Page 62 of Iron Willed Warrior

I opened the door to our room, waiting for her to go ahead into the hall. After she’d passed me, I palmed her butt cheek beneath the short skirt and squeezed.Nngh. She had a tiny pair of boy shorts beneath. Hopefully this wasn’t too forward, but I was in character as Cameron, and he was a handsy, possessive guy. Could she blame me?

Brynn smirked at me. She knew exactly what I was up to.

We headed for the front desk. Along the way, we ran into Molly and her husband, the bakers. As always, Molly greeted Brynn warmly, but her expression soured when she saw me.

“Cameron,” she said, dripping with disdain.

I lifted my chin. “Yo.”

Molly crossed her arms. “I heard about the incident with Garon’s security last night. So unfortunate. Are you all right, Brianna?”

Brynn put a hand on Molly’s arm. “It was nothing. Garon sent some flowers over to apologize. Just a mix-up.”

“Well that was thoughtful. Some men know how to behave.” Molly’s eyes narrowed at me. Then she gasped, gesturing at Brynn’s shoulder. “Are those…finger marks?”

Brynn’s hand flew up to cover the bruises. “It happened last night, but it was an accident.”

Hardly, I thought, my hackles raising yet again as I thought of Ryker hurting her. I was going to punish the guy. Make no mistake.

But Molly glared at me, as if she suspectedIwas the real culprit.

We said goodbye, resuming our course to the front desk. “I’m getting a reputation around here,” I murmured. “Soon half the resort will want my blood for abusing the popular girl everyone loves.” This felt different from them thinking I was a jerk. Even though they were judging Cameron, not me, I still didn’t like it.

“It’s all about perception. Planting the seeds in Westwick’s mind that I’m not happy with you. It’ll help if other guests are reinforcing that idea.”

Right, so Westwick could swoop in and steal her from me. Shaking my head, we continued down the hallway. Having Brynn put herself at the mercy of Westwick, even briefly, was simply not a viable option to me. I would have to make her see that. But I knew it would take some convincing.

At reception, I asked for info on the local hiking trails. Brynn glanced over the pamphlets excitedly, while I made noise about getting drinks and lunch for us to take along. All amenities that the resort offered. I wanted to make sure that as many people as possible knew where we were heading.

Once we were equipped, we set out, me wearing the backpack full of supplies and my fingers entwined with hers. Thishike would take us up to the summit of the rocky red hills bordering the resort.

The air smelled of sunshine and dust, free of the mix of perfumes and cleaning fluid at the resort. I inhaled deeply.

Since the Army, I had felt most comfortable outside under the open sky. In an area full of hostiles, that could mean more danger. Yet it was liberating too, a reminder that nature wasn’t far away. In my experience, it was usually humanity that was the problem.

After being wounded, I’d hated being stuck in a hospital room. Staring at ceilings instead of blue sky. Feeling walls close in instead of the endless expanse and possibilities of the wilderness. I’d fought hard to get back to the same level of activity I’d taken for granted.

Since then, every time I was out in a place like this and moving on my two feet,free, I was grateful to be here.

And with Brynn hiking up the narrow trail in front of me, the view was even sweeter. Her toned legs, the curves of her hips and butt as the trail climbed. Her beauty was obvious to anyone who met her. Especially right now, with those clothes that hugged her curves. But Brynn was so much more than that.

I remembered my very first impression of her. Seeing her flip the guy who’d grabbed her arm by the side of the road. Even when that fierceness was directed my way, I admired it.

And Ireallyadmired the sheen of her skin as we stopped for a water break. A drop of sweat rolled down her neck and into the hollow between her collarbones. Would it be too much if I licked it off? Yeah, probably. But the thought of it, wondering what it would taste like, had my cock perking up.

Brynn wiped the sweat from her brow, her throat working as she swallowed water from the bottle.

“We’re being followed,” she said, the lip of the water bottle in front of her mouth and her voice low.

I moved into her space, giving in to the urge to kiss her temple. Salt spread over my lips. “We have been for a while, yeah.”

We’d passed a few hikers when we had first started, but since then, we’d seemed to have the path to ourselves. But despite appearances, we weren’t alone.

“He’s stopped every time that we have,” I said. “Trying to stay behind us so he doesn’t catch up. Good thing, because I was afraid that O’Hanlon had dropped the ball.”

“You’re sure it’s him? Westwick’s other bodyguard?”

“Definitely. His red hair is like a stoplight. Just like the photo in his profile.” I knelt to open my daypack. Beneath the snacks and drinks I had tucked inside, courtesy of the front desk staff, I had folded up a hand towel from our bathroom. I flicked one edge aside.

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