Emma woke slowly, stretching her arms toward the head of her bed and her toes toward the end when they hit the foot board. She instinctively jerked her knees back up to her chest. Her bed didn’t have a foot board.

She blinked, looking around the room as the dim sunlight filtered through the blinds and the thin sheer curtains. Sounds carried from down the hall through the closed door and she quickly sat up, reaching for her head as she tried to regain her senses. The sheet slipped, revealing her naked breasts and memories from the night before came crashing in.

Images of Ben in his own naked splendor. Above her, below her. How many times had they made love last night? She couldn’t even remember.

She looked over the side of the bed for her pajamas and her gaze fell on the half-empty box of condoms. She barely recalled returning to her room for them. Holy hell, that man had even sat up with her during a midnight feeding with Kit before they returned to bed to start over again. A furious blush burned her cheeks as she covered her face with her hands, remembering how she’d begged him to touch her.

What had she been thinking? How was she ever going to face him?

“Where’s Emma?” She heard Jake’s demanding voice just before the back door slammed closed.

“Excuse me?” Ben sounded pissed.

Oh shit! The sound of the pair in her kitchen was enough to jerk her from her remorseful stupor. Please let Ben at least have clothes on.

Emma leapt out of the bed and yanked her pajamas on, running her fingers through her hair before giving up and twisting it into a messy knot at the top of her head. She ran down the hall to find Jake standing in the back doorway with his arms crossed, frowning at Ben who stood at the stove, scrambling eggs. Brandon was pouring several cups of coffee. As she entered, Jake glanced her way, arching his lip in a sneer.

“Morning, Emma,” Brandon greeted cheerfully.

Ben glanced her direction, giving her a quick wink, and she couldn’t help the blush that spread over the back of her neck, knowing it was creeping into her cheeks and making it obvious to all three of the men, confirmed far more than she wanted for Jake.

“So, Buster wasn’t the only animal on the loose last night, huh? And you were worried about me?” Jake shook his head at Ben, clearly disgusted by the thought of them together.

She was a grown woman and didn’t owe him any explanations.

“Coffee’s ready.” Ben motioned toward the mug he’d left beside the pot. “Brandon was getting some for the two girls. Jackass . . . I mean, Jake, here didn’t want any.”

Brandon frowned at Ben, not happy with him teasing Jake. Jake, on the other hand, glared maliciously at Ben, looking ready to explode, but somehow kept his mouth closed for a change. Emma bit back her smile, grateful that Ben had shut him up without causing a scene. As Ben glanced her direction, she saw the guilty grin spreading over that sinful mouth of his. As if she needed another reason to want him even more.

“Thanks.” She accepted the mug Brandon held out to her. “I should hurry up and get another trap set up for Buster. I doubt he’ll come this way during the day but—”

“He’s already back in his cage,” Brandon informed her.

“Which is actually why we came by,” Jake said. “I saw him prowling the cages about six this morning, probably looking for food. We managed to get a couple darts off while he was trying to figure out where breakfast was.” Jake must have noticed the shock on her face. “What? I figured you’d want to check on him while he’s out but the clock’s ticking. It’s almost six thirty. He’s been out about twenty minutes already.” He turned, heading back outside. “Oh, and you might want to check out that new headline.”

Emma turned toward the counter where someone had tossed a folded newspaper. Opening it, she could see a picture of her front gate, still dotted with the graffiti, with a headline below that read:

“Damn it,” she muttered. She barely scanned the article before shoving it back on the counter. “You said you gave your brother some bullshit excuse.”

“I did.”

“Well, someone found out what happened and only six of us knew the truth. The others wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize this place or they’d be out of work.”

“So, of course, that means I’d turn on you?”

“Well, Sadie and Monica were with Brandon and me in the barn all night. I know none of us made any calls,” Jake pointed out. “You were the one talking about calling your brother. It’s a lot more likely one of you two tipped off that reporter than one of us.”

Ben clicked off the stove and dropped the spatula in the pan. Turning, he faced Emma, ignoring Jake and Brandon’s presence altogether. “Seriously?” He narrowed his eyes and she could easily read his expression.

You’d think that after what happened last night?

She tried to keep her gaze on his face but it was nearly impossible when he stood there, looking like a statue of a Greek god. Her entire body warmed as she remembered exactly how it had felt to be lying with her body curled against the wall of his chest. She couldn’t quite ignore the sizzle of heat that spiraled in her belly. Emma found herself focusing on his mouth, the lips that had worked magic on her last night, helping her escape her fears. She couldn’t do this. Turning away from him, she headed for the back door.

“You really think I’d do that?”

She didn’t answer for a moment, pausing before turning back toward him slowly. “I don’t know,” she admitted.

