The snow had finally stopped yesterday afternoon, but as Julia looked out of the window in the cabin’s kitchen, her mouth gave a twist. She was never going to get to Waldron Valley at this rate. The week she had off work was being eaten by idleness, and it didn’t help that her father had called her again this morning, wanting to know if she was on her way to find her brother. She had to tell him that the snow was still too deep to go anywhere, and the disappointment in his voice had triggered her usual guilt response.

She needed to get out of here, and not only because her father was breathing down her neck. Iszak seemed to have taken his bad behavior yesterday to heart and was now a changed man. She wasn’t sure she liked the seductively friendly version of him any better than the growling bear version. At least with the bear there was no chance she would start thinking the thoughts that were slowly creeping into her head.

Thoughts like how attractive he was, which was made blindingly obvious by the smiles he was giving her. He talked about things that interested her, especially when she’d revealed that she had a love for medieval history. That period of time fascinated her, and not only because of the stories she’d heard about her family’s glories during that era.

Apparently he was a bit of a history buff for that time period too, and they’d talked long into the night last night, and he’d been a veritable font of information. He made it come alive, almost as if he’d lived in it.

She let the curtain fall back over the window with a sigh. It would be so much easier if they didn’t have anything in common. She could ignore his attractiveness if he didn’t stimulate her mind. Maybe she was out of sorts with the change in her normal routine, but it felt like he was actively trying to seduce her.

If that was his intention it was working, because she’d gone to bed last night with him in her thoughts and his hands on her body in her dreams. Of course, she was imagining it all. Why on earth would he be trying to seduce her?

The wooden floor creaked behind her, and she tensed. She couldn’t turn and look at him, otherwise she’d weaken. She had to focus on what was important, and tangling with him was not her priority. He was a temptation, but she had to be strong. She had to get the search for Kevin over with and get back to her normal life. A life that didn’t include deep relationships with men. There were too many secrets lurking in her family history, fantastical and unbelievable secrets.

The smell of his soap wafted over to her and she closed her eyes. It was nothing more than a fresh, clean scent but it made her want to turn to him, bury her face in the crook of his neck and breathe him in.

“What’s troubling you?” The deep rumble of his voice made her close her eyes. Jesus, even the sound of his voice was her undoing. He made her want things that she was not prepared for. Being alone with him only tormented her, since it made her think of all the things that were missing in her life. Things that she hadn’t known she wanted until now.

“I was checking to see if the snow had melted enough to get out of here.” His close proximity was doing things to her, putting thoughts in her head that she couldn’t act upon. She needed to get out of here for a while. She needed to clear her head and focus on what she needed to do. She needed to find her brother, assure her father that he was fine and she couldn’t let this man distract her, no matter how gorgeous he was.

He brushed past her, drawing the curtain back and looking out on the scene that she had memorized. There was little hope of getting out of here any time soon but she needed to do something to get away from his intoxicating presence. He turned back to her and stepped closer.

“I don’t think you’re going to be going anywhere with the snow still so deep. Is my company so difficult to abide by that you want to race out of here? I’ve been trying to be on my best behavior.”

His behavior was exactly the problem but not in the way he thought. Now that he was deliberately trying to be open and friendly, it was making her forget why she couldn’t be with him. Her female hormones picked a horrible time to make their presence known. None of the men she’d dated casually, even the few she’d slept with, had ever made her long for them like he did.

“I’m getting cabin fever. I’m going to walk to my car and see if I can dig it out. At least try to get it out of the ditch.”

That course of action seemed like the best idea she’d had in a long time. She needed to get away from him for a little while, to build her defenses up against him. She was fairly certain that he was not trying to seduce her, but her body didn’t seem to care. She wanted him and she needed to get away from him before she made a fool of herself.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to get anywhere, but I can help you if you want.”

“I don’t need your help.” Her voice came out much sharper than she intended and his eyebrows climbed to his forehead. Now she was the one being rude, and there was no call for it. If she didn’t tone it down, he would start asking what her problem was. She couldn’t exactly tell him that he made her want to jump his bones, especially if this attraction was one sided. “I’m sorry. Like I said, I’m getting cabin fever and just need to get some fresh air for a while. I’m not used to being inside this much. You don’t need to trouble yourself. I’m going to go blow off a little steam.”

Hopefully the fresh air and exercise would drive out the desire for him that was brewing inside her. A smile crossed his face and she had to look away from it.

“Don’t worry about it. I think there’s a shovel in the shed. I’ll go get it for you while you get ready to go out.” He walked to the front door, put his boots and coat on without doing it up. He left the cabin and a blast of cold air from outside hit her.

