Page 7 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

“Me,” Reese said, frowning again. Then his eyes scanned my body, right down to my toes before slowly rising again. Electricity tingled over my skin.

A muscle flexed in his jaw, then he turned and stalked out. “Dinner is at six. Don’t be late.”

3

REESE

Purring?In front of a human? Had I lost my mind?

Thank God none of my siblings had been there to hear it.So whatthat our new events coordinator showed off her bare arms? I’d seen plenty of arms in my thirty-five years. More than my fair share. Nice ones, too. So why would my animal nature react so strongly to hers?

Shit. Sarah’s bare skin had been a temptation to my senses, and there’d been no mistaking her pheromones in the air. When I mentioned that my office was next to hers, there’d been a definite spike.

She’d reacted strongly to the thought of my daily proximity, and both sides of my nature liked that. Not that I’d act on her interest, of course. She was an employee. I couldn’t have a one-night fling with someone who’d be there the next morning, working in the office next door.

And I certainly didn’t have room in my life for distractions—not with everything I’d been saddled with recently.

Unfortunately, despite my conviction that my initial reaction to Sarah McAvoy meant nothing, the beast inside me was still currently triggered.

The situation left only two options for soothing its restlessness: one, break my own no-shifting rule and burn off the excess energy with a good long run; or two, curl up in Sarah McAvoy’s bare arms and take a fuckingcatnapright alongside her.

Obviously that last option was out of the question.

I stormed away from her bedroom door, heading for the lodge’s rear exit while pulling the bottom of my T-shirt out of my jeans. I would have shredded the damn thing clean off my body if I hadn’t had an image to protect with my siblings, not to mention an identity to protect from my employees.

Sam stepped out of the maintenance closet right as I passed, and we nearly collided in the hall. I growled and pushed around him, cursing my bad luck.

“Hey!” he called out. “Where are you going?”

That was the trouble with being part cat. Every single one of us was too curious for his or her own good.

But as irritating as it was, I couldn’t fault my brother. I was no better myself. Didn’t I, at this very moment, have a million curious questions about Sarah McAvoy? My sensitive nose had picked up on something odd about her, and I wanted answers.

“Out,” I said on a snarl. “I’m going out.”

I exited the lodge and crossed the yard, passing the equipment barn, then rounding the back side of the stables. I quickly entered the woods behind them, slipping into the shadow of the trees.

Usually we went even deeper into the forest before shifting, but all the employees were currently occupied, and the stables blocked the sightline to the bunkhouse, so no one was watching.

I pulled my T-shirt over my head, tossing it aside, then pried off my shoes.

Some show of leadership. I’d only set two rules. Now, in less than one hour, both were in jeopardy. I said no shifting, but here I was, stripping down to give my clawing cat the opportunity to run. I said no changes to business operations, but I’d gone and offered an important position to a stranger with no history with the resort.

What was this McAvoy woman doing, talking about goddamn wedding receptions? Shouldn’t it be obvious that camping and hiking didn’t go with tuxedos and garter tosses?

I clenched my fists, willing the metamorphosis to take over my body.

The familiar wave of energy heated my middle, then scored down my legs until I fell forward onto my hands. My dark hair hung in my eyes, and I strained against the pain as my bones popped in and out of their joints.

A sleek coat of buff-colored hair burst through my skin. My face morphed—ears pushing into points, teeth elongating—until fully manifested. I curled back my lips and let out a feline scream that scattered several crows from the trees.

My whiskers twitched. Then I bent my front legs, lowering my upper body even closer to the ground, gathering energy in my hindquarters. My long sleek tail stretched out behind me, and I sprang forward, launching through the forest in a tawny blur.

Within seconds, I’d covered a quarter mile, leaving the lodge far behind.

I leaped across a narrow creek, then climbed over an outcropping, carefully stepping from rock to rock.

I took to a tree and padded along one of its branches, feeling the rough bark graze across my paws, then jumped down to the forest floor, landing gracefully in front of a doe and her fawn. They startled and changed course, bolting away.

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