I jumped off the porch, gun aimed and ready to take a second shot. Blood rushed through my ears as I approached the grizzly lying still, two feet from the woman now curled in a ball on the ground.

What the fuck?

The bear didn’t move. I’d managed a clean shot. God only knew how. Christ, my heart was still pounding.

I crouched down, but I couldn’t see the woman’s face. She was still in a fetal position. “You all right?” I tried to keep the anger from my voice. I didn’t kill bears, and anybody with sense in their heads knew spring in the Rocky Mountains was not the time to traipse through the woods alone and, by the looks of it, unarmed.

She peeked up at me through her hair. “Oh, my God,” she whispered.

“Christ, are you—”

“You shot at me,” she blurted.

I reached out to help her to her feet, and she jerked back, scrambling away, as she said a whole lot louder, “You shot at me.”

It was dark, and the woman was in shadow, I had no idea who the hell she was, but she’d obviously lost her damn mind. She had to be lost or perhaps she’d been in some kind of accident? People didn’t just stroll up to my house, ever.

I tried again. “Are you hurt? Why are you out here on your own?” I reached for her, and again she yanked her arm out of my reach.

“I should have listened to Sally. She said this was a mistake, that I’d end up in a shallow grave in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. She was right. Oh my God, she was right!”

She backed up some more, visibly shaking.

“What are you talking about?” I gritted out, my patience wearing thin.

She shook her head. “I knew you were too good to be true. I knew it.”

I stared at her. Who the hell was she?

She turned her head slightly, and moonlight caught her features. Features that were more than a little familiar. I’d memorized them, had dreamed about that face more times than I could count. I squinted, trying to get a better look at her. “Freya?”

She was still backing up.

I lifted a hand. “Stop.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

She took another step…

And stumbled over the dead bear behind her, landing on top of it. That’s when she screamed, so loud my ears popped.

I rushed over, hauled her up into my arms, and hung on. She was so freaked I was scared she’d take off into the night and get herself killed.

Jesus, she was small, but the woman had curves, and lots of them. She was a nice armful. I’d thought many times about how she’d feel against me, but not once had I imagined that she’d be struggling to get away when it finally happened.

Still, I couldn’t help but dip my head and breathe her in, something else I’d thought a lot about. Women all had their own special scent; they were sweeter, and Freya was just as intoxicating as I’d dreamed. Her hair smelled like flowers…

Her boot connected with my shin. “Ow! Christ!” I lifted her off her feet to stop her from grinding her heel deeper.

She struggled harder. “Let me go, psycho!”

I guess I probably should have cleared things up before I started sniffing the woman. I’d just been waiting so damn long for this, I’d gotten a little ahead of myself. I pressed my mouth to her ear. “I wasn’t shooting at you, Freya. I was shooting at the bear stalking you.”

Her struggling eased and I watched her turn back to the bear, then up to the porch where I’d been sitting, and finally to me. The fear was fading fast and was quickly followed by understanding.

She blinked up at me. “Oh.” She tensed. “So, you’re not…”

“A psycho? Not that I know of.” I lowered her but kept hold of her arm, still a little worried she’d bolt.

She blinked up at me. “Well…” She bit her lip. “This wasn’t exactly how I, ah, planned our first meeting.”

I’d been talking to this woman, fantasizing about her, for six months, and she was finally standing in front of me, in the flesh. I could barely believe it.

“Me either,” I said. Understatement of the goddamn year.

I reached up and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. I felt her tremble, and going by the expression on her face, it definitely wasn’t from fear. I liked that. A lot. And, shit, the ground suddenly didn’t feel too steady under my feet either.

Her gorgeous green eyes looked over my face, dropped to my mouth, then back up to my eyes. “Hey,” she said, voice soft, a little husky.

“Hey.”

Then we just stared at each other.

Finally, she said, “You look just like your pictures.”

“You’re even more beautiful,” I said, meaning every word. Freya Thomas was the loveliest creature I’d laid my eyes on. Her hair was a deep auburn, and even with twigs and leaves tangled in it, I could see it was soft and had a gentle wave. Her eyes were wide and the most stunning green, her nose, small and cute, and her mouth—Christ, her mouth was wide and her lips lush and full. She was like a curvy little wood sprite.

I gave myself an internal shake and asked the most pressing question. “What are you doing here, Freya?”

Her skin turned pink, and she lifted her hands palm up. “Surprise. I decided to come a week earlier.”

I frowned, confused as hell. “I’m thrilled you’re here—shit, you have no idea—but…” I looked behind her then back down. “What’s going on? How did you get here? And more importantly, where’s your gun?”

