Shit.

  He couldn’t leave a woman out there all night. The sun would set soon, and he still had to go back for his change of clothes before he could let her see him. First, he’d better make sure she was not in any real danger.

  He leapt onto a sturdy limb from a nearby birch tree. Creeping forward stealthily, Keeton balanced his long, muscular body on the branch that dangled over the rocky patch of ground the woman had stumbled upon. Hair the color of a desert sunset, a sort of rusty gold caught his eye, but that wasn’t the only thing about her that dazzled.

  The female wore a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged her curvy frame. She was leaning over a backpack, its contents now spilled across the forest floor, and she tried earnestly to gather them up silently. From what he could see she had a toothbrush, shampoo, some clothes, bug spray, and fuck, was that a taser gun?

  She was completely adorable. Everything inside of him swelled with the need to go to her. To make sure she was unhurt, keep her safe from harm. Once she had her belongings, he feared he missed his chance. But the sweet looking woman bit her lip and cried out as her ankle refused to support her, and she slumped back to her knees.

  Grrr.

  He fought his cat’s urge to run to her, turning back instead for the nearest of his secret stashes of clothes spread throughout the mountains. He would give her the aid she required, but he needed to be dressed to do that.

  The sooner he helped her, the sooner she would be gone. Off his property. Out of his life. Then Keeton wouldn’t have to worry about the very real dangers she posed to his lifestyle. No, he wouldn’t think about that now. Refused to even say it aloud.

  He shrugged on his jeans and flannel, using his long stride to his advantage just in case she managed to try to wander off. Foolish woman could get herself really hurt. True, he was the fiercest beast in the land, but not the only one. There were plenty of black bears, a few wolves, and several coyotes in the Panther Mountains.

  Wild creatures who were generally wary of his turf, but the area she’d fallen was near the edge of his territory. There was no telling who or what she’d run into if he didn’t get to her in time.

  Keeton inhaled a deep breath, picking up the floral hints of the female’s scent along with the distinct tartness of fear. His Mountain Lion roared inside of him. The beast didn’t want the woman scared. He pressed against his skin, scratching, and clawing for Keeton to move faster. He didn’t want to startle her any further, so he purposely made noise, changing his stealthy animalistic tread for that of his noisier, less graceful half.

  “Hello? Is someone there?” she cried out, and her husky voice was like a balm to his soul.

  Grrr.

  Keeton paused, allowing the dulcet tones to wash over him. Something was different about this woman. Sure, he had his fair share of trysts. Nothing but bodies in the dark to satisfy an itch, a natural urge he could no more control than he could his need to shift.

  He should not think such thoughts. Could not afford to even imagine indulging in the seductive female who needed his help. No. He would simply walk her back to her camp. She must have come on a tour or some such thing. They were frequent this time of year, but never came this far out.

  He should know, having spent the last eighteen months alone in his cabin. No one for miles except the occasional hikers who wandered too far from civilization to prove something to themselves. Keeton had no time for those people. No time for liars and fools.

  She’s neither, his beast whispered insistently in his mind’s eye. But he refused to heed the animal. Just as he refused to acknowledge the hardness in his jeans at the sight of her soft, flushed skin when he made himself known.

  “Oh! You scared me.” She laid a hand over her chest and closed her eyes, relief easing her muscles.

  He wondered what she would do if he told her. He was the most dangerous thing out there. Cocking his head to the side, he watched as she struggled to stand. Not quite trusting himself to touch her just yet. His Lion was far too close to the surface for that.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. I twisted my dang ankle,” she said, still talking although he hadn’t uttered a word. “And I think I heard a bear or something just a little while ago. Damn near peed my pants.”

  The strange woman exhaled a breath and leaned over to grab her bulky backpack. She shouldn’t try that on such slippery terrain, but before he could utter a warning, she was halfway to tipping over and landing on that gorgeous rump of hers.

  Shit.

  He darted forward on sure feet. Never had a problem with the leaves and rocks himself, but he was a Shifter, and this was his territory. Keeton knew the terrain like the back of his hand.

  “Oooh!”

  “Here, I got you,” he grunted, and the raspy sound of his voice surprised even his own ears.

  The stranger looked up at him with enormous hazel eyes, the color of which he couldn’t pin down. One moment green, the next russet, circled in black with flecks of gold throughout. He was hypnotized. Forgot he was holding her for a moment, but the feel of her soft, honey scented skin snug against his was enough to wake his innermost longings.

  “Thank you,” she whispered the words, the soft rustle like leaves in the wind.

  Her voice had a calming effect on his Mountain Lion, but her ultra feminine body, well, that had the opposite effect on him. Too hastily, Keeton pushed away from her, causing the petite beauty to wobble unsteadily.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, clutching his flannel with her fingers.

  He should’ve let her fall, but there was no fucking way he’d do such a thing. He steadied her with firm hands, stepping back so as not to brush his suddenly rock hard cock against her softness. She was everything beautiful and bright that he’d forgotten about the world when he’d locked himself away in the mountains.

