Page 78 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

Jared’s hungry eyes widened for an instant before he let himself loose. The hand on my cheek snaked behind my neck, knotting in the small hairs there. I gasped, but the sound was swallowed by his lips.

Jared kissed me like a man starved. His hands gripped me hungrily, drawing me to him. His lips moved expertly against mine, provoking a shattered moan from my throat. I pressed my hands to his chest, looking for something to hold on to, afraid if I didn’t find my grip, I’d fall.

My body came alive with sensation. Heat and tension and electricity swirled and crashed as Jared pulled me onto his lap and my legs fell to either side of his hips.

His hands gripped hard at my waist, holding me there as he swept in with his tongue, the kiss tasting of mint and chocolate. He sat up, wrapping his arms around my middle as he pressed into my chest, making my breasts harden beneath the thin t-shirt.

I was losing it. Losing my grip on reality. On control.

Each of his fevered kisses sent me speeding ever closer to oblivion. My body, naked beneath Jared’s shirt, hummed with latent desire, and I realized I didn’t want him to stop.

Not ever. This felt right.

My hands on his arms trailed lower, reaching between us. I felt his body still as my hands brushed over the top button of his jeans.

“Jared!” A gruff voice called from outside the office and two sobering thuds pounded against the front door. The kiss broken, I scrambled from Jared’s lap, skin flushed and knees trembling as I tried to get my footing.

“Shit,” Jared cursed, rising and readjusting his jeans. “Uh…” he said in a whisper, looking around as though for some means of escape.

The silver knob began to turn, and I spurred into action, rushing around the desk at the back of the office.

I’d planned to tuck myself in the nook beneath, but it was already filled with stacks of old files.

The door swung open, and I did the only thing I could think of and sat in the chair, pulling it as close to the desk as I was able.

Close enough that I hoped the man wouldn’t be able to see that I wasn’t wearing any pants.

I brushed my hair away from my face and straightened my spine, willing my breathing to level out just as he entered.

Jared rushed to grab his mostly empty cocoa and leaned casually against the wall where the kitchenette stood opposite me.

“Oh,” the man said, taking in first Jared and then me behind the desk. “Didn’t know you had company.”

“Nah,” he said, clearing his throat. “Allie just popped by to borrow my Jeep,” he said and lifted the keys from his pocket to toss them to me.

I scrambled to catch them. “Right,” I agreed.

Greg didn’t look convinced, but he also looked a hell of a lot like he didn’t give a shit one way or the other what we were doing.

His chapped hands and coveralls were coated in a thick layer of rock dust, and his eyes told of his exhaustion.

He jutted his chin back in the direction of the loud quarry outside the still- open door.

“Got a bit of a situation with the skid-steer. She’s stuck real good. ”

Jared’s demeanor changed, and he bent to gather a vest and hardhat from a box in the corner, tugging them on.

The look…definitely suited him.

I bit my lower lip, pressing my thighs together beneath the table to keep from making any sound.

“I’ll come have a look,” Jared told Greg, who turned and left without another word. Jared followed him to the door, pausing in the frame to toss me a wink over his shoulder. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said with a sly grin. “Back in no time.”

I nodded, fully intent on waiting however long it took.

The door swept closed behind Jared, making the blinds rattle against the glass windowpane. Jarring the portable building enough that the mouse atop the desk moved, making the desktop screen come to life.

A web page covered the screen. I was about to look away when the headline of the page caught my eye.

How to use a bow.

A smile tugged at my lips, and I laughed quietly to myself. I wondered offhandedly if he was actually interested, or if he was taking an interest only because he knew how much I liked going out to shoot my bow every morning.

Hesitantly, I scrolled down the page, curious about what it said.

When I got to the end, I noticed the little mail icon flashing on the taskbar and hovered over it, shaking my head at myself when I realized I was about to open it.

What am I doing?

I moved my hand from the mouse but managed to accidentally click the button before I did. An email screen materialized, and I jolted, knowing I should’ve looked away, but unable to.

