Protected Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #1) by J.H. Croix Read Free Book Online Page B

she asked, skipping past any greeting.
    He instantly wondered who she’d encountered today because only close friends knew of Shadow Rock, and if they were mentioning it to her, they were dropping some pretty obvious hints. Dane swore silently. He needed to get this out of the way before they could go any further, but damn if he knew how to go about it. Jake’s reminder of how disastrous it had been for him didn’t help Dane figure out how to go about this.
    For the moment, he’d have to play it by ear. “Could we start with hello?” he said wryly.
    Chloe smiled widely. “Hello, how was your day?”
    He chuckled. “It was okay. How about you?”
    She nodded firmly. “Good. I walked around town…”
    He couldn’t stop from interrupting her. “You walked? You should have called me. You need to take it easy with your ankle.”
    She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I knew you’d say that. I promise I was careful. I had the ankle brace on all day. I even have witnesses.”
    “And who would they be?” he countered, figuring this might clue him in to who told her to ask him about Shadow Rock.
    “I went into Roxanne’s, met her and saw Jake again.”
    “Ah, Roxanne’s. That place might be the center of the universe as far as Catamount is concerned.” His mind spun, wondering what Roxanne and Jake had said to Chloe. He knew he needed to find a way to talk to her, but he’d have liked a little time to consider how to go about it.
    Chloe grinned. “I can see that. Roxanne told me she’s known you for your whole life. Jake’s the one who told me to ask you about Shadow Rock.”
    Dane instantly felt chagrined. Here he was trying to figure out how to surreptitiously discover who said what to her while Chloe was an open book. He made a flash decision. If he wanted what he hoped for with Chloe to happen, he couldn’t drag this out. She had to know who and what he was. Though the idea terrified him. This could shatter his chances with her.
    “Jake knows what’s important to me. Plus, it’s fair to say he’s trying to hold me to what I need to do.”
    Chloe’s eyes sobered. “What do you mean?”
    Not bothering with any pretense, he spoke bluntly. “I told you, I don’t want a fling. I want much more than that with you. Maybe you think I’m crazy, but I don’t think you do. I think you feel it too. Jake knows me well enough to know what he saw with us the other day. So…” he paused and threaded his hand through her elbow. “Let’s go.”
    Chloe looked bemused and curious, but she didn’t deny his words. She nodded and turned to get her jacket and purse. Dane stepped past her and handed them to her. As he helped her into his truck, he formed the only plan he could think of—to tell her and then show her. He could only hope she didn’t run from him.
    Dane nodded and took a deep breath as he started his truck. He reached over for her hand. Lifting it, he turned it and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. He kept her hand firmly in his.
    “Can I ask that you try to trust me?”
    Chloe’s eyes clouded for a moment, a flash of pain arcing in their depths. He knew trust wouldn’t come easily for her after what her ex had done. He was banking on the depth of connection between them. They may have only just met, but their hearts, souls and bodies knew one another. She took a deep breath and nodded.
    Dane began driving. He tried to think of the best way to explain what he was about to show her, but there really was no easy way to get to the point. He pulled over at an unmarked entry into the forest on the far side of town. The Appalachian Trail was miles away from here, so there were far fewer chances of encountering any people. Shadow Rock was down a short path. It was the place his father had taken him when he was a boy to show him what he was. It was the same place his grandfather had taken his father and so on through the generations. Once they were out of the truck, he took her hand and carefully led