  “I’m Marilena, but everyone calls me Lena for short. It’s spelled L-E-N-A but pronounced lay-nah. Throws everyone, but my dad was Italian.”

  She shrugged and cleared her throat. Perhaps she was uncomfortable with silences, but Keeton had grown used to them. He simply watched as she bit her lower lip, releasing her hold on his shirt. She was still wobbly, so he held out his hand. An offering that she took with a grateful smile.

  Keeton grunted indifferently, but it was a ruse. A storm of lightning like zings zipped up and down his body. Like electrical currents zapping him into awareness. He grabbed the backpack before she could reach for it once again, shrugging it onto his free shoulder while keeping a firm grip on her waist.

  “Thanks,” she repeated, but he couldn’t talk just yet.

  Keeton was trembling from head to toe. His heart was pounding so hard, he thought the blasted muscle was going to beat him to death.

  What was she just talking about?

  Her name?

  Marilena.

  Beautiful.

  “Keeton!” He snapped. “What?” He closed his eyes and took a calming breath before turning their full force on her. Fuck, but she was so lovely. He pushed the Lion down, willing the creature to be still when he opened his mouth next to speak.

  “My name is Keeton Grey.”

  Chapter Three

  Oh, my.

  Goodness gracious.

  Sweet mercy.

  Marilena was not exactly a nature girl. And yet, the second she’d seen the brochure in the hotel's lobby, the one she’d driven to after that disaster with Cary, it was like she just knew. Like a big old neon arrow had pointed right at the glossy little thing saying, ‘go on girl, this is your destiny’.

  Well, her destiny had a completely fucked sense of humor. First off, chubby chicks did not dig walking for miles in the woods, uphill for fuck’s sake, without her GPS. Yeah. Who knew? There were no cell towers in the Panther Mountains.

  She should’ve known something was wrong when she’d stopped at the little mini mart before the trails began and the attendant had laughed at her when she told him which one, she was going to take.

  “That’s an expert trail, miss. Takes eight hours to get to the top and then you gotta make camp. See how the dots on your map are red? Red means only hiking enthusiasts should attempt. You might wanna start with something more your speed. There, try the trail marked out in green on the other side of that map. That’s the ticket for a city girl like you.”

  Next, the beady-eyed little cretin had pointed to a tiny circle marked out in green dots labeled appropriate for ages twelve and under. The jerk.

  Hmmpf.

  Nothing like throwing down a gauntlet to get Lena’s panties in a bunch. Determined to prove even a fluffy girl like her could make it to the top of the expert trail, set up camp for the night, and start back down in the morning, she’d purchased a one-person tent, some protein bars, and extra waters, and started at daybreak.

  Eight hours came more quickly than she thought, as her frequent stops made it difficult to keep to that time. But what could she say? Her need to pee won out more often than not. Even now she did not think she was anywhere near the campsite.

  But the sun was already low in the afternoon sky and Lena was hungry, cold, and tired. She decided one wooded area was as good as another, but three strikes and she was too humiliated to try again. The first area she tried to pitch her tent was against a tree where some pretty angry squirrels were preparing for the coming winter.

  Little buggers thought she was trying to steal their nuts and had retaliated by crawling up her thigh and chittering like mad. Lena had dropped to the floor and rolled to get the beasties off, but dang, they sure were feisty.

  The second effort had resulted in her pushing a stake through a fire ant mound beneath a pile of leaves. Again, she went running for the hills. Literally.

  After another twenty minutes of walking, Lena finally tried her latest attempt. Panther Mountain was so beautiful and peaceful. She knew it was a series of mountains, but still called it in the singular as the locals did. The storekeeper hadn’t been wrong when he’d said the trail she’d chosen was for experts, but she couldn’t let the mountain beat her. And she sure as hell wasn’t about to let another man tell her what to do with her life.

  Yes, she’d been foolish, but she could survive a night under the stars. This was her opportunity to spend some time alone with her thoughts. After countless hours of going through what she’d walked in on just a few days ago, Lena still felt one thing above all the betrayal and anger. Relief.

  It was simple as that. Marrying Cary would have been a terrible mistake. He was the only one of her boyfriends her mother had ever liked. That alone should have been a red flag. She grinned at the thought and shook her head, searching for a clearing between the ever-thickening forest. The aches in her muscles now went all the way down to her bones. She had to rest for the night.

  There’d been a few signs hanging up, claiming this section of woods was private property, but Lena saw no such details in her map. It was probably some kids playing pranks. So, she’d gone through a dense stand of tall pines and found paradise. A clearing. One that looked peaceful under the faint light from the rising moon glowing overhead.

  Of course, slipping on the damp rocks hidden beneath the fallen Autumn leaves and spraining her dang ankle was not high on her list, but it happened. But what had she expected with her luck? Just when she thought all was lost, with the sky darkening and the sounds of roaming animals approaching, he showed up.

  The man was a mountain himself. He was a giant, for sure. The tallest, widest human being Lena had ever seen. Her heart skipped two beats at his silent approach. For a moment, she’d thought she’d dreamed him up.

  “Oh! You scared me,” she’d said.

