by Desiree Holt
Her taste buds sang, each bite more delicious than the one before, but she yearned to taste the man sitting a few feet from her. Nervous, but hopeful from the way he’d held her hand earlier, she worked to push down the voice spouting all the negative things ever hurled at her. She was too fat, not pretty enough. She would never measure up. When she was a child, she had been the ugly duckling. Her brother Doug had always whispered in her ear, “You will show them one day because you are the most beautiful of the family from the inside out.”
Dylan always had her back. The others were too caught up in themselves to care. But she had never turned into a swan, and no man had ever called her beautiful. Even her brother hadn’t said anything to that effect in years. Perhaps he knew the words struck a nerve. She wasn’t ugly; she was pretty in her own way. Pretty plain.
“So you never said where you live in the park? I mean, I assume you live here, not in a town. Well, it made sense when I was getting ready to say it.” A light touch on her knee stopped her rambling.
“Are you nervous, Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“Would it make it easier if I told you I was nervous, too?”
“Why? I am a sure thing. I wanted to jump you there in the hotel.”
He grunted, deep and guttural, closing his eyes and breathing deep. “I’ve been spending the last few hours running through my head how to get you to stay. How to keep you here in the park.”
“Why?” God, she wanted what he was saying. She wanted to be here studying Yellowstone. Hell, studying him. “And why would a fire scout be in the park over the winter? I would think fire threat would be on the slim-to-none side.”
“It’s low, but there is always a chance a cabin could burn or electrical fire would start in one of the hotels.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” She gnawed her lower lip. “The truth is, no one like you has ever been interested in me.”
“You need to explain that statement because all I am is a man who is very attracted to the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.”
She stood up. Okay, he had to be playing her now. She was plain, with plain brown hair, plain brown eyes. He had brown hair, too, but his reminded her of tree bark, rich and textured, with hundreds of shades, his brown eyes flecked with gold. And his lips—best not to focus on his lips. Perhaps it was the end of the season and he wanted to get laid one last time. After all, being stuck here in the park once the snow fell couldn’t lend itself to a wide variety of women. And getting out would be problematic.
“You are lying. I am not beautiful. No one would claim such except maybe my brother, but he doesn’t count. I am a plain Jane.”
“What are you talking about? You are gorgeous.” He took a step toward her.
She placed a hand up hoping he would back off. “Stop, please.”
“I don’t understand. Why does me telling you what I would think all women would want to hear—”
“I would have happily had sex with you tonight and until I left the park had you been honest. I don’t need—no, I don’t want empty platitudes, and I certainly have seen my reflection enough times in the mirror. Thank you for dinner and for the stats.”
“Wait.” Panic edged his voice as she jumped up. He stood before her, preventing her escape. “To me, you are beautiful. I don’t lie, ever. And please don’t judge me because every other man you’ve met was too blind to see the real you.”
“The real me? You have known me all of four hours.” Oh, the bullshit was getting thick out here.
“You’re smart, not just book smart because that can get you killed out there on the basin. But you read the land. I saw you test the ground before walking, stay as far as possible from the water. Before I got to you, I noticed your eyes scanning the tree line for animals. If I had waited a second later, I truly believe I would have gotten a face full of bear spray when I approached you. But that possibility pales in comparison to your joyous laugh. The way your eyes twinkled like a golden-brown star sunstone gem when you were reading those statistics. They were numbers to me, but, to you, they were some ancient language of love.”
Oh, this man was good. Better than good. His seduction skills surpassed all the guys in college who had panty walls and would do anything to get a girl into their bed. He had a PhD in womanizing. “Right.”
“No, it’s true. You hide your beauty, you wear your hair in a tight, severe pigtail, yet tonight you’re wearing it loose so it softens and frames your face. Your lips were made to be kissed, and my mouth goes dry when I see you walk ahead of me, your hips swaying and that round ass… My kind love a woman with a nice round soft ass.”
“What? Go back to the ‘your kind’ comment.”
He paused. His eyes widened. “My kind as in men of my size. My boss is bigger than me. You might have seen him enter the hotel. It’s hard to miss him. His wife is curvy, too.”
“Are you a chubby chaser?”
“I’m a man who likes someone soft in bed. I love a woman with some curves. Some men prefer women with tons of muscles. I like a woman who can hike, who loves the outdoors, and who is soft where I am hard.”
Could she believe this perfect speech? He didn’t sound rehearsed. In fact, he sounded panicked, as if the thought of her walking away scared the hell out of him. “Why are you single? A ton of women like me come through this park every single day. Or do you use this line on all of us?”
“Morgan.”
“I-I want to go back to my room. Thank you for dinner.” She walked away as fast as her feet could take her. If he tried to stop her, she would let herself believe him and then he would break her heart. Only when she got to the door of the hotel did she turn to see him one last time. He faced the lake, his back to her. Every inch of her screamed to run to him, throw her arms around him and tell him she wanted nothing more than to feel his hard body over her soft one. But fear overpowered her; she had been played too many times to believe someone as hunky as Grant could want her.
