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he turned the wheel onto his land.
    There was no driveway. No road. Just weeds, grass, bushes and trees. The land was wild, as nature had made it, and he had already staked out an area where he would start building. His goal was to have his home make as little impact on the environment as he could manage, while still offering all the creature comforts his human side enjoyed. His bear side wanted the wild places to stay just that way, so he would have territory to roam, mark, and explore.
    This place was going to be the perfect compromise between the dual parts of his nature. As soon as he got the place built, that is.
    Zak looked over at Tina, to make sure she was okay with the rough terrain.
    “How are you holding up over there? Sorry it’s a bit bumpy. Nothing’s been levelled or graded yet.” He raised his voice a bit to be heard over the increased engine noise, accompanied by the scrape of leaves on the outside of the vehicle.
    He wasn’t worried about the SUV. It was built to handle tougher stuff than this. But he wasn’t sure about his passenger. Did human females like off-roading? The males seemed to enjoy it from what Zak had seen, but he’d never really run across a woman on the trail.
    “I’m fine,” she replied. She’d reached for the handhold that was placed conveniently above the passenger door and was holding on as they bounced along. “This is fun,” she added, sending him a grin.
    Well, that answered that question. This female—human or not—was adventurous. Just one more thing to like about her.
    Before too long, he reached the spot he’d chosen for their picnic. It wasn’t too far, as the crow flies—or the bear rambles—from the site he’d staked out for his den, but they hadn’t been able to see it from the path he’d taken through the trees. That was partially by design. Zak wanted to show her the floor plan he’d laid out with poles and twine, a little later, and see what she thought of it. He had it all planned.
    Picnic first. A glass of wine. The food he’d prepared. Then he’d show her around his new home site.
    He parked the SUV at the side of the little glen, surrounded by rocks on three sides. There was a small opening in the rocks on this side, close to where he’d parked, that would give them easy access to the vehicle and the feast he’d packed in back.
    Zak got out and rushed around to the passenger side to help Tina down from the high seat. It amused him that she was so petite. She made him feel huge, and that was a feeling he didn’t often have since he hung out with massive grizzly shifters most of the time.
    Oh, sure, he was larger than most human males, and that had been useful in the service, but the guys he worked with day to day were even more massive. If he’d had a weaker personality or was less sure of himself and his place in the world, it could have given him a complex. As it was, he felt himself grin as he helped Tina slide out of the seat.
    He spent a little more time holding her than was strictly necessary, and she didn’t seem to mind, so he dipped his head and stole a kiss.
    Damn. She was as amazing as he remembered.He’d been wanting to taste her lips again since that very first kiss. She was just as sweet, just as luscious, with a hint of spice that intrigued him. But he counseled himself to leave her be for now. They had a lot of getting-to-know-you stuff to get through before he could jump her bones. At least, that’s what he thought human females wanted, and he wasn’t going to do anything that might scare her off. She was already too special to frighten away by being too aggressive.
    So he let her go, stepping back so she could walk past him, through the rocks and into the little clearing.
    “This is amazing,” she said, looking out to the water, her hands behind her back as she paced forward. Was it his imagination or were her cheeks pink? He took it as a good sign, though he wasn’t entirely sure what that charming little blush meant.