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stopped and was crouched down, inspecting a tree trunk. She backtracked, peering over his shoulder to see what he was looking at.
    The bark of the tree had been stripped off, from the looks of it by some sort of animal. Alder ran his fingers over the scratch marks.
    “These were done by a wolf,” he said.
    She frowned. “How can you tell?”
    He looked up at her. “I’ve seen marks like this before.”
    “How long have you lived in the mountains?” she asked as he stood. They resumed walking, and this time she tried to keep her eyes from drifting below his neck.
    “Most of my life,” he told her.
    Staring at his gorgeous eyes wasn’t any better than studying his chest, so she focused her gaze on the bridge of his nose.
    “You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”
    “Do you think I’m lying?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “No. You know too much about the area to be making it up.” She crinkled her nose playfully. “You’re not some kind of werewolf, are you? Leading me back to your den so you can eat me?”
    Alder smiled then—a real smile—and her heart stuttered.
    “There are much better things to do with human females,” he said.
    Her face heated. “I don’t really think you’re a werewolf. You aren’t hairy enough.”
    He laughed. “And you’ve seen a lot of werewolves?”
    “Nope,” she said, grinning at him.
    “What if I am leading you back to my den?”
    She dared a glance at his gold and blue eyes. There was a mischievous and almost predatory gleam to them. He was flirting with her again, she realized.
    Alder intimidated her, and she wasn’t used to being intimidated by anyone. She also wasn’t used to extremely good-looking men flirting with her.
    In a blatant change of subject, she asked, “How long until we’re at your town?”
    He seemed disappointed. “At this pace, we’ll make it to Mount Ezra by nightfall, then it’ll take another day to go over the mountain. My home is on the other side.”
    Taylor felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She should have been relieved that the trip would be over soon, but in reality, Alder’s home would be just another stopping point for her. A place she could stay for a day or two and gather her bearings before she had to take off again. Her entire life was probably going to be like that now, all because of one morally gray decision.
    “You think we’re gonna make it over a mountain in a day?” she asked.
    He gave her a once over. “Maybe not, but we’ll have to try. If we’re in the mountains past dark, we’ll have to contend with the wolves.”

Chapter Seven
    “ I t’s a pond ,” Taylor informed him.
    “Yes,” Alder agreed.
    She waited for him to say something more, but he just stared back at her, looking amused.
    “I can’t bathe in a pond,” she said, tapping her foot. “It’s probably dirtier than I am.”
    Alder’s nose wrinkled. “I beg to differ.”
    She let out a huff of air, folding her arms across her chest. The pond was actually kind of pretty. There were clusters of lily pads, but the water didn’t look stagnant or scummy. Farther out on the surface of the water, a pair of ducks drifted by at an unhurried pace.
    “The water here is shallower than the river,” Alder said. “It will be more appropriate for you.”
    Because you can’t swim , she added sourly.
    “Unless of course you’d like to join me in the river,” he said.
    The offer was made all the more irritating by the fact that he still wasn’t wearing a damn shirt.
    “Thanks, I think I’ll manage.”
    Once Alder had sauntered away, Taylor took off her boots and socks. Mud squished beneath her feet and between her toes, but she didn’t care. It felt so good to finally be out of heels.
    She looked around, making sure she was alone, before unbuttoning her blouse. She tossed it over a low-hanging tree branch and then finished stripping down. After grabbing a couple things from her bag, she stepped into the pond.
    The