"What girlfriend?" he asked.

She rol ed her eyes at him. "The one who is usual y attached to your hip."

The muscle in his jaw tightened. "Fredericka is not my girlfriend."

"Oh, so she's just the girl you make out with behind the office, then," Kylie said before she could stop herself. His frown deepened. "I figured that's what you thought that day."

"So I was wrong?" Kylie purposely al owed the sarcasm to play in her voice. "Do I look stupid to you?"

He stopped walking and swung around so fast that Kylie bumped right into his chest. He caught her shoulders and set her back. The feel of his hands on the shoulder straps of her white tank top sent heat flashing through her chest. But it faded the moment she saw his angry expression.

"No, you don't look stupid," he said in almost a growl. "But you are making assumptions without al the facts, and that's not a sign of intel igence."

Kylie's mouth dropped open at his insult. "So what was she doing, showing you her new bra? Come on. She was buttoning up her blouse when I stumbled on you guys."

He frowned and pushed a hand over his face. "You're right. I'm sorry I said that." He moved his hand and opened his eyes. "I admit you had a right to jump to that conclusion, but you're stil wrong."

She offered him another eye rol .

"She wasn't showing me her bra; she was showing me her tattoo. On her shoulder. She got a wolf tattoo and wanted me to see it."

He started walking again and Kylie fol owed. "Wel , she obviously has a serious crush on you."

"I know." He sounded frustrated. "She and I ... we sort of hooked up last summer at the very end of camp."

"So she was your girlfriend." Kylie stopped moving and glanced at him.

He shook his head ever so slightly. "It wasn't even like that. We ... met up on a ful moon, and ... it shouldn't have happened. But it did."

Kylie had visions in her mind of two wolves playing leap frog, but not quite leaping, and she felt her face flush.

"We haven't even spoken since camp last year. But she shows up here acting as if we're together. I tried discouraging her."

Kylie pretended to be interested in a bird singing in a tree so she wouldn't have to look at Lucas. "She obviously doesn't discourage very easily, or you've done a bad job of discouraging her."

"Probably both. I've even talked to Holiday about it, because she's driving me crazy."

Kylie started walking again. It wasn't her place to ask, but ... "What did Holiday say?"

"That I'd probably have to be up front with her. But ... I don't know, I guess I don't want to hurt her."

That or you just like having a girl hanging all over you and unbuttoning her shirt to show off her ... tattoo. Kylie knew her last thought might be unfair, but it applied to most boys she knew. Heck, even her dad had warned her that teenage boys were general y after one thing. Not that she was exactly listening to any of his advice right now.

"If you're that worried about hurting her, maybe you do care about her," Kylie said.

"No," he said adamantly, and then added, "okay, I feel sorry for her. She's had a rough time of things at home, and people judge her too harshly for it."

Kylie, knowing Lucas's past, read more into his statement than he knew. Or did he know? Did he realize she remembered him and that she knew he'd lied to Holiday about having lived with his grandmother al his life?

It suddenly occurred to her that when he'd jerked her aside to ask about what the FRU had wanted with her, maybe he'd been afraid she was tattling on him. Was he stil afraid she'd tel ?

The slightest hesitation about being alone in the woods with him wiggled through her mind, and that's when she realized they were deeper in the woods than she'd ever gone before.

Deep enough that nobody, not even her campmates with super hearing, could hear her scream.

She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Exactly how far away are these dinosaur tracks?"

Chapter Thirty-one

"Not too far," Lucas said. If he was aware of her sudden insecurity, he hid it wel .

"They're actual y in a creek bed right outside the property line of our camp," he added without looking at her. "But there's this part of the fence that's been cut that we can slip through."

"I didn't think we were supposed to leave the campgrounds."

His focus shifted from the trail to her. "It's only a few feet off the property. Hey, it's up to you." He came to a complete stop. "You seemed interested the other day on the hike. I just thought..."

Kylie swal owed hard and glanced from side to side.

His nostrils suddenly flared as if trying to catch a scent. "You're afraid of me again? Damn, I thought you got over that."

"I have," she stammered, and wondered when he noticed her lack of fear. "I just ... I'm remembering the snake the other day," she lied. The suspicion in his gaze faded, and he almost looked relieved. "Don't worry, I can smel those things a mile away, and I'm faster than any water moccasin." He started walking again.

She fol owed.

They walked without talking for a few minutes. The woods seemed to swal ow their footsteps. His pace was fast, but not so fast she couldn't keep up.

"Have you figured out what you are yet?" he asked.