Page 24 of Shephard

“You know better than to allow rumors to flow in this town, Roger. They’ll come back to bite you. And not everything is what you think it might be.”

He shrugged, his eyes twinkling, which meant he didn’t believe me. “Whatever you say. Maybe I should start calling you Danger Ranger.”

“You are so bad.” I laughed but was fuming inside. How dare that little prick ignore my command? Plus, there were regulations for a whole lot of reasons including avoiding mass hysteria.

Huffing, I turned around quickly, my eye catching one nifty-looking twisted rope. It appeared like a real hiker’s rope, oneused for mountain climbing. It was rare around these parts, what few they received scooped up in a heartbeat. Without a second thought, I lunged for it. The second I collided into a hard body, I snarled instead of whimpering like some girl.

I dropped my basket, fell on my ass on top of it, and was prepared to eat a bear because of the flash of pain in my leg. Who the hell was bulldozing their way down the aisle?

My dog didn’t bark. Didn’t come to my aid. She simply sat on her haunches looking up and up.

And up…

A tremendous shadow covered the entire front of me and as I slowly lifted my head, my first instinct was to frown. The mystery man was standing in front of me in all his glory. I wanted to be angry, but damn it. He was hotter in the bright lights and streaming sunlight of the store than in the ugly dim lighting of the bar or motel.

He was also here. In my world. Why?

Boy, was the man built. There were no adjectives that suited his massive, sculpted body. Other than perfection. But as he’d done the night I’d met him, he was wearing a scowl that would terrify a sweet old lady.

The other thing that troubled me was that I couldn’t get my eyes to stay off the huge and very thick bulge between his legs. Of course, it had to be accentuated by the tight and very faded blue jeans he was wearing. And who looked that damn good in a Henley shirt? Why wasn’t he wearing flannel like all good mountain men? My filthy mind tried to take over. Oh, hell, no.

“What the fuck are you doing?” My natural personality took over, easily fueled by embarrassment and my anger toward Cane. Knowledge didn’t stop me.

“You ran into me.” His voice was just as gruff but also just as sexy. He eyed Pepper and briefly acted as if he was going to smile.

Nope.

My heart was thudding like the pattering of a teenage girl experiencing puppy love for the first time. Not good.

I was still on the floor, a small crowd including Roger hovering close by. I noticed none of them were trying to help me off the floor. Nope. The women were gawking with open mouths at the huge giant. At least Roger had a knowing grin on his face. I could swear the sweet guy knew I’d had a filthy carnal fling with Mr. Know-It-All.

“You are such a grumpy bully.” When I struggled to get off the floor myself, I realized my left calf hurt like shit from hitting something on the way down. The ache prevented me from hopping up like I normally would, which prompted Mr. Hero to make the determination I needed help.

He was so strong that when he pulled me into his arms, he flung me straight into his massive body.

Whew. Was it getting hot in here?

We were locked in a frozen moment and I had a bad feeling the sinful experience was being captured by some other know-it-all. I was gripping his massive forearms, my instinct to knead his muscles blasphemous.

And I’d be damned if he didn’t catch what I was doing, dropping his head toward the action like a moth to a flame. His arrogance prompted me to dig my nails into his skin.

“You can let me go. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Now I glared at Pepper who was wagging her tail and looking lovingly up at the big jerk.

“Evidence to the contrary,” he grumbled.

Now the man who spoke very little was a comedian? My other natural instinct kicked in and I jerked away. It seemed he thought I was going to slap his chiseled, fur-covered face. He grabbed my outstretched hand, cocking his head and giving me a stern look.

I hadn’t planned on giving the man a single moment of satisfaction. If and when I needed to hit a man, which was usually some asshole perp, he’d be out cold on the pavement. Not that I could manage to budge this guy.

His eyes were so amazing and hypnotizing that for a few seconds, I thought I was going to get lost in them. “What were you doing?”

“You were trying to take my rope,” I said. What a stupid thing to say.

“Last time I checked, you hadn’t paid for it yet. Fair game.”

What the hell did he need with a hiker’s rope? He sure didn’t look like a mountain climber to me. “Nope. I need it for work.”

“Tying men to a tree?”