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Authors: Aubrey Rose
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wet stones, her shoes soaked through. The boulders lining the creek bed were huge, and it took her longer to scout around them to make sure there was nothing hiding.
Then there were no more broken branches.
For ten yards or so, she saw no other signs of the bear, and she thought she might have lost the trail. She cast her eyes around, trying to find something that she had missed.
A splash from up ahead made her heart jump, and her gun was up and aimed before she even steadied herself on her feet. The noise continued, but Wren could scarcely hear the murmur of the creek above the pounding of her pulse in her ears.
Boulders and fallen trees had clustered up ahead, forming a natural dam. There was a small pool beneath the dam, a waterfall streaming down between two boulders coming from the top. She would have to climb up to get to the place where the splashing had come from, twenty feet or so above the level of the lower pool.
Breathing hard, Wren made her way around to the side that seemed the most accessible. With one hand gripping her gun, she climbed up the side of the waterfall. The rocks here were wet, but the slope was not as steep, and she stepped up gingerly. There was nothing beneath her but the small pool of water and the rocks of the creek bed. Above her, though... Her heart beat fast. Her finger hovered near the trigger of her gun. She climbed, one-handed.
The splashing had stopped, and Wren eased herself up over the side of the boulder slowly, cautiously. Perching on a narrow ledge, she stood up slowly, her gun coming up alongside her vision. She peeked over the boulder, slowly, slowly—
"Ahh!"
The face in front of her was so close that she screamed and started backwards, losing her balance. A large hand reached out and caught her by the arm that held her gun.
Chapter Ten
Her foot slipped, and her free hand grabbed at the arm which had caught her. A gasp escaped her lips as she recognized the blond hair, the light brown eyes twinkling above her. And... and...
This time Dawson wasn't just topless. He was one hundred percent, bare-assed naked.
While Wren was agape at his completely clothes-free body, he was keeping her from falling backwards into the lower pool. Finally her mind reassembled itself into something that could think half-clearly. Her feet scrambled for purchase on the boulders, trying frantically to regain her balance.
"Stop squirming," the ranger said. "Let me pull you up over the ledge, okay?"
Wren stopped. She looked up at the ranger's face, averting her eyes from everything happening below his waist. His unimaginably muscled, sexy hips. His—
"Okay," she said breathlessly. But he didn't move to pull her up. Instead, his eyes darted down to her gun.
"You're not planning to use that on me, right?" he asked.
"I—n—no," Wren said.
"Just making sure." The ranger grinned and lifted Wren up and over the boulder's ledge as though she weighed nothing. Her legs wobbled under her as her feet found solid ground on the top of the boulder. The upper pool above the dam was much larger than the bottom pool, and an even bigger waterfall streamed down the side of the mountain to feed it. Wren wouldn't have been able to continue tracking the bear anyway—the next waterfall was much too steep.
"Now why don't you put that gun away and tell me what you're doing here."
"I—I—you—I don't—" Wren waved her hand vaguely in the direction of his body as she tucked her gun back into her jacket. The ranger was just standing there next to the pool as though nothing was the matter. As though it was perfectly natural to carry on a conversation with a stranger in the nude. And now that her gun was away, she had nothing to look at but his... but him.
"Can you put your clothes on, please?" she finally managed to stammer out.
"Oh, I see how it is," Dawson said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You come and interrupt my morning swim, and you want me to change back into clothes when I'm not even
Then there were no more broken branches.
For ten yards or so, she saw no other signs of the bear, and she thought she might have lost the trail. She cast her eyes around, trying to find something that she had missed.
A splash from up ahead made her heart jump, and her gun was up and aimed before she even steadied herself on her feet. The noise continued, but Wren could scarcely hear the murmur of the creek above the pounding of her pulse in her ears.
Boulders and fallen trees had clustered up ahead, forming a natural dam. There was a small pool beneath the dam, a waterfall streaming down between two boulders coming from the top. She would have to climb up to get to the place where the splashing had come from, twenty feet or so above the level of the lower pool.
Breathing hard, Wren made her way around to the side that seemed the most accessible. With one hand gripping her gun, she climbed up the side of the waterfall. The rocks here were wet, but the slope was not as steep, and she stepped up gingerly. There was nothing beneath her but the small pool of water and the rocks of the creek bed. Above her, though... Her heart beat fast. Her finger hovered near the trigger of her gun. She climbed, one-handed.
The splashing had stopped, and Wren eased herself up over the side of the boulder slowly, cautiously. Perching on a narrow ledge, she stood up slowly, her gun coming up alongside her vision. She peeked over the boulder, slowly, slowly—
"Ahh!"
The face in front of her was so close that she screamed and started backwards, losing her balance. A large hand reached out and caught her by the arm that held her gun.
Chapter Ten
Her foot slipped, and her free hand grabbed at the arm which had caught her. A gasp escaped her lips as she recognized the blond hair, the light brown eyes twinkling above her. And... and...
This time Dawson wasn't just topless. He was one hundred percent, bare-assed naked.
While Wren was agape at his completely clothes-free body, he was keeping her from falling backwards into the lower pool. Finally her mind reassembled itself into something that could think half-clearly. Her feet scrambled for purchase on the boulders, trying frantically to regain her balance.
"Stop squirming," the ranger said. "Let me pull you up over the ledge, okay?"
Wren stopped. She looked up at the ranger's face, averting her eyes from everything happening below his waist. His unimaginably muscled, sexy hips. His—
"Okay," she said breathlessly. But he didn't move to pull her up. Instead, his eyes darted down to her gun.
"You're not planning to use that on me, right?" he asked.
"I—n—no," Wren said.
"Just making sure." The ranger grinned and lifted Wren up and over the boulder's ledge as though she weighed nothing. Her legs wobbled under her as her feet found solid ground on the top of the boulder. The upper pool above the dam was much larger than the bottom pool, and an even bigger waterfall streamed down the side of the mountain to feed it. Wren wouldn't have been able to continue tracking the bear anyway—the next waterfall was much too steep.
"Now why don't you put that gun away and tell me what you're doing here."
"I—I—you—I don't—" Wren waved her hand vaguely in the direction of his body as she tucked her gun back into her jacket. The ranger was just standing there next to the pool as though nothing was the matter. As though it was perfectly natural to carry on a conversation with a stranger in the nude. And now that her gun was away, she had nothing to look at but his... but him.
"Can you put your clothes on, please?" she finally managed to stammer out.
"Oh, I see how it is," Dawson said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You come and interrupt my morning swim, and you want me to change back into clothes when I'm not even
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