“I thought you said we shouldn’t leave the city,” Adele whispered to Bron in the backseat of the rideshare car he’d called, though she wasn’t sure why she was bothering to keep her voice down. First off, she was pretty sure that the driver didn’t give a damn about their plans, and secondly, even if he did, chances were he couldn’t hear them over his blaring radio.

“This doesn’t count,” Bron said back.

That was funny. It sure seemed like a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County should count.

“But—”

“It’s okay. We’re still close enough to Merlin’s protective shields,” Bron cut her off. He slipped his hand over hers and held it tight. “I promise.”

Well, he hadn’t wasted any time getting cozy. Maybe sleeping next to him two nights in a row had been a mistake.

Nope. Adele shook the thought from her head immediately. Last night had been one of the most restful nights she’d ever had, even though she’d been sleeping on the dusty concrete floor of a superfund site.

But for some reason that didn’t matter so much. Not when her head was resting on Bron’s shoulder. Not when her arms and legs were wrapped over his warm body. Not when she could feel the strength of his arm holding her close.

A part of her was still hesitant to give in to the rush of feelings that she had for him, but that part grew smaller and smaller with every conversation they had, with every minute she spent by his side.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel that this closeness was happening too fast. Of course, she could be overthinking it.

She vaguely remembered a few years ago reading an article about people bonding quickly in high-stress situations. Well, she couldn’t imagine anything more stressful than being on a goblin’s kill list.

She kept quiet the rest of the ride, her fingers still wrapped with Bron’s, until the car pulled into the parking lot at Muir Woods. Then she stepped into the sunshine and crisp fresh air. She craned her head back and looked up at the majestic redwood towering above her.

“I still say this is a terrible idea,” she said. “I don’t even really like the woods.”

“Yesterday you said they were lovely.” Bron took her hand again before heading toward the trailhead.

“Those were your woods,” she said. “Magical, fairy-tale woods. These are the real woods.”

He glanced over at her and raised a brow. “You’re scared of the wilderness, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am,” she admitted without hesitation. She wasn’t ashamed. Why should she be? It was one of her few fears that actually made sense. “Nature is filled with all kinds of nasty things.”

He shot her a smile. “So says the woman with a deadly phoenix soul dangling around her neck.”

“Silver’s different,” she said. “She’s a friend. The things that live in the wild are actually dangerous.”

“Like me?”

“Exactly like you,” she said. If he thought she was going to spare his feelings, he was in for a terrible surprise. She just wasn’t in the mood. Not while he was pulling her into a dark forest.

He let out a laugh, loud enough to echo through the trees and send the birds in the canopy flying.

“Then let me help you shed some of that fear,” he said.

She gave him her most skeptical look. “How?”

Bron stepped over the short wood rail that marked the side of the trail. “Trust me.”

Her brows pulled down even lower. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be over there.”

“And I don’t think you should live shrouded in fear, afraid to taste the nectar of life.”

“Hey! I get my share of nectar.”

Now he was the one wearing the skeptical expression. “Then come get more than your fair share for once,” he said. “Come feel what it’s like to live, not just exist, Adele.”

She scuffed her feet against the dirt and gravel beneath her shoes. She couldn’t believe she was actually considering this.

“Please,” Bron said, his voice dipping low, his accent becoming unbelievably sexy. “I want to show you.”

How was she supposed to say no to that? The man had even said please—a word she hadn’t known was in his vocabulary.

“Okay,” she said, looking over one shoulder then the other before joining him on the other side of the railing. “But if we get caught, I am blaming you for everything.”

“As you should.”

His smile turned positively radiant as he turned and led her through the trees. The deeper they went, the more relaxed he became. The lines in his face eased. His muscles relaxed. His shoulders dropped.

Hers, on the other hand, lifted straight up around her ears.

She couldn’t believe she was doing this, stomping all over protected lands. Just because she was terrified of being out in nature didn’t mean she hated everything about it. Not at all. She just had a nice healthy respect for all its deadly power.

