Research didn’t exactly pay well usually.
“Move over,” Grayson said in the grumpy tone she was already getting used to.
She stepped back, and he bent down over the hinge, examining it carefully.
Then he went back to his truck and returned with his tool belt, which he quickly strapped onto his waist.
“Oh, no, that’s not necessary,” she said quickly, stepping forward. “And I couldn’t possibly pay you.”
He raised one dark eyebrow at her. “As if I’d let you.” He waved a hand as he pulled out a tool and began to work on the hinge a bit. “It’s fine anyway. Out here, we help each other.”
“Are you from around here?”
He shook his head. “But where I’m from isn’t much different.”
“Why are you here, then?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” he said quietly, making clinking noises with his tool while doing something she couldn’t see. “This hinge is rusted. You’re going to need a new one. It’s going to be too stiff for you to move it. But I think I’ve got it going now.”
To her surprise, he took the crank and began to turn it, and the side began to actually extend.
Gratitude mixed with a little shame that she’d needed him waved through her.
“Thanks so much,” she said, stepping forward and extending a hand. When he simply looked at it, she dropped it at her side awkwardly. “I really appreciate it.”
He had his fists on his hips and was staring at the camper warily. “You really shouldn’t be out here. You think this thing will protect you from wolves?”
“Most wolves stay out of the way of humans,” she said. “And yes, it’s not a tent. I don’t think they are going to tear through it. Not unless they can jump really high.” She let out a giggle and was met with a sharp glare.
“Not funny, but I suppose you’re right. Plus, there aren’t any wolves around here.” He walked to her makeshift camping table and the two chairs she’d set up alongside it.
He sat in one of them, extending his legs and crossing them at the feet. “Is there really no way to get you out of here? I don’t like the thought of you being out here alone.”
“Why should you care?” April asked, sitting down to join him.
It was nice to take a break, and the air was cool and fragrant, smelling of fresh trees and pine and morning grass.
“I’m not sure,” Grayson said. “But I do. Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. I didn’t come out here just to fix your trailer.”
“I didn’t say you needed to—”
But before she could finish, Grayson had already stood from his chair and was striding over to his truck, pulling something out from the passenger’s side.
As he walked back, he had a brown bag in one hand and a drink carrier with two coffees in the other.
Striding over, he looked so tall and muscular and so cut and handsome in the morning light she didn’t think she could breathe right.
She even loved his severe military haircut. She was used to much crunchier men when she was out on a research trip. Men who went months without haircuts, grew beards out of necessity, and wore clothes that didn’t fit them at all.
This man clearly took pride in his appearance, from the way he was dressed to the sharp, close cut of his hair to the fresh shave on his face that still left the faintest of shadows to outline his hard jaw.
He wore a work shirt that fit his powerful shoulders perfectly, rolled up to his forearms. Jeans that fit tight hips and long, muscular legs. Work boots that looked like they’d actually been used correctly, not merely as a fashion statement.
And then there was that tool belt that made her just want to grab him by it and pull him in to kiss her.
God, she’d been doing lonely outdoor research for too long.
Besides, he didn’t look like the kind of man who would allow someone to pull him in and kiss him. He looked like the type that took charge, that showed a woman what he was made of…
Oh damn, she was reading too many romance novels.
He was not here to take charge with her. He was only here to… to what?
He handed her the bag and sat down again, taking one of the cups from the drink carrier. He handed the other to her, and she took a sip gratefully before setting it in her cup holder.
Then she took a look in the bag and let out a squeak of delight. “Pastries!”
Grayson looked up at her in confusion, and she could swear she saw a light flush on his tanned cheeks. “Is that good?”
“Of course! I meant to get breakfast before I headed out, but it was early and everything was closed. And then I was gonna just cook in the trailer, but it took so long to get up and…” She grabbed a pastry and moaned at how good it was. “I could just hug you for this.”
He stiffened slightly, as if he wasn’t sure that would be pleasant, and she smiled.
There was something about a guy who was awkward and grumpy like this but still a good man. He wasn’t the type who would play around or mess with a woman. He wasn’t the type with smooth words and lies, who made you guess what he was thinking.
It was all pretty transparent on his face, and she liked that about him. What was the point of dishonesty?
She finished her pastry and held one out for him, and he waved a hand, pushing it back.
“They’re all for you. I’ve already eaten.”
“I couldn’t possibly finish them.”
“They’ll keep,” he replied simply, folding his arms and leaning back to enjoy the sun. As he closed his eyes, his long lashes fanned out on his cheeks.
Then he opened them, looking at her, and the glint of silver was so striking she almost dropped a bite of pastry out of her mouth.
Dammit, he was hot.
“I can machine a new hinge for you if you want, but the one I fixed should hold now.”
“As I said, I really appreciate it. I don’t know how I can pay you back.”
“None needed,” he said casually.
She wasn’t sure what to say to him as she finished her pastry and brushed off her hands to set up the rest of her camp.
