Not to turn around and rush back to the den. Back to Cody and Ash.
But to?—
Thank god it was the crack of dawn during the second day of denning season, or there might have been someone around to see me open my coat like a total perv, dip my hand between my legs, and smear it on the nearest tree.
All the while calling out, “Mak! Mak! Are you here? Makari!”
What. Was. I. Doing?
It was like being hijacked by a body-snatching alien. An incredibly horny, estrus-fueled alien.
The only thing worse than smearing my essence all over some tree was then proceeding to do it again. And again. Each time, yelling out the name of the bear who had left the den to get away from me.
Cody had assured me Mak had gone out of his way to put kilometers between us. But my newly awakened bear was certain he was nearby. This was her primal way of attracting a mate. A particular mate. Mak, to be exact.
Please stop! Please stop!I silently begged her, even as she took over my vocal cords once more to yell, “Makari!”
“Noelle? Noelle, what are you doing?”
I froze mid-smear, my hand still pressed to the bark as I turned toward the voice. The faint scent of expensive cologne hit my nose, stirring an instant surge of dread.
Not Mak.
“Bradford?” My stomach plummeted when I saw my ex standing on the road between me and my car. “What are you doing here?”
noelle
. . .
“Bradford?”I asked, blinking. Maybe this was one of those situations where you think you’ve woken up but—nope—you’re still dreaming. Or, in this case, totally nightmaring. “What are you doing here?”
“The question is, what areyoudoing here?” he snapped, marching closer. “Have you lost your mind? Standing around naked? Close your coat!”
Definitely not a nightmare. My new bear-enhanced sense of smell made the stench of Bradford’s cologne trigger my very real-life gag reflex. And, of course, only Bradford would show up in a remote Canadian mountain town—over a thousand miles from Gemidgee—just to start bossing me around.
I glanced down at my naked body, still glistening with estrus, then back up at him. “How did you find me?”
“That’swhat you’re worried about?” Bradford sucked his teeth, glaring at me like I’d just asked him the most ridiculous question imaginable. “Close your coat already! Anybody could see you.”
When I didn’t move, he huffed and stepped forward, reaching out to close the coat himself.
But I stepped back before he could touch me. My voice was sharp this time. “How. Did. You. Find. Me?”
Bradford rolled his eyes. “If you must know, I realized you hadn’t understood the assignment.”
“Theassignment?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes.
“Yes, the assignment!” He gestured at me like it was obvious. “You were never supposed to leave Gemidgee after you were suspended—much less the country. When you didn’t show up at our apartment that night to beg me for your job back, I should have suspected then that you’d had some kind of psychotic break.”
“Apsychotic break?” My chin jutted to the side as anger surged through me. “You think me not wanting to grovel for a job I was unfairly ousted from means I’ve had some kind of mental breakdown?”
“What else am I supposed to think, Noelle?” His tone was exasperated as he gestured to my body, clothed only in Mak’s open parka. “Look at you! Traipsing around out here, completely exposed. Making me drive all the way up into the Canadian Rockies to find you.”
“It’s the Canadian Great Claws,” I corrected sharply. “And how, exactly, did you find me? Were youtrackingme somehow?”
“Well, if you must know...." He crossed his arms, throwing me a condescending glare. “No, I didn’t remove you from myFind Myapp. Because I knew what happened at Thanksgiving was just a blip in our relationship.”
“Ablip?” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “Bradford, you cheated on me! And when I called you out on it, you acted like it was my fault you were sleeping with another woman behind my back.”