She liked pictures of pretty landscapes. She subscribed to nature magazines. Every year she cut a check to a couple of conservation charities. But that didn’t mean she wanted to be surrounded by the all things she was paying to protect.

Hell, no.

The truth was, the wilderness was just too wild for her. There was no safety or security. No promises. The moment you stepped foot in the wild, you became part of the food chain, and not necessarily the top part.

Of course, there was more to worry about than just the mountain lions and rattlesnakes. There were a million little dangers. One misstep could mean a sprained ankle, miles from a hospital. One trip could become a traumatic head injury with no ambulance in sight.

She’d rather spend a weekend binge watching nature documentaries than be out in it.

But not Bron. She could tell this was his natural environment. This was where he was happiest. This was his home.

Even though they were walking into the heart of a dense forest where every tree looked the same, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. His feet moved steady and straight over the mossy ground, never faltering. Never making a sound.

She, on the other hand, was doing everything she could just to stay upright. She held on to his hand with a death grip.

They went on this way for what was either a half a mile or fifteen. Adele couldn’t tell. Then, in the middle of a spot that looked like all the others they’d hiked past in the last half hour, Bron stopped cold.

“This will work,” he said.

“Work for what?” she asked, ashamed of the quiver that had crept into her voice.

“Teaching you how to hunt.”

Adele’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding, right?”

Bron shook his head. “I’m not.”

“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I can’t hunt. I’m not like you.”

“That’s right. You’re different.” He let go of her hand and took a big step back. “So you’ll hunt differently.”

“Where are you going?” she said, her voice shooting up high.

“To hide,” he said. “That’s the game, sweetness. You catch me before I catch you.”

“This is a game?” she asked, throwing up her hands. “Okay, then I don’t want to play.”

Bron shook his head and took another step back…and then another, until he was at the side of a massive tree. “You don’t have a choice.”

A second later, he moved behind the redwood, slipping out of sight.

Adele let out a groan. “And what is this supposed to teach me?”

“That you’re not as defenseless as you think you are,” he said, but now his voice was far away. Much farther than it should have been for just stepping out of sight. “That sometimes you can be the hunter instead of the hunted.”

Her heart pounded hard against her breastbone. Her pulse whooshed in her ears. She scanned the forest, looking for any trace of him, but there was nothing.

“Bron,” she tried.

No answer.

Damn it. This wasn’t funny. She could feel panic welling up inside her.

She sucked in a breath and slowly let the air out.

One…two…three…

A little better. Not much…but a little.

She reached down into her shirt and pulled Silver out. She wrapped her hand around the crystal and instantly felt calmer, less alone.

A feeling of confidence swept through her.

Well, that made two souls who believed she could do this. So why was she having such a hard time believing it?

Off to her left, the sharp crack of a rock clipping against another echoed through the trees. She snapped her head toward the sound. Was that him? Or something else?

“Bron?”

Nothing.

For a moment, she feared that Bron had brought her out here to get rid of her, like a dog left on the side of the road. God knew, it would work. She was so turned around she’d have a hell of a time finding her way back to the trail.

What the hell was she thinking? Of course he hadn’t abandoned her.

She was sick of fear always making her jump to the worst possible conclusion. She was so tired of always being frozen by fear. Well, not this time. This time she wasn’t willing to give up before she tried. She wasn’t going to sit around waiting to be sniffed out like a frightened rabbit.

And if this once her own judgment couldn’t be trusted then she decided to trust Bron’s and Silver’s instead. She could do this. She could find him. She could win the game.

She gave Silver a squeeze, hoping to borrow a little courage. It must have worked, because step by little step, she managed to move in the direction he’d disappeared.

She went slowly at first, looking around each and every trunk she passed. The deeper she ventured, the more sure her footing became. She planned every step, making sure to avoid dried leaves and branches.

But even though her movements were more confident, she still didn’t feel like she was getting anywhere. Ten minutes in, and still no sign of Bron. But at least she hadn’t twisted an ankle or stepped on a snake. The farther she went, the less she feared something like that would happen. The only thing that really scared her now was the thought of not finding Bron until after dark, and even that didn’t send chills up her spine. If anything, she was more annoyed than afraid.

