She was surprised how much it relieved her to be certain he didn’t see her as silly or stupid. And it reminded her of how often Hector had made her feel that way. Not constantly or she would have walked out. But often enough that she remembered it. God, what had she ever seen in that man?
“You have no idea how un-obvious that is to most people. Are you mad at me?”
“No, not really. I was just so worried when you went out there. I guess I’m wound up.”
“Everything’s fine.”
“Now, sure. So you think somebody was out there again?”
“It’s possible.” The last of his smile faded. “The list of things that would worry a she-bear is pretty short. It can’t have been wolves because she’d be dealing with a pack and wouldn’t leave her cub’s side. We haven’t reached mating season yet, so it’s unlikely a male would be anywhere near. That leaves humans. What really bothers me, though, is that the cub wasn’t up a tree. I wish I could find out if it’s hurt.”
“Don’t even suggest going back there to find out. Not alone.”
“I won’t. But if I find out somebody hurt a cub, there’ll be hell to pay.”
Despite the warmth inside the cabin, Sky felt chilled and rubbed her upper arms with her hands. “I had no idea a small vacation in a national forest could turn so adventurous. Call me naive.”
“I can escort you back to town.”
“No!” She was vehement. “I’m not letting those creeps run me off, and I’m not leaving you here alone. They seem to have an interest in one of us. Most likely you.”
“So what’s your plan, then, Sky?”
She thought she read more in his eyes than simple curiosity, but she couldn’t be sure. “I’m going to go out as soon as the rain passes and do what I’ve been doing. If I can keep one or two of those guys busy, that’ll help. After today it’s obvious they’re interested in a lot more than what’s happening at the edges of Buddy’s property. In which case, me carrying on like there’s nothing to worry about might lull them.”
He nodded slowly. “Maybe. Especially after they’ve seen we’re hanging out together.”
“Exactly. So tomorrow, assuming the rain lets up, we carry on as if we’ve forgotten all about Buddy and Cap.”
Boy, did she wish she could forget all about those guys. She wished this was just an ordinary vacation, that she’d met Craig under ordinary circumstances, that they could tell the world to go hang and spend the rest of the day exploring the burgeoning attraction between them.
That’s all she wanted. A little peace and quiet to find out what it would be like to be with Craig fully, to find out if he could take her to those heights again when they weren’t constricted by clothes. To find out if she could take him there again.
Even with all that was going on, that need was growing stronger by the minute. The need to love and be loved.
It was, she thought, staring down at her hands, as primal as questions of life and death.
Craig caught the flicker of heat in her gaze before she became fascinated with her hands. Damn, his body surged in response just from that look. He’d damn near forgotten he could respond to a woman like tinder to a match. One look and he was raring to go.
The whole world seemed to narrow to that cabin and to the woman sitting across from him. He was only human, after all, and his most essential nature was waking to possibilities, desires, needs. The smell of the hot woodstove dominated the cabin, but beneath it he could detect the very faint odors of woman. They called to him as much as her eyes had.
Oh, he had it bad.
He tried to think about threats, tried to think about the fact that he was fairly certain somebody had checked them out at least twice today, and that level of interest indicated that Buddy and his friends felt threatened. Feeling threatened could lead them to act. He’d have loved to find an innocent reason, but there didn’t seem to be any.
Right now, though, he didn’t give a damn. Once he barred the door, they’d be safe from everything except fire, and given how wet it was out there, the only fire would have to be started in here.
And what a fire it would be, he thought, looking at Sky. She’d made him feel young again, surprising