Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (144 page)

When the ferns parted, I gasped. I was
face to face with a mountain lion, and when it let out its
bloodcurdling signature roar, my heart began to pound in my chest
like a high school marching band.

I turned around quickly, only to bump
into a guy who looked to be about my age. He was so scorching hot
that if I had wet my finger with my tongue and touched him, his
chest would have steamed and sizzled. He instinctively pushed me
behind him as if to protect me, then started shouting and throwing
sticks at the big cat. I joined in with some noise of my own, and
in an instant, the mountain lion fled into the grass.

The beautiful stranger eyed me up and
down, warmth and empathy radiating from the depths of his glare.
“Are you okay?”

Those
gorgeous, winter-blue eyes hypnotized me, and I was pulled into his
hold with one look. My breath had never literally been taken away
before, but I was absolutely suffocating under the power of his
stare, and my knees began to shake. “I-I…” The butterflies that had
landed in my stomach in fear of the cat were now turning flirty
summersaults.
My eyes slid up his towering
body, gliding over his high cheekbones and the d
ark stubble shading his sharp jaw. He was definitely tall,
dark, and handsome, and even if it was quite cliché of me to be so
taken by him, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. I’d never
been face to face with somebody so beautiful and angelic. He was
the kind of guy who I thought only existed in movies, as if a
Calvin Klein model had stepped down off of one of those big,
delicious billboards for a hike through the
woods.

“
Are you sure you’re all
right?” he said when my stutter never turned into a complete
answer. He didn’t fidget or stumble for words like I did whenever I
was standing in front of a gorgeous stranger. Rather, his cool
confidence spoke volumes to me, as if he was used to girls throwing
themselves at him, which I was just about to do.

My breath froze in my throat, and my
stomach clenched. I’d never been so drawn to anyone before, never
so instantly, so madly attracted. I couldn’t stop staring at his
messy tangle of dark hair, that tousled, just-out-of-bed look that
I loved and found so sexy. From his piercing blue eyes to his
strong, chiseled jaw to his handsome face, he was absolutely
godlike, even if he was only dressed in a black t-shirt and blue
jeans. I took a deep breath to try to calm down, but it felt as if
time had stopped.

When our eyes locked, we seemed lost
in each other’s gaze, oblivious to anything else. I was fixated on
his piecing stare, and the explosive chemistry between us was
absolutely undeniable.

My ex had told me that sexual
attraction and chemistry couldn’t possibly be planned, that it was
something that would just happen naturally. I knew, standing there
looking at this new guy, that he wasn’t lying. I had never felt
like that with my old boyfriend. I couldn’t even explain the
uncontrollable force that was drawing me to him like a moth to
flame. When he looked at me with that sexy smile on his face, I’d
never felt so desirable, so wanted, and I wanted to jump into his
strong embrace. He was a smoldering hot hunk, and I couldn’t
believe I had his attention.

“
Is everything okay?” he
asked a third time, snapping me back into reality.

My mouth dropped, and it took a minute
for my brain to function. “Uh, huh? Oh yeah. I’m, um…I’m fine,” I
babbled, as if that big cat had my tongue.

He
stepped forward and looked off into the vegetation. “It’s gone for
now, but you must be careful of predators out here.” He met my gaze
straight on. “Predators are always on the prowl. They’ll stalk
their prey until an opportunity arrives to pounce, then go for the
neck
with a fatal bite.”

“
I know. The thought of
anything biting me anywhere kind of freaks me out.”

“
If you are not all right
with fangs piercing your skin, you definitely shouldn’t be out
here.”

“
You’re right. Let’s get
outta here before the big kitty comes back.”

He stared deeply into my eyes. “It
won’t.”

Max growled at the handsome stranger,
then began to bark.

A bit embarrassed that I didn’t have
my dog under better control, I patted the furry beast’s head and
said, “Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite.”

“
Well, tell him that I
do.”

We both burst out in laughter; his
ice-breaker had worked.

Nevertheless, even with my soothing
tone and gentle touch, Max still continued.

“
Max!” I scolded. “Knock it
off, boy.”

“
Don’t blame Max. It’s not
his fault. All dogs hate me. It’s their natural
instinct.”

“
Nah, he’s just protective
and loyal, that’s all. You’re still a stranger to him, and he is
trying to look after me.” I glanced around, still rattled by the
mountain lion. “We’d better go, just in case that snarling menace
comes back looking for dessert.”

“
Like I said, it’s not
coming back,” he said sternly, then shifted his powerful stance.
“It caught a whiff of my scent. It fears me, just like your dog
does.”

“
You mean it’s afraid of
shouting humans?”

“
The shouting,
yes.”

I laughed. “So you’re telling me that
big lion is scared of our little voices?”

He stared at me with those dazzling
blue eyes and changed the subject. “Do you always hike
unprepared?”

“
No. It was an unintended
hike. My dog took off,” I said, “and I had to find him.”

“
At the very least, you
should carry pepper spray to ward off bears.”

“
I don’t see you sporting a
can,” I said with a chuckle.

He smirked. “I don’t need it. I can
fight off a black bear with my bare hands.”

I smiled. “All right, Davy
Crockett.”

He grinned right back at me, nearly
melting me where I stood. “But all joking aside, you shouldn’t be
out here. As I said, these woods are full of hungry
predators.”

I shot him a flirty look. “Well, then
it’s a good thing I’m safe here with you.”

