"Then what?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking."
It wasn't nothing. She could tell by the way his shoulders held their tension, the way his hands gripped the edge of the workbench. But she didn't push. If he wanted to tell her, he would.
"The ground should thaw in a few days," she said, changing the subject. "We can really check the well then. See if there's any sign of tampering."
"Yeah."
She stood, tucking the book back into her bag. The temperature in the shed had dropped despite the heater, and she tugged her coat tighter around herself. Her gloves were dampfrom the snow, the right one starting to tear at the seam where she'd caught it on a fence post earlier.
"I should head back before the roads get worse."
Corin pushed off from the workbench. "I'll walk you to your car."
They stepped outside into the gray afternoon. The snow had thickened, falling in sheets now, and the ground was a treacherous patchwork of ice and slush. Chloe picked her way carefully across the yard, watching her feet.
Despite her cautiousness, her boot slipped out from under her, arms pinwheeling causing a sharp gasp to escape her throat.
And then Corin was there.
His hand closed around her wrist, catching her mid-fall, hauling her upright with an ease that reminded her exactly how strong he was. Her torn glove had slipped, and his fingers wrapped around bare skin.
It wasn’t until that moment, Chloe realized that they had never touched before, Not skin to skin anyway.
His touch shot through her like lightning, starting where his hand gripped her wrist and radiating outward through her entire body. Not painful, but still intense. Like touching a live wire made of warmth instead of electricity.
Corin had gone completely still, his grip tightening around her wrist. His face was inches from hers, close enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his hazelnut eyes, the way his pupils had blown wide.
The snow fell around them, catching in his honey-brown hair, dusting the shoulders of his coat. Neither of them moved.
12
CORIN
Her skin was warm beneath his fingers.
That was his first thought. His second was that her scent had changed.
It hit him like a wave, rolling over his senses and drowning everything else. Sweet and green and alive, like spring growth after rain, sunlight through new leaves. Underneath it, something deeper. Something that called to a part of him he'd kept carefully leashed for years.
His bear surged forward with a recognition so absolute it nearly drove him to his knees.
Mate.
The word thundered through him, ancient and undeniable. Chosen mate. The one his bear had been waiting for without him even knowing it. Standing right here in his orchard with snow in her pale blonde hair and confusion in her green eyes. And she had no idea.
Corin released her wrist and stepped back so fast he nearly slipped on the ice himself.
"You okay?" His voice came out rough, strained almost.
Chloe blinked at him, still off-balance. "I... yes. Fine."
She was rubbing her wrist where he'd grabbed her. He could still feel the ghost of her pulse against his palm, quick and startled.
Get it together.
He shoved his hands in his coat pockets, putting distance between them. His bear snarled in protest, demanding he close the gap, pull her against his chest, breathe her in until that scent was permanently imprinted on his memory. He had to focus on something else.