Grayson, to her surprise, helped her, bringing things from her car and setting up things in the trailer.
He just sort of made himself at home, and she found herself trusting him.
It was a small space, and she kept bumping against him, and little pricks of need kept bothering her every time they accidentally touched.
By the time they were done, she felt like a hot mess.
She didn’t doubt that he hadn’t meant to do any of it. It was just her own body reminding her she hadn’t had fun in a while. That she’d been too busy working and needed to slow down.
Still, after this, she’d need some distance from Grayson. And some fresh air.
“So what’s the plan for the day?” Grayson asked impatiently, cocking a hip as he folded his arms.
A quintessentially masculine pose and one that made her sort of weak in the knees. She hoped he couldn’t see that.
“Just some exploring,” she said, sitting before her legs could give out on her. “I need to get a feel for the terrain. I have aerial pictures, but wolves tend to like to settle in specific areas based on topography and accessibility of resources. Lots of work to do, but don’t worry. I’m used to it. I’m pretty good at staying safe in my work.”
“Hm.” Grayson didn’t seem convinced. “Would you like company?”
Oh heavens, her legs wouldn’t be able to take it. Hiking through the brush of this beautiful area with an equally beautiful man by her side… But it would be good to have someone who knew the area. Someone who could act like the guide.
And even if she was good at not alerting wolf packs or alarming them, she was smart enough to know that two people were always safer than one.
“Sure,” she said, walking over to the trailer to get her backpack and the other things she needed. “You got water?”
Grayson thumbed his hand in the dir
ection of the truck, nodding.
“Great. Then get what you need, and we’ll head out.”
She gathered her things as she watched Grayson go over to his truck to do the same. He bent to get something out of the back, and she couldn’t help glancing at his taut, muscular ass.
As he came back toward her, slinging a backpack over his shoulder, she let out a sigh and told herself not to lose sight of her true focus.
She was here to protect animals. Nothing more, nothing less. She’d do her job, figure out what should be done if there were wolves in Silver Lake, and then go back to where she’d come from.
She looked over her shoulder at Grayson, who was following behind her stoically, and smiled.
Perhaps in the meantime, a little extra adventure wouldn’t be bad.
Chapter 5
A few hours into their hike, April was just as peppy and excited and she’d been from the first step back at her tent trailer. Watching her traverse the fairly rough terrain in spite of her shorter stature was as curious as it was amusing, and Grayson just followed her protectively as they made their way deeper and deeper into the forest that stretched limitlessly northward.
Every now and then, April would check her watch or check a small device that tracked their GPS location via satellite and cross reference it with a map on her phone. It reminded him a bit of the military.
Only, in this case, they were looking for wolves to save, not people to kill.
“What we’re looking for is specific markers that could implicate wolf activity in the area,” April said, mostly to herself but in earshot if he wanted to listen in.
Which, for some reason, he did.
“Finding a water source is good since it’s both necessary for survival and their food sources will most likely be found nearby as well.” April stepped gingerly onto a boulder, then hopped off, landing with a little thud as they made their way parallel to a steam fifty or so feet below them.
In his wolf form, Grayson could probably hop all the way down in one bound. What would she think of the huge black monster he kept hidden away from the world?
Stop being stupid, Grayson.
Her seeing a wolf, any wolf, but especially an extra-large shifter wolf, was the absolute last thing that should happen.
April moved closer to the edge of the drop and pulled a camera out of her backpack. She raised it to take a picture, and Grayson couldn’t help moving a little closer to her, just in arm’s reach, in case she lost her balance or something…
The shutter clicked a few times, and she threw the strap around her shoulders, keeping it handy. When she turned over her shoulder, she looked a little surprised, as if she hadn’t expected him to be so close.
“Oh, hey.”
“Hey,” he said awkwardly, not sure how to explain the fact that he’d been standing next to her in case her feeble human balance gave out and she needed rescuing.
“Sorry, one sec,” she said, raising a finger. She pulled out a notepad and scribbled a few things, including their GPS location. Her small hands moved quickly over the page, her eyes focused intently, seemingly lost in thought. Then she put it away and looked back up at him.
Her green eyes reflected the color of the forest around her, small rays of sunshine lighting up the freckles on her face. Somehow, it made the wolf inside want to howl, even though the moon was nowhere in sight.
“I think that spot would be a great place to set up some equipment, if my hunch is right.” She pointed to a little moss-covered beach at the water’s edge at the bottom of the ravine. Then she pulled her backpack up around her shoulders and started hiking back up in the direction they’d come.
It was really difficult to not want to catch glimpses of her curved, shapely backside in the jeans she wore. Her shirt, an olive-green button-up, did little to conceal her softness, and her brunette hair was pulled into a ponytail through the back of a beat-up green and yellow cap that had some worn-out logo on the front.
Frankly, Grayson was a little amazed she was able to keep up the pace she did. And even though she huffed a little here and there as they made their way up a steep incline, she managed more than fine in spite of her short, soft-looking legs.