It didn’t take long to get ready, and she waited for him to return with the shovel. She stepped out of the cabin to wait on the porch so she wouldn’t overheat inside with her heavy coat, scarf and gloves on. He walked around the corner of the cabin with the shovel in hand, and she was struck again by just how big he was. What would it be like to have those strong arms wrapped around her in a lover’s embrace?

She shoved the thought aside as she reached out for the shovel. It didn’t matter what it felt like, she was never going to feel it. He put the shovel in her hand but did not let it go.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?”

She looked up at him and the temptation he presented. She desperately wanted to say screw it, drag him back into the cabin and kiss and hold him until spring came.

“I’m sure. I just need some time alone to gather my thoughts.” She gave the shovel a gentle tug and he let it go.

“Don’t be out too long in this. You don’t need to freeze to clear your thoughts.” Her hair chose that moment to blow across her face, and he reached toward her as if to brush it away. She dodged his touch and took a step back. A speculative look crossed his face before it cleared.

“I’ll see you in a while.” She turned away and walked down the porch steps. What was wrong with her? All he was going to do was brush the hair from her face, and she was certain it was just a reflex on his part, and she had acted like an idiot. She needed to get control of herself before she made a complete fool of herself.

They had yet do do anything with the track leading to the road, and although the weather had warmed up a little compared to what it was yesterday, it hadn’t made a dent in the snow. Maybe she should have offered to shovel it in order to purge herself of the jumble of feelings that were bouncing around inside her. She didn’t think the drive was far enough away from him, and she stomped through the snow with renewed vigor.

She had dreams to fulfill and a man didn’t factor into it. Too much was going on right now, and she had to focus on the bigger prize in her life. She’d been dreaming of going to school for years and when she’d turned thirty a few months ago she’d decided that she couldn’t waste any more time waiting for her life to happen.

She wouldn't let her father dissuade her anymore. She was done with this dragon business as soon as she found some sort of answer about Kevin that would appease her father. She needed all her focus in order to do that, and Iszak was much too distracting.

She’d only been in his company for a couple of days and he was already worming into her conscious and subconscious mind. When she’d woken this morning all she could think about was him as the dreams she had of him played out in her mind. If he’d walked into the bedroom at that moment, she wouldn’t be at all surprised if she pushed him down on the bed and had her way with him, so strong was the desire those dreams had awoken in her.

Instead of thinking of having sex with him, she should be coming up with a game plan for how to get out of here. The storm had already wasted a few precious days, and she couldn’t let it eat up any more. She wanted this mission done and over with. She didn’t think the investigation was going to take very long.

She’d talk to Kevin’s acquaintances and find out what the deal was with him. It would take her less than a week to manage all that and then she’d be free. But she needed to get to Waldron Valley first, and to do that she had to get her car out of the ditch and on the road. Lusting after Iszak’s body wouldn’t accomplish that.

She walked out on the road and went toward her car. She’d been hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad as she remembered, but it was buried in at least a foot of snow, with its nose pointed down into the ditch. Even if she managed to dig the car out, how was she going to get it out of the ditch?

“One thing at a time.” She had to at least go through the motions of trying to get out of here. She might not be able to get everything accomplished all at once, but she could make a start.

With determined steps she walked toward the car. She took the first scoop of heavy snow and dumped it to the side. Already she felt more in control of her life. She was doing something concrete to get to the future she wanted. She’d get out of this, and she’d finish her obligation to her father and move on to fulfilling her dream. She just needed to take it one step at a time.

* * *

A smile played about Iszak’s mouth as he watched Julia trudge through the snow. He had a feeling that more was driving her to be alone than solely cabin fever. He turned around and went back into the cabin. Part one of his plan was coming together and now he needed to make sure that everything was in place to put phase two into motion.

He got his cell phone out, hoping that now that the weather had cleared he would be able to get a strong enough signal to get in touch with Rickman. Luck was with him and the call went through, with his minion promptly answering.

“Iszak, I’m so glad to hear from you. I’ve found the apartment you wanted me to find and it’s ready for you to move in any time you want. Andor isn’t too happy about it, and he’s been stomping around here. I think he’s a little insulted that you don’t want to stay at the house with him and Lyssa.”

“He’ll get over it.” It was painful for him to see how much in love his brother and Lyssa were. Before he’d come here to be alone, he’d asked Rickman to find him an apartment that he could stay in while he searched for a mate. His minion had come through sooner than he expected on that front, which meant that all was ready to nudge Julia in the direction he wanted her to go. “I need you to do something else for me. The snow is deep here and the road will need to be plowed. Do you know when that is going to be done?”

“It’s a private road, so I’ll arrange for someone to come out and plow it right away.”