She was chewing the side of her mouth, and her hand, now on my forearm, squeezed. Shit, just that bit of contact made me hard. I forced myself to concentrate and ignore my dick. The two weeks we’d planned to spend together weren’t about fucking, they were about making sure Freya was suited to this lifestyle, that we were compatible in all ways, not just between the sheets. This wasn’t about lust, and it sure as hell wasn’t about love. It was about finding a partner for this life, a life that was tough and harsh and often unforgiving.

But from what Freya had told me about her upbringing, none of it should be that new to her.

“My gun?” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Dammit, I, ah, left it at home. I was in such a rush to get here, I forgot about it completely.”

I slid my thumb over the back of her hand, unable to stop myself. Her skin was insanely soft. “You can use one of mine.”

Her brows shot up. “Oh…that’s, that’s good.”

“How’d you get here?”

“Well, I had a small accident on the way here, so I walked the rest of the way.”

My brows shot up, and I quickly scanned her for injuries. “Accident? Are you hurt?”

She lifted her fingers to her woolen hat. “Just a bump to the head. Otherwise, I’m fine.”

“Jesus. How far did you walk?”

“I’ve been walking a couple of hours, I guess.”

This whole night was insane. “Let’s get you inside. I’ll take a look at your head. I’ll sort your truck out tomorrow.” I took her hand and she followed me inside, or rather hobbled. I glanced down at her. “Did you hurt your leg as well?”

She shook her head, a small smile curving her lips that made my heart kick behind my ribs. “New boots,” she said.

I ignored the way her smile was affecting me—or tried—and frowned. Why the hell would she wear new boots on a trip like this? She had to know we’d be doing a lot of walking. The thought vanished from my mind, though, as I led her up the stairs to my house. I’d been working on this place for four years. I’d put nearly every penny I’d made working on a ranch during summer into it. My twin, Hank, had inherited our family home when our grandfather, who’d raised us, passed away.

Hank deserved it. He’d never abandoned the family like I had, and he’d been there to nurse our grandfather while he was dying. I, on the other hand, had been off living wild. Only I’d swapped rugged mountain peaks and grizzly bears for women and alcohol and being an irresponsible asshole.

I’d loved the house we’d grown up in, and I’d wanted to create something like it, something of my own that I could pass down to my own kids one day. I wanted a family, and that’s what I’d kept in mind while Hank and I had built this place.

I knew Freya lived in the city now, but she’d grown up on a ranch, had lived a similar, simpler life. What she thought of my home was important to me. Whoever I married would have to live and be happy there.

Her reaction to my house was the first step.

I pushed the door open and ushered her in ahead of me. I’d thought I had another week to finish a couple of small things, but hopefully she could see past that.

She still had hold of my hand and she spun to me, a huge smile on her face. “Wow, Beau. Really.” She turned around and took everything in. “You’ve talked so much about working on this house, I had this idea in my head, you know, what I thought it would look like…” She turned back to me. “This surpasses anything I imagined.”

My chest expanded. “You like it?”

She let go of my hand and moved, or more limped, deeper into the large living room. “It’s like something from a storybook.” She ran a hand over one of the doorframes, and looked up at the roof, the huge beams that crisscrossed it. “You did this, all with your own two hands. I’m…I’m blown away.”

She tugged her woolen hat off and I got a better look at her hair. It was dark, but there were lighter streaks of brighter auburn. I loved her hair. Even from her pictures you could see how stunning it was. Way too many times I’d imagined wrapping it around my fist while she was on her knees in front of me.

I walked over to her and gently pulled a twig free, mainly because I wanted to touch her. “My brother helped,” I said, frowning when I spotted a little dried blood by her hairline, just above her temple. “You cut your head.”

Her fingers came up and she prodded it.

“Let me look.” I gently moved her hair. Thankfully, it didn’t look serious. “It’s small. Head wounds can bleed a lot.”

I could feel her eyes on me and when I looked down she shook her head. “I feel fine. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Her smile widened. “So, will I get to meet them, Hank and his wife, while I’m here?”

Hank didn’t know anything about Freya. I’d kept our plan to myself. He was so loved up with his wife, Birdie, I knew he wouldn’t understand. And as much as I was attracted to Freya, I wanted to be sure that this was going to work between us before I introduced her to my family. “Maybe,” I said instead of sharing any of that. “Birdie had their twins a month ago, so they’re sticking close to home.”

Freya clasped her hands together in front of her. “She had the babies? That’s so great. What did they have?”