Turning blindly, she came into full contact with a moving, breathing wall. She had to strain her neck to see the face of the man she had run into. This had to be Grant’s boss. She stumbled backward and would have fallen on her butt if two strong hands hadn’t grabbed her upper arms and righted her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, sorry. I can’t believe I am going to say this, but I didn’t see you.”
“Now that is something no one has ever said about you, Brutus.” The giggle from the woman next to him caught her attention. A pretty woman about her size in both stature and dimensions smiled up at the man next to her.
“Thankfully, you saw me.” He smiled down at the other woman, love filling his eyes.
“Sorry again,” Morgan muttered, walking around the couple.
As the door closed behind her, she overheard the woman exclaim, “Is that Grant by the lake?”
So two things he had said were true. His boss was large, and his boss’s partner was curvy. But that didn’t explain why he would want her. She headed through the hotel to the front parking lot, stopping only long enough to find a trash can for the leftover food. It took every ounce of willpower to keep walking until she reached her cabin. She flung off her clothes and climbed into bed. The hours stretched as her mind, too busy to shut down, fought the sleep her body so craved. As the morning rays touched her ceiling, exhaustion finally took over, and she fell into a dreamless yet restless sleep.
Eighteen hours later, Morgan returned to her cabin after the worst day of her research life. While checking temps, her thermometer cracked. Her computer battery died, and then she returned to her car to find a flat tire. All the while she was certain something was watching her. Her heart was racing by the time she got her spare tire onto her car. As she drove away, she spotted a grizzly in the distance. Gripping the steering wheel, she sped back to her cabin, convinced the day couldn’t get worse.
She parked and found a man about the size of Grant sitting on the front step. Great. As if she hadn’t spent the who
le day trying not to think about the man, now she had a man just as gorgeous waiting for her on her doorstep. She laughed at her arrogance. He likely had the wrong cabin anyway.
As she approached, the man stood. “Ms. Jenkins?”
Okay, he was here for her. “Yes?”
“Hi. I’m Grant’s brother Dixon.” He pulled a sheaf of papers from his back pocket and held them out to her. “He asked me to give these to you. Said you left them last night.”
“Thank you.” She opened the folded sheets and glanced up to see him walking away. “Wait.”
He turned, an eyebrow raised.
“Where can I find Grant?”
“Why?”
She blinked, the unexpected question had her mind reeling. Why did she want to know and what did she hope would happen? “Um, to save me from some embarrassment, could you tell me where he is without asking me why?”
With a cheeky grin, Dixon placed a hand in his pocket. “So it’s like that, is it?”
“Like what?”
“Grant wouldn’t explain to me why he couldn’t bring this to you even though he has tracked past here on his rounds at least a half-dozen times today. Which meant one of two things. One, he doesn’t want to see you, but he would have mentioned that. Two, he is…” Dixon sniffed the air. “Holy shit. No I mean holy shit.”
“What?”
He tipped his face up toward the sun. “Right now you should be able to find him scouting the area north of the ranger station.”
Biting her lip, she pulled off her backpack and rummaged through it for her compass.
He cleared his throat. “The ranger station is just off the water. You can find the lake, can’t you? Take the walking trail. If you hit the grand loop, you are going the wrong way.”
She thought for a second about being sarcastic in return then cast him a grateful smile and ran. Arriving at the ranger station out of breath and not sure what to do even if she did find him, Morgan leaned against the building wondering if Dixon had sent her on a wild bear hunt. Bear hunt? Why did those words ring in her head? Scanning the path, she saw no one but figured a few yards weren’t going to hurt.
As she turned the first bend out of the slightly wooded area and into the open space, she saw him talking to a group of female hikers. Model perfect, all of them, tall and gorgeous. Unlike her cheeks, which would have red splotches from her run, they had perfect tans, not a hair out of place. About to turn, she heard him excuse himself. “Morgan?”
Pasting a smile on her face, she walked toward him. “Grant. Dixon said I would find you out here.”
“He did?” He walked away from the gaggle of ladies, turning her toward the ranger station again. “Is there something you need? He gave you the fax?”
“Yeah, of course, and thank you. But I wanted to see you.”
“Why? You made it quite clear last night I was not what you were interested in.”
“About last night…” She let her voice fall away because the words stuck in her throat. She didn’t want to admit the power he had over her emotions petrified her. And couldn’t bring herself to point out all of her flaws and the reasons he shouldn’t be interested in her. So, instead, she let her heart and soul lead and shut off her mind. Reaching up, she cupped his face and pulled his head down to hers. Inches from her, he lifted her bodily against him and took her mouth with a soul-altering kiss. He didn’t react to the shocked gasps of the women who had been flirting their tails off moments ago. Instead, he deepened the kiss, leaving her head spinning and her body humming.
“Well that’s what I thought,” Dixon said behind her.
Grant pulled away from the kiss to glare at his brother. “Can you finish my loop?”
“I would say you owe me one but, as I owe you more than I can count, it would only make a small dent. I take it you don’t mind if I chat up the ladies over there as your hands are full.”
“Have at it.”
“I must say I prefer what you have.”
She wiggled her way out of his grip until her feet touched the ground, but his arms never left her. “What was that supposed to mean?”
