“Stick around, and you’ll find out.”
They continued eating their lobster, with their taunting flirtation heavy between them. Rollo learned a bit more about Zoe’s childhood and that she had been poor growing up. Corey had been sending her money ever since he’d sold his first app, his first year of college. After she graduated high school, she’d had a living income from the money Corey sent her. After spending her the majority of childhood in poverty in a small Midwestern town, all Zoe Bright wanted was to get out of there and see the world.
Rollo could tell that she felt inferior to her brother because of his genius and the fact that he was the kind of person that everyone revered. She on the other hand, had never been academic or particularly ‘talented’ at anything. That’s the way she described herself anyway.
Rollo could tell there was a glowing fire deep inside Zoe that burned like an inferno and filled her with internal strength beyond anything he’d ever seen before. He wanted to warm himself in the glow of her burning soul. If he could just get close enough. If she would just let him in.
But Rollo knew that Zoe was a criminal. The evidence was still circumstantial, but it all added up. If he had even one piece of physical evidence, he would arrest her right here and now. He would have no choice. But until he found the evidence, he would have to continue playing this alluringly sexy game with her.
When they finished their meal, Rollo paid and left a large tip before he and Zoe got up from the table. He led her out onto the big patio that looked out over the lake, and they stood against the railing, watching the last rays of the sun disappear behind the mountains.
“I’ve never seen a place as beautiful as Fate Mountain,” Rollo mused.
“I’ve been all over the world, but I know exactly what you mean. I wish I could stay here.”
“Why can’t you stay here?” he asked.
Zoe looked up at him anxiously and grabbed his arm, yanking him down the patio and away from the dining room entrance.
7
Dima was here!
Zoe yanked Rollo away from the window the moment she saw Dima and his henchmen walk through the open doors into the dining room. Dima wasn’t supposed to be here yet. She had three more days until their delivery drop. What the hell was he doing in the lodge?
Was he following her? Was he angry?
People tended to get shot in the head when Dima was angry. Zoe’s heart beat a mile a minute as she dragged Rollo away from the dining room windows. She couldn’t let Dima see her. She couldn’t let Rollo see Dima. She couldn’t let anybody see anybody.
Thinking fast, she tried to come up with an excuse for why she dragged him all the way around the back side of the lodge and down the stairs toward the lake. It was dusk now and the porch and path lights around the lodge had already flickered to life.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked in a husky voice.
She had ahold of his forearm, but he grabbed her hand and forced her to hold it. She continued to lead him by the hand down the path towards the forest.
She had been to the lodge several times and knew the grounds fairly well. As a shifter, she had a kind of sixth sense for directions and remembered exactly which way to go. After a few minutes they were standing under the cover of ponderosa pine mixed with Douglas fir along a secluded path. The cool air from the lake swept down the path and goosebumps rose along her exposed arms.
Rollo held onto her hand and moved and closer, sniffing the air.
“Zoe,” he whispered in her ear, his body growing closer by the second.
His hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her soft curves against his muscled flesh. She gasped, looking up at him as the moon rose overhead.
“Rollo,” she said, pushing against his chest.
“We’re both shifters, Zoe. There’s no reason to beat around the bush,” he said, pushing his erection against her throbbing sex. She groaned, wanting him so much deeper.
“I’m not ready for this,” she breathed.
“Why did you bring me out here?”
“I needed some air.”
“I don’t believe you,” he growled.