The clouds moving up from the southwest looked like trouble to Mitch too, though “trouble” was subjective depending on one’s interpretation. He’d glanced at the weather report before they’d left. He knew that the storm moving in wasn’t going to be a big one. The worst that could happen was they’d get stuck out here for a night, if that.

The thought of being stuck with Simone pinged around in his brain and heated his blood. Being locked in Kendrick’s giant house together was one thing. Being trapped alone together in the great outdoors where they’d have to huddle together to stay warm took on a completely different meaning.

“Mitch?”

Her voice brought him around. He glanced her way and realized she was ten feet in front of him on the path, watching him carefully. “Yeah?”

“Should we go back?”

Go back and walk on eggshells around each other, or stay here and see where it went. He glanced from her worried eyes to her gorgeous lips. Her cold, pink, perfect lips he wanted to kiss now more than yesterday.

“We’re fine.” He moved toward her, his stomach tightening with every step, his awareness of her inching up the closer he drew. “It’s not much farther.”

He stopped in front of her. Even with the elevation and her standing uphill, he was still taller than her. Her chin lifted, and her chocolate eyes narrowed in a way he’d seen her do in the courtroom when a witness gave an answer she knew was false. “Why do I get the feeling you’re up to something?”

Because she was as keen as a bloodhound, and because she knew him. Really well. But tonight he wanted her to know him a whole lot better.

One side of his mouth curled in a smirk. He stepped around her, careful not to touch her. There’d be time for that later. Hopefully. “Now what could I possibly be up to out here in the middle of the wilderness?”

“You tell me,” she said. Then, in a whisper: “Um, Mitch?”

He stopped and turned back. She wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at something off in the trees. “What now?”

“Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”

His gaze slid past her and into the trees, to the large four-legged creature ambling parallel to them at least a hundred yards away.

Slowly, he made his way back down to her. “Don’t make any loud noises.”

“Oh. My. God,” she whispered.

“Your chances of being attacked by a bear are less than your chances of being hit by lightning,” he told her, trying to diffuse her anxiety. She’d gone rigid next to him, her eyes wide with fear. Grasping her gloved hand in his, he slowly tugged her up the path. “He hasn’t looked our way, which is a good thing. Come on.”

She followed but kept glancing over her shoulder toward the bear, which was now moving away from them. “Have I ever mentioned I hate the great outdoors?”

He chuckled.

“There’s no way I’m going back down there now.”

He smiled, loving the way she gripped his hand tightly in his, loving the way she was now plastered to his side. “I may need to send that bear a fish basket to say thanks.”

She frowned, a sexy little pout that turned her lips and made him want to kiss them all over again. “The view up there better be worth it.”

It probably wouldn’t be—at least to her—but finding a way to fix things between them? Yeah, that was totally worth whatever the cost.

* * *

Simone paused along the trail to catch her breath.

The air was a lot thinner than she was used to, and it seemed to take twice as much energy to go half the distance as it did at sea level. As she braced her hands on her knees, she drew in large breaths, hoping to ease that low burn in her lungs while she turned to look down the path again.

Still no sign of that bear. A bear, for God’s sake. Mitch owed her. Owed her big-time agreeing to this crazy activity. She didn’t even like bears in zoos.

“We’re almost there, sweetheart. Don’t give up now.”

Lifting her head, she glared up the trail toward Mitch, who stood near the trunk of a pine tree, seemingly unfazed by the elevation or the fact they could have been lunch. Granted, it wasn’t a difficult hike, and that bear hadn’t even looked their way or tried to follow them. But still… It was a bear!

She glanced up at the sky again. It was definitely growing grayer, the air temperature dropping. She could barely feel her nose anymore. They’d gotten a later start than she’d thought, mostly because Ford had insisted on finding all the snow gear for them, and she wasn’t sure of the time, but it was definitely heading toward late afternoon. Going back down would probably be a lot faster than coming up, but there was no way she was going down until that bear had plenty of time to disappear.

