Lena felt slapped. Of all the millions of word combinations she could imagine coming from this confounding man’s mouth, she would’ve never guessed he would have just called out her cycle. “Excuse me?”
Another one of those growly sounds came from him. “I can smell you bleeding, woman. The bears and the wolves will be able to smell it, too. It’ll be like a fucking dinner bell. I’d planned on being out another week, but I don’t take risks like that with injuries,” he murmured, gesturing to his bandaged side. “Not with the bears we have out there. You think that black bear attack was bad? I’m telling you, your world is about to be rocked once you spend some time with the brown bears. I won’t take you out until you stop bleeding.”
Her heart was pounding against her ribcage so hard it ached. “You can smell me bleeding?”
“Don’t get grossed out. I’m not. It’s natural, but it’s a risk. And since it’ll just be us out in the bush with the monsters, I want to limit those risks. Do you understand?”
“Tomorrow,” she said on a mortified breath. “I should be done bleeding tomorrow.”
He nodded once and cleared his throat. “Then we’ll leave the next morning.”
“Okay.” This was her cue to go because her cheeks were on fire right now. Ducking her head to hide her blush, she stood and bolted for the door to escape.
“Lena?”
She paused with her hand on the knob but didn’t face him. “Yes?”
“This isn’t about you being a woman, okay? I have a sister-in-law, Elyse, and she’s as strong as any man I’ve ever met.” Jenner swallowed audibly. “Thanks for doctoring me.”
Lena nodded once, yanked the door open, and then closed it behind her with a firm click.
She let herself into her own room next door and locked the latch behind her. As she chugged shocked breath, she stared at the wall that stood between her and Jenner Silver.
What was this feeling pulsing through her? She’d never reacted to talking to a man like this. Dominant, growly hunting guide, all scarred and fearless and looking down at her with those vivid blue eyes in a way that made her blood burn for something she didn’t understand. Lena clenched her shaking hands at her side.
Jenner Silver had just become as terrifying as the bears.
Chapter Three
Jenner frowned sleepily in the mirror at the long, half-healed pink marks across his side. He couldn’t be so careless around Lena again. He’d seen the fire in her eyes last night when he’d been harsh with her and should’ve known a spitfire like her would follow him into his room. It was the first time he’d been busted with an injury, and if it happened again, she would figure out he was healing way too fast. The grizzly in his middle made it possible to survive some brutal battle wounds, but that was his secret to keep, and if he had to guess, Lena was too observant for her own damned good. Of course, when he really thought about it, he had no reason to make that assumption other than she was a photographer and saw the world differently. He didn’t know the woman, but his instincts were screaming to be careful around her.
With a growl, he pulled his shirt back down and threw away the bandages she’d dressed the claw marks with. He was done bleeding, and he didn’t get infections. Never had and never would. That was the upside to this grizzly shifter gig. Almost everything else sucked. Being hungry all the time, trying to control a monster inside of him, stifling growls constantly, and hiding his changing eye color. But that wasn’t the worst part. Hibernation was the bane of any bear shifter’s existence. Six months in the winter, from October to April, consisted of him hiding deep in a den and sleeping the entire snowy season, and then in the warm months, he worked as a guide. Eat, work, sleep, repeat, year after year, and he’d been perfectly happy with that routine until Lena had given him that sexy blush last night. Spitfire she might be, but she was sensitive in ways that pulled at his protective instincts. And suddenly eating, sleeping, and working felt hollower than it did the day before.
Fuck, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t afford to lose his head over a woman over the damned pink color in her cheeks. Sure, she was a stunner—dark hair, honey-colored eyes, tan skin, and pouty lips he wanted to bite. Even her pajamas were fucking adorable, flannel with tiny hearts on them, clinging to her curves and making it real hard to stand still when she was so close to him last night. Lena what’s-her-face was the first woman he’d allowed into his room in…well…ever.