Against the Wild by Kat Martin Page A

seeing her again had cleared his head. Revisiting their disastrous relationship, going down that painful road again, wouldn’t be good for either one of them.
    Caleb headed for his truck.

    Dylan was in a foul mood. It was after midnight. The house was closed up, everyone sound asleep.
    Everyone but him. Feeling restless and moody, he pulled on his jeans and wandered barefoot through the house. He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, but nothing looked appealing. Deciding against a glass of milk, he wandered out into the great hall, stood there staring out the window.
    A quarter moon sent a slice of silver across the open water. Towering pines cast long shadows onto the shore. It was beautiful here. Beautiful and peaceful. He’d loved the lodge the moment he had seen it. During the weeks he had investigated the purchase, he’d heard rumors about the old place being haunted, but he had ignored them.
    For chrissake, he didn’t believe in friggin’ ghosts.
    He’d figured it was just that the lodge had sat empty for so many years, with just a smattering of owners coming and going through the decades.
    Jeff Fenton had owned it since 2008, but had never gotten around to the main remodel and only stayed at Eagle Bay a few months in the summer.
    Now that Dylan knew about the murders, he wasn’t sure how he felt about the place anymore. Wasn’t sure he could go on with the plans he had made.
    A faint sound reached him, soft feminine footfalls padding across the wide-plank floor. He turned to see Lane approaching in her fluffy pink fleece robe.
    â€œI couldn’t sleep. I heard you leave your room. I thought I’d see if I could find you.”
    â€œI’m surprised you didn’t think it was a ghost,” he said darkly.
    She just smiled. “I heard you close your door.” She stuck her hands into the front pockets of her robe, stared out over the water. “You’re thinking about what happened here. You’re thinking about the lodge and the murders.”
    He followed her gaze through the massive front windows, out to the silvery sea. “I’m trying to figure out how I feel.”
    Lane turned to look at the great hall, tilting her head to survey the huge pine logs above their heads, taking in the massive stone fireplace, the wood plank floors, then turned back to the windows and the spectacular view of the bay in the moonlight.
    â€œIt’s a beautiful place,” she said, “the mountains and the forest. The lodge itself is beautiful. It took a tremendous amount of hard work to build it. It deserves a second chance to be what it was meant to be.”
    â€œWhat do you think that was?”
    â€œA place for people like me to come and experience the uniqueness of a wild place like this.”
    It was the reason he had bought the lodge. He’d wanted to share the beauty of the wilderness. And he’d wanted to make a home for himself and Emily here.
    He looked into Lane’s green eyes, saw that she understood, and something tightened in his chest. Framing her face in his hands, he bent his head and kissed her. It was meant to be tender, just a thank-you for her thoughtful words. But the moment their mouths met, the instant her pretty lips softened under his, heat arced between them. His body tightened and desire exploded in his blood.
    â€œLane . . .”
    Her arms went around his neck and she leaned into him, parted her lips, inviting him to take more. Dylan didn’t hesitate, swept his tongue in to taste her, breathed in the soft feminine scent of her that wrapped around him.
    He parted the robe and slid his hands inside to cup her breasts, tested the size, the way they tipped faintly upward, felt her nipples harden beneath his palms.
    Lane whimpered, and the kiss went deeper, hotter. He kissed the side of her neck, trailed kisses over her shoulders, claimed her mouth again. His blood was pounding, his groin pulsing, the blood