Read Online Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Adaira) BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances Book 6) by Ariana Hawkes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ariana Hawkes
Ads: Link
now, seeing her hiking all alone, he began to think there might be another opportunity. He’d watched her bathing, of course. She’d been a little blurry in the distance, but he could make out the paleness of her body, and her delicious curves. A bolt of arousal had hit him, making him harden instantly, and it had taken all of his self-control not to race down the mountain and mate with her in the water.
Instead, he’d just follow her, try to figure out why she was walking all that way in the heat of the day, all by herself.
Chapter Eight
Around mid-afternoon, Adaira stopped and assessed her surroundings. The trees were becoming darker green and more sparse. She was now at high altitude. Her ears had been popping, and the air felt crisper. In around 20 minutes, she’d call Leigh and tell him to come find her. She paused by the stream and drank half a bottle of water and washed her hands and face. She probably looked a mess, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. And he knows I’ve been hiking , she reminded herself, with a shrug of her shoulder. Maybe I’ll wash my pits though . She pulled her tank top off and bent down low to the stream, splashing her underarms with the cold water.
She was just pulling her shirt over her head and rolling it over her torso, when a movement in the trees ahead startled her. She blinked and looked again. And then she stifled a scream, as a tall, dark man appeared in front of her. She squinted as he came into the light, noting cropped dark hair, brown eyes and an angular bone structure. He didn’t look quite as she’d expected in her mind’s eye, but people never looked exactly like their photos. He wasn’t worse looking – just different – and his body was leaner than she’d expected. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but she’d imagined him being more meaty – more the kind of body that she was into.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi?” she said a little uncertainly. “I didn’t expect to bump into you like this. I was going to wait for a few more minutes before I called you to come and pick me up.” He broke into a grin, revealing flashing white teeth.
“Well I guess I’ve saved you the effort,” he said. He stood staring at her, eyes bright with intensity.
“Are you going to show me where your cabin is?” she asked. His body jerked, as if being jolted out of his trance.
“Sure.” His gaze turned a little predatory, and she felt a little shiver of unease. He was different from what she’d expected from their fun, chatty phone call the other day. He’s probably feeling shy. You’re likely the first woman he’s laid eyes on this week , she told herself.
“Let me take your pack.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m used to carrying – ” But before she could finish her sentence, he’d snapped the clasp in the front and pulled it right off her back. She gasped. It had happened so quickly that she felt dizzy from the sudden rebalancing of her center of gravity. She rubbed her arms where the friction from the straps being yanked from her shoulders had chafed her skin.
“Thanks,” she muttered, a little annoyed. He swung the bag onto his back as if it weighed nothing.
“It’s this way,” he said, stepping off the track, and he began to plunge into the trees.
“I thought you lived right at the end of the track?” she called, following him hesitantly.
“Uh, no,” he said. “It’s this way.” He didn’t elaborate any further. The trees were dense away from the trail, and it took all of her concentration to clamber over rocks and squeeze in between branches and tree trunks. The spiky branches of shrubs scratched her legs as she raced to keep up with him, but he strode on, oblivious to her discomfort. Is this a bear thing? she wondered. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t the kind of girl who needed looking after, but a little courtesy wouldn’t go amiss.
“Hey! Can you slow down a
Instead, he’d just follow her, try to figure out why she was walking all that way in the heat of the day, all by herself.
Chapter Eight
Around mid-afternoon, Adaira stopped and assessed her surroundings. The trees were becoming darker green and more sparse. She was now at high altitude. Her ears had been popping, and the air felt crisper. In around 20 minutes, she’d call Leigh and tell him to come find her. She paused by the stream and drank half a bottle of water and washed her hands and face. She probably looked a mess, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. And he knows I’ve been hiking , she reminded herself, with a shrug of her shoulder. Maybe I’ll wash my pits though . She pulled her tank top off and bent down low to the stream, splashing her underarms with the cold water.
She was just pulling her shirt over her head and rolling it over her torso, when a movement in the trees ahead startled her. She blinked and looked again. And then she stifled a scream, as a tall, dark man appeared in front of her. She squinted as he came into the light, noting cropped dark hair, brown eyes and an angular bone structure. He didn’t look quite as she’d expected in her mind’s eye, but people never looked exactly like their photos. He wasn’t worse looking – just different – and his body was leaner than she’d expected. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but she’d imagined him being more meaty – more the kind of body that she was into.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi?” she said a little uncertainly. “I didn’t expect to bump into you like this. I was going to wait for a few more minutes before I called you to come and pick me up.” He broke into a grin, revealing flashing white teeth.
“Well I guess I’ve saved you the effort,” he said. He stood staring at her, eyes bright with intensity.
“Are you going to show me where your cabin is?” she asked. His body jerked, as if being jolted out of his trance.
“Sure.” His gaze turned a little predatory, and she felt a little shiver of unease. He was different from what she’d expected from their fun, chatty phone call the other day. He’s probably feeling shy. You’re likely the first woman he’s laid eyes on this week , she told herself.
“Let me take your pack.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m used to carrying – ” But before she could finish her sentence, he’d snapped the clasp in the front and pulled it right off her back. She gasped. It had happened so quickly that she felt dizzy from the sudden rebalancing of her center of gravity. She rubbed her arms where the friction from the straps being yanked from her shoulders had chafed her skin.
“Thanks,” she muttered, a little annoyed. He swung the bag onto his back as if it weighed nothing.
“It’s this way,” he said, stepping off the track, and he began to plunge into the trees.
“I thought you lived right at the end of the track?” she called, following him hesitantly.
“Uh, no,” he said. “It’s this way.” He didn’t elaborate any further. The trees were dense away from the trail, and it took all of her concentration to clamber over rocks and squeeze in between branches and tree trunks. The spiky branches of shrubs scratched her legs as she raced to keep up with him, but he strode on, oblivious to her discomfort. Is this a bear thing? she wondered. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t the kind of girl who needed looking after, but a little courtesy wouldn’t go amiss.
“Hey! Can you slow down a
Similar Books