I couldn’t help but smile down at her. I loved Freya’s enthusiasm. Just the thought of my nieces put a smile on my face. “Girls. And they’re doing great.” I’d shared so much of my life with this woman, more than I’d shared with anyone else, apart from my brother. Having her with me just felt right.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Beau.

She stepped closer and rested her hands on my chest, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright. “I’m so happy to be here with you, you have no idea,” she said softly.

My abs clenched. Jesus, just having her hands on me made me as hard as iron. “I think I have an idea.”

“Yeah?” she said, moving even closer.

I might have decided to keep my dick in my pants, but there was no way I wasn’t going to kiss her. I’d go mad if I didn’t taste those full lips. I dipped my head. “Oh yeah.”

We’d had a couple of hot and heavy conversations over the phone, but I’d tried not to go there too often with her. I knew this day was coming, and I had a definite idea of how our time together should be spent. If I’d been listening to her come over the phone the last six months all that would have disappeared out the window. Shit, I’d already have her naked in my bed.

I growled, shoving that image out of my head, and closed the distance between us.

Finally, our lips met…and I kid you not, the fucking angels sang.

My mouth covered hers, moving slowly at first, and my entire body lit up, every nerve ending sparking, my heart pounding. I slid my arms around her small waist and hauled her off her feet, lifting her so we were the same height. Shoving my fingers in her hair, I tilted my head to get more of her, and she opened for me, her sweet little tongue flicking out and brushing mine.

I’d been with quite a few women in my life. Like I said, I’d lived wild for a lot of years, acting out, trying to work out what I wanted. But as soon as I did, as soon as I knew what I wanted for my future, I’d stopped all of it. I’d focused on my goal, which was building a house and finding a woman who I could share it with. That was four years ago. Which meant I’d been celibate that long as well. So I wasn’t surprised by my reaction to Freya, by the pulsing need pounding through me at finally having her against me.

But I’d never in my life experienced anything like this. Like a live wire was sparking inside me, through my whole damn body. My hips punched forward all on their own, my cock impossibly hard. I knew I had to slow this down, take a step back, but God only knew how I was going to do that.

Then it got even harder because she wrapped her legs around me, and maybe it was just my imagination, but I was sure I could feel the heat of her pussy through our clothes, right there against my aching dick.

I was seconds away from tearing her clothes from her body and sinking inside her. But somehow, I managed to tear my lips from hers.

Her mouth went to my throat and she nipped, sucking the skin there, a sexy little moan coming from her throat. “Beau,” she said, voice full of need.

Shit, hearing that—how much she wanted me, too—had electricity shooting down my spine.

She tugged at my hair. “Oh God, you feel so good.”

I took a step forward, resting her lovely round ass that was currently in my hands on the back of the couch, and tried to pull back. She clung tighter, making it fucking hard to do the right thing. “You feel good, too, honey, but we need to slow this down.”

I could barely believe what I was saying, so Freya’s frown didn’t surprise me one bit.

“Slow it down?” she said.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Don’t you think we should get to know each other, you know, in person, before we go to bed together?” I cupped the side of her face. She was flushed, eyes bright, lips full and swollen from my kiss. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Freya.”

Her head dropped forward, forehead resting against my chest, and she groaned. “No, you’re right,” she said, voice muffled. She lifted her head again. “At least one of us is strong enough to slow things down. I feel like we’ve been on the longest first date of my life. We’ve been building up to that first kiss for six months.”

Her breath was coming in little pants, and though I couldn’t see her tits through her jacket, I knew her nipples would be hard, tight little peaks underneath.

“I’m not strong, believe me,” I said, taking a step back. “But I don’t want to mess this up.”

She nodded, her hair moving around her shoulders. “Me either.”

I crossed my arms, so I didn’t reach for her again. “You’ve walked a long way. How about I run you a bath and, while you clean up, make us some dinner?”

She slid down from the back of the couch and scooped up her pack. “Sounds perfect.”

As I led her upstairs, I tried to think about anything other than Freya naked in my tub. It wasn’t working. “Tomorrow I thought we’d go fishing,” I said, desperate to move us away from what just happened downstairs. She stumbled over a step and I reached out and caught her. “Steady.”

“Fishing?” she said, voice higher.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, that’s…that’s such a great idea.”

I grinned, pleased with myself. “I know you’ve missed it since your folks sold their place and moved you to Denver. I have your whole stay planned out. Hunting, fishing, treks every day. You’re going to love it here.”

She cleared her throat. “Can’t wait.”