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Rancher Lion

by Zoe Chant

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Sasha sat on the bed, her eyes never leaving the tall, broad frame of the man standing by the stove.

She didn’t know what it was about him, but after the initial surprise of finding him standing in the middle of the cabin looking down at her, she felt... well, she wasn’t even sure she could put it into words. She felt... comforted by him, somehow. When he’d touched her ankle to check it over, his hands had been sure and gentle, the tips of his calloused fingers warm against her skin. Maybe it wasn’t so much that she didn’t know how to put it, but more that it had been so long since she’d felt safe that she couldn’t explain how it felt anymore.

Clenching her fists where they rested on the bed, Sasha closed her eyes, trying to blink away her bad memories. Instead, she tried to focus on the amazing smells that were drifting through the cabin from the pot Joe was heating over the stove.

“If that tastes as good as it smells, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” she said, her mouth watering. It was no exaggeration: another thing she couldn’t remember was the last time she’d had a decent meal, as opposed to whatever scraps Colfax and his followers had thrown to her.

“Believe me – it definitely does taste that good,” Joe said, as he flashed her a grin.

Sasha’s heart fluttered a little at the sight. Not only did Joe have the most comforting and gentle manner of any man she’d ever met, he was also completely gorgeous: broad, lean and muscular, with the kind of tanned skin and hardy look that came from being a true outdoorsman. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to reveal forearms that were corded with muscle, and she would’ve had to be blind not to have noticed the way his biceps bulged against the material, and the way his broad chest tapered to narrow hips. He looked like something out of a pin-up calendar, if Field & Stream magazine put out a beefcake edition.

Swallowing, Sasha forced herself to look away. Stop it. You only just met the man. And it was man trouble that got you into this mess in the first place.

The reminder of why she was here in Joe’s cabin in the first place was sobering. She’d been an idiot to trust Larssen – but he’d told her he loved her. He’d told her he’d protect her. She’d even been willing to stick with him after he’d told her about what he was – about what he could do. In fact, it’d been part of what had attracted her to him in the first place. She couldn’t imagine she’d been the only one – whatever else he was, Larssen was a damn fine looking man, with a damn fine motorbike, and a damn fine way of talking his way into what he wanted. The fact that he could turn into a massive, shaggy wolf... well, that had only added to his air of danger.

That air of danger should’ve been a warning to her; Sasha could see that now. She should’ve picked up and run the first time he’d shifted in front of her. But hindsight was 20/20, of course.

A shiver ran down her spine. She didn’t want to think about Larssen right now. She didn’t want to think about him, or any other member of his creepy pack, and definitely not the Blackwood Pack’s alpha, Colfax. For whatever reason, she was safe here. They hadn’t been willing to follow her to the cabin.

And Joe’s here now, too.

The thought popped into her head unbidden.

Stop it, she quickly told herself again.

Sure, Joe was kind and helpful. But she couldn’t expect him to get roped into this. She didn’t even know him – and besides, from what she’d seen of shifters, they were a lot tougher than ordinary humans. She couldn’t ask Joe to help her. It’d be asking a perfect stranger to put himself at risk to fix a problem she’d created.

Plus, she didn’t even know how she’d begin to explain it: Yeah, so my ex-boyfriend dumped me, but the leader of his creepy cult in the mountains told me I wasn’t allowed to leave. Oh, yeah, and all of them can turn into animals at will. Help me out?

She’d be lucky if Joe didn’t wheel her to the nearest nuthouse.

“I guarantee, you’ve never had beans like this before.” Joe’s voice interrupted her thoughts. While she’d been lost in her reverie, he’d served up what he’d been cooking over the stove, and was holding out a steaming bowl to her.

She took it gratefully, cupping her hands around it a moment to warm them. The fire had died down during the night, and her hands felt a little cold. The smell of the beans was too good, though, and she was just too damn hungry to go on just using them as a hand-warmer for long.

She lifted the spoon to her lips. Joe was right – the beans were amazing. The rich, buttery taste filled her mouth. There was something slightly sweet and a little tangy about them, every ingredient perfectly balanced. Sasha had eaten beans before – but she felt like she’d never truly tasted them until now.

“Oh, wow,” she said, when she could bring herself to pause in her eating. “Who cooked this? You?”

Joe shook his head ruefully. “I wish. No, it’s all my cousin’s wife’s doing.”

“That’s a pity,” Sasha said, lifting another spoonful to her mouth. “Because I was going to hassle you for your secret recipe.”

Joe laughed, low and deep. It sent a warm shiver down Sasha’s spine. “No secrets here. I’m sure Charity would be glad to teach you how she does it, when you come back to the main house.” Joe seemed to check himself quickly. “I mean, if you decide that’s what you’d like to do.”

Sasha looked down into the bowl of delicious beans. In truth, staying with Joe and his family was a tempting offer – but then again, accepting offers of hospitality from handsome men had been what had got her into trouble in the first place. And Larssen had seemed kind at first, too.

The beans suddenly caught in her throat. What if she was just making the same mistake all over again? She was only just out of Larssen and Colfax’s clutches, but here she was, maybe running headlong into danger again.

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