“I hope you know I’m going to kill you when I finally get my hands on you.” This time her voice carried through the trees steady and strong. “That’s not hyperbole. It’s a promise.”

She was just about to throw up her hands and admit defeat when the impossible happened.

She saw him.

Well, sort of.

Adele was pretty sure the blurry shadow disappearing behind a massive boulder was him. It had to be. Either that or she was about to scare the pants off some poor hiker.

Carefully keeping her steps as quiet as possible, she moved around the rock. She kept her eyes open, looking for any sign of Bron, but she didn’t see a thing.

But this time she didn’t give up hope. She knew he was close.

So close.

A few more steps and a couple of pebbles skipped across the dark brown earth in front of her.

Gotcha.

Adele froze. She turned to the side, hiding behind a tree. She listened for any other clues to his location, but all she heard was the call of a bird high above her head. She waited another second.

The soft pad of a footstep sounded on the other side of the tree. So quiet she had to strain to hear the sound, but, sure enough, it was there.

A wide smile spread over Adele’s face. She had him.

She burst out from behind the tree ready to claim victory…but there was no one there. Just a huge moss-covered stone.

Damn.

She was halfway through letting out a disappointed sigh when an arm snaked around her middle. A hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream as she was lifted up high.

She acted on instinct, kicking her heels out hard behind her, trying to connect with a kneecap, but it was no use. Her feet just flailed wildly.

Rich laughter filled her ears. “I see we need to work on your sneak attacks.”

Double damn. Getting caught was one thing. Having to listen to him gloat was another.

“Let me down.” Her words came out garbled against his palm, but Bron seemed to understand them well enough.

“Why would I do that?” he asked. “You just said you were going to kill me.”

Well, now she really was.

She thrashed as hard as she could in his arms, but it was no use. He restrained her without effort. Like her weight was nothing. She had the feeling she could squirm all day and he wouldn’t even break a sweat.

“Put. Me. Down,” she growled.

He slipped his hand away from her mouth and crossed his arm over her chest like a band. “Make me.”

Adele ground her back teeth. Of course, she could. She’d been the only one to defeat a bloodthirsty goblin. Certainly that meant she could scramble her way out of Bron’s grasp.

She whipped her head to the side, hoping to bash her skull against his, but he easily dodged the blow.

“You can’t beat me that way,” he said.

She growled in frustration. “Then why the hell are we even playing this sadistic game? So you can feel better about yourself?”

“Losing your temper won’t do you any good,” he said, pressing his face against hers. They’d never been this close, Adele realized. His beard brushed against her cheek. “Your moves aren’t working because I know they’re coming. If you want to get free, you need to do something I don’t expect.”

How the hell was she supposed to know what he was expecting?

Adele stilled in his arms.

He was right. She couldn’t fight him. Not with her hands anyway. He was just too damn strong.

But there were other ways of fighting.

“Okay,” she said, drawing in a deep breath. “Let me down, and I’ll tell you a secret.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant, sweetness.”

“Then it’s something you’re not expecting, right?”

Bron shook his head against hers. “I hope you don’t think that line will work on the Redcap. He’s not the type to negotiate.”

“But I’m not fighting the Redcap right now,” she said. “I’m fighting you.”

She wiggled in his grasp to sell the point. Enough for him to tighten his grip on her and pull her closer, making the contact between them feel even more intimate.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think I like the way you fight. I’m not sure I’m ready for it to end.”

The horrible thing was, she felt it too. Right now, her face wasn’t the only place starting to overheat. And the longer she stayed in Bron’s arms, rubbing her backside against the more intimate parts of him, the higher the flames grew.

She really needed to get down.

“You’ll like what I have to say even more,” she said.

He laughed. “That’s a bold claim.”

True. Especially since she was bluffing her ass off.

“Do we have a deal?” she asked.

“Tell me the secret first,” he said. “Then I’ll decide whether it’s worth letting you go.”

