Ryder may have set my skin on fire and his hands may have opened me up and made me whole, but I totally forgot the reason I ended up at his cabin.

I ended up here because he kidnapped me.

It’s like I needed this heated conversation with him so I could be pulled back from the fog that is Ryder. It’s like he brought me to the woods and put me under a spell. I forgot myself when I was in his arms, and now, I’m waking up and remembering.

“I need a moment alone.”

“Out here?” He looks around. “You can’t wander off, Justine. This is still the wilderness.”

“I won’t go far—just to the lake where we were this morning. I need some space. I need to think this all through. Think us through.” I walk away from the bearded mountain man who somehow made me feel seen and heard and understood—all in one night.

But he also confuses me. Why does he think he knows what is best for me? I’ve always been able to take care of myself and I like that about me.

Yet somehow I fell head over heels for a man I hardly know. Any why? Because of his insanely broad shoulders and ice-blue eyes? Because he made me lentil soup?

“Justine, don’t overreact. So what, we don’t know each other that well. But that doesn’t mean what we’ve shared isn’t real.” He sighs. “And you’ve got to trust me on Luther.”

I turn to face him. “Overreact? I have to trust you?” I throw up my hands, frustrated. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want, Ryder. And right now, I am trying to work out why you thought you had the right to intervene in my auction.”

Ryder stares at me incredulously. “Because Luther is a creep. A monster. He doesn’t deserve you. He’s nothing but—”

I raise my hand to cut him off. “How exactly can he be a monster when he was married to one of my heroes?”

I honestly can’t believe Helen would have married a creep, which means Ryder had his own reasons for bringing me here.

Scratch that. For kidnapping me and keeping me here.

He wants me for himself, yet he didn’t respect me enough to pay fair and square like everyone else.

Ryder runs his hands through his hair. “Look, I can’t convince you to believe what I say. It’s just the way he is. The way he treats women.” He exhales, reaching for me but I pull away.

“I let my emotions take over last night. But now in the light of day, I see more clearly.”

Ryder shakes his head. “I think you are scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of this. You and me. Of what we could be.”

I look away, wondering if my heart is tightening right now because he is right or because I should walk away.

“I’m falling for you, Justine. Hard. And I think you are falling for me. And that terrifies you because you’ve never had a man before. A man who knows what he wants.”

I blink back tears, scared he might be right.

“You don’t need to run away because your feelings are stronger than you planned.”

“I have plans, Ryder. I want to make a difference with my life. Not give it all up for a man I don’t even know.”

“Dammit Justine,” he says reaching for me again. “Why does it have to be all or nothing with you? Why can’t you have both?”

“I don’t do things halfway, Ryder. And I don’t know how to do this. Us.”

“So, instead, you’ll walk away from what we could be because this is new territory?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I need to figure out what I want. And I can’t do that here. I need to go home.”

When I look into Ryder’s eyes, I see he’s pissed. If he had his way he’d keep me here forever but I’m not sure I’m ready for forever.

“Well, I sure as hell can’t get you off my property today.” He runs his hands through his hair.

I look around the driveway, it’s covered by the fallen tree and his garage is completely blocked. “Isn’t there someone you could call?”

“I get that you want to go, but, Justine, what do you expect from me? This isn’t LA. This is Alaska. And maybe you’re idealizing everything right now. My mom and this state. Because you’re acting like a spoiled rich girl who can snap her fingers and get what she wants. That’s not the real world, princess.”

“I’m not a princess.”

He snorts. “Right, you’re just an heiress.”

“You’re loaded yourself. Your mom was a billionaire. So don’t judge me.”

“I can do what I like. This is my land, Justine.”

I groan, seriously agitated now. “Land that you forced me onto.”

“You know what, Princess? I’ll figure it out. I’ll find a way to get you home since you want to go so damn bad.”

I suck in a sharp breath as he steps away from me. I’m both infuriated with this argument and desperate to pull Ryder back in my arms. To rewind this stupid fight and remember how good we could be together.

But I also know I can’t stay another minute with this thousand-acre man who seems to know this land like the back of his hand. This man who seems to know me like the back of his hand.

This man who is causing tears to fall down my face.

If he wanted to save me from Luther so badly, then why didn’t he buy a ticket to the auction?

“You know the worst part about all of this?” I ask, tears welling up in my eyes. “I thought you were special. I thought we… I thought this might be more than a hook-up. I thought it might be…” I cover my face with my hands.

Ryder reaches for me again, but I pull back. He knows he has hurt me.

The truth is, I saw something with him.

Something real.