Chapter 2

Finally, Max burst through the thick plants, bounding toward me. I clutched my heart and

let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he was unharmed. He immediately took a protective

stance in front of me and started growling, snarling and barking at whatever was in those ferns.

Given the fight-or-flight choice, I was sure the best course of action was to slowly sneak

backward and get the heck outta there.

The ferns parted and I gasped. I was suddenly face to face with a mountain lion. It raised

its head, unleashing its bloodcurdling signature roar. My heart began to pound in my chest like a

high school marching band.

What I encountered next was nearly as shocking as the mountain lion. I turned around

quickly, only to bump into a guy who looked to be about my age. He wasn’t just any guy though,

he was so scorching hot that if I had wet my finger with my tongue and touched him, his chest

would have steamed and sizzled. He instinctively pushed me behind him as if to protect me, then

started shouting and throwing sticks at the big cat. I joined in with some noise of my own, and in

an instant, the mountain lion fled into the grass.

The beautiful stranger eyed me up and down, warmth and empathy radiating from the

depths of his gaze. “Are you okay?”

His gorgeous, winter-blue eyes hypnotized me, and I was pulled into his hold with one

look. My breath had never literally been taken away before, but I was absolutely suffocating

under the power of his stare, and my knees began to shake. “I-I…” The butterflies that had

landed in my stomach, in fear of the cat, were now turning flirty somersaults. My eyes slid up his

towering body, gliding over his features drinking in every detail, from his high cheekbones to the

dark stubble shading his sharp jaw. He was definitely tall, dark, and handsome. Even if it was

quite cliché of me to be so taken by him, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. I’d never been

face to face with somebody so beautiful and angelic. He was the kind of guy who I thought only

existed in movies, as if a Calvin Klein model had stepped down off of one of those big, delicious

billboards for a hike through the woods.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, after my stutter never turned into a complete

answer. He didn’t fidget or stumble for words like I did, whenever I was standing in front of a

gorgeous stranger. Rather, his cool confidence spoke volumes to me, as if he was used to girls

throwing themselves at him, which I was just about to do.

My breath froze in my throat, and my stomach clenched. I’d never been so drawn to

anyone before, never so instantly, so madly attracted. I couldn’t stop staring at his messy tangle

of dark hair, it had that tousled, just-out-of-bed look, which I loved and found so sexy. From his

piercing blue eyes, to his strong chiseled jaw, to his handsome face, he was absolutely godlike.

Even dressed in a plain black t-shirt and jeans. I took a deep breath to try to calm down, but it

felt as if time had stopped.

When our eyes locked, we both seemed to get lost in each other’s gaze, oblivious to

anything else. I was fixated by his piercing stare. There was an explosive chemistry between us

which was absolutely undeniable.

My ex had told me that sexual attraction and chemistry couldn’t possibly be planned, it

was something that would just happen naturally. I knew, standing there looking at this new guy,

that he wasn’t lying. I had never felt like that with my old boyfriend. I couldn’t even explain the

uncontrollable force that was drawing me to him like a moth to flame. When he looked at me

with that sexy smile on his face, I’d never felt so desirable, so wanted. I had a strong urge to

jump into his strong embrace. He was a smoldering hot hunk, and I couldn’t believe I had his

attention.

“Is everything okay?” he asked a third time, snapping me back into reality.

My mouth dropped, and it took a minute for my brain to function. “Uh, huh? Oh yeah. I’m,

um…I’m fine,” I babbled, as if that big cat had my tongue.

He stepped forward and looked off into the vegetation. “It’s gone for now, but you must be

careful of predators out here,” he warned, meeting my gaze straight on. “Predators are always on

the prowl. They’ll stalk their prey until an opportunity arrives to pounce and go for the neck with

a fatal bite.”

“I know,” I said. “The thought of anything biting me anywhere kind of freaks me out.”

“If you’re not all right with fangs piercing your skin, you definitely shouldn’t be out here.”

He shot me a look like he knew something that I didn’t.

I blinked. “You’re right. Let’s get outta here before the big kitty comes back.”

Staring deeply into my eyes he said, “It won’t.”

Max growled at the handsome stranger and began to bark.

I was a bit embarrassed that I didn’t have my dog under better control. “Don’t worry,” I

told him, patting the furry beast’s head. “Max doesn’t bite.”

“Well,” he said with a grin. “Tell him that I do.”

