A naked male.
My heart starts thundering in my chest again as I stare at him in shock. His head is lowered, his big round shoulders heaving up and down with every heavy breath he takes.
I’m too stunned to think. Too staggered to know if this is a good thing or bad.
Should I prefer a wild bear or a naked man whose intentions are unclear?
I gulp as he looks up at me with those same stunning brown eyes the bear had.
His gaze is piercing. It seizes my core and squeezes it until I can’t breathe.
Who is this guy?
He’s gorgeous. A shredded flawless body and a face that makes me think the bear did eat me and I’m now in heaven.
But I know I’m not in heaven. There’s no way there are wet socks in heaven.
“Hello!” I shout. “Can you help me?”
He just stares at me in awe like he’s never seen a girl stuck in a tree before. On second thought, he probably hasn’t…
“Do you have a phone on you?”
Stupid question. He’s completely naked. He’d have to have a phone hidden up his… never mind.
“Do you speak English? Hablo Ingles? Parles Anglais?”
He runs a hand through his brown hair and lets out a long breath as he watches me. I guess he’s just going to stand there… That’s fine. I got all day.
I cross my arms and stare back at him.
“It’s you,” he finally says.
“Of course it’s me! Who else would it be?!”
I’m starting to lose patience with this naked creep. Hot or not, he’s not doing a thing to help me. I prefer the bear.
“What’s your name?”
“How about you help me down and I’ll tell you?!”
He snaps out of whatever daze he’s in and starts climbing up the tree. I get an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach as he approaches. He’s so agile and lithe as he grabs one branch after another on the way up.
My eyes never leave him. Every muscle in his body tightens and flexes as he moves. The view is incredible and it gets better the closer he gets.
“Hello,” I say shyly when he arrives beside me. I’m trying to keep my eyes on his face and not on the long package hanging between his legs.
“Tell me your name,” he says in a low deep voice. It’s full of something. Pain, desire, anguish? I can’t tell…
“I’m Ivy,” I tell him.
He whispers my name and the sexy sound of it on his lips makes my heart do a little flip.
This man really is gorgeous. His eyes are so striking and even though I haven’t seen it yet, I can tell his smile is going to be a killer one.
“My name is Easton,” he says, “and I’m your mate.”
My face drops. “Your what?”
“My mate.”
I force out a smile. I’m too tired and hungry and cranky to deal with this shit.
“Awesome. Can you get me down?”
“Right.” He climbs up another couple of feet to check out the harness over my head.
Okkkaaayyy…
His cock is right in my face. I could reach out and touch it. Or lick it.
Instead, I keep my eyes on the ground and only glance at it once. Or twice. Maybe three times, don’t judge.
“I’m going to break the harness, okay?”
“Not okay!” I shout. I’m going to fall a hundred feet to the ground if he does that. I could still die or at the very least, it will shatter both of my legs.
“You have to trust me,” he says in a smooth controlled voice.
My eyes whip up to his. “I don’t! I don’t trust you. I don’t even know you. We just met and your cock is literally in my face. Don’t break anything. Call the fire department!”
“Trust me, you don’t want those assholes to help.”
“If they have a ladder, I do!”
“It’s going to be fine.”
“You don’t know that!”
Oh, God. I’m so high! This is terrifying. Who the hell is this naked freak?
“On the count of five.”
“No!”
“Four.”
“I’m not giving you permission to do this!”
“Three.”
“Please don’t!”
“Two.”
“I’ll pay you money!”
“One.”
“Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!” I scream loud enough for every critter in the forest to hear as he snaps the harness and I fall down.
I only fall a foot until he catches me.
My heart is pounding in my ears as I look up and see what’s happening. He’s holding me up with one hand—the straps of the broken harness wrapped around his fist—while he grips onto the tree with the other.
“Don’t drop me!” I plead.
He chuckles. “I’m not going to drop you. You’re my mate.”
“Oh shit,” I whisper as I squeeze my eyes shut. “This is bad. This is so bad.”
He laughs as he begins to climb down using only his feet and one hand. I’m dangling down, waiting to fall at any moment.
But he’s quite capable and incredibly strong.
I try to race through everything I know about shifters. They heal fast, they’re strong, and they have mates. Wait, did he say I was his mate? Did I hear that correctly?