Page 5 of Don't Make Me Fall
“First of all, I’mnotyour sweetheart.” She points a finger at me, one she seems very tempted to poke into my chest but refrains. “Second, I have legs. I’ll walk.”
“At night?”
“Reid said Cinnamon Creek was afriendlysmall town. Should I be worried about being kidnapped or something?”
“Kidnapped? No.” I shake my head. “I have a strong suspicion that anyone who was brave enough to try to take you would return you pretty quickly.”
Her mouth hangs open in shock, and I can’t seem to stop staring. The urge to kiss the surprise right off those pillowy lips is overwhelming. I wonder what flavor concoction I’d find on that delicious tongue.
Get a fucking grip, man.
“It’s the mountain lions I’d be more concerned about,” I say.
“Mountain lions?”
“There’s been one hanging around town the past few days. Do you know what to do if you see a mountain lion, sweetheart?”
“I’m not?—”
“You fight back.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“Not if you want to live.”
Something akin to dread washes over her face, and it takes everything in me not laugh. Somehow, I feel as thoughthatwould be crossing a line.
“You’re trying to scare me,” she accuses, hugging herself tighter. It’s chilly enough now that the sun has set that her nipples poke through the fabric. Her sweatshirt is hardly a sweatshirt at all. And is there anythingunderit? She shivers, and it takes all my restraint not to tug her into my arms to warm her up.
What the actual fuck is wrong with me?
“I’m trying to warn you. This isn’t some beach resort.”
“I know that.”
I look back at the tote bags decorated in tropical floral patterns, then at her exposed toes in fucking flip-flops. “Do you?”
“Look, I’ve had a really long day. So if you could please give me my suitcase, I’d be more than happy to get out of your hair.”
Some emotion I can’t pin flashes in her suddenly weary eyes, and a protective surge rushes my body. I swallow the urge to demand to know what asshole hurt her so I can deal with him. And then show her how a real man treats his woman.
I rub my eyes, clearly exhausted out of my mind for the thoughts that are trespassing through it about a woman I met two fucking minutes ago. A woman who also happens to be my best friend’s little sister. It doesn’t get more off limits than that. The sooner I put some distance between us, the better.
“I’ll bring your bags to your room,” I tell her.
“But my charger?—”
“I’ll let Reid know you got in.”
Her amber eyes narrow once again, and for that, I’m relieved. The irritation and anger, I can take. Seeing her in distress, even for the briefest of moments, threatens to undo me. It makes no fucking sense.
“Go inside, sweetheart. Before that mountain lion decides you’re it’s next meal.”
Her eyes widen as she scans the area, waiting only a few seconds before she rushes toward the front door to follow her friends inside the lodge.
Even if the mountain lion is lurking in the shadows waiting to attack, the threat poses no match for the curvy bombshell who’s already got a chokehold on me. I might just be fucked.
Chapter Three
