Page 23 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Pilot
“The company would have reported the plane missing by now.”His expression darkened.“Though the weather’s not helping search efforts.”
“So optimistic,” I drawled.
“Realistic,” he corrected.“We need to be proactive about rescue, not passive.”
I studied him and handed the cup over.“Since when are you so eager to get back to civilization?I thought you were enjoying playing mountain man.”
Something flashed in his eyes, amusement mixed with something darker.“Don’t confuse necessity with preference, Foster.”
“No?So last night was just a necessity?”The words escaped before I could stop them, hanging in the air between us like a challenge.
Tanner set down the cup with deliberate care.“You know it wasn’t.”
The intensity of his gaze sent heat flooding through me.I’d never been affected by anyone the way I was by him.It was as if my body recognized something about him that my mind couldn’t yet comprehend.
“Then what was it?”I pressed, needing clarity in at least one aspect of our complicated situation.
He moved toward me with that fluid grace that seemed simultaneously human and otherworldly.His fingers traced my jawline, then tilted my face up to his.
“A beginning,” he said simply, before pressing his lips to mine and devouring my lips in a way that made our first kiss last night seem tame by comparison.
When he pulled away, I was breathless and disoriented.He looked entirely too satisfied with himself.
“We should head out before the weather worsens,” he said, as if he hadn’t just kissed me senseless.“Finish your coffee.”
I glared at him, but complied.“You don’t play fair, Roberts.”
His smile was wolf-like.“I never claimed to.”
An hour later, we were outside, battling wind and snow to maintain our signal markers.The work was brutal, clearing snow only to have it fill in almost immediately.Without gloves, the cold bit into my fingers until they became clumsy.
I watched Tanner as we worked, noticing details I’d previously brushed off.The way he constantly scanned our surroundings, head lifting at sounds I couldn’t hear.How he moved with deadly precision even through knee-deep snow.The almost possessive way he positioned himself between me and the forest’s edge whenever we worked.
“You’re staring,” he said without turning around.He only confirmed my suspicion that he somehow knew exactly where I was at all times.
“Just wondering how you manage to look like you’re stalking prey while shoveling snow.”I kept my tone light, but the question wasn’t entirely a joke.
He stiffened momentarily before resuming his methodical clearing.“Old habits.I spent the first part of my life in the wilderness like this.”
“You never talk about your past.Your corporate bio mentions Huntington Harbor, but nothing specific.”
“Because it’s not relevant.”The finality in his tone should have ended the conversation, but stubbornness was my specialty.
“We’re trapped together in a cave, potentially for weeks.I’d say getting to know each other is plenty relevant.”
The look he shot me over his shoulder was equal parts exasperation and something warmer that made my stomach flip.Before he could respond, a violent gust of wind drove a blanket of snow between us, momentarily obscuring him from view.
“That’s our cue,” he called over the howling wind.“Back to the cave.”
I didn’t argue.The temperature had dropped dramatically in the last half hour, and my fingers had progressed from painfully stiff to dangerously numb.We hurried back, the journey taking twice as long as our morning exit as we fought against the intensifying blizzard.
Inside, the relative warmth of our shelter felt like paradise.I immediately moved to the fire, holding my hands toward the flames while Tanner secured the entrance against the storm.When he turned back to me, his expression had changed completely.He froze, his entire body tensing on high alert.
“What’s wrong?”I asked, recognizing the shift in his demeanor instantly.
He raised a hand for silence and tilted his head slightly as though listening for something beyond human hearing.“We’re not alone.”
A chill that had nothing to do with the storm ran down my spine.“The deer?”
