Page 68 of Into the Lion's Den (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

Wrong.

Now I’d convinced myself—and her—that we could be friendly colleagues.

Shit.

I turned my head toward our shared wall. On the other side of it, she was probably sleeping. Or maybe she was in the shower. Or getting dressed. She could be naked right now.

With a groan, I snagged my phone off my nightstand and checked the time. Six a.m. There was still time to shift into my cat and run off this excess energy.

I checked the weather report and grimaced. Three days ago, they’d predicted rain for this morning but sunny skies for the rest of the weekend. The rain hadn’t started yet, but now the report said that, once it did, the rain would extend all the way into Sunday morning.

The Maddox party was arriving later today, and their weekend looked like a washout.

Sure, we’d had rainy weekends before. But those guests, while disappointed, didn’t have the capacity to ruin our business by sharing their bad experience with their legions of fans. We were going to have to come up with some pretty fantastic alternative activities to keep the Maddox group busy and entertained.

Hopefully Sarah had contingency plans in the works. After all, that was her job as events coordinator. Certainly she would have given some thought to this ahead of time, right? Even though I’d forced her into this job without any training or experience…

Shit. I got up, pulled on some gray sweatpants commando style, then slid my feet into a pair of worn Tevas and headed outside.

I followed the path that led to the old barn before veering into the shadow of the trees. There, I undressed, folding my sweat pants and setting them atop an old stump.

I summoned the wave of energy that heated my middle and sent fire down my legs.

I fell forward onto my hands and strained against the pain as my bones popped in and out of their joints.

Within seconds, my sleek tawny coat burst through my skin. My face morphed, and my long sleek tail stretched out behind me. The mountain lion fully manifested, I ran.

I ran until I’d nearly forgotten myself, forgotten the resort, the broker, the debts, my siblings’ futures, Sarah…

Sarah.

The thought of her brought me around. So did the rain, which had just started to fall.

It had to be nearly seven o’clock by now, and I needed to get back to the stump where I’d left my clothes. I also needed to find Sarah and talk about her contingency plans.

I had just returned to my human shape, still naked, when I heard a stick snap behind me.

I turned, and my heart sunk into my stomach.

Sarah was standing there on the path.

The rain had masked her scent.

She wore a yellow raincoat with the hood up. She was carrying a large clear plastic bag that looked to be full of white table linens.

How long had she been standing there? How much of this debacle had she seen?

Her mouth dropped open, then her gaze descended my naked body.

God help me, but as terrible as this situation was on so many levels, my cock only ever had one consideration. One look at Sarah, and it had gone fully erect.

“Oh my god.” Her face lost all its color. In fact, she looked a little gray.

Then she dropped her bundle and ran.

27

SARAH

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