Page 2 of Driven Wild By The Grizzly

“E-excuse me?” I croak. My throat is all dried up.

“Come up here,” he repeats, in a deep, rumbling voice. Kind of how a bear would sound if it could speak.

He shifts around in his seat and looks at me with a pair of bright green eyes.

I have no idea how I can tell they’re green when I’m so far away. He also has a big, dark beard and his biceps areepic. Huge and rippling and covered in tattoos.

Nothinglike a typical bus driver.

More like a scary mountain man who could eat me alive.

“You’ll be more comfortable,” he says in a softer tone.

I swallow hard. He’s right. The front of a vehicle is way more stable. If I’m gonna make it down this mountainside without totally humiliating myself, I need to give it my best shot.

“Okay,” I say and heave myself up.

The driver turns front again, but as I stagger down the bus on wobbly legs, I see him glance in his rearview mirror once or twice. I must look a sight. I burst out of the jewelry studio like a bat out of hell, and I was all hot and breathless by the time I got on the bus. And now I’m sure my face has gone deathly pale. Nothing I can do about that, though. I’ll just sit down right here, opposite the driver’s seat, and wait for this descent into hell to be over—

Whoa.

Up close, those eyes are ten times as intense. They’re pure emerald green, and the way he’s looking at me… like he’s trying to bore right into my soul, to dig up all my secrets. Shivers run through me. This man is unearthly gorgeous.

My heart beats fast as I take in firm, lush lips, an angular jaw and cheekbones, and thick dark eyebrows and lashes. A fierce, scary wild man with the looks of a god.

Unfortunately, I’m so stunned by this hotness overload that I stumble backward.

The back of my knees hits the edge of the seat and my ass drops down hard. I kind of bounce off the seat cushion and slither toward the ground.Oh, no—

At the last second, the driver’s arm shoots out and he catches me.

His massive hand grips my belt buckle, holding me in place. I look down at his equally massive forearm in awe. It’s corded with muscle and covered with brightly colored tattoos. He draws me up into a standing position again. It can’t be easy from this angle, but he makes it seem effortless.

“Steady.” The ghost of a smile passes across his face, and all I can do isstare. He’s the hottest bus driver on the planet. Scratch that. He’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my life. His talents are seriously wasted driving a bus. He should have a starring role inGame of Thronesor something.

And he’s still holding me by my belt. His knuckles are resting against the bare skin of my stomach.Gulp.Surely this shouldn’t feel so good.

“Thanks,” I manage to say.

“What’s your name?”

“Jessica,” I tell him.

“Nice to meet you, Jessica. I’m Ethan.”

Ethan. Hot name for a hot guy.

He holds onto me for a moment longer. When he releases me, something like regret passes across his stupidly handsome features. “Take a seat, right there.” His voice is low, like he’s trying not to scare me.

I’m too stunned to do anything other than obey him.

“Don’t worry. It looks worse than it is,” he says. “I’ll drive real slow.”

I look out of the windshield. For a moment, I’d forgotten all about the sheer drop in front of us. At least I can see the road from here. But it still looks pretty dang terrifying.

“You’re not in any danger,” he continues. “I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.”

That sounds nice, reassuring—

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