Prime Desire
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“It’s home.”
They started hiking with Nicolas behind her, directing their way. She suggested he lead, but he said he’d rather she set the pace. She couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate that. Less than a half a mile into their journey—still the easy part—and she was already finding herself a little winded. Sure, she tromped around on the weekends to get pictures, even took camping trips, but that wasn’t at well over a mile above sea level. And her hikes were punctuated with long pauses to take lots of pictures.
“What’s our elevation?” she asked.
“My cabin’s at eight thousand feet. Still got a bit more to go before we find your foxes. Most of it isn’t going up. You’ve probably noticed that getting to their territory is more of a horizontal hike.”
She suppressed a sigh. It wasn’t that she minded the hike—she didn’t care for doing it in front of somebody that was obviously so fit. The man didn’t even seem to be breathing hard, and a quick glance over her shoulder proved that not one drop of sweat touched his brow.
So not fair.
They hiked in silence for another fifteen minutes, then the rocks he’d mentioned they’d need to climb closed in. Rocks? More like boulders.
Her breath was already coming fast, her body fighting for oxygen at an elevation she wasn’t used to. But something inside of her rebelled at admitting that aloud, even though she didn’t doubt Nicolas would be kind about it. Understanding even. He’d already saved her life once, but that fact seemed to have made him a little overprotective of her. She didn’t want to add to his worry.
Plus, it was embarrassing. The man could sweat a little so she didn’t feel so bad. Jeez.
“So, what have you been up to the last few years?” she asked, pausing in front of the first section of rocks they’d need to traverse. Hopefully, a tiny bit of conversation, even if a bit winded on her part, would give her a minute or two to catch her breath.
Nicolas didn’t seem in any rush. He leaned against the boulder they’d have to climb, not caring about the dirt that clung to it. “Not much.”
She huffed. “All the personal stuff you got out of me last night, and that’s the best you can give me?”
“Well, I built the cabin.”
She raised eyebrow.
Nonchalant, he shrugged. “I don’t know if you remember, but when we met before, I told you I was living out in the middle of nowhere for a reason.”
“You said that you were dangerous.” He hadn’t exactly offered a lot of information about it, other than that.
“Might not sound like much, but that’s what I’ve been working on.”
“Your…danger-level?”
His dark green eyes flashed, seeming to glow for a moment. “Control.”
Genuinely curious, she asked, “How’s that going?”
He met her gaze head-on, and without even a slight bit of hesitation in his voice, he said, “Good.”
Damn the man and his penchant for few words. “Is that—the biting thing?”
His horror at biting her was a big part of the reason why she’d run away rather than snuggled closer after their night of amazing sex. He’d said he hadn’t meant to bite her, but bite her, he did. She trusted Nicolas the man instinctively. He had a kindness in his eyes, a steadiness to his actions—other than that one moment three years ago when he lost control. But that moment, that painful bite, made her distrust his tiger.
And how could he separate the tiger from the man?
“Yes. It wasn’t the first time restraint escaped me.”
“So you’ve figured it out then? Found that control you were looking for?”
He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “I have.”
A shiver ran through her. If Nicolas truly controlled of the beast inside of him, then did her worries, her fears, cease to have a basis?
Thoughts tangled, she turned away from him and started up the first clump of boulders. Climbing slowly, she felt the heat of his body close behind her—only inches away. She was suddenly too hot.
Her foot slipped, and for half a second, her stomach flew into her throat. Strong arms caught her before she could slide more than a few inches.
“I got you,” he murmured, low voice close to her ear. The clean, earthy scent of him filled her lungs. His arms wrapped around her middle, grazing the bottom of her breasts. She held her breath and leaned against his hard chest.
God, it felt good to be in his arms again.
