Page 4 of Camp Dire

I should say something, I know I should. I should at least nod for fuck’s sake, but nothing comes out when I open my mouth. It doesn’t help that he uses our connected hands to pull me towards him and uses his other hand to touch my cheek. I hold my breath thinking about kissing him when he pulls his thumb away to show me a streak of flour I didn’t even realize was there.

He’s not trying to be flirtatious or sweet. He’s just letting me know I am a mess. The reminder is like a bucket of cold water being poured over me and pulls me back to reality. “Nice to meet you too.”

Lowell comes rushing over, talking a mile a minute. Merrik swoops him up in his arms and listens to every word.

“Piper said I was doing the most important work because no one would have the cookies to make if I didn’t press them outthe right way and no one would know what they were if I didn’t decorate them so good.”

“Wow, that sounds like important stuff you and Piper are doing.” His eyes are back on me.

I give Lowell a smile before I turn back around and try to focus on cleaning things up a little bit.

“Yeah! Piper says good things always happen when a bunch of people work together instead of fighting.”

“Piper seems very wise. You should listen to what she has to say.”

Everything goes silent and it takes me a while to notice that only me and Annie and Merrik are still in the room. I look over at Annie with a clear question in my eyes only to find Merrik watching me intently.

“I’m sorry, did you say something? I must have not heard you. I guess I was really focused on cleaning.” I give a nervous chuckle before glancing over at Annie again. She’s eyeing the two of us with something akin to concern on her face.

Is she worried I might make a play for Merrik? I give her a smile that hopefully tells her she has nothing to worry about. I open my mouth to tell the two of them I don’t mind leaving so they can, um, have a private moment when Doyle comes breezing in. He’s so caught up in finally finding me semi-alone that I don’t think he realizes Merrik is in the room.

“There you are. I was looking everywhere for you. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were trying to avoid me. Oh, hi, Annie.”

I don’t make the mistake of smiling at him. Doyle doesn’t need any incentive to try to come on to me. He’s asked for a walk in the moonlight, tried to sit next to me during our campfire time, and even tried to talk me into going down to the lake with him alone.

“I have to clean all of this up, Doyle. It wouldn’t be right to leave it all for one person to do by themselves.”

“No more excuses, Piper. You’re coming with…,”

A growl fills the room and makes Doyle turn white. I start looking for the animal when he wheels around to find Merrik standing by the counter. Where is the damned dog that just let out the death growl? Why is no one but me and Doyle worried? Am I losing it? Maybe there wasn’t a growl after all. I slide over to be closer to Annie who doesn’t seem to be surprised at all.

“Doyle, buddy, join me outside so we can take care of some things. So, no one gets hurt.”

The two men leave quickly and the tension in the room leaves with them. “Um, guess we should clean up and head back to the bunkhouse.”

She nods and we spend a good thirty minutes cleaning, which is timed perfectly as the last batch of cookies come out of the oven. We put them away but take one for each child so we can sneak it to them before they go to sleep tonight. Neither of us talks about what happened with Merrik and Doyle…or Merrik and me and Annie. And I’m left to wonder if maybe I’m going crazy. Maybe Merrik really wasn’t staring at me intensely, there was no animal growl in the freakin’ kitchen, and Annie doesn’t think I am trying to steal her man. Besides, there is no way a hot guy like Merrik is going to look twice at someone like me.

I’m either certifiable or I need more sleep. Both may be true since I’m stressing out about what I should do after camp is over and I have nowhere to go. There’s no time to think about things like sexy men and jealous women when I have so many other things to stress over.

Chapter Five

Merrik

I took Doyle out and told him to leave Piper the fuck alone. Then I kicked his ass just to keep the request fresh in his mind. Once I came back in, Piper and Annie were gone and the kitchen was sparkling clean. I might have kicked over one of the industrial islands we have in there out of sheer frustration.

What would have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted? Where would our little introduction have led if not for the fucking idiot Doyle?

She’s skittish but I don’t think it is just me. I’ll have to keep an extra close eye on her so Doyle doesn’t try anything. I could sense the difference in her immediately when he entered the room. It was how she held her breath, the scent she naturally emits that makes my mouth water changed to one full of worry with an undertone of fear. I was issuing the threat before I realized what I was doing. Damn him!

No one makes my… I slow my roll and rewind. She isn’t mine. Yet. Not technically anyway. But I still don’t want her to smell of fear and worry, especially not around me. Just the thought of her feeling unsafe has me pacing the cabin I stay in when I work with the camp. It makes me want to stake my claim immediately so she will have my full protection. But as cautious as Piper isit’s going to take some time for her to get used to me and then I’ll drop the bomb about being more than just an ordinary man. I just need more time.

I just need… to find this fucking killer so I can leave while the fucking moon is red and not scare the shit out of her or do something stupid like…tie her to my bed and show her exactly what I am before I’ve told her. In the spirit of doing just that, I change and do some sniffing around but inevitably my wolf takes me back to the cabin I know Piper is in.

And I don’t like what I’m scenting. Doyle has been out here. Recently. I sniff the air again. But so has another male. Larry? I pull back so my rational mind can puzzle over this one. Why would Larry be outside the cabin where my Piper is sleeping? Do I have to protect what is mine from every male in this town? A sense of anger and rage fills me and I can’t hold back the snarls and growls that start coming out of my throat.

I can almost hear the moment she wakes, her heart beating faster. Immediately my own heart starts thumping in time with hers. And just like some invisible string connecting the two of us, her heartbeat starts to slow back down, even back out.

I want so badly to go to her. To say fuck it to all the responsibilities and demands I have on me and claim the woman who will be my mate for life. There is only ever one for my kind. Only one heart that beats with ours. Only one soul so attuned to mine it’s entwined and inseparable. Only one.

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