Roar For More (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance) (3 page)

“You know the place, yes?” Aubrey asked again, when nothing came back.

“Sure, I know the mountains around here from top to bottom. Like my favorite women,” he replied with a smirk.

If all else fails, try ‘sleaze’,
he figured. That’d put her off being around him, and then he wouldn’t have to try and contain the raging feelings inside him as her perfume filled his head. Yep, it was definitely better that he keep away from this girl.

“Then…will you be my tour guide?” Aubrey asked, resisting rolling her eyes like Claire was. “It would be much appreciated and would really speed up my work.”

“You from New York?” he guessed—and this time it was him taking secret delight in winding Claire up, seeing from the corner of his eye that she was shaking her head in frustration that he was holding out on the job.

“Albuquerque, actually.”

“Albuquerque, New Mexico,” he said, pretending to sound impressed. “
Breaking Bad
territory, Route 66, the Rio Grande and more hot air balloons than cookies. You do know there isn’t much in this here town to impress such a high-flying city girl?”

“Like I said, I’m here for scientific purposes,” she replied, her caginess giving away her first signs of frustration.

“I bet life moves fast in the big city, huh?”

“Oh, will you shut up, Jesse?’ Claire said. “Stop teasing the poor woman. Besides, Albuquerque is hardly a big city. Not compared to some of the others.”

“All right, all right,’ Jesse said, laughing and finally giving in. It looked like he was stuck working with Aubrey, whether he thought it was a good idea or not, and his inner tiger seemed to roar victoriously at the idea. “I’m sorry, Aubrey, but winding Claire up is just too much fun. If you don’t mind sharing your time with a shifter like me then I’m your man… and beast.”

“Of course she doesn’t mind,” Claire exclaimed. She wasn’t a shifter herself, but she’d never judged those who were, despite the fact that many regular humans did seem to be prejudiced against them.

“You’re a shifter?” Aubrey asked, her eyes widening.

“Sure, this town’s very friendly to shifters. There are a few of us here.”

“No others like Jesse, though, so don’t worry,” Claire told her with a wink.

Aubrey smiled at the joke, and Jesse grinned again too.

“How right she is. Well, if you’re ready, Miss Vierra…”

“Aubrey’s fine.”

“Okay. If you’re ready, Aubrey, then let’s get the expedition under way. Just give us two minutes,” he said. “Gotta grab something from out back.”

***

After thanking Claire, Aubrey went to wait outside. She knew she spent too much time around serious people back home, but she was glad the casual shop conversation was over, because even though there’d been laughter, she’d gotten the distinct impression that Jesse McCoy didn’t want to show her around the mountains. She couldn’t think why, though. Hopefully he wouldn’t be so awkward with every little exchange they were going to have now that she was paying him for his services. If he was, she supposed she’d have to harden up and try not to notice his odd personality and attitude towards her.

She
had
noticed his body, though; that had been hard to miss. His thick, ropey muscles, tanned skin and towering height made a potent combination, and even though she thought he’d seemed a little arrogant and off-putting, she couldn’t deny how sexy she found him.

She sighed and looked around. At least the town and its surroundings were pleasing to her. It was her first time in this part of Colorado, and she hadn’t quite known what to expect, but it was really quite lovely. No doubt her endless hours spent in the laboratory were contributing to a deep sense of relief at being somewhere so quiet and peaceful. The people she could see walking about the town did so completely unhurriedly, in stark opposite to the furious city streets that saw people bumping into each other and drivers beeping at pedestrians who didn’t get off the road quickly enough.

Albuquerque had its good points, but it felt refreshing to get away. Aubrey almost felt she could put her feet up somewhere here and have a proper vacation—if she could avoid any more conversations with the irritating shifter she now had to pay to take her round the place. Unfortunately, she was not there for relaxing. She had important work to do for the lab, and with her guide she could hopefully hunt down results in no time, no matter how annoying he was.

An image of her father suffering on a hospital bed flashed into her mind, and she drew a deep breath, put her sunglasses back on and turned back to the shop door with determination in her eyes… not that anyone could see them.