“I like a little meat on the bone.”
“I told you,” Grant said with a simple shrug.
“Ah yes, you mentioned your kind, I believe.” She pulled him along the path. “Can we go somewhere private to talk, please?”
“I would love that.” He nodded back the way she came. “Your cabin is closer than my place.”
She let him lead the way. He obviously knew where she was staying since he’d sent his brother to find her. “Why did you send your brother?”
“I didn’t think you would want to see me. But I wanted you to have your research. Whatever it is you do, I’m sure the research will help someone somewhere.”
“That was very kind after the way I treated you last night.” Ashamed, she fought for the words to make him understand.
“Wait until we get inside,” he suggested, and as they made the five-minute walk back to her cabin, she clutched his hand with both of hers like a lifeline. Whatever this man wanted to give her, she would take. He paused outside the yellow cottage. “We can talk right here on the steps. I don’t see anyone about.”
“No. I’d like you to come in…if you want.”
“I want to be alone with you wherever I can. But all you have to say is leave and I am out.”
“I’m a bit overwhelmed by you and these intense emotions I feel when I’m around you. I’ve never been this attracted to anyone, really. And so fast.”
He took the key from her death grip and opened the door, waving her past. The room with two double beds appeared even smaller when he moved inside. “This is—cozy.”
“I didn’t find it so—cramped until now,” she admitted, throwing her backpack on one of the beds.
He, to her relief, sat in a chair. “I have a way of doing that.”
“Is everyone in your family so big?”
“Yes. My sister is smaller but only by a few inches.” He reached out a hand. “You are too far away.”
She chuckled. Only a few feet separated them in the nine-by-twelve space, but she walked toward him and squeaked when he pulled her onto his lap. “I am not sure this chair can support us both.”
“I could move us to the bed. But I fear accelerating things until you’re ready.”
“I’d very much like for you to kiss me again.”
“Straddle me.”
“What?”
He cocked his head. “We still have our clothes on, but I want you in my arms, wrapped around me.”
She stood up. Sitting, he was nearly as tall as she was standing. When she threw her left leg over his, he grabbed her ass and pulled her close. She inhaled his scent. “You smell so good. I can’t explain it. Woodsy and like a campfire, but without the smokiness.”
“Every one of my senses is on overload around you.” He rubbed his cheek against hers; the rough bristles sent tingles through her. Sudden images of him brushing the same cheek against her inner thighs assailed her. Her nipples beaded, and her pulse quickened. “I can smell your arousal, and it’s making me crazy.”
His lips crashed down on hers demanding entrance, and she was more than willing to waltz with him. Unlike other men in her experience, Grant clearly wanted her. The erection pressing against her told her that much, but unlike other men who only wanted to get into her pants and be done, he took his time. Kissing and holding, but he hadn’t even tried, to her disappointment, to get to second base.
She hadn’t turned on the heat when they came in, but suddenly perspiration broke out on her forehead. Without breaking the kiss, she pulled off her light coat. But it didn’t make a dent. An uncontrollable urge to demand he move them to the bed and strip them both came over her. As he pulled away from her to focus on her neck, she threw back her head and relished the way he devoured every inch. Closing her eyes, she sensed something overtake her, an animal inner being perhaps but something she never experienced befor
e. She would deal with this need tomorrow but, for right now, she wanted, no, needed him. She worked the buttons of his shirt.
As her hands finally encountered his bare chest, he let out a growl that rumbled over his body and through her fingertips. In return, she moaned. No, this wasn’t a moan it was deeper, more intense, and, seeing his bare shoulder, the urge to mark him, bite him, scar him became as important to her as breathing. As she opened her mouth to do just that, he stood up and placed her on her feet before stepping back. “We have to stop.”
Stop? She ran her tongue over her teeth. Were those fangs? Turning away so he couldn’t see her movement, she ran her fingers over her teeth. The fangs, now retracting, had most definitely been there. No matter how she would like to tell herself she had imagined them, she hadn’t.
He pulled her against him, her back against his chest. “There are things about me I need to tell you before we take this any further.”
“Hell, there are things about me I don’t know.” She leaned her head against his chest trying to center herself and calm the fuck down.
After a few moments of silence, Grant turned her in his arms. “What do you want to do next?”
“Do you want to tell me what this big secret is?”
He shook his head and she wasn’t surprised. “I need to clear it with my alpha first. Perhaps tomorrow? But I was really referring to this evening. Do you want me to go?”
The no flew from her like an explosion.
“Okay, I won’t leave. Would you like to go up to the hotel for dinner? Get a pack of cards and play Go Fish?”
He continued to list off a variety of activities, but she suddenly felt drained, her limbs heavy and an overwhelming exhaustion came over her. “Do you think we can just lie together on that bed and sleep? I really don’t want you to leave. I can’t explain it, but I feel like if you walk out, my lifeline goes with you. That sounds crazy…”
He placed a finger against her lips before brushing his over her ever so gently. “Not crazy at all. Why don’t you go into the bathroom and change into something you can sleep in. I’ll wait out here.”
“I can change out here unless you are uncomfortable with me getting naked in front of you.” A part of her wondered why he would send her away.