Ryland’s email address. There was a posed photo of him in the upper right corner. If that weren’t enough of a giveaway, there were several already opened emails that showed samples of their hidden content, most of which contained some form of Ry, Ryland, or Mr. Stone as an opening line.

A new email rested at the top, its bold font begging to be clicked on.

A weight settled in my belly and the tips of my fingers tingled as I hovered over it. My palms grew sweaty.

The top three emails were all from the same address. No name in the sender field. Just an X. The subject line on the second one down, one of the ones that was already opened read: The list you asked for…

The other two didn’t have any subject at all.

Before I could think too much about it, I clicked the one about the list and scrolled down through the completely blank email to where there was a file available for download. It said simply: List.

Gritting my teeth, I clicked on it. The computer chirped loudly, and I sucked in a breath, staring at a little popup that told me this file was password protected. The empty text box taunted with the flashing black line, as though asking me what the hell I was doing.

Groaning, I exited the popup and clicked over to the next already opened email. That one was blank too, but also contained a file. This one was labeled simply: Jared.

An icy chill snaked down my spine at the sight of his name. I tried to tell myself that this was nothing. It could be this person was Ryland’s accountant or something. Maybe they were sending out copies of paystubs or lists of expenses.

But then why did I feel like that couldn’t have been farther from the truth?

Emboldened, I click on the last email—the one not yet open.

This one, blank like the others has two files down near the bottom waiting to be opened.

They are image files, but only black squares show where samples would normally be.

They must have been password protected, too.

Both are labeled with names. One is labeled Dean, and the other is labeled Andreas.

Footsteps coming back up to the portable door send my pulse skittering into overdrive. With sloppy fingers, I exit out of the email and right click it, marking it as unread and then quitting out of the window.

By the time Jared re-enters the cabin, hands covered in gray dust, I’m leaning back in the plush office chair, doing my absolute best to calm the fuck down before he notices anything is amiss.

“Hey,” he said with a grin. “Sorry about that.”

I shook my head, standing on leaden legs. “That’s okay.”

My blood felt near boiling, and I knew that if he looked at me too closely, he would see the evidence of what I’d just done all over my face. God, what was I doing?

Snooping on his uncle’s—my alpha’s—computer?

That was a surefire way to earn myself some scorn right off the hop.

I held out his keys to him. “Here.”

He pushed them back. “I’d rather you take it,” he said. “It’ll be safer than running back to the cabin. If you don’t mind?”

How could I say no when he was making that face?

The one with the dimple and the sweet smile.

“I really shouldn’t,” I told him. “I’m supposed to only drive with a licensed driver in the passenger seat.”

Jared pursed his lips, considering. “It’s all backroads to the trailhead. And you’re a fast learner. Already a better driver than I was a few weeks in.”

Not wanting to draw this out, I pasted on a wilted grin of my own and curled the keys into my fist.

“It’s parked at the edge of the quarry, in the employee lot. I’ll walk you through the trees.”

“No,” I rushed to say. “I mean, that’s okay. I’m sure I can find it. How many lifted white Jeeps can there be out there?”

The joke didn’t take, and I was left feeling guilty and awkward and wondering if I remembered to exit out of Ryland’s email or not. The screen was still lit up and it took all the self-control I had not to lean back and peek just to make sure.

Jared, thankfully, didn’t seem to notice my discomfort.

He stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and nodded.

“‘Kay,” I said in a breath. “See you tomorrow night?” I went to turn, ready to make a break for it when he caught me around the waist and spun me back to him. His hand found the back of my head and his other arm kept me from falling as he pressed his lips to mine.

For a brief second, the guilt weighing on my chest turned light as air and I forgot why I wanted to leave so badly.

Then the kiss ended, and it all came rushing back with the air that returned to my lungs.

“Sorry,” Jared said, a whisper against my lips. “I couldn’t let you leave without doing that one more time.”