Page 3 of Driven Wild By The Grizzly

Huh? I startle. What does he mean,never?

I sense him looking at me and instinctively I turn my head back to him.Wow.There’s something electrifying about his gaze. It sends sparks all through my body, making me feel hot and excitable.

I’m not used to having someone’s attention on me like this. Sure, my ex used to stare at me a lot. Sometimes through binoculars. But this is different. This is not creepy at all. I feel like this hot stranger knows me. Like his soul is connecting with mine. And I know that makes no sense at all.

I swallow hard.

“Just relax.” Ethan’s voice is like a caress. He works the gearstick with his big, thick fingers and the bus starts moving.

2

Jessica

Okay, it’s not so bad if I don’t look out of the windshield. But I don’t want Ethan to catch me staring at him, either. Instead, I focus my attention through the side window, watching as we hurtle below the tree line again.

“That’s the worst of it over.” His deep, rumbling voice cuts through the whining and rattling of the engine. I can tell he’s trying to keep his tone soft for my benefit. He’s sweet for a scary mountain man.

The road ahead of us starts to look more like a normal hilly road than a highway to hell. Thirty percent incline at most. Child’s play.

“Whew. To think I was planning do this journey every day,” I mutter.

Ethan’s body stiffens and his head whips toward me. “You’re not?”

“No. I…” I sigh. “Oh, it doesn’t matter.” I don’t want to burden this kind, insanely hot stranger with my problems.

“What happened?” The urgency in his voice startles me. I swallow hard. He’s mainly keeping his eyes on the road, but every time he glances at me, there’s something so serious and fixated in his gaze. Something that makes me feel all nervous and excitable.

“Oh, I turned up to start my new apprenticeship today,” I begin. “I was really looking forward to it. My boss is a big deal in his industry, and I was so happy that he’d chosen me out of a bunch of applicants. But, he—” I break off as another hot wave of humiliation crashes over me.

“He… what?” Ethan’s voice is tense.

I take a big breath and let it out slowly. “He basically made it clear that he expects me to sleep with him.”

“What!?” he bellows.

I jump. The sound is more like a beast’s roar than something that could’ve come out of a human. But it’s nothing compared to the anger burning in his eyes. He looks like he’s ready to tear someone apart with his bare hands.

And… I like it. This might be really darn weird, but I don’t feel scared. I feel protected.

“Yeah.” I look down at my hands. “He made it seem like it was part of the job. Like, if I didn’t sleep with him, I wouldn’t get the apprenticeship.”

“Where is he?” Ethan demands. His jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscles bulging in his face.

“Uh…he’s at the Jewelry Workshop in Brookville,” I blurt out, too stunned to wonder why he’s asking.

He shakes his head angrily, muttering to himself. Maybe he’s a psychopath, too, but his concern makes me feel safe. I get the feeling that if an axe-wielding maniac jumped on the bus right now, he’d do whatever it took to protect me. Hell, he’d probably knock them out with the force of that growly voice of his.

We pass through a bunch of switchbacks and he slows down even more, navigating each turn carefully. He’s a good, careful driver, and I haven’t gotten travel sick at all, I realize. I’m actually starting to enjoy this front-seat view of the mountains, sitting beside my personal super-sexy bus driver.

“You’re running from something else.”

My head snaps toward him. His eyes are burning brighter than ever.But how does he know that?

“I sensed it,” he says, without me asking.

I chew on my lower lip as I try to figure out what to tell him. The bus is going slower and slower. There must be a stop coming up. Disappointment pours through me. I like being alone in the bus with Ethan. I don’t want some other passengers to come and intrude on our conversation.

The bus gives this almighty judder and stops altogether. I stare out of the window, confused. I don’t see a stop, or anyone waiting by the roadside.

---