Page 36 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

“Solving the mystery.”

I shook my head. “I’d prefer it if you stuck to filling up the reservation calendar and making more of your cute decorations.”

Her pretty lips curled into a small smile. “You thought they were cute?”

I let out a breath of defeat. “They were cute. Some of the guests even complimented them.”

Sarah beamed, but my praise wasn’t enough to get her off track. “I want to help,” she said. “Trust me. When I have a project, I’m like a dog with a bone.”

The cat inside of me hissed at the comparison. Dogs were a pain in the ass. Slobbering and annoyingly exuberant. A far cry from the luscious temptation in front of me.

I wanted to take her in my arms again. I wanted to taste her again. But that moment was gone. For now.

“In my...” She paused as if considering her words. “...old job, I got some familiarity with the trademark office. If you show the patch to me, even if the logo’s incomplete, I might be able to run some online searches and—”

I cut her off by touching her elbow. She froze at the sudden contact, and another moment of electricity-charged air passed between us. Her pupils dilated, telling me that I wasn’t the only one in this barn resisting temptation.

One day soon this dam would break. And it was good to know I wouldn’t be going over the edge alone.

“I’ll show you what I found,” I said, “but promise me you won’t go Nancy-Drewing your way into danger. We don’t know who this person is, and a cornered animal—even a human one—is likely to lash out.”

She smiled, looking like she wanted to laugh at me.

“What?” I asked.

“The big, bad boss man knows who Nancy Drew is.”

I shook my head in exasperation. If her body, her boldness, or her tenaciousness weren’t already enough, she was going to fuckingcuteher way into my heart.

“Okay. Okay,” she said. “I promise I won’t go sleuthing my way into danger.”

I gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, hoping her promise meant she’d taken my warning seriously. But something in the way she turned her gaze toward the open barn door told me there was little I could do to dissuade this woman from pursuing something she wanted.

And that kind of tenacity could mean trouble for us both.

14

SARAH

Every time I got a spare minute, I researched the fabric scrap and the partial logo Reese had found near the scene of his father’s death.

He’d been right; it wasn’t a lot to go on—only a scrap three inches long and one inch wide with a slight curve to its finished edge. It had a white background and was outlined in black. Loose purple, red, and black threads suggested the completed logo included an image of some kind. The only thing really clear about the whole thing were the letters C-K.

After three days, I’d still made no progress. That’s when Reese caught up with me in the staff cafeteria where I was eating my breakfast. His expression looked quite desperate.

“Sarah,” he said. “I need you.”

I nearly choked at his choice of words and had to cover my mouth with a napkin while I forced down my mouthful of bagel. “What for?”

Reese stood on the opposite side of the table from where I sat. His thick, dark hair was still in need of a cut, but the edge of his beard was neatly edged.

He set his hands wide on the tabletop and leaned in, his shoulder muscles rounding. “Ropes.”

Heat prickled up the back of my neck. Was he some kind of dream voyeur?Oh god. Did he know the kinds of things I fantasized about?

“Whoa,” Angel said, dropping onto the chair beside me. “Why’s your face so red?”

“It’s hot in here.” I swallowed hard. “What do you mean, ropes?”

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