Page 7 of Mountain Challenge

For a long instant, they all remained still, a silent tableau. Standing in the middle, Isla readied herself. This could go either way. The stranger stepping in might actually make things worse. Not that the young man looked the type to attack her. She was pretty confident he was only trying to intimidate her. But one could never be sure, particularly if the sexy stranger made the young man feel inadequate in front of his girlfriend.

The young man looked sideways at the stranger—then looked again. Something in that second look told Isla the teenager was backing down.Smart move. Moments later, the teenager took a step back, his gaze still on the other man.

Isla looked as well—after all, she had an excuse now. It might have been the stranger’s height, or the scowl on his face, or … it was only now that Isla noticed the dark blue uniform the man was wearing. Four letters stood out white on blue on the man’s uniform.PGHM.A cop?

The stranger—and she should know his name from her reservation book, but couldn’t for the life of her remember—stood up straighter but stayed very still, those deep green eyes shining a clear warning.

“Let’s go,” the young man said, fairly dragging his girlfriend out behind him. The girl looked back, sending a relieved, apologetic smile their way right before the door clanged shut behind them.

Isla breathed out.

Wow.

“Are you okay?” Not a growl this time, but damn, the man’s voice was strong and deep. Isla nodded quickly to cover the shiver that ran through her at the sound. What was wrong with her?

“You’re a policeman?” she asked, speaking in English, assuming that was his native language.

He nodded, offering her his large hand, looking relieved to be able to speak English with her. “Lieutenant Ry Harrison.Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne.”

She’d heard of the valley’s mountain rescue gendarmes. But surely they didn’t all look like this … this sun-kissed Adonis standing in front of her.

Isla shook his hand, surprised at the tingle on her skin where his fingers wrapped around hers. She recognized it for what it was—lust, pure and unadulterated—but the recognition didn’t make it any less unexpected.

The man—Ry, she corrected herself, since she now knew his name—held her hand until she let go, then took a quick step back, which meant she no longer had to raise her head to look at him.Considerate, too.

“I’m Isla. Isla Bernard. Thank you for your help just now,” she said, only just stopping herself from telling him she’d had it all under control.That wouldn’t be gracious.

He smiled, as if he could read her mind—as if he’d heard the words she hadn’t said. And of course, hehadto have a beautiful smile, those full lips pulling back to show straight, white teeth.No dimples, but she hadn’t expected them. There was nothing cute about this man.

“Give me a second,” he said, pulling out his phone. “I’m going to have somebody check on those two. I want to make sure the girl’s okay.”

Damn. She should have thought of that. She thought back to the smile the girl had given them on her way out. She hadn’t felt any worrying vibes, but the way her boyfriend had stepped in to crowd Isla was a red flag, for sure. She was glad thegendarmehad thought to look into it.

“So. You’re here for a tattoo,” Isla said once the phone was back in his pocket.

Ry nodded, stealing a look at the door behind him. It wasn’t the first time he’d looked that way. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” he said, too quickly.

Isla moved back to the low table next to them, pulling out the album, still open to the hearts section. “Do you already know what you’d like, or would you like to talk through some ideas?”

“Here?” he asked, once again looking towards the closed door. And just like that, the missing pieces clicked into place for her.Ah. Thegendarmewas waiting for the tattooist to come outside.

Her amusement must have shown before she could school her face back into a neutral expression. “There’s nobody inside that room, right?” he asked softly, his cheeks going a warm pink as he looked around the room at the designs on the wall.

Isla shook her head, allowing herself a small smile. Okay, so maybe he was a bit cute, as well as sexy as hell.

“Those are your designs.”

“They’re my designs,” she confirmed quietly. “Some of my favorites.”

He paused. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally a sexist asshole.”

Not afraid to apologize, either. This man’s a freaking unicorn.

Isla shrugged lightly.No harm done.Her eyes went back to the album, still open to the hearts section. She had to admit, she was kind of curious about the kind of tattoo a man like him would choose. He didn’t strike her as the heart type, but who knew, maybe he was in a long distance relationship. “So … you have an idea of what you’d like, Mr. Harrison?”

He visibly pulled himself together, bringing out a folded piece of paper out of his breast pocket. “Ry, please. And yes, I know what I want.”

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