She looked back at Mitch, who didn’t seem the least concerned about anything other than his precious hike. Her eyes narrowed. He was definitely up to something. The red parka he was wearing brought out a ginger hue in his beard she hadn’t noticed before, but it was the sparkle in his green eyes and that lopsided grin accentuating his dimple that made her suspicious. And revved her pulse.

Slowly, she made her way up to where he stood waiting for her. When he handed her the water bottle, she took it and downed a generous sip. “How far is ‘almost there’?”

“Two hundred yards, if that. It’s just up around that bend.”

Two football-field lengths didn’t seem that bad. He pointed up the hill, and Simone looked past him at the snow covering the ground, then to the cloud behind her, which seemed a whole lot closer than it had only moments before. “We’re not going to freeze to death out here, are we?” She faced him again. “I know you’ve been mad at me, but I’m starting to worry you dragged me all the way up here to make my death look like a random accident. Hypothermia, starvation, being lunch for some giant beast…. The possibilities are growing by the minute.”

Mitch laughed, a throaty, sexy sound, and took the water bottle back from her. His hand grazed hers in the process, and for a fleeting moment, she wished neither of them had been wearing gloves.

Which was just asinine. She knew better than to go there with him. And as much as she’d grumbled about this hike, it had at least given her something to do rather than daydream about him all day.

His brow lifted beneath the rim of his cap. “The only kind of bears around here are black bears, and they’re more scared of us than we are of them. Trust me. No beast is going to eat you. At least not the bear kind.”

The spark in his eyes sent her blood humming, but she tamped it down, not wanting to go there. “Okay, so you’re not planning to kill me by bear. That only eliminates one possibility.”

His smile widened. “If I didn’t know you better, Counselor, I’d think you were nervous.”

Of course she was nervous. She had every reason to be. She’d lied to him, broken his heart, ruined his future. Any sane woman would be worried he could be plotting some kind of major payback, but when she was with him, she didn’t feel sane. She never had. The minute Mitch Mathews had stepped into her life, sane had flown straight out the window.

Regardless of everything she’d done, though… This was Mitch. He was as rugged and rough around the edges as any outdoorsman, but his heart was made of gold. And after the way he’d held her in that safe room, she knew he’d never hurt her, even if she had it coming.

Stomach tight, she pulled her hand away. Words hovered on her tongue, an explanation she knew he deserved, but she couldn’t get them out. Call it pride or self-preservation or even just the simple fact they’d agreed not to discuss anything that had happened, but…she didn’t want anything to ruin this moment. She’d never admit it to him, but he’d been right—she did need to get out of that house—and part of her was actually enjoying this, even if she was still worried about bear attacks and freezing to death and all other kinds of impending doom.

She frowned, because even to her, that reasoning sounded idiotic. “Better be careful, or your lips will freeze in that stupid Joker grin.”

He leaned in so close, his minty breath warming her cheek, taking her completely by surprise. “Better be careful, or I’ll find something physical to do to keep my lips nice and warm.”

Her gaze shot to his lips. To his plump, masculine lips she knew felt like heaven against her own. A deep, dark craving rolled through her core, sparking electricity in her belly, sending waves of heat all through her hips that radiated down between her legs and up to her breasts. Her limbs fell slack, her stomach caved in, and she sucked in a breath, watching as his smile widened into a sexy, Cheshire cat, I know exactly what I’m doing to you grin.

“Message received,” he whispered. Then, easing back, “Come on, sweetheart. You don’t want to miss this. I promise it’s going to be good.”

He headed up the path again. And as Simone tried to settle her thumping heart, the first snowflake flittered through the air in front of her.

Oh boy. She was in big trouble here. She had no doubt whatever he planned was going to be incredibly good. The question was, could she resist it? Because after today, she knew for sure that he was no longer pissed at her. And while part of her was relieved by that fact, another part was deathly afraid. Fighting her own desires was one thing. Fighting his when he turned on the Mitch Mathews I’m gonna make you mine charm? Something entirely different.

He’d already rounded the bend by the time she got her act in gear and started moving again. When she reached the corner, she caught sight of the Martis Peak fire lookout and slowed her feet. It was still a ways ahead, up the steepest part of their hike, but it was more than she’d expected.