Page 15 of Camilla & Dallas

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Dallas had expected this conversation. He’d only been surprised it had taken this long to have it. Not even Mateo was willing to look past what Dallas had done. The ache in his chest shifted to his jaw in a physical way as he clenched his teeth tightly together. Mateo didn’t have to send Camilla on this outing. She was right. He could have sent someone else or waited until he wasn’t busy. Dallas wasn’t leaving right away.

And yet…

The question in his mind tickled his senses. If he took Camilla out to the tracks, she’d be forced to have an actual conversation with him. The selfish side of him couldn’t ignore the way fate had gifted him this moment—even if Camilla hated him all the more for it.

When Mateo seemed to understand that Dallas wasn’t going to say anything further, he gave him a curt nod and went after his sister.

The ghostof Camilla’s touch when she’d wrapped her arms around his middle on the drive over still warmed him. She hadn’t said a word since she’d climbed on the back of the ATV. Nor had she spoken as they’d hiked their way toward the first signs of wolves.

Twigs snapped behind him as she followed in his wake. He could feel her eyes on him for most of their walk—sense theunspoken words she wanted to say. The whole time, he’d burned to turn around and force her to do just that.

But he couldn’t—wouldn’t.

Then, out of nowhere, her voice came to him. “Do you like it?”

He stiffened, unsure if he’d heard her. Dallas pulled a branch out of the way and held it for her before giving her an inquisitive look.

“Your job,” she rasped. “Do you like your job?”

Dallas nodded, a twitch to his lips the only signal his body was willing to give him that he was being granted a reprieve from her foul mood. “It’s amazing.” She passed him, and on instinct, his arm reached out to grasp her wrist. “Wait.”

She stared up at him. They were practically pressed together by the branches and other foliage in the area. Her eyes locked with his and everything shifted. The air grew denser. The electricity in the air ignited. Camilla didn’t pull away even though their faces were mere inches apart. Her lips parted and the action drew his focus to them.

For one insane moment, he thought about stealing a kiss from her then and there. It would be the last time he was this close to her; he could feel it. The temptation that unfurled in his chest threatened to overtake all his sensibilities. And when she whispered, “Dallas?” he nearly lost the last shred of control he had.

A snap of a branch a little way off brought back the clarity he needed, and he released her before jerking his chin to her feet. “You almost…” His voice trailed off as he watched her gaze lower to the tracks he’d brought her here to see.

Surprise, awe, and curiosity flooded those confused eyes of hers, and she crouched down to get a better look at the tracks. She reached out, her fingers grazing the ridges of the prints in the mud. “They’re… bigger than I thought.” Her eyes flitted upto meet his. “How many do you think there are?” There was an almost reverence to her voice—an inquisitiveness that he’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

His brows furrowed as he took in the scenery around them. “More than one, but other than that, it’d be hard to tell until I can canvas a wider area.”

Camilla’s attention shifted around as if she’d be able to do just that. “What’s going to happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“After you gather all your data. What then?”

He stared at her. Gone was the animosity that had been flowing off her in waves. There wasn’t a hint of the anger she harbored for him.

Camilla was the woman he’d loved—still loved. He’d known she would be curious about this sort of thing. While she might not have been interested in a career like his, she’d always been intrigued by the wilder aspects of nature.

Dallas shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “We’ll send the data through the proper channels so they can deal with the wolves in the best possible way.”

“What does that mean?”

“Sometimes it’s as simple as drawing them away. Other times they have to get relocated.”

She nodded, and what he wouldn’t give to know what was going on in that brain of hers.

A low, rumbling growl drew his attention to her, and his frown deepened until it clicked what he’d heard. His head snapped up and he came eye-to-eye with one of the wolves who must have been prowling the property.

Camilla gasped, her sharp intake of air causing the wolf to snap its focus to her for the next three terrifying seconds before Dallas’s instincts took over.

8

Camilla

The grey wolf’s lips curled around sharp teeth.