“Get off,” he said.

Startled, and with adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Shay froze. “What?”

“You heard me.”

More confused than ever, she did as he demanded. Then, still recovering from the scare she'd just had, plus upset over the humiliation that this man was heaping upon her, she turned away from him and began walking the way she'd originally been headed.

She'd walked a good thirty feet when she heard him call, “Where are you going?”

Angry now, she turned to face him. “What do you care?”

He drove the ATV forward, stopping in front of her, blocking her path.

“Leave me alone!” Her voice was tinged with fury, her nerves stretched tight.

“I’d like to talk to you.” His voice was calm.

Widening her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief, she said, “Then why’d you tell me to get off your ATV?”

He smiled, which nearly disarmed her. “Because I want to look at you when I talk to you.”

That made sense in a completely ridiculous way. “Oh.”

He glanced at her bare feet, then one side of his mouth tugged upward. He looked toward the forest, his gaze scanning, then he looked at her. “Why don’t we sit for a minute?”

The man was crazy. Still, when he climbed off of the ATV and walked to a spot under a tree, Shay followed him. And when he sat, she sat too.

“Do you want something to eat?” she asked, then felt like an idiot. What, was she a hostess now? She was in the middle of nowhere. And the food in that backpack was all she had.

“No,” he said. Then he smiled.

She gazed at him—he was wearing a t-shirt that nicely displayed his biceps and ripped chest. And that smile—white, perfectly straight teeth framed by full lips. Holy cow. “Thank you for, you know, saving me from those guys.” Who’d been about to kidnap me.

Just the thought of where she would be at that moment if he hadn’t come along sent a surge of adrenaline pounding through her veins.

“You shouldn’t take rides from strangers.” His eyes narrowed. “You told me earlier that you didn’t need a ride.”

Oh, yeah. That. “Like you said, I shouldn’t take rides from strangers.” A smirky smile curved her mouth. “So how could I take a ride from you? I don’t even know your name.”

He laughed, which made his smile even more gorgeous. Shaking his head, he plucked a long piece of grass from the ground beside him, then he focused on her. “My name’s Josh.”

Josh. She liked the sound of that.

“So, Shay.” He stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Where’re you headed?”

All of a sudden she didn’t want to pretend that everything was fine. Her face kind of crumpled, although she refused to let tears fill her eyes. “I don’t know.”

He cocked his head to one side. “You don’t know?” His gaze went to her bare feet, then back to her face. “Yet you’re walking along this road with nothing but the clothes on your back and the little bit of food I gave you. You don’t even have any shoes.” He shook his head. “Not a great plan.”

He didn’t have to tell her what she already knew, and when he listed it out like that, she felt like a complete loser. She didn’t need to sit there and listen to him make fun of her.

Determined to show him that she could take care of herself—even though that was in serious doubt—she jumped to her feet. “Again, thanks for chasing off those creeps, but I’ve gotta get going.”

He looked up at her, a lazy smile tugging up the corners of his mouth as he placed the stem of grass between his teeth. “Yeah, you don’t want to be late to…” He paused a beat. “Where did you say you were going again?”

Why was she still standing there listening to him poke fun at her? She gazed down at him, his animal magnetism holding her in place. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was so dang hot and she had nowhere to go.

Using all of her will, she took a step back, then turned and began walking toward the road.

“Shay,” he called, freezing her in place.

She turned in his direction, but didn’t speak.

He stood, tossed aside the piece of grass, then brushed off his jeans. She couldn’t help it. Her gaze slid from his toes all the way up his sexy body, then to his face, and when she thought of the way he’d been her knight in shining armor—okay, her knight on an ATV—her attraction to him could not be denied.

“What?” she said as he walked towards her, but her voice was softer than she'd meant it to be.

He stopped about eight inches away from her, forcing her to look upward to see his face. “I was just teasing you.”

And? How did that help? “Fine, but I have a long way to go, so I need to get moving.”

He looked at her bare feet again, then met her gaze. “Are you really going to walk ten miles without any shoes?”

A huff of air left her mouth and she shook her head. “Why? Do you have a pair of shoes in my size tucked away in that ATV?” She motioned with her head towards his ATV, which was behind him.

He swiveled in that direction, then turned to her with a half-smile. “Can’t say that I do.”

“Right.” She turned away, ready to hit the road, but when she'd only taken one step, his fingers wrapped around her upper arm. It was as if she'd been burned. The heat from his touch scorched her right to her core and she gasped.

“Hang on,” he said.

He let go, but it was as if that one simple touch had branded her, and she couldn’t walk away if she wanted to. Slowly turning to face him, when her eyes met his piercing blue ones, it was like she was hypnotized by his very presence. Even so, her predicament hadn’t changed one bit and she waited to see what he was going to say.

“Since you’re probably going to hitchhike,” he began, “why don’t you let me drive you to wherever it is you’re going?”

Not liking how vulnerable she was, she placed a hand on her hip. “I don’t know where I’m going, remember?”

He chuckled. “Yes. I remember.”

Looking doubtfully at his ATV, she added, “Besides, I wouldn’t want to ride on that for ten miles.”

Smiling like she was a slow learner, he said, “I meant that I would drive you in my truck.”

“Oh.” Feeling stupid, she lashed out. “Thanks anyway, but I can manage on my own.” Uh-huh. Right.

He stared at her a moment, then nodded. “All right. Have it your way.” Then he turned around and climbed onto his ATV.

Wait! she wanted to scream. I can’t manage on my own. But it was too late. She'd already made it clear she didn’t need him.

He grinned at her, then turned on the ATV and began driving back the way he’d come—towards his cabin.

She stood there and watched until he’d disappeared over a rise. Then a thought occurred to her. Why was he heading home? Hadn’t he been on his way somewhere? Or had he only come this way because he was looking for her? Thrilled by the idea, she almost immediately dismissed it.

Why would he do that? He didn’t know her.

But she couldn’t help wonder if he’d only come this way to find her.