Page 6 of Sweeter Than Honey
He moved around to her side of the Jeep. Tingles of alarm and awareness raced over her. He kept his distance and put his hands on his hips. He didn’t look hurt. He looked… big, and, well,big. Like he could get rammed by a semi and just shake it off.
“I’m fine. You were literally going two miles an hour.”
“I—I know, but you’re not the—the first person I’ve hit recently.” Had she really just said that out loud?
He raised a brow, his eyes narrowing as if he were quietly judging her. Damn, he was good looking in that rugged, just came down from the mountain kind of way. Her middle tickled. Wait… the intense look on his face reminded her of…
Danger.
She closed the window. She had to raise her voice to speak. “What were you doing in the middle of the road?”
“How did you not see me there?”
“I asked first.”
“There’s smoke coming from beneath your hood.”
“Shit.”
“Seriously, how did you not see me crossing the road? My one-legged grandmother drives faster than you, yet you still managed to hit me.”
Her forehead furrowed. “Since I was clearly going so slowly, you had plenty of time toget out of the way. Why didn’tyoumove?”
He worked his jaw, calling attention to the thickness of his fabulous beard. She’d never been drawn to facial hair, but this worked. Really well. His hair was mussed, bits of grass dotting near his forehead. His flannel looked like he’d quickly tucked it into his dirt-stained jeans and failed. His blazing hazel eyes were slightly glassy, tanned cheeks touched with pink. If she had to guess, this man just had one hell of a romp in the woods.
Well, screw him. She didn’t have time to sit here and keep bantering nonsense. The intensity in his gaze was making her nervous. He could be anyone and this road was quiet, tree-lined and offered no protection if he had bad intentions.
Like, if he were a shifter who just sniffed out her baby.
Cara slowly reached into her handbag and pulled out the smelly perfume, gave it a quick mist over her middle and down her legs. Pressing on the gas, she rolled at a geriatric pace past him, keeping her eyes on him as she went. One corner of his lips curled as she rolled by.
He waved a hand in front of his nose. “You got a dead animal in there?”
The car sputtered hard and slowed down by degrees. Pressing the gas didn’t help. All the dummy lights on the console suddenly popped on. And then the car completely stalled out.
“No, no, no!”
She was stranded on a deserted road with Mr. Sex-in-the-Woods. Who may or may not be a shifter.
“Hey, put it in neutral and steer toward the side of the road while I push.”
“No, you really don’t have to—”
“Hurry up before that stench makes my eyes bleed.”
“You talk to all the girls this way?” Cara’s mouth skewed. Why was she engaging with him?
“Nope,” he grumbled. “Just the rancid ones who don’t know how to drive. Now, steer.”
He went to the back of the car and pushed it like it was nothing as she steered it to the side. The tires crunched on gravel as she moved safely off the blacktop.
“You have bags or anything I can carry for you? Lock it up and I’ll help you into town.”
Their gazes caught through the driver’s door window. No way was she going anywhere with the beast of a man. He was gruff, crude and… hot. Ugh, where had that thought come from? Wasn’t it that kind of thinking that got her into this mess in the first place? Besides, he’d just appeared from the woods, didn’t seem to have a vehicle anywhere, and looked too much like a wild man to be trusted.
“No thank you. I’ll call for a tow.”
He looked to the sky like she was wasting his time and he was on his last drop of patience. “No, you won’t.”