  Then after that, she damn near talked his head off. Lena babbled when she was nervous, and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Sexy made her nervous as hell. His eyes sparkled like green emeralds, his hands were big and sure as he steadied her when she almost tumbled head over teakettle once more.

  If anyone could make a fool of themselves at the most inopportune moments, it was her. So, grinning self-deprecatingly, she took his hand, grateful for the aid. He slipped a sure arm around her waist and shrugged her knapsack onto his back. Then he introduced himself.

  “My name is Keeton.”

  Some things were coincidence, others were hard earned through work and years of searching. Then there were those things that the universe itself seemed to drop at your feet.

  Like gifts, Lena often thought.

  When Keeton said his name, she felt tiny sparks of electricity flit up and down her spine. Then her ankle rolled, but before she could go down like a ton of bricks, or one large overly fluffy girl, the mountain of a man swooped her into his arms before she even touched the ground. Lena had a moment of panic.

  She didn’t want him to carry her, to feel her weight so keenly. But he barely even slowed down. Walking at an unhurried pace while he held both her and her bag firmly in his firm grip. She’d never felt so small or protected before in her entire life. Maybe that was why instead of telling him to put her down, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

  “I have a cabin,” he said in a deep, rumbling voice that did funny things to her insides.

  The deep tones sort of turned her into a warm pile of goo. She nodded her head, swallowing the nerves that threatened to spill out. This was crazy.

  He could be an axe murderer.

  Or some crazy survivalist hiding from the government.

  Or a ridiculously handsome man living alone on a mountain, starved for sex, and looking to scratch his itch with a chubby chick born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey.

  Gulp.

  Before she could find her voice to ask for more information, they were there.

  “Oh, wow!” Lena gasped as he carried her effortlessly along the cobblestoned walkway that led to an enormous two-story log cabin style house.

  “When you said cabin, I thought you meant like a one room shack in the woods,” she murmured.

  “Why did you think that?” Keeton cocked his head to the side and looked curiously at her.

  “Uh, I don’t know. I think I can walk,” she returned, a little embarrassed by both her supposition and the vulnerability she felt in his embrace.

  It’s not an embrace, Lena.

  She scolded herself often whenever her flights of fancy were bound to get her into trouble. If she started thinking of this man in terms of embraces, Lena was liable to throw herself at him.

  What kind of soul searching would she accomplish then when he laughed her right out of his beautiful home?

  Sigh.

  The sky opened up just as he lowered her onto his covered porch, and Lena gasped, turning too quickly to see lightning crack through the suddenly black sky.

  “Easy,” Keeton said, moving closer. His enormous body blocked Lena from getting wet by the raindrops that splattered on the rocks he’d used to decorate outside the cabin.

  It was the perfect blend of wild and tamed. The building itself seemed more part of the landscape than she’d thought at first, and the result was beautiful.

  “Come inside,” he said.

  “Are you sure I won’t be intruding?”

  “No,” his green eyes glowed as he spoke, and she swallowed at the pure turmoil she saw in them.

  Something deep was going on with her reluctant host. An inner struggle she wasn’t sure she was supposed to see. Common courtesy demanded she go find somewhere else to wait out the storm and call for aid, but Lena didn’t have that luxury. She was stranded in the forest with no cell service, an injured ankle, and a thunderstorm raging. Keeton Grey was her only hope. And he wasn’t done answering her, she realized when the hard line of his mouth opened once more.

  “In fact, I’m positive you’re intruding, Marilena Sorelli,” he growled the words. “But come inside anyway.”

  Chapter Four

  Heaven.

  I am holding heaven in my arms, and it’s sweet and soft, and fuck me, I don’t deserve it.

  Mine, his Mountain Lion chuffed happily with his mate in his arms.

  Keeton had walked through the familiar forest with the sweet smelling woman in his arms, and yes, he took the long way home just to prolong the contact. It was the most content he’d ever felt his inner beast.

  It was slightly overwhelming to think a single female could render his powerful and solitary inner animal as docile as a fucking kitten. But there it was. The cat was purring, for fuck’s sake. Lying belly up in that metaphysical plane where he dwelled until Keeton called his fur forward, deep within his mind’s eye.

  He’d never, ever seen the beast do that before. And it wasn’t like there were other Eastern Mountain Lion Shifters around to help with this sort of thing. Loners in the wild, and unlike many other Shifter subspecies, his kind did not dwell in large groups or Prides. Fact was, there weren’t very many of them around.

  Occasionally, they teamed up with other Shifter groups, like he did with others in the military and after in the mercenary groups he worked for. Callan and Landry were an Alpha and Omega pair who’d allowed him to heal some with them on Moongate Island, and yes, it had helped his cat.

  But the need to retreat from the world had been strong. His sense of betrayal too deep to rejoin humankind, he sought refuge here. The very last place he’d ever expected to run into a female, let alone his mate.

  She was his. He knew it from the moment he first caught her scent. But she was human. Knew nothing of Shifters and fated mates. And he was a fucking hermit. She’d be much better off without him.

  Rrroooaaarrr!

 

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