At that, the big cat stood up and approached the car. I jumped.
“Oh, no you don’t. Back to the mountains with you. I don’t have time for this shit. Seriously, kitty. Scram.”
I hit the horn again. Just like before, it had zero effect.
Then, it came right up to my window and peered in.
My hair stood on end. The car seemed to fill with the sound of my heart pounding.
I looked in all directions to see if there was anyone out there who could see what was happening. Maybe someone in another car had spotted the animal? Maybe they could scare it away for me, so I could get moving again?
Frustratingly, nobody seemed to be driving in a position where they could see me. Ahead, cars sped past the junction. Behind, the road was clear. There was no way anyone had noticed my problem so far.
Damn it.
I couldn’t just drive away and risk hurting it. I knew I didn’t have it in me to mow down an innocent animal. Especially not when it hadn’t actually tried to hurt me. Yet.
But, I also wasn’t sure it was a good idea to open the car door and approach it. Yeah, I was an animal lover, but I was also unarmed. Going near a predator like that would be a bad move, unless you had something to defend yourself with. I never carried, although I was starting to think maybe I would if I lived out west. This situation was crazy.
Before I could make a decision, the cat darted away. It disappeared behind some scrub on the side of the road.
I paused for a minute then looked all around. It really did seem to have gone.
“Thanks for going, spotty lion thing,” I said out loud.
Then I practically leapt out of my skin again, because now a half-naked dude was wandering toward my car.
Half-naked — in snow.
First a wild animal, now a crazy person. Great.
As he got closer, I realized he was a crazy, incredibly handsome person. Hmm.
The handsome crazy man held his hand up in greeting. In his other hand, he held a shirt and a pair of boots.
Yes, he was barefoot and naked from the waist up in twenty-five degrees of cold.
Was this what Aspen guys were like? Although, if they all looked like him — I couldn’t help staring as he got closer to the car.
“Hey,” he called, dropping the boots. He fastened his jeans with one hand and shook out his crumpled shirt with the other. “Everything all right in there?”
As he said this, he tapped my window and indicated that I should open it.
I frowned at him. Why would I open my window for a crazy person?
Then I opened it a couple of inches, because for a half-naked snow-dweller guy, I had to admit he didn’t look that crazy.
“I’m sorry? You’re asking me if I’m all right?”
“That’s right, ma’am.” He used very polite words, but there was a kind of mischief in his tone that annoyed me immediately.
“I’m not the one walking around half-nude in winter. Should you even be out alone? Do you have someone who looks after you?”
He laughed, a deep rumble that gave me goosebumps.
“No, I live in blissful solitude. Other people are a pain in the ass.”
He fixed me with his luminous, light green eyes. I’d never seen eyes like that before. He must have been wearing colored contact lenses. What a vain idiot.
Still, he had a lot to be vain about. The man was hot. Ripped and tall, with a cut-granite jawline and a kind of dark-chocolate warmth to his voice that I bet charmed the pants off a whole lot of women.
Not me, though. Nope. No way. I don’t form instant crushes on guys who just wander up to me at intersections.
“So, is the car in need of a little TLC?”
“Excuse me?” I blinked at him, baffled.
“Say, you do apologize a lot. There’s really no need.”
His eyes twinkled with amusement. I didn’t crack a smile.
“Look, sir—”
“Oh, ‘sir’ is a bit formal. I’m Sawyer Haines. You can call me Sawyer.” He slid a hand through the gap in my window. I shook it awkwardly.
“Cadence Bradley.”
“Is this car dead, or are you just parking here for the view?”
I sighed sharply. “The car’s fine. I was trying not to hit a mountain lion. Or, any crazy-ass semi-naked guys who seem to have gotten lost on their way to Miami Beach.”
He laughed again. His joyful roar was infectious. I couldn’t help smiling a little.
Read the rest of the story now: SNOW LEOPARD MOUNTAIN
About the Author
Suki Selborne writes paranormal romance starring hot alpha shifters and the smart, sassy women they can't live without. Body-positive heroines rock her world. If she's not writing, she's probably reading, or wishing she was. Suki lives with her husband, kids and way too many books in London, England.
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Tiger Billionaire: The Whole Story (BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Box Set) Page 28
