by Teagan Kade
I shrug and glance at my watch. It’s a half hour past when we were supposed to meet. Edie should be getting here soon and I can’t help but feel excited about it even as I grow irritated at the idea of her walking off into the fucking woods, halfcocked, not having a clue where she’s going or how treacherous the terrain can be to someone who isn’t familiar with it.
But damn was it sexy when she tried to lay down the law. Like I said to Dex, a man likes a challenge now and then, and she is definitely that. She’d look just about perfect tied up in my bed, spread out and ready for me, and something tells me she has enough of a wild streak in her to be into it.
A challenge it would be for sure, though.
The sorority group has emptied out. I look over and realize there’s still a jeep hanging around. A red Wrangler. I turn around to look at the Den and see the curtain move.
Sneaky girl… I grin.
I jog up the steps and inside, my pulse picking up more from the anticipation than the exertion. Maybe she’ll have on a cute little halter like the Delta Gamma Squad I just dealt with, or some slinky, fitted yoga pants and a top that’s been painted on. I swing open the door, my smile already wide when I drink in the sight of her.
Her back is to me, but immediately I can tell that there’s nothing intentionally sexy about her outfit. Far from it, actually. She’s got a dark blue fleece that hides her shape and technical hiking pants that are loose except for a snug peek at her sweet, tight little ass. Her straight, honey blonde hair is in two pigtail braids and when she turns to me there isn’t a trace of makeup on her face, just a splash of freckles and an expression that tells me she’s not quite as thrilled to see me.
I can’t help but feel a little breathless. Conventional wisdom says I shouldn’t be this turned on by a woman who clearly isn’t looking to turn me on. But conventional wisdom holds little sway over my dick.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I didn’t know you were in here already,” I manage to say smoothly.
“Oh, hey it’s no problem. Clearly, you’re in demand, and I feel bad robbing your frisky fan club of the immense pleasure of your company.” There’s a clipped sound to her tone I don’t quite grasp. “I just hope poor Spring Break Barbie will be able to bear the loss… or maybe she’s already gone on her own little private tour with you.”
“Oh, right you saw… that. Yeah, she was a little touchy.” I shrug. “But what am I gonna do?”
“I think she’s hoping you’ll do her. That’s the message I got pretty loud and clear. Look, I have real work to do. I’m not looking to be some audience member to the walking sex show that you’ve curated here.” She reaches and grabs a bag down at her feet and starts to push past me.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I reach out and grab her by the shoulders. “What’s the problem here? I didn’t realize you were waiting and I apologized for that, so maybe you want to stop acting hysterical?”
Shit.
The minute the words leave my mouth I can tell they were wrong, wrong, wrong.
Edie stops and turns to me slowly, her lithe body looking a bit like a cat’s in its movements. “You want to know what the problem is? Number one—” she jams a finger into my solar plexus, and even though the force isn’t significant, she hits the pressure point just right so it hurts like hell “—I didn’t want or need your help to begin with, but you weaseled your way into this like every other swollen ego misogynist I’ve met. Number two—” she jams it again, backing me up a little as she prowls forward “—I didn’t come out here to sit around and watch while you eye-fuck the calendar girls of Kappa Kappa Slutsilon. And Number three… number three,” she’s faltering, her anger getting the best of her and she glances down at her finger pushing into my chest. “Narf! Why can’t you just wear normal clothes that actually cover your body?”
“You’re telling me my shirt is a problem?” I lift a brow.
Edie pinches at the fabric and her fingers are warm as they brush against my skin. “It’s hardly a shirt! I mean what even is this? It looks like what’s left of the Incredible Hulk’s shirt after he transforms. I can see… everything.” She’s stopped pinching at the fabric, but her hand is still on the fabric. My breath hitches. Up close like this, she smells like… ginger. It’s strangely arousing.
I look down at her hand on my chest. It’s the first contact between us since we collided at the Ranger Station and my body is instantly alive and aware of hers.
