~

 

Maggie knew her limitations. If she had been a character from The Wizard of Oz, then she would have been the cowardly lion.

The man was big, big and blocking her way, and she somehow didn’t think that trying to go around him was going to be the way to go. He was rude, and she didn’t like rude people because they made her want to be rude right back.

She guessed this man was the one who had put up the sign. Well, he could bitch and whine all he wanted, but she was a woman on a mission, and her mission was to find Rayner.

“You don’t have to be rude about it.”

She’d somehow managed to find her voice. She suspected it had been hiding behind that cowardly lion within her mind.

There were days when she wished she was a lion — one of those cool shifter females with attitude, and something to back it up with — unfortunately, she wasn’t. Rayner had guts and attitude to match, but she certainly wasn’t Rayner.

“Well, you ignored the sign — I figured you needed a little nudge in the right direction,” Roland offered back. He lifted his arm and pointed right at her. “That direction would be behind you.”

“Geez — could you give up with the rude, already? I just need to speak to Rayner.”

Maggie didn’t know this man from Adam, but she was done being railroaded by men — landlord included — and she was determined to find a backbone and speak her mind. Even if he killed her, which wasn’t very likely, she hoped.

“You can’t read — you can’t understand verbal instructions — the only thing left would be for me to pick you up and physically put you off my land,” Roland said as he held onto the growl from his bear that tried to rumble within his broad chest.

“You lay one finger on me and I’ll…” Hell, she didn’t know what she’d do — screaming in the middle of nowhere probably wouldn’t have done her any good anyway.

“Go ahead — finish your threat,” Roland said as he took one long step toward her.

Maggie planted her feet. She wasn’t going to be intimidated by him, at least, she wasn’t going to show that she was intimidated by him. Then he took another step, and a blade of sunlight cut through the dense foliage and highlighted his features for the first time.

He looked dark. Maybe, it was because his mop of unruly hair tried to mix with the beard that clung to his jaw, and she still couldn’t see his eyes properly because he was squinting against the sunlight. Or, maybe he looked dark because the man was built like a brick outhouse and the more steps that he took toward her — the bigger he got.

“I’ll scream.” She had to come up with something, and that was it. Not exactly a deterrent considering that they were in nowhere-land.

In truth, she guessed that it wouldn’t really matter to the man if they were in the middle of a damn church. Not that she’d ever go to church.

“I’m quaking in my damn boots,” Roland said.

“Someone will hear and…”

“And who do you think is going to hear you?” Roland hated to do it.

The moment that he’d set eyes on the woman he knew that he was going to hate himself in the damn morning. He needed to scare her away, but it still didn’t sit right inside of him to do it.

His bear didn’t like it either. The beast was reacting to the fact that she came across like a mouse — like a mouse that needed protecting — probably, from him.

The woman was cute, curvy, and he couldn’t stop his cock from hardening when his mind took to X-rated thoughts about her. Lots of X-rated thoughts.

He hated himself even more for those thoughts because she didn’t look like the type of woman that would entertain them. She looked soft — vanilla type soft — and she probably needed a gentle lover and not a big, brawny bear shifter that wanted nothing better than to screw her up against the wall of his cabin right then and right there.

Roland had the damn urge to toss her over his shoulder and carry her off. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do with her when he got her back to his cabin because he knew that he couldn’t be gentle if he tried.

“Somebody,” she bit back.

Then she lifted her arms and folded them under her ample breasts, pushing them out for his viewing pleasure, and almost causing him to growl, as she tried to find some steel for her backbone. That was good for her, and he’d wave a damn flag in support if he had one, but what was good for her was not good for him, not with the kind of thoughts that he was having.

“Sweetheart, it’s just you and me out here — alone,” Roland informed her. He hated to admit it, but he kind of liked that idea.

Hell, he didn’t know why spending some quality alone time with the breakable human appealed to him so much, but he couldn’t seem to shake it from his mind. He needed to run her off, and fast.

“Are you really an asshole, or is this just an act for my benefit?” Maggie wasn’t sure where those words came from, but she liked them.

Rude people really got her goat. He was rude. He was rude and intimidating, and she wasn’t going to put up with it.

Sure, he was right. Who was going to hear her scream and come to her rescue?

Rayner? Probably not — he’d already said that she wasn’t around. Besides, even Rayner, with all of her kickass attitude wouldn’t fare well against this man. Little Rayner against this big scary behemoth, nope, she didn’t like those apples any.

He took another step toward her, and she locked up every muscle in her body so that she wasn’t tempted to move — to run — from him. She’d seen the movies, running probably wouldn’t do her any good anyway.

The man was big. He was probably fast. And she’d end up tripping over her own feet as she tried to get away.

No, it wouldn’t end well — for her.

“Guilty as charged,” Roland bit out.

For some strange reason, the fact that she thought about him like that gnawed deep within his psyche. His bear didn’t like it either. The beast was starting to claw within him, growling and making him work harder to keep it locked within the confines of his cage.

Maggie wasn’t sure how to react to that. She’d never expected him to agree with her. Who the hell did that?

She was pretty sure that she’d heard a rumble of thunder that came from his direction. All she needed now was a rainstorm. That would be the perfect ending to her sucky day.

“You’re still standing there,” Roland said, sparking her into action, and surprisingly, she started towards him instead of running the other way.

“You’re right,” she bit out with determination. “You wanna show me where Rayner is staying?”

Maggie heard that rumble of thunder again, and the closer that she got to him, the louder it got. It suddenly occurred to her that it wasn’t thunder at all – the man was growling.