Page 45 of Bear In A Bookstore
She answered the door and audibly groaned as his tall, strong body came into view. Quickly clearing her throat to try and cover the reaction, she swung the door wide.
“I heard that,” he quipped playfully.
She turned to grab a hoodie and tied it around her waist. “Of course, you did.”
Slipping her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, she turned back to him. He was still standing at the threshold, watching her. She realized just then how much she’d missed seeing him yesterday.
“I’m ready.”
He pulled the door closed behind her and made sure it locked before opening the truck door for her. She grinned to see his copy of the book on the center console. Colorful sticky notes stuck out from between the pages. He’d really dived all in.
“I have a good feeling about this,” he said as he pulled out of her driveway.
“Yeah?” She just felt good being here with him.
He looked so hot with his black shirt clinging to his chest. His hair looked lighter today for some reason, his skin more golden, almost like she was seeing him again after a long time when it had only been a day.
“I’m probably completely wrong about this clue, but I guess we’ll find out, won’t we. Have you ever rappelled before?”
Her mouth opened but nothing came out. “Ah, you mean like used a rope to lower myself down the side of a mountain?”
He nodded.
She shook her head.
Desi pushed his tongue into his cheek, then gave her a sideways glance. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”
Oh, God. “Yes, yes I am.” He wasn’t suggesting that they . . . there was no way she was going to . . . “Desi, I don’t like the sound of this.”
“I figured you wouldn’t.”
He winked and dropped the topic. She, however, wasn’t letting go that easily. “Oh no, you don’t just stop talking right there. Are we climbing a mountain?”
“No, we’re driving up the mountain. We’re rappelling down. Didn’t you read the clue?”
He handed her the book and pointed to the blue sticky note. She flipped to page 32.
“Read the third line.”
The Angel’s Mouth consumes meat and bone and wing.
“That sounds ominous.”
“Right. But what’s meat and bone? Animals, humans, right? And wings? Could be birds, or it could mean that humans need wings—to fly—to reach the Angel’s Mouth.”
“You know where this Angel’s Mouth is?”
“Yep, any shifter would because it’s square in the middle of Estes Park pack lands.”
They turned onto a narrow gravel drive that cut between thick trees. The truck bounced as they climbed higher, the tires rolling over big rocks and ruts in the dirt.
“Can anyone come here? What about the other treasure hunters?”
He shrugged. “My father doesn’t enforce no trespassing on our territory unless someone is disrespecting the land or abusing it in some way. He’s aware this treasure hunt is going on, and I’m sure he expects someone will figure it out and come trapsing through.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Your father?”
“He’s the Alpha of the Estes Park pack.”
