“Am I clear, Jenkins?” Cord still speaks softly, his threat all the more implicit forhis stillness.
“Yes, Mr. Rand. I’ll be gone. Don’t you worry.”
Cord smiles, a cold, emotionless thing that is utterly terrifying. I hope never to be on the other end of that side of him. Jenkins backs away until he bumps into the wall behind the desk.
“Come on,” Cord murmurs. He gestures to the door, dismissing the “dire wolf hunter” in an instant. “There are better parts of the town to discover.”
Cord’s speech leaves my head whirling. His sheer presence floors me, but his words take root deep in my heart. A lot echo my own sentiments about the wolves, and Jenkin’s cruelty. I follow him out with quick steps, keen to be far away from Jenkins’s personal chamber of horrors and free of his feral stench. Across the road from Jenkins’s pop-up shop at the end of the town, a stubby man in a black Stetson berates a worker on how he’s organized livestock in the back of a cattle truck. Ostentatious wealth exudes from the short man, from his pressed pants to his new boots and shiny, golden spurs. The taller cowboy stares at him with open dislike, his expression mirrored in Cord’s face.
“Jed.” A muscle ticks in his jaw. “He’s never known how to manage his staff. It’s the day for asshats, apparently. Come on.”
Clean, sharp mountain air hits me, running down from the tall granite peak behind the main street as Cord leads us away from the shops to a trail that disappears between tall evergreens near where I parked. His longer strides stretch my legs, which appreciate the movement after being in a car for so long.
“Valiant Peak?” I ask, gesturing to the imposing shadow behind the town.
“Yeah.” Cord stops, facing me. “You’re passionate about the things you care about, huh?”
“Just a bit. But I think you take the cake for the scariest customer of the day.” I remember his cold smile and Jenkins’s reaction to him.
I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself and missing the contact of Cord’s hand on mine the moment I lose it. The weight of hisassessing gaze falls on me. Uncertainty rarely hits me, but beneath his intense study it became difficult not to fidget.
“Rain check on that coffee, if you’re up for a hike?” he asks, his light tone at utter odds with the need reflected in his sapphire eyes.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. His gaze lingers on my lips. Something flickers in his face, too fast for me to catch. Heat prickles my skin as he gestures to a thin space between the trunks that look like they’ve existed since the world began.
“This way.”
I follow him between the trees. Despite his earlier display of temper with Jenkins that matches mine, something about Cord engenders the sort of trust I’ve had with few people before.
When Cord reaches back a moment later, I let his hand fold around mine again. His firm hold is a comfort as the trail darkens and cools quickly beneath the interlocking canopy overhead. Road sounds filter away as we delve into the quiet the forest offers. A deep, earthy scent of fallen pine needles mingles in the slightly warmer air trapped inside the muted space.
“It must be beautiful here in midwinter.” My muscles burn as I keep pace with Cord, though my breath remains regular.
“It is.” His voice draws my attention away from the forest.
I study the man in front of me. His silhouette matches the one on the banners in the town, but Cordell Rand is the epitome oflarger than life.His body fills out his dark blue shirt, his close-shaven hair peeking from beneath his hat. Calluses graze the back of my hand, winding a sense of steadiness around me that I might normally find claustrophobic, but after our unsettling beginning at the dire wolf hunt HQ, part of me appreciates it.
Cord turns off the path along a stretch of granite that looks like a giant has shattered it. He slows his pace so I can walk at his side, running my hand over the stone’s cold surface as the rocky path tilts upward. At a collection of enormous cube-shaped boulders, he drops my hand.
“Are you okay to climb for a bit?” he asks, stealing a glance sideways.
“I’d love to.” I smile. “I’ve spent too many hours either trying to decipher my own notes or sitting on my ass. Exercise is welcome.”
“You might regret that choice.” He grabs the first boulder, hoisting himself up.
I scrabble along behind him, struggling to keep up, but I’m not backing down from the challenge. He casts a quick grin over his shoulder, my insides liquefying as that arctic gaze holds me captive for a single moment before my butt makes it over the first rock. My feet land on the other side and I catch the appreciation in his eyes before he turns away to tackle the next obstacle.
Not a date, my ass.
Winnie’s voice assails me again. I shut a mental door firmly in her face, certain I’ll have to debrief her later anyway. Right now I have a cowboy to keep up with.
Cord follows some mythical path only he can see marked out in the granite as the climb grows steeper. At the top of the highest boulder, a decent jump waits on the other side. He leaps down and turns to hold out a hand for me.
My hair sways around my face as I clamber over the rock, ignore his hand, and jump down. The impact leaves my feet stinging despite my boots, but I manage to keep most of that off my face—I think. I take deep breaths, and Cord follows the movement, approval lighting his eyes.
“Not bad, wolf girl.” He reaches out and flicks the hair back from my face. Some of the curls stick to my skin that’s sweaty from the climb.
I don’t push him away when he coasts those same fingertips across my cheekbones and along my shoulder. His chest stills, though my heart goes haywire when he continues to trail his knuckles along my sleeve. That seems to be the invitation he needs to slide his much larger hands around my waist, squeezing gently.
