Free Dare to Bear (Book 1 Trail Guardians Series) by Christine Julian

or those old fears of desertion, and she shoved all that to the back of her mind.
    As she dressed, though, she recognized the same sense of safety she’d felt the first night with the Hendricks. It enveloped her whenever Mason came near. She shrugged, determined not to read too much into that. She finished rolling up her sleeping bag and attached it to her pack.
    Then she discovered both of her water containers were empty. Crap. She’d refilled at Mason’s Bear Necessities lodge, but she’d also hiked longer than usual yesterday. Could she replenish her water from the cave’s pool?
    Already thirsty, she drained the few drops leftover. She glanced at the mouth of the cave and saw Mason’s robust shadow sprawl across the rust-colored dirt floor. “Mason?”
    He ducked back into the cave the instant she called him. “Everything okay?”
    “I’m almost out of water. If I use the iodine drops I brought with me to treat it, do you think the spring water is safe to drink?”
    He nodded. “It’s fresh from a natural spring. Much purer than river water, far better than standing water, but use the iodine anyway. Over the years, my brothers and I have come across hundreds of travelers along the trail who didn’t use precautions. Trust me the last thing you want is dysentery.” He made a grossed-out face. “It isn’t pretty.”
    “Oh, I believe you.” She held up her hands. “No need for details.”
    He chuckled and turned toward his backpack. “I’ll fill up, too.”
    Soon, she discovered a problem. She couldn’t reach the spring water trickling from the opening in the rocks, so she dunked her canteens into the pool instead.
    By the time Mason came to her side, he lifted her off her knees, taking the second half-filled canteen from her hands. “You can ask me for help, you know. I don’t bite. Hard,” he added under his breath.
    His presence surrounded her, warming her skin where he grasped her arm. She gave a nervous little laugh and stepped away.
    “I may have been too forward last night, but I’m usually well behaved.” He sent her a sinful grin. “Around you, I can’t seem to help myself.” He glanced at her neck, reached out and drifted the back of one knuckle across a chafe mark on her skin. Her blood heated under his light, sensual touch. “Does it hurt right here?”
    Excitement stirred in her veins. Her breasts grew heavy with arousal, the tips hardening beneath her yellow T-shirt. “It’s fine,” she said, her breathing shallow.
    “Because if it does, I have a cure for that.”
    She swayed unsteadily. “Some natural remedy from the woods?”
    “Uh-huh.” Dropping his head, he licked and kissed the spot. The tiny bit of soreness quickly disappeared. “Is that better?” he asked, his breath sliding over her skin like heated silk.
    “A little.” She realized her voice sounded throaty, and her words sounded like an invitation.
    “Let me try again.” His tongue swirled along her throat. His lips coasted open-mouthed up the arc of her neck and along her jaw, before his teeth nipped her earlobe. “Better?”
    She blinked rapidly and nodded.
    He grinned against her cheek before he drew back. “I’ve found distraction is the best cure for whatever ails you.”
    “I’m cured,” she said in a high-pitched squeak, scampering to the other side of the pool.
    “If you ever need a distraction again, I’m here to help.”
    “How gallant of you.” She shook her head to clear the potent spell he cast over her with his mouth. “Such self-sacrifice.”
    “I know.” He gave a world-weary sigh, though couldn’t hide the ghost of a smile. “A guy does what he can. I live to serve.”
    You live to serve yourself , she thought, annoyed she’d fallen for his slick moves. Even if she had all but invited him to kiss her neck. He should re-brand his services to Mason the Seductive Magician, instead of Mason the Trail Guide.
    Services . She shivered at the word. Oh, yeah, women would line up for