And even the most shapeless clothing wouldn’t be able to conceal that figure. Her curves were clearly visible under her vest and through her jeans.
Still, though. Ken had thought he’d gotten good at the not-dating game. GeoSync employed plenty of attractive, smart women, and he might notice that they were pretty, but his lion never took too much interest in them, and he never let it distract him from his job.
And he for sure never felt the urge to grab them by the arm, tug them out into the hall away from his former gunnery sergeant, and see if those lips tasted as gorgeous as they looked.
Yes, his lion agreed, in a low rumble.
“Hello?”
She was right in front of him. Holding out her hand. He…must have missed something in there.
He summoned up a smile. It wasn’t difficult. “Hi. Nice to meet you.” He took the hand and shook it.
Her handshake was as firm as any man’s, her palm warm and dry. Ken had to force himself not to keep her hand in his, not to twine their fingers together and hold her close.
The idea made him shiver. Shiver, like a teenager with his first crush. Sweet baby hedgehog angels, what was wrong with him?
“Lynn’s the best guide in the Glacier area,” Cal was saying. “She’s helped out with the pack’s search-and-rescue efforts many times. She’ll be able to show you wherever you need to go, and answer any questions you might have about land use in the area.”
Lynn. Ken tasted the name silently in his mouth, and he liked it.
Also, Cal had referenced his pack, which meant that he was tactfully letting them both know that they could talk about shifters.
Ken knew that even aside from the snow leopard pack, the local area was especially densely populated with shifters. Was Lynn one? If so, what animal was she?
It would be rude to ask outright, and he didn’t want to offend her. But he suddenly and desperately needed to know.
He hoped she wasn’t a prey animal. Herbivore shifters often got nervous around predators like Ken. An enormous male lion disconcerted them for some reason.
Hard to imagine why.
But Lynn didn’t look like she was easily disconcerted. By anything.
“You’ll be getting settled in today, I assume,” Lynn was saying. “I’m heavily booked because it’s tourist season, so we’ll have to meet early in the morning or late in the evening. How do you feel about five AM tomorrow?”
Her gaze was challenging. Her eyes, Ken noticed, were a beautiful clear topaz color.
She must be a shifter. Unusual eye colors were often a clue, and someone who spent
her time out in the wilderness of Glacier, especially considering how many shifters lived up here…?
Now he just had to figure out what animal had eyes like that. An owl?
Also he had to answer her question.
“Five AM sounds great,” he said honestly. “Can I show my appreciation for your help? Take you to dinner tonight, maybe?”
She shook her head firmly. “Too busy for socializing right now. Your company can show their appreciation when I send them an invoice.”
The rejection stung. But Ken had to admire the confidence and total lack of hesitation as she shut him down.
“Well, let’s exchange information,” he said, pulling out his phone. “What’s the reception like out here?”
“It’s fine in town,” she said, unearthing a battered flip-phone from one of her vest pockets. “Not so good out on the trails, but I make sure to check my texts and email at least once at the end of the day, so if you have to cancel or reschedule something, I should see it.”
Her voice was husky, a low, sweet sound. Ken made himself focus on the words instead of the tone as he typed her phone number, email address, and website into his phone.
She nodded briskly as he gave her his own info, getting it entered into her little numerical keypad with speed. “Good. Meet me at the visitor’s center tomorrow morning at five, and we’ll discuss what you’re looking to research.”