Page 11 of Her Mountain Man Recluse

She blinks at me, then looks down at her feet. “You said I was…fine as I am.”

“That’s not the only thing I said.”

Her eyes flicker up to meet mine, her lips parting slightly. “You said I was beautiful.”

“Damn straight. And I meant it, too.”

She holds my gaze, the air buzzing around us as we look at each other. Something moves in my peripheral vision, a branch maybe, but I keep my eyes on Lila’s face—those chocolate-browneyes, her sweet red lips. I want to lean in and kiss her. Fuck the consequences—I want to claim that pretty mouth right here.

But something’s wrong.

Unease crawls over me as I hear a soft rustle from somewhere nearby. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end. We’re being watched. I can feel it. The singing birds are gone. They know there’s a predator nearby, and I turn around slowly, scanning the undergrowth with my heart in my throat.

Fuck, have I put Lila in danger?

I have keen eyes, and after years of living in the mountains, I know what I’m looking for.

“Ridge, are you okay?” Lila asks.

The mountain lion is about fifteen feet away, peering at us from behind a tree. My stomach drops, and I take a step in front of Lila, shielding her.

“Ridge?”

“I need you to do what I say, okay?” I tell her, already unzipping my coat. “There’s a cougar watching us. Stay behind me. Don’t make a sound. And whatever you do, don’t run.”

I hear Lila’s breath hitch, but she does as I tell her, keeping back. With my coat undone, I hold it wide open, making myself look bigger as I call, “Hey! Yeah, that’s right, I see you! Now get out of here!”

I wave my arms slowly above my head, standing tall, but the mountain lion just stares, unmoving, its eyes fixed on me. I keep shouting, adrenaline pumping through me as I listen to Lila’s panicked breaths.

Fuck, I need to get her out of here.

“Lila, we’re going to back away, okay? Go slow and stay as upright as possible.”

I hear her start to move and follow her backward, keeping my eyes fixed on the cougar. As we pass a thick tree, I reach up tograb a branch and snap it off before tossing it with all my might toward the predator. It bristles at the noise.

“You’re okay,” I tell Lila, keeping my eyes forward. “You’re doing great. Keep going.”

The cougar looks indecisive, like it’s trying to decide if we’re worth chasing. If it comes for us, I’ll do anything to protect the angel behind me. I’ll fight it with my bare fucking hands if I have to.

We keep retreating, and I aim a few more branches in the cougar’s direction, each dull thud disturbing it more and more. I toss one last branch and it smacks against a tree beside the cougar, startling it. It dithers for a moment before turning tail and loping away through the forest, disappearing into the trees.

“It’s gone,” I tell Lila, fixing my gaze on the place where the cougar vanished. “You okay?”

“I’m okay,” she says, her voice barely audible.

“We have to be careful. It could come back. Don’t run, just keep walking slowly.”

She does as I say. We keep backing away, and once we reach the creek, the forest opens up a little. I’m confident we’re no longer being followed, and I carry Lila over the water once more, feeling her quiver slightly in my arms. She’s still breathing hard, and I don’t let myself relax until we reach the cabin, closing the door behind us.

6

LILA

The secondwe’re back inside, Ridge zeroes in on me, his face tight with concern.

“Are you okay, Lila?”

He’s looking me up and down as if expecting to see the cougar’s teeth marks on my skin.

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