Briefly, we’re both mesmerized by the contact, but she seems to come to her senses first and pulls her hand back. I catch it in mine easily. Hers are so much smaller, softer… I rub my thumb in slow, rhythmic circles around her palm and look back into her eyes. They’re deep brown, almost black but with a few flecks of gold that add contrast.
“You know,” I grin, “if it bothers you that much, I don’t have to be wearing it. I could just go lock the door and we could—”
Her eyes flare along with her nostrils and she wrenches her hand free.
“You’re unbelievable!” Edie’s hands flail out in front of her. “Tell you what, Deric, you do whatever you want for the evening. Don’t let me keep you from your preferred recreation, but don’t expect me to play any part in that. I’ve got a case to follow and I’m used to working alone.” She tries to walk past me again, but I step backwards and block her path.
“You want to think again?” I’m getting frustrated. “Because there is exactly zero chance I’m letting you go out there by yourself to walk off the side of a cliff or become a midnight snack for some lucky cougar.”
“Get out of my way,” she grinds out, but I cross my arms and stand my ground, wondering if maybe I don’t have some kind of death wish.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EDIE
It takes everything in me to breathe. Just breathe a moment and gather my wits. I want so badly to drop kick him and knock him down a notch or two.
Blood is coursing to my fingers, my forearms, ready to attack. How many times did I do just that to one of my brothers? I was too young then and too small to drive home the point. They were always bigger than me, always doing this, pushing me into a box in the name of keeping me safe.
It’s not like rage courses through my blood, but I’m fed up with having someone always trying to hold my hand. I’ve gritted my teeth through enough of it.
Instead, I look at him with a cool control I’ve been trying to master my whole life. “Look, Deric. I get that you may be a big shot around here what with the mountain named after your family and all the local girls on standby for some midnight booty call, but I am not some small town, candy ass fangirl. I’m a federal goddamned agent and I am not about to be cowed and bullied by your display of overindulged testosterone. Move or I will move you.”
He looks heavenward like I’m some troublesome child and my ire ticks up a notch. “Just chill, will you?” He goes to catch my arm again, innocent enough I’m sure, but I drew my line in the sand and this time I’m ready.
I turn, snaking an arm through his and grabbing my own wrist with my other hand, pulling down and bringing his elbow close to his ribcage as I gently pull back on his wrist. It’s my favorite submission hold because you can be half someone’s size and it’s still effective. People rarely see it coming and all I have to do is apply a bit more pressure and the elbow snaps. Of course, they give up long before I reach that point.
“Hey! Are you crazy?”
My front is pressed to his back while I hold his arm in place and lean towards his ear. “That’s right.” I let go and push myself back and away from him. “I am not a tourist here and I will not be treated like one. I go where I want to go and I sure as hell don’t need your permission.”
Deric’s looking at me with an expression I can’t completely read but mixed in with the unknowable is a grudging look of respect as he rubs his elbow and forearm.
It feels good—the respect, not hurting him.
“So you’ve got a few moves. Great, but do you really think hand-to-h
and combat skills are going to do you any good when you’ve got a hungry, two-hundred-pound cougar stalking you?” He steps towards me, the wall of his chest closing the distance I put between us. “Hell, out there in the pitch black of night you won’t even know he’s there, watching you from the shadows, waiting for just the right moment to pounce. He can read your scent, he can see your weaknesses, and he knows exactly how to exploit them.”
I swallow, not sure if he’s talking about the cougar or himself. I’m not scared. It’s not fear thrumming through my veins, it’s excitement. Excitement and anticipation courtesy of the fact that thanks to my need to make a point to him, I now know exactly what it feels like to have my body pressed against his. Now he’s getting closer and all I can think is that I want it there again, that firm wall of muscle, even as he’s making me angrier with every stupid block-headed word he says.