Adele pressed her lips together. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“It is now,” he said, his voice low and rumbly. His words vibrated right through her, going all the way to her core. “So, the question is, how badly do you want to get down?”

Crap. She needed a secret. A good one, but nothing too juicy. Adele screwed her face up tight.

“Okay,” she said. “I really enjoyed touching your chest when I was cleaning your cuts the other day.”

His laugh was even harder this time. “That’s no secret, sweetness.”

All right. Maybe not, but it was still worth a shot.

She was going to have to go for the bigger guns. She drew in a deep breath.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since,” she said.

That did the trick. The laughter stopped. Bron went totally still behind her. The muscles in his arms and chest tensed, humming with a vibrant energy.

But he still didn’t let her down.

So, Adele went a little further.

“It’s all I can think about every night before I fall asleep,” she said. “How warm your skin felt. How alive.”

The fearful part of her mind screamed to stop talking, but the words continued to pour out. Some other part had taken over. The part that was strong and courageous…and it wanted to be heard.

“Every time I close my eyes, I imagine you peeling off your shirt so I can touch you again.” Her voice shook hard, but the words kept coming. “Sometimes I even imagine what would happen if I worked up the courage to press my lips against yours.”

The blush that burned her cheeks was hotter and deeper than any she’d felt in her entire life. So bright she feared her whole face might catch fire, but she didn’t care.

She’d said the things in her heart. The feelings that she’d been tamping down, afraid to even admit to herself. She’d spoken them out loud. To Bron.

His grip eased and she slowly slid down his body until her feet finally hit dirt. She surprised herself again by not skittering away like a frightened rabbit. Instead, she turned around and met his gaze.

What she found there took her breath away. The look in his eyes was more intense than any she’d ever seen. His gaze was hungry. Predatory.

But Adele wasn’t afraid. Not this time. This time, her desire was stronger than her fear.

She bit into her lower lip. “So, did I win?” she asked.

Bron didn’t answer. Not with words.

Instead, he cupped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her flush against him. He bent his head and lifted her up to meet his lips.

His kiss was even hungrier than his gaze. His mouth crashed against hers, and she welcomed him, circling her arms around his neck. She held on tight as the full force of their combined desire swept over her. Her knees went weak at the pure heat.

He moved her back a few steps until her spine hit the rock wall. Then he reached down and cupped his hands around her thighs. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She crossed her ankles and held on tight.

Not that she had to. Bron had her. His arms held her steady and strong. Which was good, but at the moment she was having a hard time remembering which way was up.

His kiss was amazing enough—the way his tongue swept over hers, igniting a fire inside her she’d never felt before—but add to that the sensation of her most private part pressed up against the hard plane of his lower belly, and it was all Adele could do not to lose herself to passion.

She kissed him for a long minute, feeling everything she could. She ran her fingers through his hair. Traced her fingers down his back. Licked the curves of his lips.

And then she pulled her head back.

Her breath came out hard and fast as she looked Bron in the eye. A breeze snaked through the forest, chilling her skin, but making her blood feel all the hotter in comparison. Still, they had to stop.

She’d taken a big step today, telling him how she felt. An even bigger one acting on her desires. But now she needed to catch her breath. She needed to make sure she wasn’t swinging too far the other way.

“I think that’s enough nectar for now,” she said.

His chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath, but his hands stayed steady as he gently eased her down to the ground.

She nodded her thanks and stepped to the side. He didn’t make a move to stop her, but the hungry look in his eyes didn’t fade either.

“You’re not angry at me for stopping, are you?” she asked.

“Angry? No.” Bron shook his head. “I want you, Adele. I want to feel and taste every inch of you. I want to watch your body writhe beneath mine. I want to hear you call out my name when the pleasure becomes too much. But I only want those things when you feel safe enough with me to want them too.”

Adele opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

What was there to say? Those were the sexiest words she’d ever heard, and he left her speechless.

Fortunately, Bron didn’t have the same problem. He stepped closer and took her hand. Even after all that kissing, Adele’s skin still tingled at the feel of his hand against hers.

“Come on,” he said. “I’m taking you home.”