Holiday Heat

Panic climbs into my throat, clawing at my insides and I can feel my heart fluttering.

I pull myself back under control. You’ve got this!

“Hello, ladies. Lovely morning. Almost as lovely as you three.” If possible, the blonde looks even angrier.

“What the hell are you doing here this morning?” she grunts, standing up to her full height. Which is way below mine. But she uses the porch to her advantage to look down her nose at me.

Game on, sweetheart.

“I’m looking for Jane. I had to leave because of an emergency last night and I wanted to explain it all to her.”

Her arms cross in front of her and she grunts. “I think she got the point. I don’t really think you need to explain a damn thing. And I told you last night, you better not be playing with her or I was going to make your life a living hell. Forewarned is forearmed but you seem to not have gotten the message.” She leans closer, her pugnacious chin lifting and a cold smile on her face. “I’m not helping you screw her over anymore than you already have. Get out of here before I report you.”

I laugh lightly and mimic her stance, crossing my arms and rocking back on my feet. “I don’t think you get me yet. But I don’t just disappear when I want something.”

“You did last night,” she fires back angrily.

“And it was an emergency.” Yeah, I’m lying through my teeth. I’ll explain it to Jane. Not Jane’s friends and every interested passersby.

“Yeah, right.”

“She went to find your cabin, Ryker,” one of the other women says. The blonde whirls around and glares her down.

“What the hell!”

She shrugs slender shoulders, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Come on, Caitlyn. If Jane went to find him, why shouldn’t we tell him that.”

“So hopefully he doesn’t run into her,” she growls.

“Thank you….” I nod at the dark-haired woman.

“Brandy.” She grins wickedly. “Don’t get too excited. She’s pretty pissed off.”

I whirl around and set off back to my cabin. “Good luck!” she calls, laughing.

“Thanks!” I call, waving over my shoulder.

I don’t know why I didn’t think about the fact that she might want answers. And Jane’s not one to back down. She comes at you head on, no prevarication, no lying. That’s what I like about her.

Jogging quickly, I grit my teeth, running as fast as I dare on the trail. I’ll have to slow once I hit the woods. It’s too dangerous to run on such uneven ground and I have no intention of falling and cracking my head open before I even get to Jane.

Twenty minutes later I break from the tree line around my cabin and find Jane pacing on my front porch.

“Where the hell did you disappear to!” she growls, pausing in her pacing to glare daggers at me with her dark amber eyes.

My heart leaps into my throat and I feel that kick to the gut again. Followed by a stiffening in my boxers that I only get when I see her.

“I went to find you. Your friend was less than helpful.”

She runs her hand through her ink-black hair. “I told her I wanted to talk to you,” she huffs out.

“Yeah. I don’t think she wanted that to happen.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” she snorts, laughing. “Caitlyn just thinks you’re a bit of an ass.”

I step closer, slow and steady, like I”m sneaking up on a wild animal. “I ran out last night after you fell asleep because I heard your friends returning. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

She shrugs and I can see the hurt in her eyes. “It’s okay. It didn’t bother me.”