There were about a thousand other things Nash North would have rather been doing than sticking his hand down the clogged-up, nasty ass drain of a shower stall in a public campground. When he took the job as the resident handyman for the summer, he hadn’t given the job description much thought. Or any thought, really. All Nash cared about was a place to stay and a few dollars in his pocket while he figured out his next move.

Now that he was elbow deep in other people’s hair and some sort of sludge he probably didn’t even want to identify, Nash was definitely second-guessing taking the job without paying any attention to what he’d be doing.

He wiggled his fingers around the clog and tried not to think about what he might actually be touching when his sharp senses tuned into the footsteps of someone approaching.

A female.

He didn’t look up, but Nash wasn’t surprised when a moment later a sexy, smooth voice, with just a hint of an edge, asked, “What exactly are you doing?”

Without removing his hand from the drain, he looked up into the dark eyes of a woman every bit as sexy as her voice. More so. She was tall, although not likely as tall as he was, with strong, luscious curves beneath her parks uniform. The animal inside him responded immediately to the sight of her long, thick ponytail hanging down her back, her arms crossed over her ample chest, and the fire in her eyes as she stared down at him.

Maybe the job wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I’m fixing your drain, darlin’.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not your darlin’. And you’re not Cranky Carl.”

“No.” Nash latched on to a wad of hair and sludge in the drain and yanked. “I’m definitely not Carl.” He grinned. “And I’m not cranky. But I just fixed your drain.” He wiped his hand on a rag and stood.

Damn. The woman was even more impressive when she was directly in front of him. And she was definitely not human. He held out his now clean hand. “Nash North.”

Her dark eyes narrowed and she took a moment to look him over. She could have taken all day as far as Nash was concerned. Her gaze felt good. Damn good. Because if she liked what she saw even half as much as he liked the sight of her, it was going to be an interesting summer indeed. Finally, she took his hand.

“Kira Jackson.” Her grip was strong, her skin soft, her touch electric. “Where’s Carl?”

“Cranky Carl?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Kira slipped her hand from his and Nash had to fight the instinct to grab it back. “It’s just that Carl can be a little…”

“Cranky?”

She tipped her head and for a moment she looked as though she might disagree, but finally she nodded. “Yes. He can be a little cranky from time to time.”

“Well then, I guess it’s an appropriate nickname,” Nash said. “I can’t tell you where he is, but I was told that I was hired on because the man before me retired. So perhaps he’s a little less cranky now?”

“One can only hope.” Kira smiled reluctantly.

“At least for his wife’s sake.”

“Oh, I can’t imagine Carl is married.”

“Are you?” The question was out of his mouth so fast, and so smoothly, it clearly took her a second to process it. Nash could see when she did.

Kira shook her head, looked away and took a step to the side. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think you’re married?”

“Oh, I know I’m not married.” Kira spun around, her eyes blazing, making them look even darker than before. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

He knew he was being forward and presumptuous, but that had never stopped him before. “Mated then?” Nash could have sworn he heard a growl come from deep within her. And in that moment, he knew. A bear. Damn. He should have seen it right away, but there was something about her. Her animal was muted somehow.

“How the…what…you…”

“Wolf.”

“Wolf?” She almost spat out the word. Nash took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You don’t have to sound so damned disgusted about it.”

“No.” Kira shook her head apologetically and closed her eyes for a moment. “That’s not what I…sorry…I didn’t realize.”