Anger flashed in his eyes. Hurt followed immediately. “Fine.”

Ben stalked out of the kitchen and she found herself wanting to forget about Buster and follow him, to apologize and beg his forgiveness, but Jake and Brandon were watching, waiting for her to go to Buster’s cage. Emma sighed, letting Ben go.

It was for the best. She was bound to say and do the wrong thing at every turn. Her mother liked to remind her that she had quite the track record for being her own worst enemy. It was better for Ben to leave now, before she overcomplicated his life too. In truth, her career was too unpredictable for any sort of relationship. Her priority needed to be getting the sanctuary back on the right track, before she needed to worry about a relationship with anyone. She knew it but she’d allowed herself to get caught up in her lust last night. Besides, most men didn’t want to date a woman who wrestled with tigers. While it might make intimacy interesting, having a girlfriend who could be mauled was definitely not high on the qualities men wanted in an ongoing, serious relationship.

Jake cleared his throat and rolled his eyes before shoving the back door open again. “How about if I just meet you at Buster’s cage. That is, if any of this even matters to you anymore.”

She met Brandon’s gaze but he simply gave her a helpless shrug. “You know how Jake is.”

Yeah, she knew. “Son of a bitch,” she mumbled under her breath, dumping the coffee down the drain and heading out to Buster’s cage in her pajamas.

If this was the start to her day, it could only go up from here. At least she prayed it would, because it couldn’t exactly get much worse.

What the hell was her problem?

He ran a frustrated hand over his head as he watched her inspect the mountain lion. This should prove to everyone how unfit she was to run the facility. Her father had even had his qualms. He knew because Conrad had told him and his brother that he was considering changing his will to name someone else co-director so that Emma didn’t shoulder the entire burden, but then he’d gone and had a stroke before he’d had the opportunity. Now he was forced to take matters into their own hands.

How many animals did he have to plant, or let loose, before she realized that she wasn’t prepared to handle this? Instead of concentrating on finding Buster, or even trying to figure out who was behind the graffiti, she was busy boning this fireman. It had taken her almost an entire day before she’d noticed he’d cut Wally’s cage. And she’d barely even looked for Buster.

It was pissing him off.

She should have known she wasn’t ready to take over when she’d first arrived. It should have been completely clear when he’d unlocked the aviary door and she hadn’t spotted it until the next morning. He was starting to run out of ways to convince her to call it quits so someone else could take over. Unfortunately, it looked like he was going to have to take this to the next level, to up the stakes of the game. He liked Emma, and didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he had to get rid of her.

Somehow.

Ben had known better.

He’d known.

He berated himself as he stuffed his clothing into the duffel bag. He’d fucking known better than to give in. Sex just for sex’s sake was impossible for him. He was trying hard not to let her accusation wound him. She didn’t know him, not really. Any more than he really knew her. He hadn’t earned her trust.

However, that wasn’t the way it felt when he was with her. He’d thought they had some sort of connection, a mutual understanding of one another, something that defied explanation. Obviously, it was one-sided. Staring at the mussed sheets, he couldn’t stop the memories from last night that crashed over him, like waves of glory, as he relived each and every kiss.

Friends with benefits.

Friends didn’t make unfounded accusations.

The back door slammed shut and Ben paused, waiting to see if it was Emma coming to apologize. The silence of the house spoke volumes.

Jerking his t-shirt down over his head, Ben grabbed his toothbrush from the bathroom sink where he’d left it and shoved it into his bag as well. He didn’t deserve this crap. He’d gone out of his way to help her, not to mention the fact that he’d been willing to put himself between her and a cougar.

His cell phone vibrated on the nightstand, next to the box of condoms. His body jerked to attention at the mere reminder of their night together and, just as quickly, he forced the visions from his head. There was a reason he didn’t do one-night stands, friends-with-benefits—whatever bullshit name she wanted to give it. Because he couldn’t separate his emotions from the act.

Reaching for the phone, he saw his brother’s face on the screen.

Shit.

Andrew was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. He must have seen this morning’s paper. It didn’t take a genius for Ben to know that this call wouldn’t end well. It was better to get it over with now. Ignoring him would only make Andrew fume and build steam, like a volcano.

Ben swiped his finger over the screen to answer it. “Hey, I was just about to call you.”

“Sure you were, you lying son of a bitch.”

“You kiss your mother with—”

“You lied to me about the mountain lion when I talked to you yesterday. That’s something the police should have been called in on, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t lie and no, it’s something Animal Control would be called in for.”

“Okay, smartass, they work with the police department. And you deliberately withheld the fact that there was a puma on the loose. What the fuck, Ben? That’s something you should have told me about.”

