Page 9 of His to Defend

“It’s an easy one to forget when you’re out here.”

Ryker pretended to be annoyed but he didn’t meet Luke’s eyes because he had completely forgotten about the whole no shifting around humans when he’d gone for his run earlier.

“Sure. I got it.” Ryker spun the front wheel of the bike on the rack. “Hey,” he said, changing the subject. “What do you say you lend me one of these for the day? I need to get out of here.”

Luke shot him a look. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with Harper’s friend, would it?”

Ryker’s bear growled, instantly defensive. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

“Yeah, what do you mean by that?”

He spun around to see the subject of the conversation and his frustration standing in the door. “Nina.”

She stepped inside the adventure center and at once the scent of apples and honey filled his head and made him dizzy. Ryker leaned back against the workbench to steady himself. No way was he going to fall down or make a fool of himself in front of her.

“It’s me.” Her voice sounded like the gentlest tinkling of bells in his ears. “What were you saying about me?”

“Just that you wanted to go for a mountain bike ride today,” Luke said in a move that Ryker was thankful for. “In fact, Ryker was just asking me for a bike as well. Maybe you could go together?”

A slow, sexy smile spread across her face. “That sounds perfect.” She looked directly at him in a move that had his bear roaring. “Are you up for it?”

He took a step toward her, leaving the safety of the bench he was leaning on. “Oh, I think I’m more than up for it.”

Beside him, Ryker could vaguely hear Luke chuckling under his breath. “Okay, you two. Let me get you set up with a few bikes and then you can go do all the exploring you can handle.”

Ryker did his best to wait patiently while Luke set them up with bikes, helmets, and then a map of the trails he’d set up in the area. “Stick to the green runs over here.” Luke pointed to a space on the map, but Ryker was only half listening. It was almost impossible to concentrate with her scent filling him. He was going to have to get her out of his system and soon if he had any hope of surviving the next week.

CHAPTER FIVE

“This is amazing.” Nina gripped her handlebars tighter as her bike flew over a rocky abutment so she caught a little bit of air before landing on the path again.

“Keep pedaling!” Ryker shouted in front of her and she did as she was told.

There was no way she should be able to keep up with him. He was a solid mass of muscle and fitness, but he was clearly toning it down for her sake. A fact she appreciated. But not as much as she appreciated the view of his backside. Staying close to that was all the motivation she needed.

“How are you doing back there?”

She was dripping with sweat, and her quads burned with the exertion, but she was loving every minute of it. “I’m good. Keep going!”

Her lungs screamed at her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d put in such an intense physical effort. It had been months since she’d gone to a spin class regularly; her travel schedule hadn’t made it possible. But apparently those few sessions were enough to keep her in decent-ish shape. Either way, incentive of a sexy ass or not, she was going to need to rest soon. Despite her insistence that she was fine.

As if he read her mind, a few minutes later, Ryker skidded his bike to a stop and dismounted. “I need a break.”

Like hell he did. He’d barely broken a sweat. But Nina was definitely not going to complain. She practically fell off her bike, grabbed her water bottle from the holster and stumbled through the grass for a few feet before collapsing on her back in a faux exhaustion.

She would have been more than happy to lay there as she caught her breath, with the cool grass cooling her underneath. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she became very aware that the sun was no longer warming her face.

Nina snapped her eyelids open and stared directly into the piercing green eyes of Ryker, who was hovering just over her. Close enough to—

“What are you—”

“Are you okay?”

Okay? Was she okay? Was he seriously asking her that while his hot, hard body was only inches away from her?

“I’m…” Nina swallowed hard. “I’m fine,” she managed. “I’m just resting. That was…”

“Intense?”