Those words hung in the air. He had no idea how true they were. I’d protect him until my last breath.
Me too, my wolf piped up.
He didn’t pull away, but I picked up his heartbeat speeding as if it was dashing to a finish line. I so wanted to kiss him, and I leaned forward but jerked back. Being intimate wasn’t fair to him. It was too fast.
“I have a surprise for you.”
He shaded his eyes and glanced up at me.
“I’m going to cook tonight. Something special.”
“Is this going to be a daily occurrence? I’m being so spoiled I’ll never want to leave.”
“Maybe.” I’d spoil him every day if he stayed and we mated.
He can’t leave.My beast refused to believe that Indigo might not accept us.
On our walk back, his arm brushed against mine, sending goosebumps scurrying over my skin. Tonight would be about establishing a friendship and learning more about one another. There’d be no shifting, pack talk, or any mention of mates. Or kissing. I had to tread slowly, but Indigo was worth waiting for.
FIVE
INDIGO
A week into my stay at Moonridge Lodge, a thought wormed its way into my head as I sipped coffee on the cabin porch. I was content, happy even. My humdrum life in the city had been replaced by snowfall, short hikes with Riven, afternoons in the library, and meals we cooked together.
Not that I could cook, but I could wield a knife.
I should have been counting the days until I could return to my real life. Instead, I was looking forward to what Riven and I would do from morning to night. And hoping that what we had might evolve into something else.
I’d finished my daily phone call with Agent Fairbanks. Whenever we spoke he asked about the people at the resort and wondered how they treated me. But apart from everyone being curious, there was nothing unusual about them. And besides, Riven was always at my side.
Footsteps crushing the snow announced Riven'sarrival from his morning run. "You're up early." He bounded up the porch steps.
There was a dusting of pink on his cheeks, and I crossed my legs, hoping to hide my arousal. I couldn’t help being attracted to him, and though he was friendly—there hadn’t been another incident when he acted as if he’d been burned when I touched him—he’d never overstepped the boundary between security guy and client. I wished he would just once so I could hold onto the memory when I left.
“Thought I'd catch one of those sunrises you're always going on about.” I looked out toward the mountains. “And I’ve made coffee.”
“You're my favorite person this morning.” How I wished I was his favorite every minute of every day. He squeezed my shoulder as he passed, and I sat up straight. Where he’d put his hand tingled and sent a message to my length. Thank gods he’d gone inside.
After my erection subsided, I wandered inside and asked about our plans for the day.
“I thought we might check out the old trapper's cabin.” He leaned against the counter. “It's a short hike, but there are no steep climbs. The historical society turned it into a small museum.”
“Historical society? Out here?”
He laughed. “There's a lot of interesting local history.”
“Okay.” I finished my coffee. “As long as there's no pop quiz afterward.”
An hour later, as we made our way along a path thatwas too narrow for us to walk side by side, I thought about Riven’s connection to the land and the people who lived here. I’d never yearned for that, but how he talked about them had me longing for something similar.
I yanked my thoughts away from imagining living a life here with him. It was an amazing place to visit, but I’d never belong to it as he did. And he’d told me how he rushed back after college, so he wasn’t leaving.
I had to soak up this experience. My heart wanted more, but even if something happened between us, this was a holiday romance. Something to remember fondly as the years passed and maybe tell the grandkids about.
The trail opened up to a small clearing, and in the center stood a log cabin.
“The trapper's cabin.” Riven strode forward.
