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A sudden blast of frigid air alerted her of Ice’s return. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked up and saw him framed in the cabin’s doorway, his arms piled with freshly split wood, and his light brown eyes wide with shock.
He stared at her laptop screen, which was replaying the sequence where the cat had turned into a man. His features twisted, the scar distorting his expression even further into a terrifying mask.
“Aw, shit. Why’d you have to put up all those fuckin’ cameras, Holly?”
Chapter Seven – Negotiation
Feeling like she’d been caught doing something wrong, Holly reflexively slammed shut the laptop’s lid. She clutched her computer protectively to her chest as Ice strode past her with that thunderous expression.
But she couldn’t help studying him. He was tall, scarred, and sexy as hell as he dumped his armful of wood in the big cardboard box standing near the wood stove. Even in human form, he moved with feline grace and power.
She knew she should be scared to death of him.
He was either a master at pranking people or a shapeshifter who could morph into a huge sabertooth cat.
But strangely, she wasn’t frightened.
Her heart was pounding, but not with terror. A thousand questions jostled to escape her lips as her brain buzzed with excitement. She burned with the need to understand what she’d just seen on the trail cam footage.
He straightened. With his back still turned to her, he growled, “Calm the fuck down. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
His tone was annoyed, but not exactly angry.
“How do I know that?” she blurted, and instantly wanted to kick herself.
Ice heaved a loud sigh and turned to face her. His hot amber eyes rested on her for a long moment, like a lion sizing up a gazelle.
“Because I could’ve just left you in that trap,” he said with brutal honesty, “instead of carrying you all the way back to my cabin and thawing you out.”
He had a point. She took a deep breath and tried to think.
“How did you do it?” she asked. “The sabertooth cat, I mean. It’s good. It looks real, in person and on camera.”
Ice’s thick, dark brows shot up in surprise. “I didn’t think you remembered seeing my cat before you passed out.”
“It made an impression,” she said wryly. “Though I thought I was dreaming until I saw the trail cam footage.”
She didn’t loosen her hold on her precious laptop, though he could probably take it from her if he wanted. There wouldn’t be much she could do about it.
He sat down on the other end of the couch and stared at the fire for a long time.
“Okay,” he said finally. He sounded resigned. “I’m a shapeshifter. It’s a need-to-know thing, so I’m gonna ask you to keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone what you saw.” He looked at her, his gaze resting on her laptop. “And delete that video. And any other shots on those other cameras.” He tilted his head toward the pile of trail cams in the corner.
“Wait, you’re telling me you really can turn into a sabertooth cat?” Holly said, skepticism wrestling with the reality of what she’d just seen. “It’s not a movie prop?”
“It would make my life easier if you wanna think that this is all fake,” he offered.
Which was all the confirmation she needed. Crazy as it seemed, the sabertooth cat had been real.
“No way! I have questions.” She leaned forward. “I want to know everything about you.”
He shook his head. “It’s a bad idea to know too much. Can’t you just forget what you saw? Or consider it a hoax? And erase that footage?”
“Or what?” It was stupid to challenge him when she was so vulnerable, trapped in this cabin with him and unable to walk any distance. But she couldn’t help herself.
“Or people are going to label you as a nut job, and accuse you of faking those videos,” he said.
She didn’t reply. Her mind worked furiously.
