Page 10 of Taken Home By the Grizzly

Riiiinng!It goes again. What now? My head feels like it’s going to explode.

I take off for the front door at a run.

I yank back the bolt, turn the latch, and… my eyes just about fall out of my head.

Because it’shim.

The crazy mountain man.

Only now, he doesn’t look quite so crazy. He’s no longer half-naked. Instead, he’s wearing a blue button-down and black pants. His hair looks combed, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s trimmed his beard, so I can see his lips, which are full, and distractinglysexy?—

I give myself a shake. Can’t go thinking about stuff like that now. Need to focus on what he’s doing, standing on the doorstep, one elbow propped against the doorframe.

Darn, he looks good doing that, all casual.

Then his gaze locks onto mine.

He stares at me like I’m the only thing that exists in the whole world. Like he’s in love with me or something. I literally see his pupils dilate, turning his irises dark.

My mouth goes all dry.

He wants me.

I’m not the kind of girl that guys go crazy over, but this sexy mountain man looks like he’s dying to tear my clothes off. The realization pours through me like liquid fire.

Before I know it, I’m imagining him hauling me off to his cabin and doing all kinds of naughty things to me?—

“Sorry to bother you,” he says. “Thought you might need some help.”

I snap back to the present. To the unruly kids and the freezing cold house. “Where did you get that idea?” I hear the rising hysteria in my own voice.

He raises his hands and lets them fall to his thighs. “I know this place is kinda run down. Some things might need fixing.”

My head spins.

I want to grab him by his sexy bicep and haul him inside.

But he’s a stranger. Yes, a stranger who rescued Mari. But that doesn’t mean I should let him in the house. My first duty is to protect these children.

“No, I’m fine,” I tell him. “I’m figuring things out. We’ll be okay.”

He narrows his eyes and fixes me with that intense look of his. The one that has a magical ability to turn my knees to Jell-O. “Sure? Don’t need help with the furnace? Getting the fire going?

My breath hitches.He’s talking about the heating system, not your own personal furnace—which is going pretty well right now.

Yes!I want to scream.

All of the above. And maybe you could keep an eye on at least one of these children. Because keeping all three of them out of mischief seems to be a mission impossible.

“No, I’ve got it all in hand,” I force my mouth to say.

“Really?” For a fleeting moment, he tears his gaze away from me and peers into the darkness of the house.

“Yup, really.”

“Okay.” His face fills with what looks like disappointment. But who on earth feels disappointed at not having to fix a furnace? “I’m Lock, by the way. Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will,” I say automatically.

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