No doubt this Jesse had her pegged as a snobby bitch who wasn’t cut out for an arduous trek out into the wilderness, but there was a lot about her that people didn’t know…

Chapter 3

“So,” Jesse said after joining Aubrey outside of the store, “this community is very small and quaint. The people here cherish it, but there isn’t all that much to see.”

“I think it’s actually a pretty beautiful place you have here,’ she replied, going up in his estimation for voicing such a sentiment. It surprised him, considering how out of place she looked, but he was far too wary of city sarcasm to thank her for the compliment.

“What exactly is it you’re looking to study out here?” he asked.

“What I really need to see is the water reservoir,” she replied. “Do you know where that is?”

“Sure, but that’s way up in the mountains. I don’t usually take people that far. Can get kinda dangerous up there.”

“You mean up on that mountain?” Aubrey replied, pointing over his shoulder and apparently not even trying to hide her excitement. In the distance a blend of meadow and conifers gave way to the rocky mountain bases. Lush countryside contrasted with jagged and imposing terrain that gave away once more for smoother and more vertical mountainside that ended in a snow capped peak. An echo of winter lingered on, though everything beneath boasted the bright colors of summertime.

“That’s right. That particular mountain is called Mount Brown. You can see from here that it’s a fair bit steeper than the others, and we’ve gotta climb right around the side to reach the reservoir. Tourists usually stick to Mount Baker,” he said. “Y’know, there’s actually a road that leads to the reservoir, but that comes from the other side of the mountain, which is almost an hour’s drive from here, starting all the way over in Bear Grove. You’d have been better off going there rather than here.”

“Well, I’m up for a long hike. Really, I don’t mind.”

“You sure you don’t just want to drive from the other side in Bear Grove? Would be a lot easier.”

She shook her head.

“I’m here now. May as well hike.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay. I can take you up there if you want to see it…” Jesse said with caution in his voice.

“I sense a ‘but’ here…”

“If you want to study the place in depth, there’s really no point going now. It’s too late in the day and will be almost dark when we get there. That’s how long it takes to get all the way up to the reservoir.”

Aubrey appeared about to protest, opening her mouth but then nodding after considering his advice. Of course she would need daylight if she was intending to study the reservoir.

“Okay,” she said. “We can go tomorrow. Where do we…?”

Whatever question she intended to ask was cut off, because she was distracted by the frown on Jesse’s face. Clearly there was some other problem he was having difficulty voicing.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, I really don’t mean to sound patronizing,” he replied, “but you’re really not dressed for climbing mountains. Even when it’s warm down here, it gets cold up there. I’d suggest an entire new outfit of good regular clothes if you’re up for making a few purchases—if not then I’m going to have to be a stickler on those shoes at least. Those ballet flats or whatever you call them definitely aren’t good to climb in.”

Aubrey blushed and considered him for a moment, then looked at her watch. It wasn’t incredibly important to her if she looked out of place at the scene. She wasn’t staying the week and setting up camp, but she could see he was right about the shoes, and considering they had time to shop, she decided to humor him.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Do you have a store in mind?”

“Absolutely. Good bargain place.”

“Then I’ll take your advice, as long as you promise not to dress me up like an Amazon woman.”

Jesse grinned at this and agreed to accompany her to a store where she could get kitted up. He could really have done with her not putting such a fascinating image in his mind, but he managed to soldier on without giving away that he was now imagining her clad in little more than a leopard-print bikini.
Hmm…she can have as many annoying city habits as she likes if she wears an outfit like that…

***

Walking boots, hiking pants and thermal jackets were the order of the day, to replace Aubrey’s black leather ballet flats, pantyhose and wool coat. Jesse helped Aubrey pick something appropriate and then waited for her to try it all on. He also had reserve rain jackets in his backpack in case the heavens opened with the storms Claire had mentioned earlier, but otherwise he didn’t think they would be needed. The main aim was to have clothes that kept her warm and didn’t tear easily when walking through the undergrowth, but the boots were the most important addition considering the uneven trail paths he would be leading her on. In spite of her willingness he was still wondering if the next day might bring a change of attitude, especially once they were out on the trail with her legs aching from the miles. A spoiled city girl might surface once she became grumpy; would she be so flattering about the scenery when that time came?