“I won’t be ready to leave until tomorrow at the earliest. So make arrangements for tomorrow morning.” There was no way he was going to be able to keep Julia here tonight if the road was plowed today. She was already wound up enough to want to dig her car out of the ditch. She was almost close enough to be ready for the next phase of his plan, he just needed to nudge her in the right direction to get her past whatever was holding her back from him.

“I’ll come out and pick you up tomorrow.”

“I think I’ll have a ride out of here, so there is no need to bother with that. Just arrange for the road to be plowed and get the keys to the apartment to me.”

A long silence stretched out and for a second Iszak thought that the call had been dropped. He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it. The call was still connected. “Rickman, did you hear what I said?”

“I did, but I’m not sure how you managed to get a ride back to town from out there. I’ll make arrangements for the guys coming out to plow the road to bring you the keys to your apartment. Would you care to tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about. Just make arrangements for the road and the keys.” Iszak hung up the call before Rickman could question him further. He had a plan but he certainly wasn’t going to tell Rickman about it. Telling his minion that he was going to bring home a dragon hunter in order to seduce her would not go over well. It would certainly get back to his brother, and Andor didn’t need to know what he was going to sacrifice in order to keep him safe.

He knew very well that he was playing with fire, considering her family lineage. It was the best plan that he could come up with, and if he was completely honest with himself it wouldn’t be a hardship to get close to her. He was wildly attracted to her, he would just have to be careful that he didn’t get in too deep and end up falling for her.

There was little chance that would happen. There was no way she was the one who could break his curse, since he would have to reveal his true nature to her in order for that to happen. Imagine that scene. By the way, Julia, I’m a dragon under a curse. Want to be my mate for life? That was a good way to get a crossbow bolt through his heart.

One thing he was certain of, he could not let her find out what his brother did to Kevin. He had to keep her close. To accomplish that he would offer her a place to stay in Waldron Valley. She was under a deadline, so she wouldn’t be in town for long before she had to go back home. He was sure that all she needed to do was talk to the police to find out that Kevin had been out on bail when he’d gone missing.

The assumption was there, one he could steer her toward, that Kevin had skipped out on his bail and didn’t want to be found lest he got sent back to jail. If he was careful enough to hide his true nature, the Julia problem would be solved soon enough. He just needed to remember that no matter how beautiful she was, she was a dragon hunter. If she learned what he was, either she would kill him or her father would.

It was worth the risk. He would do anything for his brothers and if the plan kept Andor and Lyssa safe, he would give up his chance for a mate to accomplish it. With any luck it wouldn’t come to that, because once Julia was safely dealt with, he could begin his search for a mate in earnest.

He set his phone aside and looked at the clock. Julia had been outside long enough to realize that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere today. With any luck the weather would be on his side and he could keep her here just a little longer.

He walked toward the back door and got ready to go outside, but didn’t bother to put his hat on. He wouldn’t be out there long enough to bother with it. It would take no time to persuade Julia to come back inside.

The walk down the path to the road took longer than he’d expected in the heavy snow. There was a slim chance that Julia had been able to get her car out of the ditch, but if the lane to the road was this bad, there was no way the car was going anywhere. The snow had bought him an extra day with her and he was going to make the most of it.

The snow packed down under his feet as he walked up to her, and she turned to look at him. Her face was pink, whether from cold or exertion he didn’t know. Probably both. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead that told him she’d been at this long enough. It was time for her to go inside.

“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Thank goodness you followed me out here. You can help me get the car out.” She smiled brightly at him, and if he hadn’t already decided that he needed to keep her here, he might have helped her. If only for the sake of seeing that smile stay on her face.

“I think you’ve done enough for one day. You must be tired by now. The car isn’t going anywhere today. Even if it was, the road is impassible.” He took the shovel from her and held his hand out to her. She looked down at it, then back up at him in surprise.

“You aren’t going to help me?”

“It’s time to go inside, Julia.” Surely she could see that the effort she was expending hadn’t made a difference in getting her car out of the ditch.

“I don’t want to wait. I have to get to Waldron Valley and I’ve already lost two days.” She crossed her arms over her chest and he blew out his breath. This wasn’t going at all like he planned.

“Well unless you intend to fly out of here, you aren’t going anywhere today. I’m sorry, but even you can’t control the weather.” She was still frowning at him, and he figured the only way she was going to move was if he refused to engage in an argument with her. She was a smart woman, she would see there was no point to this. “I’ll have something warm for you to eat and drink when you decide to come back inside.”

He turned and walked down the road, still holding the shovel.

“Wait. Aren’t you going to leave the shovel with me? I’m not finished with it.”

A smile played on Iszak’s lips as he continued down the road. He had no intention of giving the shovel to her and she would soon follow him back to the cabin once she realized just how futile her mission was.