Page 22 of Wild in the Woods
“What for?”
One corner of Lulu’s lips pulled up. She looked at him curiously. “Are you really going to turn me down?”
That depended on what she was asking for, he thought darkly.
“Here’s the deal. I haven’t had the best luck with media in the past and until I’ve had the chance to really think about how I want to market No Boundaries, I’m not interested.”
She touched his arm as he was about to exit the room. He glanced down at where she touched him with a start.
“Fox, I’m happy to provide you with Men’s Adventure’s stats. Okay? We don’t always give that out, but I’ll do it for you. Readership numbers, engagement percentages, whatever you want to know.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a finger.
“And, youdidhave great luck with the media. One small interview went viral. Not in the way you wanted, I know, but even those silly videos with their flashy text and catchy music did big things for you, didn’t they?”
More media increased the chance of something else going wrong. Plus, it opened him up to more exposure online,
“I heard your course rosters are filled for over a year and you have a waiting list. That’s the power of going viral.”
He thought about her vlog channel and the impressive subscriber count she had. Lulu was probably a brilliant marketer beneath her reporter hat. Maybe she could help him in some way, but damn it, it needed to be on his terms. There was a lot to think about and he didn’t want to be rushed.
Raising her eyebrows as if telling him she was right, she put a hand on the doorframe. He saw the spider before she did. It skittered over the back of her hand and stopped right behind her middle knuckle. She froze again.
“Don’t look,” he said. “I’ll get it.”
Her hard, panting breaths started up again and she looked. Full on. Right at the spider. “Fox!”
Wavering, she would have fallen if he hadn’t thrust a hand to her lower back while swatting the spider away with the other. Lulu swiveled and leaned into his arms. He embraced her solely on reaction, one arm sliding beneath her breasts, the other at her hips. Her body melted into him, the ridge of her spine pressing into his chest. The soft rise of her ass pushing against his pelvis.
“It’s just a bug,” she said calmly. “I have to stop this. It’s just a bug.”
Yeah, he didn’t think that chant was going to work. Pretty sure he could start chanting to himself to not get an erection right now, and that wasn’t going to happen, either. Fuck!
Fox set her away from him and braced her with one hand. Her eyes went wide as if she’d had no idea she’d just been encased in his arms.
“Thank you.”
Her breathy voice made him think of something.
He was having too much of a reaction to this woman. She wasn’t his type, and she wasn’t staying in Estes Park, so why encourage these weird feelings or even give them an opportunity to grow? He could very easily end this whole thing and get her on her way back to Chicago where she belonged.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said, feeling confident this would work.
She smoothed hair away from her face, remarkably centered and composed. Ha. She wouldn’t be in a second.
“I’m listening.”
He crossed his arms. “Complete my seven-day survival course, pass it, and I’ll do the interview.”
“Are you nuts?” The words burst from her lips.
Bingo. This would be the impetus to getting her out of here so he could get back to his normal routine.
“It’s not that bad,” he said cheerfully. “Seven days in the wilderness with the most basic survival supplies, minimal food, and me to guide you every step of the way. It’ll be just me and you. What’s so bad about that? Come on, I believe in you. You can do it.”
No way she could do it. No freaking way.
“I mean, I wasn’t expecting to have to participate.” She laughed a little bit, trying to backtrack. “It’s an offer that I will definitely consider. When would we do this, exactly?”
