Predator

Dedication

To the wonderful Forest Rangers who love the forest around Diamond Lake as much as my family and I do. Without their dedication, the wildlife making their homes there would be in jeopardy. As would our cabin.

Chapter One

Someone was watching her.

Thoroughly scanning her surroundings, Mia debated amending her gut reaction. She was alone in the middle of the forest. If she was being watched, it had to be by an animal or bird.

Just the same, she’d heard distant rifle shots this morning. At the time, she’d been more pissed than alarmed because it wasn’t hunting season. If some idiot was poaching—damn it, that joker better not be scoping her out.
Go back to where you belong. This mountain’s mine as long as I’m on it
.

Experience had taught her how to be as silent as an animal, and she’d done so during her hike up Cougar Mountain. Quiet, so she could get in touch with the living creatures that shared this remote wild land with her and not run them off. She’d been rewarded when a yearling buck stepped from behind a pine tree and stared at her. She’d stared back, smiling. The two of them, human and nature’s creature, had studied each other for several minutes before the buck melted back into his surroundings.

Unfortunately, this time she felt no sense of peace and warmth. Instead, reality reared its ugly head. Whatever studied her now wasn’t a buck. Neither was it any of the other creatures that lived and died in the wilderness; she was now sure of that.

Unease crawled up her spine. Her body felt alive, not alarmed, but far from relaxed. Someone new to the forest might panic, but she felt more at home here than she ever felt in so-called civilization. Controlling her breathing and thoughts, she sent energy and strength to her legs. She had nothing to fear from an unseen hiker, camper, forest ranger, naturalist, or mushroom hunter.

And, yet… No, damn it, Jack the Ripper wasn’t hanging around!

She’d been away from the country that nourished and renewed her for too long; that’s why she was nervous and unsettled today. Two brief weeks of living out of suitcases in an upscale Washington, D.C., hotel had turned her urban, and what had always been familiar had become less so.

That’s why she’d decided to explore Cougar Mountain in northwestern California before returning to work as a Forest Service biologist, so she could get back in touch with her roots. She needed to trust her instincts again. Only, this afternoon her instinct was more than nagging—it was shouting.

She wasn’t alone.

“I know you’re out there.” The tops of the trees swallowed her voice. “If you’re playing a game, I don’t find it funny. I have a gun and a knife and know how to use both.”

Silence. Even the wind stopped teasing the pine branches.

A finger of alarm pressed against the top of her spine. “Look, I have as much right to be here as you do. I’ll go west, or east if you want west. Hell, I don’t have a problem with north or south. What I have a problem with is playing games.”

She couldn’t think of anything else to say after that. Much as she loved the evergreens, the thick vegetation provided too many places for someone to hide.

Okay, so her fellow traveler wasn’t interested in talking, she told herself in an attempt to calm herself. She had no problem with playing that game. Tossing back her long, single braid, she set her sights on the top of the rise she’d been climbing. The slope was steep enough that she had to lean forward to keep her balance, which caused her butt to stick out. Fine. Let the stranger have a gander at a firm, rounded mound. It wasn’t as if he’d ever get to touch it.

A soft and low sound, maybe deep breathing, silenced her own breath. A chilled wave coursed through her, stopping her forward progress, and a blip of something she hadn’t allowed herself to think about broke through. She’d been attracted to Cougar Mountain because of the legend surrounding it, a legend she’d fully expected to debunk.

But if there was something to the reason for the mountain’s name—

A man stood with his arms folded across a too-big chest, legs spread wide, muscled thighs and calves challenging his jeans to contain them, his dark eyes glinting with something she couldn’t or wouldn’t put a name to.

He was beautiful. Wild. Thick black hair so long it swept his shoulders. Days overdue for a shave. Broad shoulders and back; proud and, yes, arrogant. He held his mouth in an ungiving line, lips thinned in concentration, or anger, or something else beyond her comprehension. His facial bones were well displayed despite the stubble, jaw strong and cheekbones high. Those incredible and unnerving eyes were set deep in their sockets as if protecting them from deep scrutiny.

Although she wasn’t done studying the man’s unfathomable expression, Mia knew better than to let it distract her from his strength and size. Tall, maybe six feet two. Like his face, the rest of him carried no padding. He was all lean energy and health, his chest sheltered beneath a flannel shirt no bullet could stop.

A bullet?

No, she couldn’t—wouldn’t—shoot him.

Unless her life depended on it.

Shaking off the horrid image of aiming her pistol at that athletic form, she accepted that the only thing disturbing the lean line of his belly was a certain undeniable mound. A large, proud bulge that loosened her clenched jaw and softened her in ways she prayed he couldn’t guess.

Man. All man. Silent and watchful.

“One—one of us needs to say something,” she came up with, angry because her voice shook a little. “I’ve already shot off my mouth, so what say we make it your turn?”

Going by his lack of a reaction, she nearly believed he hadn’t heard her. But unless he was deaf, that wasn’t possible. Her career brought her in contact with men who made their living on their feet and working with their hands, so she was accustomed to well-toned males. To say she’d become immune to vibrant bodies would be a lie. She was a healthy young woman who loved nothing more than wrapping her body around and over a member of the opposite sex and feeling them become one.

But this man, this woodland stud, was putting the competition to shame. Yes, mystery and the possibility of danger added undeniable elements, but it was more than that. The appeal went deeper than a near-perfect physique.

“Okay, so you aren’t interested in talking. I understand. I do. I came here because I needed some downtime.” About to wipe her suddenly damp hands on her hips, she clenched them instead. “I want to put some more miles behind me while it’s light, so I’ll just be moving on.”

Maybe thirty feet separated them. A former high school and college track star, she was still fast on her feet. If he so much as made a menacing move in her direction, she’d leave him in her dust.