In his mind she took an incredible amount of time to try the clothes on, but then again, he wasn’t the most patient of people. When she finally re-emerged from the fitting room, he could see from the look on her face that she wasn’t taking to the new outfit; perhaps she’d been bracing herself for being the butt of his jokes. Other than the look on her face, however, Jesse was impressed. He told her she looked great but unfortunately added the teasing quip ‘
Better than that silly city outfit,’
, and he immediately cursed himself for being such a prick.

God, what was it with this woman? It was like she was turning his brain to mush.

“Hey, I’m not the one pressuring you to change your clothes,” she bit back with a rather annoyed expression on her face now. “But if you asked, I’d say perhaps it wouldn’t hurt you to buy something more fashionable.”

“What is it they say about fashion? ‘Anyone who follows fashion is…’”

But he couldn’t remember the rest of the quote. Something about always lagging behind.

“Anyone who follows fashion is what? Better dressed than Jesse McCoy?” she said, one eyebrow arched again.

He chuckled. “All right. You got me there. I’m serious, though, you do look great in hiking gear,’ he replied.

“Thanks,” she said, and he didn’t miss the rising blush in her cheeks.

Awkward moment over—or so Jesse thought—the purchases were made and Aubrey was at least partially prepared for the hike he was to take her on the following day. After leaving the store, his initial thoughts were that their business was over for the day, but on turning to leave he realized again how lost she looked and thought he would be forgetting his manners if he didn’t offer her a place to eat. After all, that was how things were done in a small community like Pine Valley. She was a first-time visitor in town, after all, and might have been shy of entering some strange bar or café on her own.

“Well now that’s done with, you want to get something to eat?” he asked. “You must be quite tired and hungry from your journey.”

“I’m starving, actually,” she admitted. “Sorry if it’s making me irritable.”

He chuckled internally at how unexpectedly sweet she was. “Oh, I’m pretty thick-skinned. If you can put up with me for a bit longer then I know a place that makes a great steak.”

“Do they serve anything else?” she asked, seemingly unimpressed. “I’m a vegetarian.”

Of course you are,
he thought, trying to hide his grin. “Sure, they have a massive menu. Come take a look.”

***

Jesse had never come across a serious vegetarian in his life; most people from this neck of the woods loved their meat, and seeing the salad Aubrey had ordered sitting opposite his plate of ribs made him wonder what on earth they got out of it. Pretty much everyone in town was keen on their barbecued dishes and he couldn’t imagine ever feeling full or satisfied if he had to depend on the kind of sustenance this girl saw as food.

“You know, you’ll need a lot of energy tomorrow,” he said, unable to avoid the subject at last as he tucked into his second rib. Perhaps he could work on her jealousy if she thought his plate of food smelled so much better than hers. “Maybe you should consider something else on the menu as well. Potatoes or something.”

“I’m trying to avoid carbs,” she replied.

“Why?” he asked, astounded. Carbs were almost as good as meat! Bread, chips, cakes…why on earth would this girl be avoiding them?

She cast her eyes down at the table, seemingly embarrassed. “Just trying to lose a bit of weight,” she mumbled.

Jesse scoffed. “I have no idea why you’d want to lose weight. You look fine,” he said. He’d almost told her how amazing he thought her body was, but he had settled on ‘fine’ at the last second, not wanting to freak her out. “You don’t stand a chance of putting on weight eating rabbit food, anyway, so I wouldn’t worry.”

“Maybe if you’d try eating some vegies, instead of a slaughtered lunch for a change, you’d find it gave you everything you needed,” she replied calmly. Aubrey had lost count of the times she’d had this conversation with people who could not figure out how someone could live without meat. No doubt her new acquaintance thought his opinions on the subject were entirely original, however.

“Don’t worry, Indiana Jones,” she continued. “I’ll keep up with you tomorrow.”

“You sure you can put up with me much longer?” he asked, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Her cheeks turned redder still. “Of course. I’m here for professional reasons,” she said stiffly.

No chance of having a midnight session under the stars with this one,
Jesse thought, which was actually a relief. Once again he was thinking of his forum buddy on Roar4More. He wondered what she might look like and what she might be doing right then, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to be lusting after Aubrey for much longer when the woman he really wanted was online.

If only he could finally meet her…