map out the rest of my life and getting nowhere.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It was something I had to do. One night, not long after I got here, I don’t think I’d slept more than a few minutes and woke up just as the sun was rising.” He gnawed on his lower lip. “The largest cougar I’d ever seen was standing no more than ten feet away, watching me, just watching.”
Sleeping alone in the wilderness had never frightened her, but if she’d woken to find a cougar that close— “Just watching?”
“There was nothing aggressive or menacing about his stance.” When he released her knee and raked his hand through his wind-tangled hair, she understood how deeply the connection between man and beast had affected him. “I sensed he was trying to communicate with me.”
“What did you do?”
“I listened. And I learned. Truth was, he didn’t really give me a choice, because when I tried to leave what I figured was his territory, he matched me step-for-step. I tried to scare him off, but that didn’t work. I…hell, I aimed my pistol at him, and I swear, he laughed.”
A laughing cougar? “I’m trying—I’m trying to decide whether I would have been afraid,” she admitted.
“Are you now?” He again settled his hand on her knee, the touch sealing them in inescapable ways.
“No.”
“Neither was I. Until then I’d never believed in anything I couldn’t see or analyze, and yet there’s always been something about the woods, a sense of timelessness, of endurance, innocence and wisdom at the same time. As if a force beyond my comprehension is responsible.”
Oh God, were they really that much alike? “As if there’s something bigger than man at work,” she offered.
“Yeah.” He gently squeezed. “As if man is small and insignificant in comparison with a forest’s complexity and richness.”
She could love him. No questions asked, she could fall in love with the stranger who’d robbed her of her freedom. Shaken by the realization, she tried to remind herself of what he’d done to her, but that did little to undermine what she’d discovered about him. “You—what does this have to do with a cougar?”
“A lot. I think—hell, I know Cougar Spirit found certain things he was looking for in me. He didn’t stalk or intimidate me so much as make sure we shared the same space. I wanted to walk in one direction, but he turned me where he wanted me to go. That’s how I came across two elk carcasses.”
“Two? That’s sick!”
“It is, but that’s not all.” Sliding his hand down her leg, he encircled her ankle. Further cemented the connection between them. “A couple of days ago, Cougar Spirit took me to where hundreds of marijuana plants are growing. There’s some elaborate irrigation in place and two stands for guards. The day before that, Cougar Spirit and I explored a hillside that had recently been clear-cut. When the rains come, the ruts caused by dragging the trees over the ground are going to erode.”
“Clear-cutting’s illegal,” she blurted despite the pulsing warmth climbing up her leg. “Regulations call for seed trees being left standing and replanting.” Although she’d already put one and one together, she shuddered. “This was timber theft, wasn’t it?”
“On a large scale. Mia, I’ve now seen three clear-cut sites in areas so remote I doubt if anyone except the so-called loggers have been there in years.”
This forest was under assault! And because of a creature or being Stark called Cougar Spirit, he’d been handed proof of the extent of that assault.
“Do you understand what I’m getting at?” he demanded. His hold on her ankle tightened.
So much was swirling around her: a hot sexual wind, at least one heartless poacher, marijuana growers and illegal logging. As for why she was being sucked into that underbelly—
“What does Cougar Spirit want from you?” Before he could answer, she shook her head. “Don’t bother. I know the
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It was something I had to do. One night, not long after I got here, I don’t think I’d slept more than a few minutes and woke up just as the sun was rising.” He gnawed on his lower lip. “The largest cougar I’d ever seen was standing no more than ten feet away, watching me, just watching.”
Sleeping alone in the wilderness had never frightened her, but if she’d woken to find a cougar that close— “Just watching?”
“There was nothing aggressive or menacing about his stance.” When he released her knee and raked his hand through his wind-tangled hair, she understood how deeply the connection between man and beast had affected him. “I sensed he was trying to communicate with me.”
“What did you do?”
“I listened. And I learned. Truth was, he didn’t really give me a choice, because when I tried to leave what I figured was his territory, he matched me step-for-step. I tried to scare him off, but that didn’t work. I…hell, I aimed my pistol at him, and I swear, he laughed.”
A laughing cougar? “I’m trying—I’m trying to decide whether I would have been afraid,” she admitted.
“Are you now?” He again settled his hand on her knee, the touch sealing them in inescapable ways.
“No.”
“Neither was I. Until then I’d never believed in anything I couldn’t see or analyze, and yet there’s always been something about the woods, a sense of timelessness, of endurance, innocence and wisdom at the same time. As if a force beyond my comprehension is responsible.”
Oh God, were they really that much alike? “As if there’s something bigger than man at work,” she offered.
“Yeah.” He gently squeezed. “As if man is small and insignificant in comparison with a forest’s complexity and richness.”
She could love him. No questions asked, she could fall in love with the stranger who’d robbed her of her freedom. Shaken by the realization, she tried to remind herself of what he’d done to her, but that did little to undermine what she’d discovered about him. “You—what does this have to do with a cougar?”
“A lot. I think—hell, I know Cougar Spirit found certain things he was looking for in me. He didn’t stalk or intimidate me so much as make sure we shared the same space. I wanted to walk in one direction, but he turned me where he wanted me to go. That’s how I came across two elk carcasses.”
“Two? That’s sick!”
“It is, but that’s not all.” Sliding his hand down her leg, he encircled her ankle. Further cemented the connection between them. “A couple of days ago, Cougar Spirit took me to where hundreds of marijuana plants are growing. There’s some elaborate irrigation in place and two stands for guards. The day before that, Cougar Spirit and I explored a hillside that had recently been clear-cut. When the rains come, the ruts caused by dragging the trees over the ground are going to erode.”
“Clear-cutting’s illegal,” she blurted despite the pulsing warmth climbing up her leg. “Regulations call for seed trees being left standing and replanting.” Although she’d already put one and one together, she shuddered. “This was timber theft, wasn’t it?”
“On a large scale. Mia, I’ve now seen three clear-cut sites in areas so remote I doubt if anyone except the so-called loggers have been there in years.”
This forest was under assault! And because of a creature or being Stark called Cougar Spirit, he’d been handed proof of the extent of that assault.
“Do you understand what I’m getting at?” he demanded. His hold on her ankle tightened.
So much was swirling around her: a hot sexual wind, at least one heartless poacher, marijuana growers and illegal logging. As for why she was being sucked into that underbelly—
“What does Cougar Spirit want from you?” Before he could answer, she shook her head. “Don’t bother. I know the
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