I didn’t
know what had come over me, but something had.
Where are these wild emotions even coming from?
I’d never been so bold and daring. It wasn’t like
me at all, but I couldn’t keep the words and the girly giggles from
coming out of my mouth. I couldn’t explain it, but there was some
hot, intense, intoxicating connection between us. The attraction
was sizzling, but I didn’t have the guts to ask him out or for his
phone number. I didn’t even know if I was his type or not, if he
even liked brunettes with frizzy, curly hair and chocolate-brown
eyes. For all I knew, he was only into boob-job bleach blondes, and
that most definitely wasn’t me.

“
You don’t know a thing
about me,” he said. “What makes you think you’re safe in my
hands?”

“
Are you saying I should
fear you more than that mountain lion?” I asked. “Maybe I should be
carrying more than pepper spray, if that’s the case.”

“
What I’m saying is that
you need to be careful. Seemingly nice guys cannot always be
trusted,” he said, glancing down at the growling Max.

I smiled.
“Are
you
a nice
guy?”

His face lit up, and he grinned again.
“I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

I took the bait and engaged him. “And,
pray tell, how’s that?”

Suddenly, his gorgeous grin faded, and
worry flashed across his features. He began to dart his eyes around
from tree to tree, shrub to shrub, and he listened so intently that
I could have sworn his ears perked up like a dog’s.

Max started to bark and snap at the
air, but when I peered into the foliage and thick brush, I couldn’t
see a thing.

“
They’re back,” he
whispered, then pointed to Max. “Please keep him quiet.”

They?
I thought, worried that he was
talking about more than one mountain lion. As he suggested, I
patted Max’s head and tried my best to calm him, but it didn’t
help.

Finally, Mr. Mysterious knelt down and
petted Max. “Shh, boy.”

Much to my surprise, Max immediately
quit barking.

The handsome stranger then placed his
hand on my lower back and briskly led me in the direction of our
house. He gently tapped Max’s head. “Go home.”

Obediently, Max bolted off.

When the
house was in view, I glanced over my shoulder to thank my escort,
but he was gone, as quickly and mysteriously as he’d shown up in
the first place. I squinted and looked through the dark spaces
between the trees, but he was nowhere in sight, as if he’d just
vanished into thin air.
Who is he?
I wondered.
Where does he
live? Gosh, I’m an idiot. I didn’t even get his name.
Shaking my head at my foolishness, I walked to the
back door and opened it.

“
There you are. What took
so long, sweetheart?” my mom asked. “And I know you didn’t stay in
the back yard like I told you to.”

I pointed in the direction of where
I’d come from. “I saw a mountain lion.”

My dad immediately pulled me into a
tight hug, then stepped back from me and began inspecting me from
head to toe. “Are you okay?”

I sighed. “I’m fine, Dad. Max ran off,
and I just—”

“
You weren’t supposed to go
in the woods,” he said firmly.

“
What was I supposed to do?
I had to find Max.”

“
You shouldn’t go out there
alone. You could have hollered for me, and I would have gone with
you.”

“
It would’ve only taken a
minute to get me or your dad,” my mom said.

“
I didn’t know he was gonna
go so deep into the woods, or I would have,” I said.

My dad’s brown gaze narrowed. “Are you
sure it was a bobcat you saw?”

“
Positive. I just took off
running and—”

“
Taylor,” my father pushed,
“if that was a bobcat or mountain lion, its natural instinct would
be to chase you. Never run. Just yell, shout, and make yourself
look bigger.”

“
Yeah, I know, but I
panicked, I guess. Still, it didn’t chase me.”

“
I don’t want you going out
there alone again,” my mom said, as if I was five years
old.

Dad handed me a plate with two slices
of pizza on it. “Well, you’re safe now, so sit down and
eat.”

I tried to calm my breathing. I didn’t
have the guts to tell them I’d met a man in the woods and that he
had saved me from the mountain lion. My stomach was tangled in
knots. “Thanks, Dad, but I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just
go unpack a few boxes.”

“
All right. I guess you
have had quite a day,” Mom chimed in. “We’ll save your pizza, and
you can just microwave it later if you get hungry.”

“
Thanks.”

On my way upstairs, I glanced out the
window but didn’t see anything unusual.

Later that night, when the
moon began to shine and the crickets began to chirp and the wind
began to whisper through the treetops, I thought about my
mysterious stranger. The entire scene played out in my head over
and over again in my dreams, and when I woke up the next morning,
his beautiful face was on my mind. I had to find him, to see him
again, if only once more, and to put a name to the beautiful face
that I knew would linger in my mind for a long, long
time.

Chapter 2

“
Taylor,” my mother called,
“we’re going to the lake to fish and take a paddleboat ride. C’mon,
dear!”

“
Can I stay and unpack?” I
asked.

“
No, we’re all
going.”

I blew out a breath. “But I don’t want
to fish,” I whined, far more interested in reeling in the
mysterious hottie from the woods.

“
Then you can try to get a
tan. It’s supposed to be warm and sunny today.”

I gazed at the leaning tower of boxes
that rivaled the one in Pisa. “How am I supposed to find my bathing
suit in this mess?”

“
I’ve got an extra you can
borrow.” She chuckled. “But I must warn you that it has a
skirt.”

“
Mom!” I laughed and shook
my head.

She smiled. “Besides, there’s someone
I want you to meet.”

My mouth dropped. “No way. Tell me
you’re not trying to set me up, especially not while I’m wearing a
swimsuit that makes me look like a nun.”

“
Honey, it’s nothing like
that. I met a friend, and she has a daughter your age. I was
thinking you two could hang out. She’s new in town too.”

“
Oh,” I said. “It’d be nice
to have a friend around here. But let me look for my own bathing
suit. I think I might know what box it’s in, now that I think about
it.”

“
Great. We’re leaving in a
couple hours.”

Knock
!