by Milly Taiden
A few minutes later, the woman from the counter was in front of her, placing a coffee cup on the table and smiling curiously at her. “I’m Marge. You’re with the people who want to build a cabin retreat up here, huh?”
She blinked. Wow. Word certainly got around fast. “You could say that. I’m also here visiting a friend, Juliet Taylor.”
Marge frowned. “Juliet. That’s gotta be the tiny blonde that comes every day for pancakes and fish.”
“Yes! Juliet loves pancakes.” Not fish, though.
“She sure can put them away for such a little thing.”
Raven smiled and nodded. “Do you remember the last time you saw Juliet?”
Marge put her hands on her hips. “I want to say last Tuesday. Before she went off to her site. She came here every day but then one day she didn’t anymore.”
And nobody saw anything wrong with that? Or wondered where she could be? What in the hell was wrong with people?
Marge’s frown cleared, and she grabbed one of Raven’s corkscrew curls. “You have the prettiest hair.”
“Thanks,” she said, pulling away from the woman. She didn’t like anyone touching her, especially not without her permission.
“So, what will you have?” Marge eyed her with unveiled interest. “I can get you pancakes on the house since you’re bringing more business to our small town, and we do appreciate more money coming our way. I’ve recently had a windfall myself.” She looked around the place and beamed.
She smiled tightly. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary. The free food, that is.” She cleared her throat. “But I’ll give those pancakes a try.”
Her mother would kill her if she heard what she’d ordered. It was not low carb and definitely not low fat. Who cared? She was hungry, and it was cold as fuck outside.
“Coming right up. If you want more coffee just wave at me and I’ll bring it right over. Your food will be out in a bit. My cook hurt his hand yesterday and is a bit slow today. We’ll get you all squared away, though.” She marched off to take another table’s order.
Raven’s gaze scanned all the faces in the diner. Most were middle-aged men and women, who looked like they’d been through some rough times. With this area of the country being so harsh, she guessed it made sense. These people had to bust their asses to get whatever they were working for.
Juliet had told her that a lot of the people there lived off the grid, but the little town that made up Antler was all on some power grid and it seemed everyone there had a heater. The diner was nice and warm. The scents of coffee and breakfast on the griddle made her stomach growl.
There were families with children and even a couple of women with native looking tattoos on their faces. She’d have to look up what that was about. She grimaced at the thought of sugarless coffee and picked up the sugar jar and flipped it over, allowing the white sweet sand to dissolve into her coffee. Her mother would have a heart attack if she saw that, but Mom wasn’t there.
She grinned and put the sugar down, picked up a spoon and started stirring.
“You look like you are happy to see that cup of coffee,” a male voice said.
Glancing left, she realized she must have been in a sugar trance to not notice these two men walk in.
“Hello,” she scanned their faces, noticing how non-local they appeared. Both large with healthy suntans and bright eyes the color of the clear aquamarine water she’d seen in the Bahamas and Aruba.
“Hi,” the sexy man with the shorter blond hair said. “I’m Frost and this is Ice. We live not far from here. This really isn’t the best time for a visit. You’re only going to see a lot of snow.”
She grinned, instantly at ease with him. “Hi, Frost. I’m Raven. Hi, Ice.” She glanced at the other man. He seemed a lot quieter with a deep look and that stare that made a woman feel like she was standing naked, displaying her body. She got the urge to glance down and make sure she was wearing clothes.
“May we join you?”
She blinked. “Don’t you two have your own table and stuff to talk about?” Not that she would hate the company. It might take some of the stares from her. And these guys might know something about Juliet.
“Nah,” Frost said, that sexy smile still on his face as he slid into the booth. “So what’s a beauty like you doing in a town this small in the middle of winter?”
She giggled. Holy crap! Did she really just giggle like a damn high schooler? She sure did. Frost was the wrong name for him. He was making her melt with that sinful smile full of promise.
“I’m here looking for a friend.”
Marge showed up at that moment, her smile wide as she greeted Frost and Ice. She set down cups of coffee for them and asked if they wanted the usual. They both nodded.
