Page 59 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

“When did you get here?” I kept my voice low so as not to wake anyone, but I made sure he wouldn’t miss my accusatory tone. I’d nearly been killed by a wild animal, and here he was, acting like this was a night like any other.

He glanced lazily up at me. “About a minute ago. Why?”

“What were you doing in the woods?”

“I got up to take a piss.”

That was a lie. Maybe guys did stuff like that, but the bathrooms were in the opposite direction, and they were closer to his tent than the trees.

“Sarah had an unsettling experience in the woods,” Angel explained calmly. “She’s going to sit by the fire for a while.” Then he left us, retreating to his tent.

Reese frowned. “You shouldn’t be out in the wilderness alone.”

“Clearly.” I wasn’t about to argue with him on that point.

He noticed. “Really? No push back?”

“Not tonight.” I sat on the log beside him. As always, his physical proximity made my heart race. It felt as though all my nerve endings were on the outside, flickering and sparking with awareness of his every move.

“Sarah, I need to apologize.”

“For scaring me, and making me think something bad had happened to you?”

“Sure. But also for taking my bad moods out on you. And for all the inappropriate things I said to you when we were riding. For this…dancewe’ve been doing.”

“Okaaay.” I said it slowly. He was going to have to explain what he meant before I commented and potentially embarrassed myself.

“I’ve got a lot to handle, what with my dad…” He let the sentence dangle before picking up again. “It’s not just the business. It’s taking care of my siblings. Making sure Melanie doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

“She’s a grown woman.”

“She’s twenty and she’s always been a handful. I’m her big brother and her…” He cut himself off again. “I’m the head of this family. She’s my responsibility.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“It doesn’t, except that I’ve let my stress affect my dealings with you. You’re a beautiful woman, Sarah. You’re smart. Creative. You care about the resort, and you’ve made its success your own personal mission, despite having only been here for a few short weeks.

“All of these things make me want to getcloserto you, but we need to keep our relationship strictly professional.”

He stopped there, and I leaned toward the fire, needing to ward off the chill. I don’t know why his words hurt so bad. They were exactly what I’d intended to say when I went into his office that morning—determined to put our working relationship back on track.

But to hearhimsay it…

That racing heart of mine—not to mention those exposed nerve endings—they made my skin tingle with the urge to run.

But also the desire to fight…

A sudden surge of heat radiated off Reese’s body, and when I turned to look at him, tiny dots of perspiration beaded his forehead, reflecting the glow of the campfire.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “You look feverish.”

He waved away my concern. “Do you understand? We need to find some middle ground between ignoring each other and driving each other crazy.”

I refocused my eyes on the fire. “You don’t drive me crazy.”

He almost laughed. “Sarah, I do. Don’t deny it because I know.” Then he leaned in closer.

Like an idiot, I turned toward him, thinking he meant to kiss me. Why I thought this after the things he’d just said, I had no idea.

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