Page 6 of Ranger's Secret

Her breath stutters. "Get your hand off me, Jagger."

But she doesn't move or shove me away. She could. She should. But she stays rooted to the spot.

I lean in further, using my body to cage her against the tree. She makes a soft noise in her throat, a weak protest, but I hear the need threaded through it.

"Tell me, kitten," I breathe against her ear, close enough to taste the sweat on her skin. "If I were to slip my hand between your legs right now, what would I find?"

"You two okay?" Sarah's voice chops through the moment.

Delaney shoves me hard in the chest, putting distance between us. "We're fine!" she calls back, voice pitched just a little too high. "Totally fine!"

I step back slowly, letting her go with a look that promises this conversation isn't over. Not even close.

We makeit through the rest of the day with Delaney executing a perfect avoidance strategy. She doesn't speak to me, won't meet my eyes, and when dinner time comes, she's nowhere to be found.

When I pass her cabin later, the windows are black. I knock once, twice. Nothing but silence.

The master key slides easily from my pocket. Technically for maintenance and emergencies, but right now it's for hunting down one particular woman who thinks she can run from me.

I ease the door open. Empty.

I step outside and catch sight of one of the younger volunteers heading to the lodge, flashlight bobbing in her hand.

I paste on what passes for a friendly smile and call out, "Hey, you seen Delaney around? I've got some paperwork she forgot to sign."

The woman stops, shifting her flashlight. "Oh yeah, she mentioned something about going down to the lake to take photos. Said there's this incredible view of the stars or something."

Of course she did. There's a hidden spot down there where the water goes glass-still on clear nights, stars reflecting across the surface in a way that makes tourists lose their minds. It's also the perfect place to disappear when you're trying to avoid someone.

I take the long path through the trees.

And then I see her.

She's standing at the water's edge, bathed in moonlight, like something pulled straight from my darkest fantasies. Every line of her body is relaxed in a way I've never seen before—shoulders loose, head tilted back to the stars, no tension coiled in that spine that's usually ready for battle.

I watch from the shadows, torn between the urge to announce myself and the intoxicating sight of her completely unguarded. She thinks she's alone, and there's something so fucking thrilling about watching her when she has no idea she's being watched.

She sets her camera on a flat rock, then glances around.

Her jacket comes off first. One sleeve, then the other. But then her shirt follows, and my pulse kicks up a notch.

The black sports bra underneath molds to her curves like a second skin, and my cock hardens instantly.

She kicks off her boots and stretches, arms reaching toward the stars, and I'm memorizing every line of her body.

Then her hands move to her waistband, and I stop breathing entirely.

She peels those leggings down inch by torturous inch, taking her time like she's putting on a private show just for me. When those tiny black panties join the pile on the ground, I have to grip the tree beside me to keep from charging over there.

There she is. Completely naked. Completely perfect. Completely fucking mine, even if she doesn't know it yet.

She steps into the lake and gasps when the cold hits her skin. Water laps at her thighs, making that pale flesh glisten. Perfect skin that's going to look even better covered in my marks.

Her curls go dark and heavy with water, sticking to her shoulders and trailing down her back. Moonlight cuts across herbody, a body that I've been dying to get my hands on since she ran away from me like that kiss meant nothing.

She moves through the water, completely fucking clueless that I'm watching. Doesn't know I'm standing here getting harder by the second, thinking about how simple it would be to wade in there and show her what happens when you run from me. Press myself against her back, wrap my hand around that pretty throat, and make her remember exactly who she's been avoiding.

I could do it. Right fucking now.

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