed.
The feel of her against him felt so good that it felt wrong. He shouldn’t take pleasure from this, but by the gods, he did. All of his focus kept shifting to her as he quickly covered the uneven ground. He tried to keep it on his surroundings, not wanting to allow Karl and his men to get the jump on them, but it was impossible with her pressed so close to him.
And the scent of desire and spark of arousal he had felt in her back in the cabin stamped on his soul.
What had she been thinking about to rouse such a fierce passion and need in her?
Had she been thinking about him? About that night?
That little seed of hope that lived in his heart bloomed at the thought she still wanted him, grew stronger and made him braver.
“How much further is it?” She turned her head and her warm breath fanned his nape.
Knox growled low, every inch of him instantly hardening in response to the feel of her breath on his nape. Awareness shot through him, had his focus locking onto her, and the world narrowed down to only her. The part of him that had calmed when she had touched him grew restless again, his primal instincts firing to make him want to twist her in his arms and kiss her until she surrendered to him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and trudged onwards, attempting to shut down those instincts. Unfortunately, closing his eyes didn’t help. He saw a flash of that moment in the cabin, when it had hit him that Skye was wearing her chestnut hair in twin braids that revealed the nape of her neck.
A nape he desperately wanted to sink his fangs into.
“Knox?” She leaned closer to him, her breasts pressing to his back, wreaking havoc on him together with how her jaw brushed his neck as she brought her mouth to his ear. “Did you hear me?”
He grunted, barely leashing another growl, aware that this close to him she would hear it over the noise of the wind as it shook the trees.
“Not much further,” he bit out, cursed when he sounded terse. He softened his tone, which took a monumental effort when he was constantly on the verge of growling, wrestling the need to pin her against every damned tree they passed and kiss her. He should have kissed her when he’d had her pinned to that tree. “We’ll be there soon.”
He opened his eyes and focused on the route ahead of them, on protecting Skye. She went back to sweeping their tracks away, something a part of him knew was only going to delay Karl finding them.
The male would find them.
And Knox was fine with that.
He just needed time to get Skye settled in the lodge, get his fated female all safe and sound, out of danger.
And then he was going to deal with Karl and his men.
Chapter 13
It was pitch black by the time Knox finally slowed and began to walk up a rise in the woods where the trees were thin enough that she could see through the canopy in places. She wasn’t sure how he could see where they were going. She could barely make out the trunks of the trees they passed and only those that were closest to them, within a few feet. Either he had really good night vision or he really did know this valley like the back of his hand as he had claimed.
Snow swirled around them again, growing heavier as they entered an area where the trees were even sparser.
She huddled against Knox’s back, unashamedly stealing his heat. She had given up covering their tracks when the branch had felt as heavy as a lead weight in her hand, and the snow had been falling so thick and fast that it was covering their tracks for them. She had discarded the branch and opted to cuddle into Knox’s broad back instead. He had responded by shifting his hands higher up her thighs and drawing her closer still, and had told her to keep her head down.
Skye had rested it against his spine, close to his nape, shielding herself from the snow and wind.
Snow and wind that had his fleece shirt soaked through. She was freezing, every muscle in her body stiff and her mind sluggish, and she was wearing a weatherproof coat designed for the frigid climate. She could only im
agine how cold Knox was in only his shirt.
“We’re here.” Those words roused her from the sleep that beckoned her and she took hold of his shoulders and pulled herself up.
Her eyes widened.
The lodge wasn’t small as she had expected.
It was a sprawling, single-storey log building that had a porch that ran around two sides of it—the front and an area to the right. Along that side, firewood had been stacked against a wall that capped it off at the far end, half-covered in a tarp. The middle of the lodge, where the door was, had a gable window above the sloping roof of the porch. Snow covered the entire roof and had built up in places around the raised deck.
Knox carried her up the steps to that deck and paused.
She realised he was waiting for her to get down. “I think I’m too stiff to move.”
He chuckled warmly, heating her through. “You’re fine just where you are. Hang on.”
He reached up to the top of the doorframe, grabbed a key, and opened the door. The inside was even darker than it was outside, but Knox unerringly carried her to a couch, turned her back to it and eased down.
She dropped onto it and was thankful when Knox kept his back to her, giving her a moment to convince her legs to move. She slowly lowered them and moved them together, slumped on the couch in the darkness.
“I’ll light a fire.” Knox went to move.
She lunged upright and grabbed him, locking her hand tight around his wrist. “No. The men. They’ll see the smoke.”
Knox turned towards her and gently placed his hand over hers, and she wished she could see his face. His voice was soft, tender, a comfort to her as he said, “They’ll see nothing in this storm, Skye, and I’m not about to let you freeze to death.”
His hand brushed hers, fingers grazing her knuckles, working black magic on her that had her relaxing, the momentary burst of panic releasing her from its grip. She covered his hand with hers and held it a moment, not wanting him to let go and fearing that he might.
Saved by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 3) Page 10