Page 25 of Driven Wild By The Grizzly

My head snaps to her and we exchange a long look. My heart pounds. All I want is to take her in my arms and kiss her senseless.

“Jessica, come with me, right now,” Ricky grits out.

Her attention darts to me, and back to him again. “Ethan, I’d better go. He needs a little time,” she says, her voice dragging with regret.

I bunch my fists. My bear is whining, scrabbling, begging me to make her stay.

Letting her go is going to kill me.

And if she leaves now, she might not come back.

10

Jessica

“Ricky, you don’t understand. And quit dragging me!” I tear my hand out of his grasp.

“Sorry, sorry.” He shoots me a pained glance over his shoulder. “I’m just worried the storm’s gonna come back.”

I think he’s right. The sky has turned an ominous gray again, and the air is full of static.

“All the more reason to have stayed in our cabin,” I retort.

“Our!?” Ricky slams on the brakes. “What is this, our? You only just met this… this guy, Jessica. Are you out of your mind?”

He starts up again, striding so fast along the forest trail that I have to jog to keep up. My jeans are still a little damp and hella uncomfortable. Luckily I tugged them on when I realized Ricky had come for me, so he didn’t have to know that I’ve been walking around in my underwear.

“I know it sounds crazy—” I pant.

“We’ll discuss this when we home.”

He’s right. I need to save my breath for getting the hell out of here. It will really suck if we get caught in another deluge. I stare at his uncompromising back view as I follow after him. I kinda get where he’s coming from. Things have happened so fast with Ethan. And the last time I met a guy, we wound up having to move towns and basically hide ourselves away like we were in witness protection. But Ricky doesn’t need to treat me like I’m some naïve idiot. Yes, I failed to spot that my ex was a psychopathic weirdo until it was too late. But at the same time, I didn’t fully trust him. I never went past first base with him. I always had thisfeelingthat I wanted to wait until I met the right one, and I knew that wasn’t him.

But with Ethan, everything is different. Every single moment with him has been so right. From our first conversation on the bus, to the way we woke up this morning in each other’s arms. I don’t have a single doubt about him, because he’s my mate. The one I was fated to be with.

But how to explain that to my wired brother?

The sky is grumbling as we exit the forest, but there’s Ricky’s battered old sedan waiting for us in a small parking lot.

I feel a burst of gratitude toward him for looking out for me… which lasts all of ten seconds.

“You know what this guy is, Jessica?” he barks as he starts up the car.

I sigh. “Do you?”

Rain starts coming down, and he flicks on the wipers. Like the rest of the car, they’re worn-out and they squeak back and forth unevenly.

“Yup, he’s basically an animal. An animal with a human face.”

“Don’t you dare talk about him like that!” I yell, protectiveness pouring through me.

Ricky throws me a look of surprise. Guess my voice doesn’t usually sound so fierce and kinda growly.

He shakes his head. “Okay, Jessica, tell me what’s so great about this guy, that after one night together, you’re ready to move in with him.”

“He took care of me.”

He grunts. “I hate to think what would’ve happened if I hadn’t arrived just then.”

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