Rebecca’s Wolves(7)

“We’ll get us checked in,” Logan said over his shoulder as he and Zachary wandered away.

Rebecca looked around, rolling her shoulders after the long hike. Griffen would give her credit for one thing—she was indeed fit. She didn’t seem winded at all from the quick pace in the high altitude. “This place is awesome. It’s so beautiful. What a set up.”

Sharon dropped her pack next to the others. “Yes. It’s perfect. They have everything we need at this site. Keeps us from having to carry too much.” She pointed around as she spoke. “The tents are already put up. The dining hall has great food. The showers are wonderful after a day of hiking.”

She was right. Griffen loved this site. They only had to carry a change of clothes, water, and snacks. The tents were provided by the campsite, each one sleeping up to eight people, and sleeping bags were available to check out in the dining lodge.

Rebecca smiled and tipped her head up to the sky. “I’ll never be sorry I moved to Montana.”

Neither will I.

Sharon gave Griffen an evil eye and then dragged Rebecca away. “Let’s get a shower before too many people arrive and it gets crowded.”

•●•

By the time the six of them crawled into the tent that night, Rebecca was exhausted, and the hike had nothing to do with her bone-tired body. The stress of Sharon’s brothers, one in particular, made her head spin.

All through dinner they regaled her with questions as though she were at a job interview. Everyone but Griffen. He brooded.

And he sent her one mixed message after another. Half the time he glared at her as though she’d interrupted the most important weekend of his life with her presence. The other half he looked as if he wanted to strip her naked and devour her.

She had no idea what to think.

The guy was hot. All the brothers were, but for some stupid reason, she had her sights on the oldest. What the hell was wrong with her? She had no business thinking about the man in any terms other than as Sharon’s brother. In fact, Sharon had emphatically stated she intentionally didn’t introduce her friends to her brothers for this very reason.

And besides, Rebecca had no time for a man in her life. Her current goals consisted of nursing, training, and sleeping. In that order.

The tent was large. It would sleep eight. There were six of them, and that would have been fine if four of them weren’t huge sexy men.

For half a second, Rebecca wondered if Sharon’s objective hadn’t been to set Rebecca up with one of her brothers instead of warning her against them.

As they all settled into their sleeping bags, Rebecca stared into the darkness and wondered how the hell she’d gotten into this situation. She’d jumped at the opportunity to do a twenty-mile hike in the Flathead National Forest. She needed the strenuous workout, and that aspect of the weekend was perfect. Sharon and all of her brothers were indeed in excellent shape.

She knew Sharon’s family owned the local ski resort. If all five siblings were skiers, it would stand to reason they would be in good shape.

“You good?” A hand landed on her shoulder, making her flinch. She knew the touch by now. It was Griffen’s. Plus he was the only one of the brothers who had touched her. And he’d done so frequently.

“Yes.” She wanted to shrug him off, but instead she found herself tipping her chin into his fingers, practically nuzzling his hand. She barely managed to keep from setting her lips on his knuckles. His scent filled her nose, making her heart beat faster.

She gripped her legs together and turned onto her side as he cupped her cheek before slowly removing his hand.

It was dark. No one could have seen the gesture, but she was wide awake thinking about the implications. Hadn’t his touch been unnecessary and lingered too long?

She flopped onto her back and stared at the top of the tent, trying to breathe normally and willing herself to sleep. They had ten miles to hike tomorrow, first up to the summit and then back to the campsite. She would be dragging if she didn’t rest.

As the minutes ticked by, she heard the sounds of deep breathing that accompanied sleep throughout the tent.

Shit. Her bladder decided it needed release before she could relax. She finally gave up the fight to ignore it and eased the zipper down her sleeping bag as quietly as possible.

“Rebecca?” The whispered voice was Griffen’s.

She leaned in the direction of his head, seemingly strategically near her own to whisper back, “Bathroom.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Rebecca grabbed her flip-flops with one hand, wormed her way out of the sleeping bag, and carefully stepped over the bodies between her spot and the entrance to the tent. She felt Griffen behind her. His hand landed on her lower back as she bent to unzip the tent.