Dare to Bear (Book 1 Trail Guardians Series) (9 page)

As they struck out on their second day together, she glanced upward. Pure blue sky played peek-a-boo between the leafy branches above and promised a beautiful day ahead. She’d take it, gladly. Her first two days on the trail had been filled with drizzling rain and mucky paths. So far, yesterday and today proved far more enjoyable. She also had Mason for company, which made the time pass quicker than being stuck in her head trying to bat away thoughts of Kyle and the unknown future ahead.

Mason talked about his twin brother, Midas. And a second set of twin brothers, Garrett and Grayson. And a third set of twins, Stone and Shane.

“How many twins are in your family?” she asked, amazed.

He shrugged. “All of us have a twin.” A faint smile of amusement touched his lips. “You could say it runs in the family.”

“Your poor mother gave birth to three sets of twins?” she exclaimed. “All boys? God, I feel for her.”

“Hey, we weren’t that bad. Okay we were a handful,” he admitted. “Maybe more than a handful. And there were four.”

She stepped over a mushroom covered log. “Four what?”

“Sets of twins.” A shadow crossed his features. “But my baby brother Brock’s twin died very young. A girl, Beatrix. She would’ve been our only sister.”

“Oh, that’s so sad.” She could tell by the angst in his tone it affected him to this day. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Mason nodded in acceptance of her heartfelt words. “In a way, we lost them both. Brock always seemed like something, someone, was missing from his life. I get it. There’s an amazing connection between twins. It’s hard to describe. Tough as he is to take sometimes, Midas is as much a part of me as my arms and legs. We can finish each other’s sentences, like we share the same brain. I have no idea what it would be like to have that level of connection with another soul only to lose it, knowing it can never be replaced.”

“Did Brock recover as he grew up?”

“I don’t think so.” Mason’s eyebrows lowered. “He’s always been a loner. Angry at the world. Going overseas in the military didn’t help. He mastered his Special Ops training, like we all knew he would, but whatever spark of humanity was in him when he left, it didn’t return when he did. It’s haunting to look into the eyes of a living ghost.”

Sadness pierced her chest and a chill raced up her arms, almost as though she could feel exactly how Mason felt right now. As if she was as connected to him as his twin brother was. But that couldn’t be possible.

As an only child who never knew her birth parents, she empathized with Brock’s loneliness and could understand Mason’s regret. That’s why she experienced this deep, startling connection to Mason, by proxy. Nothing more, she assured herself.

They turned their discussion to lighter subjects. He continued pointing out various plants, their identifying features, and their medicinal properties. She knew penicillin came from mold, but she’d never fathomed that the forest offered its own complete pharmacy to those who understood its healing powers. Two hours passed before thirst overwhelmed her. She gulped half of her first canteen by eleven o’clock.

Within minutes of screwing the cap back on, the strangest thing happened.

The sun shone more intensely through the leaves, casting a bright, hazy glow over the scenery. The scene looked as if her contacts had slipped, or one had popped out without her realizing it. “Mason, stop.”

He did abruptly. “You okay?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced at the ground in dismay, her view fuzzy. “Crap, there’s no way I’ll find it in all this brush and dirt.”

“Find what?”

“I think I lost a contact.” She hunkered down on a log, used an alcohol wipe to sterilize her fingers, and then poked at her eyes to locate the filmy lenses. Both were intact, she hadn’t lost either one. “I guess not. Weird.”

Standing cautiously, she blinked hard several times and waited for her vision to clear. Yet the glossy coating remained over her surroundings. “Is there pollen in my eyes? Or a bug?”

Face tilted up, she waited for his inspection. His gaze touched every feature, his green eyes flecked with warm sparks of amber. He was an incredibly handsome man in a rugged, appealing, outdoorsy way. “Sorry, Steph. I don’t see anything.” He frowned. “You didn’t put makeup on, did you?”

“Why bother?”

He shrugged. “That was my thought. You’re naturally stunning and don’t need it.”

“I wasn’t fishing for a compliment,” she said. “But something is off.”

His head tilted. “Do you need to stop for a minute?”

“No, let’s keep going. Like you said, we have a lot of ground to cover today on the trail.”

Still, everywhere she looked the colors of nature seemed brighter, iridescent, practically neon green and yellow in places. Her vision became slightly out of focus in some spots, and sharp as a magnifying glass in others.

Even her hearing seemed more acute, to the point where she could distinguish between dozens of bird calls, all at once. A squirrel scampered up a tree a good ten yards away, and she heard the scratching of its nails on bark as if she stood right beside the tree.

Maybe last night she hadn’t slept as well as she’d thought, and fatigue was taking its toll. Unused to this level of exertion over long stretches of time, she had no experience to compare to these symptoms. She assumed they were side effects of a city girl breathing in the dense oxygen of a forest for days at a time.

A little disturbed, she described the symptoms to Mason.

He gave her an odd stare. “Really?” His voice sounded like a mix of awe and excitement. “Huh. I hadn’t expected that.” His smile of wonderment baffled her. “Interesting.”

“What? Do you know something I don’t?” she demanded.

“Possibly. But I can’t make a diagnosis yet.” Pride shone on his face for reasons she couldn’t fathom. “Keep me posted on the changes in your sensory perceptions.”

“Okay. You’ll let me know if something is wrong?”

“Don’t worry. What you’re experiencing is nothing to be afraid of, and it’s not a bad thing.”

“But, how do you know that, if you don’t know what’s happening to me? Am I sick?”

“Relax, honey. Whatever happens, I’ll take care of you. I told you that from the start.”

She set her hands on her hips. “I’m not some useless, helpless female, Mason. I can hold my own. And I could make this leg of the trail with or without you.”