“I was helping Emma—”

“Emma? She’s Emma now?” Ben could hear the disdain in his brother’s voice. “Well, you be sure to tell Emma that I’m on my way out to investigate this matter.”

“They’ve already caught him and put him back in his cage. He never even left the property.” He might not have seen the animal yet but he didn’t have any reason to doubt Jake, even if he was a jackass. “There’s no need to forgo your morning ritual at the coffee shop. Just finish your doughnuts and relax.”

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious.” Andrew didn’t sound as if he saw any humor in the situation. “This isn’t a laughing matter. That woman put a lot of people in danger by not calling us in, or Fish and Game, at the least. It’s a fucking mountain lion, Ben.”

“And it’s caught.”

“That’s not the point.” His brother took a deep breath. “Look, I’m on my way out there now. Warn her, don’t warn her. I don’t care. I’m getting some answers with or without your help.”

Andrew disconnected the call, leaving Ben trying to figure out the best course of action. Andrew was a good guy but, like Ben, he tended to be a stickler for the rules, doing everything by the book, every time. Which was how he’d ended up the one arresting Laura. It was how they’d all been raised—to do the right thing, even when it was the hard thing to do. To be the good guy, the hero, to be honorable. But what was he supposed to do when what he and his brother thought was right put them on opposite sides?

Even though Emma’s accusation had wounded him, he didn’t want to see her subjected to Andrew’s ironhanded sense of justice without some sort of an intermediary. Especially when Andrew was already this pissed off. Andrew wouldn’t be interested in appearances, or the fact that someone might be setting Emma up. He wanted facts. And, right now, the facts were that the town needed protection, or thought it did, from Emma’s incompetence.

Ben carried his bag out to the truck and slid it under the backseat before heading to the cages housing the big cats, arriving at the edge of the enclosure in time to hear Jake’s outspoken criticism.

“They’re going to shut you down, Emma. Maybe it’s better if they do it now.” The hair rose on the back of his neck and he forced himself not to clench his fists.

“I’ll handle this.”

“The way you have been so far? This place used to be a premiere facility. Your father had an impeccable reputation for rehabbing these animals, not accidentally letting them run out.”

She glared at him over the sedated cat from inside the cage but, even from this distance, Ben could see the self-recriminations eating at her.

“I didn’t do that.”

“Then who did? You were the last one to work with the cats. Maybe you need to get your head back into the game and quit flirting with firemen.”

This time, Ben couldn’t help but clench his fists at his sides. It was the only thing keeping him from punching Jake in the mouth.

“Are you sure you’re worried about the sanctuary or your own reputation, Jake?” She jerked her stethoscope from around her neck and placed one end on the cat’s chest.

“Don’t even,” he warned. “You know this place means as much to me as it does to you, or your dad. Which is why we should have partnered up to run it, like your dad wanted.”

Emma didn’t even look up at him. “You convinced him to cancel all the educational and kids’ programs, so what would we do together, Jake? I’m not about to let you bully me into doing things your way. I’m in charge now.”

“Education wasn’t your dad’s vision for this place and you know it. It was always what you wanted. He wanted to rehab the animals for release. That was his dream.”

So there was far more to the contention between Emma and Jake than just him being a jerk. At least, from his side of it.

“The government funding that comes from those programs helped keep the doors open. You know, as well as I do that we need—” She fell silent when her gaze touched on Ben.

He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop but he wasn’t exactly sorry he had. If nothing else, it gave him a better understanding of the added pressure Emma was under. She was facing it from within her staff as well.

“How’s he doing?”

“Fine.” She quickly inspected his massive paws for signs of trauma, plucking what looked like a pine needle from where it had lodged in the pad of one. “He should come to in about fifteen or twenty minutes and be no worse for his little adventure last night. I’ll just have to keep an eye on him.”

She exited the cage, locking the gate and then jerking on the door, testing the lock again.

“My brother’s on his way over.”

She paused with her fingers in the chain link and he waited for her response, hating that he was the one adding even more trouble on her already full plate. She took a deep breath but he didn’t miss the way her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Okay. I should probably go open the gate for him.” She glanced over her shoulder at Jake. “Can you feed the cats? Don’t forget Kit too, okay?” She brushed past Ben, careful to avoid touching him as she headed back toward the main gate.

Ben reached for her hand. “I thought I’d hang out here until Andrew arrives.”

Emma slid her hand away from his and squared her shoulders, standing erect and proud. She didn’t even bother to look back at him as she steeled herself for what was likely to come. “Thanks, but I can handle this.”

Her tone was frigid as she spoke the same words he’d just heard her say to Jake. Regardless of what Ben thought they might have shared last night, this was no longer the woman who’d set his passions on fire. She’d been replaced by a woman on a mission, one who no longer trusted him.