The sun was barely up when Jade pitched her tent.
She’d ignored the sign at the trailhead that warned “restricted wildlife zone—no overnight camping,” because she figured it was for people who needed to be told not to feed bears. Not her. She was just a woman craving space. Silence. Maybe a little thrill.
She got more than she bargained for.
By noon, she was half-naked, soaking in the nearby stream, her shorts drying on a rock, her earbuds in, music playing as she floated on her back. It was bliss. Until a heavy boot kicked her shorts into the water.
Jade sat up fast, water sloshing around her bare chest.
The man towering over her was not impressed.
He wore a deep green ranger’s uniform, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, forearms roped with muscle and veins. His badge glinted in th
