* * *
Ryder’s heart pounded, and he told himself to calm down. Being rejected by the woman he was more and more sure was his mate had hurt him deep, but he knew she was a human. She didn’t know what he did, that it was something you could know in an instant. She affected him to his core just when he was touching her hair.
Ryder wasn’t often physical with women. He was always working, and not in touch with his bear lately. But one look at the woman’s tall, curvy body had the animal in him begging to break out and claim her this instant.
But this would take time. He could tell by his mate’s wary face that she didn’t trust him, didn’t trust most people maybe, and wouldn’t be the type to get easily swept off her feet by someone like him.
He sat on the chair she pushed to him. Even though the alpha in him resisted the idea of letting her control the conversation, he decided that strategically, the best move was to let her think she was running things.
“Fine,” he said, “I’ll introduce myself, then. I’m Ryder Hart, and these are my brothers, Riley and Ryan.” He gestured to them as they sat. “And we’re here to run the lodge until my father’s will can be worked out.”
“Wait, was your father Royce?” the curly-haired woman asked. “Grumpy, huge Royce?”
“One and the same,” Riley said, flashing her a wink that had her blushing. If only the woman Ryder had his eye on seemed half as open to advances.
But maybe that’s part of what he liked about her, in addition to the stirrings inside him that said his bear wanted her. She didn’t look like she was desperate or dependent. She stood on her own two feet, waiting for the right partner. Now Ryder would just have to prove it was him.
“I’m Leslie,” the curly-haired one said. “And this is Kylie.” She motioned to the smaller blonde. “And Janna,” she said, gesturing to the woman Ryder had nearly kissed.
Janna. A beautiful name, Ryder thought as he more carefully studied the woman he’d set his sights on. She had a heart-shaped face with smooth, warm-brown skin, beautiful red lips, and thick, unruly hair that a man could wrap his hands in. And a body made to be loved by a bear like him.
Soft, large, warm. His mouth watered at the thought of holding her against him. His whole body responded to the thought, and he scooted his chair back slightly in shock.
Riley sent him a knowing look, and Ryder resisted the urge to smack him. But alphas didn’t smack. Not in front of potential mates.
The others started to talk, but the woman, Janna, simply wouldn’t open up or join in. Ryder watched her as Riley flirted shamelessly with the other two. She seemed totally detached, in another world, as she studied her cup like there was something interesting at the bottom.
Was he really so undesirable as a mate that she couldn’t even look at him?
She stood suddenly, planting her hands on the table. “Excuse me, but I’ve got to head back,” she said quietly, looking at her friends with a silent message he couldn’t read.
Leslie looked regretful, and Kylie seemed to be reluctant to pull her eyes from Ryan’s face, but both Leslie and Kylie stood in solidarity. “Sorry, guys,” Leslie said. “Looks like we gotta head out.” She gestured out the window. “Snow is getting bad, and we need to get back to town.”
“When can we see you again?” the little blonde, Kylie, asked.
“Whenever you want,” Riley said, winking at her and making her blush from head to toe. “We’re going to be staying here for a while.”
“Maybe not that long,” Ryan grumped.
The blonde flinched.
Ryder felt bad for her. She was setting her eyes on the wrong male. Ryan might be a bear, but he was a bear more interested in staying in the wild than being domesticated.
And as for Riley, in whom Leslie seemed to be interested, well, Ryder doubted Riley would ever be happy with less than a full harem.
But for him, he’d always known just one would be perfect, if it were the right one. Someone to raise a family with, to run in bear form with, to play with cubs with. And he could see all that in Janna’s clear brown eyes. She stood and pushed past him, not even acknowledging him as he stood.
The three women left, only two of them promising to come back. He’d been thoroughly rejected.
But he wasn’t offended.
Ryder never shied away from a challenge.
2
Janna shuffled the papers in front of her absent-mindedly and then put them in a folder. She couldn’t get the man from the night before out of her mind.
Blue eyes, like a sapphire night, like a lake under the stars, twinkled in her mind, making it hard to keep her mind on her work or even focus on what she was supposed to be doing today. The end of the year was coming and tax season would hit soon, and she needed to get her other work up to date before all hell broke loose. As the only accountant and tax professional in a tiny tourist town, Janna was the main person people depended on to keep their businesses straight.