mine, and he lifted his chin slightly.
“What should we do?” Gemma whispered.
I didn’t answer. I simply curled my hand around the handle of one of the resort trucks and opened the door, practically shoving Gemma inside. I climbed in behind her as fast as I could, but it wasn’t all that fast because the bear was charging toward us right when the door shut. Loose gravel pinged against the side of the truck.
“Oh, my God, oh, my God,” Gemma repeated, her voice shaking.
“We’re gonna be fine,” I assured her.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the bear was now standing at the back corner of the truck. Flynn had the gun lifted and fired off several warning shots.
“The bear will leave, just give it a few minutes,” I assured Gemma.
We had climbed into the truck quickly, and she was sitting with her hip half on the console. I gave her a little assist, and she settled into the passenger seat, her eyes wide as she looked over at me. “That was crazy.”
“Sort of. Bears and moose are part of life here. That said, that’s the closest I’ve gotten to a bear. I prefer to see them from a distance.”
I glanced back to see the bear still standing near the back of the truck. Flynn fired off another warning shot, finally rousing the bear whose heavy head moved slowly to stare at Flynn where he stood on the deck. We listened and watched as the bear slowly, taking his sweet time, lumbered away. Gemma let out a ragged sigh after the bear’s rump disappeared into the trees.
She looked toward me again. “I don’t think I ever want to get out of this truck.”
I chuckled. “No rush. We’re definitely sitting tight for a few minutes.”
“Do you think those moose will be okay?” Her eyes were worried as she peered in the direction they had gone.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Those were yearlings, so they’re not as easy for the bear to take, especially not with a full-grown mama moose to deal with. If anything, we interrupted him. He didn’t go in the same direction as they did. I’m going to guess they’ve had enough time to put some distance between them and him.”
“Do you know if it’s a male?” Her gaze swung back to me.
“I have no clue, really, but this would be the time of year that the females have cubs. Since there aren’t any in sight, I’m going to guess it’s a male.”
My phone vibrated in my jeans pocket. I slipped it out as I leaned back in the seat. Glancing at the screen, I saw it was Flynn, likely calling me from the porch. Sliding my thumb across the screen, I answered, “Good work.”
Flynn chuckled. “I’m glad the warning shots chased him off. I’m assuming you’re not getting out of the truck anytime soon.”
“We’re going to sit tight for a little bit.”
“Is Gemma okay?”
Glancing to her, I said, “Flynn wants to know how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine. Now.” She shook her head, still looking a little startled at the fast chain of events.
“She’s fine, if you didn’t hear her answer. If anyone else inside was planning on leaving, they should probably wait a few.”
“Of course. Talk when you come back in.”
I set the phone on the dashboard, glancing into the trees where the bear had disappeared.
“How long should we wait?” Gemma asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe five minutes or so. Enough time that we know he’s not coming back.”
She leaned her head back against the seat, rolling it sideways to look at me. “That was enough excitement for me this evening.”
All we were doing was sitting in a truck. It wasn’t even my truck. Our reasons for being here were amusing and slightly life-threatening, although the threat had definitely passed. None of that mattered. A switch had been flipped in my body.
We stared at each other, and it felt as if desire slipped through every crevice around the edges of the windows and doors like smoke, filling the air around us with a hum of electricity and sparks. Gemma’s eyes darkened, a reflection of the raw desire coursing through me. I needed to kiss her as much as I needed air.
So, I did. I leaned over the console, sliding my hand around to cup her jaw and tracing my thumb over her bottom lip. We stared at each other in the quiet. The anticipation wound tight. It felt as good as I knew it would be when my lips finally touched hers. The sound of