Not that she wanted to.

Shit, what was this? Some fantasy that she and Mr. Mysterious-and-Sexy’s eyes had once met across a crowded room? Not only wasn’t she a woman for romantic fantasies, this wasn’t a room, and it wasn’t crowded. Most telling, he was more intimidating than intriguing.

Not that it mattered, because she’d never see him again.

Swallowing disappointment, she made a quarter turn and took her first step toward what appeared to be a decent deer trail. She thought about asking what had brought him to the area and if he’d heard the rumors about cougar spirits and spells, but he probably wouldn’t respond to that, either. One step became two and then three. She told herself to relax, that the awkward encounter was nearly behind her.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

His voice was a rumble, a deep and low growl. Unsettling as the tone was, his words made her shiver. And stop. “What?”

“You came.”

Run. Get the hell out of here
. But, damn it, she’d never backed down from anything. After taking a halfway calming breath, she faced him. Moments ago he’d been standing in the sun as if inviting her scrutiny, but now he stepped into the shadows. Either that or the shadows had reached out to envelop him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She paced every word, keeping them strong. But underneath, something was happening to her, a little more softening in her sex and a hell of a lot of awareness of herself as a woman. Not just a one hundred-twenty-pound woman being confronted by a man who might outweigh her by a hundred pounds, but female in its most basic form.

“You might not understand now, but you will,” he said.

His tone was just as deep and rumbling as the first time, and yet it had become what, silky? Seductive? She’d come in contact with a few unbalanced people in her life. Here was the most masculine male she’d ever encountered—and it looked like he had a few loose screws. Not fair!

“I don’t know what to say.” Her words came out a whisper.

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m leading your journey.”

“I, ah, appreciate the offer.” She took a backward step. “But I have my own journey, and I’m going to get back to taking it. Now.”

“No.”

Chapter Two

He approached, and yet he didn’t. There was no other way of explaining what she was seeing. Yes, his legs moved, but not with a simple and practiced bending of the knees and flexing of muscles. Instead, he glided, slid, floated toward her. Maybe her reaction was connected to the mountain’s name, but it seemed that his progress mirrored that of a big cat—effortless, powerful and supremely confident.

Something shifted inside her, a sloughing off of restraint and caution. Instead of being ruled by the instinct for survival, an equally primal response pushed its way to the surface. For the first time in her life, she wanted, simply wanted, a man. Wanted to grab and hold on, to crush her mouth against his, to pull his scent into her and run her lips over his belly. To scream as he mounted her.

Her cheeks and throat heated. Her senses sharpened and narrowed at the same time until little existed except the human life-form closing the distance between them. He became more than three-dimensional, an exquisite Greek god. She mentally stripped off his clothing. He smelled of the earth and sun and more: skin and clean hair. Lips buzzing and thighs trembling, she fought the instinct to wrap her arms and legs around him and invite his body into hers.

Not an animal! Damn it, not some bitch in heat!

Closer, his heat beginning to seep into her and now within easy reach. Bombarded by opposing emotions, she swung between surrendering to his male strength and running as she’d never run. “Stop. Not another step.”

“Too late.” Despite his words, he ceased his graceful-as-hell gliding and settled his arms at his sides. “It became too late the moment you decided to come here.”

Oh, shit
. “Who are you?”

Instead of answering, his remarkable eyes began a slow journey down her body. Unnerved by the intense scrutiny, she nevertheless took note of his eye color. From a distance, the black had predominated, but now she saw yellow flecks dancing in the darkness. She’d never seen eyes like that, certainly not on a human. For an instant, she thought she’d come up with the creature they reminded her of, but that slid away when his gaze settled on her crotch.

Her crotch, the center of her sexuality, was short-circuiting. She couldn’t simply say she was turned on, because the sensations were more intense and nearly uncontrollable. Fighting not to squeeze her legs together, she wondered if he could sense her arousal.

Of course he did! That’s why he was staring at that part of her anatomy. “Look, I don’t appreciate this damn game you’re playing. The rest of my group’s close by. All I have to do is pick up my cell phone, and they’ll be here.”

“You’re alone. Like me.”

Oh, shit
. “Fine. Whatever. But just because we are doesn’t mean I’m yours for the—whatever you’re thinking. I know how to defend myself.”

She knew this land; at least, she comprehended the pulse of the wilderness. But she wasn’t fool enough to trust everyone who shared it with her. If not for the primitive heat between them, she’d have already put distance between her and the stranger. Wouldn’t she?

A nod of his head distracted her. He was so damn sexy, all male energy and promise, dangerous as hell. “Don’t be afraid of me,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Of course you aren’t. I won’t let you.”

“You’re brave. That’s good.”

Throat dry, she wrenched her awareness off her pussy and glanced behind her to make sure she had a path to freedom. “You’re not making any kind of sense, and I’ve had enough of whatever the hell this is.”

“It’s destiny, what the spirits have ordained.”

Cougar Spirits?
Enough! God damn enough! Not so much as blinking, she slid her right hand into her rear pocket and extracted her knife. It opened with a soft click, the blade aimed at his throat. “I don’t know or care what damn spirits you’re talking about. This conversation has gone on more than long enough. You go your way, and I’ll go mine.”

“I can’t let that happen.”

The words hit her like drumbeats. There was more than a little wildness to him, as if he was driven by instinct instead of his mind. What if he had no control over his actions, was dangerous?

She took a backward step, and then another. Her gaze remained fixed on him. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe. And he didn’t seem surprised by her actions. A few more steps brought her close to a thicket. To the right of it grew a number of widely spaced evergreens. As long as she watched her footing, she could easily navigate her way around the trees.