She truly had the kind of curves every young male wolf dreamed of having in their mate.
But Grayson had more important things to focus on.
As April surveyed the surrounding forest for clues that could lead her to wolves, Grayson was doing his own investigation. Making sure there were no clues that would lead her back to the pack that he felt both frustrated by and protective over.
Thankfully, if any of the pack members had been out here recently, they’d had the foresight to not leave tracks behind. A few late-summer rainstorms had helped, too, probably washing away any leftover hint of footprints that might be suspicious to the little human researcher.
If the wolves knew what was good for them, they’d stay in human form like they’d been instructed to. Even if it was uncomfortable, it beat getting discovered and having their identities revealed.
April diverted to the side for a moment, looking at a few broken branches on a nearby sapling. She hummed to herself, then shook her head.
Not a wolf’s markings, Grayson thought to himself, satisfied that April had somehow come to the same conclusion, even though she didn’t have the ability to scent the fact that deer had passed through an hour or so ago.
He folded his arms with strange satisfaction at the realization that April was a fairly competent tracker, especially for a human.
Grayson suddenly felt his heart tugging at his insides again, an uncomfortable tightness that felt like his body was being pulled to April from within. He wanted to find a quiet spot and just take April and…
“Hey, you’re being pretty quiet back there,” April said, looking over her shoulder at him for a moment, but not stopping her trek.
“Didn’t want to interrupt you. That and I’m used to it. Silence, that is.”
“I’ve got to say, you really have it great out here,” she said, appraising the towering pines surrounding them on all sides. The sound of the creek was slowly fading behind them, and not far from them, a woodpecker was busying itself with knocking the ever-loving life out of a tree trunk, filling the forest with an incessant tap-tap-tap.
“It’s nice, I guess.” Grayson shrugged. He’d seen a lot of exotic places in his lifetime. To the wolf in him, forest was just forest. Which meant any forest could feel like home, depending on the situation.
Granted, this one felt particularly nice now that April was in it. But he couldn’t admit that.
“You guess? This is basically paradise out here.” She stretched her head to the sky, raising a hand to block the sun’s light over her eyes, making her entire countenance beam.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. Happy?” But he wasn’t looking at the forest when he said it.
She grinned, an infectious smile that was far too positive to be affected by his own conflicted feelings, and shuffled her backpack on her shoulders again before heading forward.
“Let me get that for you.” Grayson came up beside her and tugged on the back strap of the camouflage backpack.
She squeaked in a bit of surprise at first, then shrugged the backpack off, allowing him to take. He threw it over one shoulder nonchalantly. The thing was practically weightless compared to the sorts of burdens he’d carried while in the service.
“Promise to not take any of my stuff, though? I’ll need it later.” The tip of her nose was starting to get pink, the first hint of sunburn on it.
“Damn, that’s exactly what I was planning on doing. I guess I have to promise not to if you’re going to let me carry it, though.” Grayson raised an eyebrow, watching her reaction.
April gave an intent nod, looking up at him in mock suspicion.
“Fine, I promise. No harm will come to your stuff when I’m around. Including your granola bars,” he said, the crunchy scent of the stuff wafting from the haphazardly pack
ed backpack.
“Thank you. How very gentlemanly of you.”
“Ha. I’m no gentleman.” Grayson couldn’t keep himself from scoffing at even the idea of it.
“That’s fine by me,” April said cryptically, glancing to the side at nothing in particular. “So I noticed you’ve been looking around, too. You see anything that might help us find our wolves?”
“First off, no, I did not. Second, I’m not looking for wolves. You are.” He was looking for the absence of wolves.
But that distinction seemed fairly pedantic, even to him. He just couldn’t even hint at his intentions of keeping a pack of shape-shifting humans hidden from society. There was too much at stake.
“Unhelpful!” April remarked, poking him in the shoulder, making the skin where her finger touched him feel oddly warm.
“Who said I had to be helpful?” Grayson said. “I’m carrying your backpack and protecting it, aren’t I?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits, but a grin pulled at the corner of her mouth.
It was strange to have a woman like her be so unintimidated by him. Human women usually avoided him completely or, at best, were terribly shy and quiet in his presence.
Granted, he didn’t care if humans were scared of him. In fact, he knew his appearance did little to make people comfortable. Which was why April was all the more puzzling.
“So your tattoos, army or marines?” April asked inquisitively.
“Army for life. Hooah,” Grayson said flatly, his pride in that particular part of his life long dried up after he’d returned to a ghost town with no one to call family and nowhere to call home.
God, that felt like a lifetime ago.
“Ha-ha, that’s the most excited I’ve ever heard you be about anything,” she joked.
“Just wait until you see me around Hunter. That’s when my fun side really comes out.” He grimaced, not sure if he should have mentioned his cougar compatriot.
Thankfully, with or without scruples, Hunter knew when to put a lid on it.
“So you have friends? I think I’d like to meet this guy.”
Built Fur Love Box Set Page 19