Deric’s voice drops even deeper, impossibly deep. “It also won’t do you any good when you try to follow one of those outdated-as-fuck maps the Rangers hand out that still lists trails that washed away in mudslides years ago. When you walk off the edge of a fucking waterfall or a cliff, I doubt your little Miss Congeniality display is going to do anything for you. You go out there alone tonight, you’re going to get injured or worse, and there is absolutely zero chance I’m wrong. You think yours would be the first dead body I’ve found out there?”
His voice seems to scratch and his eyes look suddenly darker, like there’s something not so carefree and cocky in those sky-blue depths.
His jaw ticks and he continues, smoothing over that momentary lapse. “You’re a tourist in every way that counts, sweetheart. I understand it may be impossible for your big head to process the fact that you need help, but you do. You can wrap me up in those sweet arms of yours all you want, it’s not going to change the fact that, for tonight, I’m your man and you’re not getting rid of me.”
I shake my head and swallow again. “The last thing I need is the help of some… some…”
His chest is a breath away from mine and I know I’m breathing heavier than I want to be. “Some what? Some He-Man?” He looks down at me, taunting.
I level him with a glare. “Some caveman who only sees women as pieces of ass to be conquered,” I spit back.
He reaches up and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear that fell out when I put him in an arm lock. “Maybe that’s exactly the kind of help you need.”
I lift my chin, my pride bruised over the fact he didn’t object to the description, that that is how he sees me. “Maybe you’re just too used to getting what you want.”
One corner of his mouth lifts. “You’re right. I am used to getting what I want. What makes you think that includes you?”
Indignation rises in my cheeks. I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re an asshole.”
“Right again,” he smiles. “And you’re kind of crazy.” My face grows hot and I want to slap him. Of course, he’d trot out some overused stereotype, because any woman who dares to stand up to him must be crazy. I’m about to lay into him when he leans closer. “Then again, maybe crazy is precisely what I want.”
I open my mouth to say something back, to end this ridiculous little stand-off, but I don’t have a ready response. For one insane second, even as angry and worked up as I am, I want him to want me. And that really does make me crazy.
My lips stay parted, my breath is coming in ragged bursts, and I can feel the heat radiating off his body centimeters away from me. I could push him away. I could plant a foot at his hip and send him crashing to the floor and leave. That would be the logical, smart thing to do. But instead, I stand there.
He’s going to kiss me. I know it with certainty. And with just as much certainty, I know I’m going to kiss him back. There isn’t one thing about him I like right now, and yet all I can think about is having him press me against the wall, kissing the sense clean out of my mind.
He’s leaning towards me, my eyelids getting heavy.
“Yo, Deric, do you have the number for that company that makes the—” The door swings open wide and we both look at Dex, freezing in place. “Oh. Shit. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
There’s a beat and it’s just enough time for logic to come flooding back.
What are you doing, Edie? Get out of here… now!
I’m sure my face turns every shade of crimson as I step away in a rush. “You’re not. I’m done here.” I grab my pack and hurry past Dex, jogging to my Jeep and climbing in.
I hear Deric call to me as I turn on my ignition. He’s standing in front of my car when I turn my headlights on and the shock momentarily blinds him. I throw her into reverse and back up to turn around and get as far away from here and him as possible.
I was just waaaaay too close to being horny Play-Doh in Deric’s big, beefy, man-candy hands.
In the brief time that we spent arguing inside it’s got insanely dark out here. The moon is little more than a wisp in the sky and does me no good at all. Even with my brights on, I go a little slower than I would otherwise towards the gravel road.
That’s when I hear the diesel engine roaring beside me. I look out the passenger window and see a blue truck coming towards me. The way it’s spitting gravel tells me it must be Deric, and I have no intention of sticking around to see what he’s in such a hurry to do.
I slam down on the gas and send a spray of rocks his direction as I pull onto the road way. The road back to the highway is barely a mile long, but it snakes and curves, and as narrow as it is, it feels like an eternity before I can make out the pavement ahead.