“I know.” He grinned and planted a kiss on her lips unexpectedly, leaving her flushed. Warm sensations tickling her inner elbows and the backs of her knees.
Whoa, that’s new
. “It’s why,” he said, “I believe you’ll be ideal.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ideal for what?”

“Just a hunch I had when we met.”

She sidestepped away. “Now you’re starting to sound like a creeper. Even though Dr. Tyce vouched for you.”

He brushed her chin with a forefinger. “The right chemistry can happen between two people in the most unexpected places.”

The declaration surprised her. “Are you saying you think we have chemistry?”

He nodded. “Don’t you think?”

“Yes,” she admitted, “but maybe this isn’t fate as much as convenience.”

“I tend to believe Fate defies the odds.” His smile was blinding in its certainty. “Stick with me, baby. I’ll prove the impossible does exist, and can happen.”

Hesitant to jump on the
we’re-meant-to-be
bandwagon, she said, “I didn’t sign up for that excursion. It sounds like it costs extra.”

“Totally free. And it’s a standing invitation.” He winked. “The slot’s open with your name on it, when you feel like straying onto the path less traveled.”

She peered at him. “Are you speaking in code? Because I left my magic decoder ring at home.”

He laughed. “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.” The warm flecks in his eyes sparkled like sun-lit gold. “When the end is worth the wait, I don’t mind a little mystery.”

“I do,” she griped. “I’m not even sure what we’re talking about anymore.”

He caressed the back of her neck, sending pleasant chills down her spine. “What it comes down to is enjoying the journey. No expectations. No strings attached. Just seeing where it leads.”

“No matter what happens?” she clarified.

“No matter what.”

The intensity embedded in his tone left her more intrigued and less vigilant than she’d prefer. Part of her wanted to explore the potential between them. The rest of her wanted to keep her emotions safely locked away behind the gates of strict caution.

But if she did decide to explore their potential, she liked knowing there were no expectations. A fling. Hot sex with a gorgeous man she might never see again. Something she’d never considered, and she was gradually warming up to the benefits of such an arrangement.

When they resumed hiking, she noticed the fantastical colors had faded a bit. However, she now picked up plenty of compelling scents each time she inhaled. The earthy decay of decomposing logs. The rich dampness of moss. Crisp pine needles and gooey sap. Most gripping of all was the male scent of her companion. He smelled like fresh-tilled earth, the salty tang of sweat, and the musk of virile masculinity. The combination struck her as outrageously sexy, a little too intimate, and completely distracting. There was no way she smelled anything close to pleasant or feminine.

The sound of rushing water came from the valley to her right. She suspected her quick cleanse back at the cave that morning would prove insufficient to stand up to the muggy heat of high noon along the North Carolina/Tennessee state border, in spite of deodorant.

“I need to wash my hair,” she blurted.
And myself
. “Can we stop at the river below?”

Mason inclined his head. “Not a bad idea. It’s pretty damn hot out today. I could use a cool dip in the river myself.”

“Great.”
Thank you
. “So, how do we get down there?”

He glanced at the downhill terrain. “Have you ever been skiing?”

“A few times, but what does that have to do with getting to the river?”

“It’s a steep drop. You’ll need to take it sideways, like tackling winter slopes on skis. Following the downward momentum, you shift left or right depending on the roots and rocks in the way.”

She chose to ignore her nervousness. “Okay, I think I can handle that.”

Thinking back, she recalled Kyle preferred summer over winter sports, but the few times they’d gone skiing she’d loved the exhilaration, speed, and control. The one outdoor activity where she’d excelled over Kyle. Probably why he’d hated it.

Granted, she hadn’t grown comfortable with her new, fuller body yet, and she faced leaves and mud instead of snow. But she wanted to regain her former abilities. She needed that old sense of daring to spike her veins again. Hey, if she lost her footing, she had extra cushion on her bones to soften her landing. She would
own
this hill, damn it.

A touch of vertigo hit her as she peered over the steep drop. She took a steadying breath.

“Ready?” he asked.

Shaking out the stiffness in her limbs, she nodded. “Let’s do this.”

With the first step, she skidded down the embankment. She found purchase and careened around boulders, ducked under branches. She kept her knees bent, feeling for dips and ledges in the terrain, anticipating when to shift left or right.

Her partner maneuvered like a pro, catapulting over logs with grace, levering his toned frame around rocks with the agility of a gymnast. He mastered the topography at a quick glance and warned her of obstacles ahead. He offered his hand to her a few times, but she refused, needing her arms free for extra balance, needing to accomplish the feat on her own.

Halfway down her hamstrings and thighs burned like she’d performed a hundred squat exercises. She continued her descent, letting gravity do the work. Taking the last fifteen yards on a diagonal, she ran the rest of the way until she leveled out along the river rocks, a grin stamped on her lips.
Yes!

Mason slowed to a stop in front of her and pivoted in her direction. She tried to slow down, too, but the weight of her pack propelled her further than expected. She landed against his hard chest with a thump.

To his credit, he absorbed the impact without a cringe or grunt, and without stumbling backward or falling on his fine ass. Cripes, the guy was solid as a tree trunk.

“I did it,” she said through winded breaths.

“How about that.” He smiled like he’d never had a doubt. “Want to go again?”

Sure, Mr. Endless Stamina
, she thought to herself.
Hot
. “Nope, I got it out of my system. I’m good.”

“Yes, you are.” His glance appraised her with a slow, sexy sweep. “You earned a cool bath in the river. Though I like you all tousled and sweaty.”

With his comment rose images in her mind of them rolling around on the ground, making out passionately, bodies entwined and dripping with exertion, him tearing off her disheveled clothes. It held more appeal than she’d admit out loud to him. “This isn’t the good kind of sweaty and tousled, but thanks.”