We both burst-out laughing, his ice-breaker had worked.

Nevertheless, even with my soothing tone and gentle touch, Max continued to growl and

pace in front of me.

“Max!” I scolded. “Knock it off, boy.”

“Don’t blame Max. It’s not his fault,” he said. “All dogs hate me, it’s their natural

instinct.”

“Nah, he’s just protective and loyal, that’s all,” I said, trying to explain. “You’re still a

stranger to him, and he’s trying to look after me.” I was still a little rattled by the mountain lion.

That must be why Max is acting this way, I thought. “We’d better go, just in case that snarling

menace comes back looking for dessert.”

“Like I told you, it’s not coming back,” he said sternly, shifting his powerful stance. “It

caught a whiff of my scent. It fears me, just like your dog does.”

“You mean it’s afraid of shouting humans?”

“The shouting, yes.”

I laughed. “So you’re telling me that big lion is scared of our little voices?”

He just stared at me with those dazzling blue eyes for a moment, then totally changing the

subject he asked, “Do you always hike unprepared?”

“No. It was an unintended hike,” I answered. “My dog took off and I had to find him.”

“At the very least, you should carry pepper spray to scare off bears.”

I chuckled. “I don’t see you sporting a can.”

“I don’t need it,” he replied with a smirk. “I can fight off a black bear with my bare hands.”

“All right, Davy Crockett.”

He grinned right back at me, nearly melting me where I stood. “But all joking aside, you

shouldn’t be out here. As I said, these woods are full of hungry predators,” he warned again.

I shot him a flirty look. “Well, then it’s a good thing I’m safe here with you.”

I didn’t know what had come over me, but something had. Where are these wild emotions

even coming from? I’d never been so bold and daring. It wasn’t like me at all, but I couldn’t

seem to keep the words or the girly giggles from coming out of my mouth. I couldn’t explain it,

but there was some hot, intense, intoxicating connection between us. The attraction was sizzling,

but I didn’t have the guts to ask him out, or even for his phone number. I didn’t even know if I was his type or not, if he even liked dark-haired girls with frizzy, curly hair and chocolate-brown

eyes. For all I knew, he was only into that boob-job and bleached blonde type, and that most

definitely wasn’t me.

“You don’t know a thing about me,” he said. “What makes you think you’re safe with

me?”

“Are you saying I should fear you more than that mountain lion?” I asked. “Maybe I

should be carrying more than pepper spray, if that’s the case.”

“What I’m saying is that you need to be careful. Seemingly nice guys cannot always be

trusted,” he answered, glancing down at a still growling Max.

I just smiled. “Are you a nice guy?”

His face lit up, and he grinned again. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

I took the bait and engaged him with, “How’s that?”

Suddenly, his gorgeous grin faded, worry flashing across his features. He began to dart his

eyes around from tree to tree, shrub to shrub, and appeared to be listening so intently that a tiny

wave of fear washed over me.

Max started to bark and snap at the air. I peered into the foliage and thick brush, but I

couldn’t see anything to be afraid of.

“They’re back,” he whispered, then pointing to Max he added, “Please keep him quiet.”

They? I thought, worried that he was talking about more than one mountain lion. As he

suggested, I patted Max’s head and tried my best to calm him, but it didn’t help.

Finally, Mr. Mysterious knelt down and petted Max. “Shh, boy.”

Much to my surprise, Max immediately quit barking.

The handsome stranger then placed his hand on my lower back and briskly led me in the

direction of our house.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “More mountain lions?”

“Or worse.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Let’s go!”

But Max didn’t want to leave.

The guy gently tapped Max’s head. “Go home, boy.”

Obediently, Max bolted off. Wow. He had the magic touch. I knew panicking wouldn’t

help me one bit. I kept my cool and started to run back home. The handsome stranger followed.

When the house was in view, I glanced over my shoulder to thank my escort. I was

shocked to discover that he was gone, vanishing just quickly and mysteriously as he’d shown up

in the first place. I squinted, peering through the dark spaces between the trees, but he was

nowhere in sight. It was as if he’d just vanished into thin air.

Who is he? I wondered. Where does he live? I’m such an idiot. I didn’t even get his name.

Shaking my head at my foolishness, I walked to the back door and opened it.

“There you are. What took so long, sweetheart?” my mom asked. “And I know you didn’t

stay in the back yard like I told you to.”

My