Deric’s headlights are still hot on my tail, but I slow down, getting ready to turn out onto the highway and lose him. I hit the turn signal and right as I’m about to gun it and turn out, he whips out on the side of me and cuts in front of my grille, trapping me.
That’s it.
I jump out of the Jeep and slam the door shut.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! This is a road hazard, you complete idiot!” I shout at him as he stalks around the bed of his truck. “Get back in your truck and move it, now, before I call the Sheri—”
He cuts me off. “Don’t.”
His stride doesn’t slow and he’s backing me against the side of my Jeep. My body thrills at the contact and my fists go to what little scraps there are of his shirt. I suck in a deep breath, trying to cool this insane reaction I’m having to him when he cuts that off too.
His mouth is surprisingly soft. I expected it to be hard and demanding, but it’s not. It’s the gentlest kiss I’ve ever had. Wet and warm and… exquisite.
His hands are another matter. Both of them plant at my hips and maybe I could wriggle out if I wanted, but heaven help me, I don’t.
A car honks as a set of headlights passes. “Get off the road!” Someone screams.
I push him back away from me. “No. This isn’t happening. You’re good at what you do, I’ll give you that, but I’m not some notch on the bedpost. Whatever little seduction game it is that you’re playing here, it’s done. I’m sure there are plenty of ladies down at Gracie’s who will be more than happy to play along and follow your well-worn script, but I don’t need this kind of… distraction.”
It’s dark out, but it almost looks like he’s insulted.
“This isn’t a game. People die out here. Now, as I said before. You’re not getting rid of me.” He steps back a foot and crosses his arms. “Before you go and argue, let me just lay things out so we’re both clear. Your supervisor did not greenlight your investigation. You know this and so do I. Now, I may just be some dumb hick to you, but I do happen to remember phone numbers pretty well. In fact, I think I even recall the number for the regional F&W office, where I’m sure your supervisor would just love to hear how you’re disobeying his orders, don’t you think?”
My stomach drops. “You wouldn’t…”
“Wouldn’t I? Hard to say, isn’t it? You seem to think you can read me so well, why don
’t you take a guess and we’ll see if you’re right.” He smirks at me.
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek. This is all my fault. Why did I open my stupid mouth and say anything to him? I glare at him and he holds my gaze, our wills locked into battle. I’ve faced some scares in my career. Hell, I’ve been shot. But there hasn’t been a threat to my actual career. My life? Yes, but my career?
It takes me a full minute to recover my breathing, but I finally do. I don’t answer. Instead, I turn my head, dropping eye contact and nod once, quick and angry.
I kick my tire so hard I’m sure I jammed a toe before I climb into the driver’s seat.
To his credit, he doesn’t gloat. He just climbs into his truck and backs it out of the highway and down the gravel road again.
I close my eyes.
Edie, Edie, what have you gotten yourself into?
CHAPTER EIGHT
DERIC
It was a dick move. I’m thinking that before I’m even back in my truck. I should feel bad, and maybe tomorrow I will, but right now, all that matters is that she’s not going out there alone.
When I said people die out here, I wasn’t lying. As far back as I can remember there have always been those foolish, adventurous souls coming out here to commune with nature and tap into some primal energy or some shit. They tap into something for sure, but nature can be a bitch and out here, survival of the fittest isn’t some abstract, intellectual concept; it’s real life.
There are forces out here greater than any one person, even the strong ones… the ones we grew up thinking were invincible, like my dad.
I climb into my truck and back it up into a clearing beside the narrow driveway to the Den. I’ve got a bag of clothes, snacks, flashlights, and basic first aid under my seat at all times, so I grab that too. Edie wants to take her Jeep. Considering how far I’ve already pushed it with her, the least I can do is respect that. I know I shouldn’t care. I should just let her do what she wants… It’s certainly not my place. I mean, I barely know her, and it’s not like she’s the cuddliest, most receptive person ever.