Page 6 of Pining for the Ranger (Shadow Mountain Forest Rangers #1)

Boone

My thumb taps away on the steering wheel as I navigate the roads from my house to the ranger station.

Ivy sits beside me, head turned, watching out the window.

It took little to convince me to take her with me into work when I told her I was going to check in with the rest of the team.

They have been out searching for any signs or clues of what might have happened to her.

I know she is going stir crazy at the house. She seems to have made a complete recovery from the accident, except for the nightmares which wake her each morning. It takes everything in me not to rush to her side and enfold her in my arms when I hear her distress.

Keeping my hands off of her has been more of a challenge than I ever anticipated. It’s more than the desire to caress all that soft, silky skin, which I absolutely ache to do. The pull to protect her, even from her own dreams, is overpowering.

This morning in the hall I almost gave in to temptation, kissing her.

There’s no doubt if my phone hadn’t broken through the haze of lust I would’ve, and I’m positive once I got going, there would have been no stopping.

From the hunger in her eyes and noises she was making, I’m sure Ivy wouldn’t have done so either.

And there’s a good possibility she belongs to someone else. Something I never do is poach another man’s woman. If she’s willing to cheat on him, she could turn around and do the same thing to me, even if it's not intentional in this situation.

But the woman could tempt a fucking saint and lord knows I’m certainly not one. So it didn’t take much convincing at all for me to bring Ivy with me, getting out of the house so we were no longer alone together. At least at work, the other guys will help provide a buffer.

Hopefully, they’ll have found something to help figure out who this temptress really is, and I can finally find out if she’s available.

The wood and stone building of the ranger station comes into view. Flipping on my blinker, I turn into the parking lot. I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling her to wait for me to open her door.

She’s not yours. She’s not yours. She’s not yours. I chant in my head, as if that will help with the urges I have around her.

I do hold the door of the building open for her. My eyes glued to her perfect peach of an ass as she goes through. It’s okay to look, if I don’t touch, right?

God, I hope so, otherwise I’m going to have to stab my eyes out.

Shawn, Jeb and Rylan, three of the rangers I work with, have shit-eating grins on their faces when I finally tear my eyes away from Ivy’s backside. I shoot them a warning glare not to say anything about it in front of her as we cross the open room with desks to the back counter where they are.

“Hey guys, this is Ivy. Ivy, these knuckleheads are Shawn, Jeb and Rylan.” I point to each one as I introduce them to her.

“Ivy huh?” Shawn asks.

“For now, unless you’ve found something to tell us otherwise?” She asks hopefully.

Rylan shakes his head. “Nope, sorry. We went up to the area where Boone found you and have been keeping our eyes open as we make our rounds, but so far have come up with diddley squat.”

Her shoulders sag, “Oh. Well, I appreciate the effort.”

Jeb gives her a smile. “We’re glad to help. So you haven’t had any memories come back yet then?”

“No. Just a few dreams. Mostly running and then falling into the river.”

“Have you thought about going back up there to see if being in the area brings anything back?” Shawn asks.

“Up to this point, we have focused on her resting and recovering, but maybe now it’s time since nothing else has turned up.” My eyes swing to Ivy. “Are you up for a hike, maybe even an overnight since we don’t know how far you came from?”

Excitement has her breaking out in a grin, which has my heart skipping a beat. God, this woman is beautiful.

“Yes! Let’s do it. Anything besides sitting around. I’m so tired of that already.” She practically vibrates with enthusiasm.

“Hopefully, you guys can find something. It is strange we haven’t found any gear, or a car parked at a trailhead. You had to have gotten out there somehow.” Rylan muses.

“You’re right, that is strange, and no one has reported you missing either.” Jeb adds.

She shrugs. “Maybe I got dropped off and am not expected back yet and no one has come across my gear. Hopefully, once we get up there, something will click.”

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed and continue looking while we are out and about. Good luck.” Shawn replies.

“Thanks guys. I’ll keep you updated.” I tip my chin at them before leading Ivy back out to the parking lot.

Opening the passenger door for Ivy, I ask “You want to stop for coffee before we head out?”

“Oh god yes! An iced latte sounds amazing.” She moans.

My dick twitches at the throaty sound and words, with images running through my mind of her making the noise for other reasons.

“Coming right up,” I mutter, shaking my head as if that will clear it of the lusty thoughts which this woman so easily provokes from me.