Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) by Chrissy Peebles Page B

cheeks grew hot as she stared at
the safari shirt stretching across his broad shoulders and strong
chest, his sleeves rolled up at the elbow. Khaki-colored pants
finished his adventurer ensemble. His brown hair hung in shaggy
waves from underneath his hat. He looked really hot, but there was
no way she was going to admit it. If he’d had a bullwhip, she would
have wanted to strangle him with it. “You hate hats.”
    “ What? No I don’t. Now we
match—his and hers Indy hats.” The flames leapt greedily at the
logs, reflecting in his hazel eyes as he scanned her up and down
with a crooked smile. “Did anybody ever tell you how sexy you look
in camouflage? And boy, you have the part of big-game hunter
nailed.”
    “ I’m not
here to hunt any game and certainly not to kill anything. I just
want to prove its existence.” Sarah let out a long sigh. “This
is my expedition
anyway, so what’re you doing here?” She reached down and picked up
her equipment.
    “ I’m on assignment. Nobody
wanted to write this article, but I jumped on it.” He wrapped an
arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “One of the perks of
the job is seeing you.”
    “ Even if you got lost
trying to find me in this forest?”
    “ I could more easily get
lost in those big brown eyes of yours.”
    She flung his arm off. “You scared the
crap out of me!”
    “ Hey, you’re lucky I didn’t
show up in an ape suit.”
    “ You know I have a
tranquilizer gun, right?”
    He glanced down at her waist. “Yeah,
and I love the holster. It’s so Old West.”
    Sarah met his gaze. “I’d aim straight
for your—”
    “ Cute butt?” he finished,
grinning.
    She shook her head. “Not quite what I
had in mind.”
    “ Don’t you dare say heart,
‘cause you’ve already shattered mine.”
    “ I’m sorry,
Frank.”
    “ Why don’t you answer my
phone calls or e-mails?”
    She huffed. “Don’t you have some
ridiculous ghost story or urban legend you could be out debunking?
Shouldn’t you be killing off the Tooth Fairy for little kids or
something?”
    “ Why do
you waste your time playing head researcher in Planet of the Apes ?”
    Glaring, she picked up the radio.
“Guys, false alarm! It’s only Frank Hedford.”
    Adam’s
voice crackled in the speaker. “Huh? That guy from the Daily News ?”
    She glared at Frank as she spoke into
the walkie-talkie. “Yeah, that’s our animal. I’ll get rid of him.
Everyone back to your positions.”
    “ So you caught the smaller,
smellier version of Bigfoot, huh?” he asked over the
radio.
    “ Yeah, I suppose I did.
We’ll be in tomorrow’s headlines—‘Bigfoot: A No Show’.”
    She recognized Steven’s voice when he
said, “Throw that guy out on his big furry—”
    Sarah turned off the radio.
    Frank smiled. “Man, it feels good to
be loved. Must be that article I wrote about those guys mistaking
an elk for a Sasquatch. You know, I bet they could still get their
story published. The supermarket tabloids would jump on a juicy
tidbit like that.”
    Sarah’s cheeks burned with anger.
“Listen, we had two reliable eyewitnesses on that case,
and—”
    “ And a blurry picture that
didn’t add up to squat.”
    “ Why is it so hard to
believe that a reclusive primate that hasn’t yet been documented
and studied could be out there? Are you really so shallow that you
can only believe in things you’ve seen with your own
eyes?”
    He groaned. “Sarah, it’s a myth. You
know what that is, right? Bigfoot stories have scared Boy Scouts
around campfires for decades. Oh, and speaking of campfires, I’m
assuming this is base camp.” He tossed his backpack next to a few
logs.
    “ You’re not invited to this
slumber party,” Sarah said.
    His eyes widened. “What? No stargazing
and snuggling?”
    She pointed away from her camp. “You
can take your sleeping bag and tent somewhere else. How did you
find me and my team anyway?”
    He
smirked. “Your organization tried to keep this location