“I guess you guys come here a lot,” she said, glancing between both men.
Ice continued to give her that intense stare. He spoke, finally, and his voice was straight out of her wet dreams. “What’s your friend’s name?”
Lord have mercy. It was a deep baritone with a hint of husk and a sort of growl that she swore made her squeeze her legs tight because her girl parts flared to life.
“Juliet Taylor. She works for the National Snow and Ice Data Center,” she replied, her gaze on Ice and his sexy beard.
There was a short break where the food showed up and she noticed Ice’s gaze never wavered from her face. It wasn’t that it made her uncomfortable. He turned her on as much as Frost did, and it was shocking her. She’d never been hot for two men at the same time. Hell, definitely not two men she’d met at the very same moment. It was weird and dirty and arousing.
Marge and another waitress placed three dishes with pancakes on the table, along with two plates with steaks the size of her head, accompanied by a large pot of coffee.
“Enjoy.” Marge beamed at them. “If you need anything, just let me know.”
Raven blinked at the plates of food and then at Frost and Ice. “I take it you guys are hungry?”
Ice grunted. Frost winked at her. “We’re always hungry.”
Um. She was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about food. This man was making her want to take her thermals off, she was getting so hot.
If her mother were there, she’d remind her she hadn’t had sex in two point five years and that she should take both men on to get herself back in the game. Both men? Ha! Not in this lifetime. Still, a girl could dream.
“Have either of you heard about or seen Juliet?”
Frost had dug into his steak but stopped and glanced at Ice.
Ice met her gaze “No. We haven’t met her. We’ve only just returned from being in New York working.”
“Oh,” her shoulders dropped, and her hope deflated. “I understand.”
“We’ll help you look for her. We work alongside the police, so we can find out whatever we can,” Ice told her, his voice firm and commanding.
She raised her brows. “Really? I know you guys probably have a lot of stuff to do for yourselves, but I would appreciate someone who knows the area to help me look. I need to go by her worksite and I still haven’t figured out how to get there. The Jeep doesn’t have it saved in the GPS.”
Frost placed a hand over hers, his eyes full of warmth. “We’d love to help you. It’s no trouble. Like Ice said, we’re part of a unit that works closely with the police department, so it is no trouble to help out.”
Ice gave a short nod. “I know what iceberg she was looking at. I’ve flown over the site and saw gear setup.”
“You guys have a plane? This is great!”
Frost’s eyes went wide before he chuckled. “No. We don’t have a plane.”
“I’m sorry. I assumed.” She shook her head. “Look, I’d just really appreciate some help finding her. This is not like her, and the sheriff doesn’t seem concerned at all.”
Frost had chowed through his food rather fast while she was still on the first bite of pancakes.
Ice hadn’t touched his food. He cut a piece of
steak and spoke again. “The sheriff has two deputies for this place. And while you might not believe such a small town could have problems, there are enough on his plate that he wouldn’t be interested in looking for someone that’s not officially missing by her employers.”
She frowned. “How do you know that?”
Ice’s lips formed a firm line. “This is a small town. People talk. When you told the sheriff she was missing yesterday, he called around asking if anyone had heard from her. Then he called her employer and they said she wasn’t technically missing. Then he called us.”
“Why you guys?”
Frost chugged on his coffee and answered. “Because we’re the farthest from town and he thought we might have seen her. When we asked a few questions, we realized she was no longer on his most urgent list due to what her employers said.”
She shook her head. “Unbelievable. They didn’t even want to send someone to check on her. What if she’s out there on the ice, hurt?”
“We’ll look for her, but I doubt she’s out there.” Ice’s voice came strong and firm. “If something happened to her, I don’t believe it was at the site.”
Great. That made finding Juliet even harder.
“You’re staying at her cabin, right?” Frost asked, his easy grin once again soothing her anxious emotions.
“Yes.”
“We’ll need to go there,” Ice told her, his tone serious. She couldn’t figure out what it was about Ice that made her want to crawl onto his lap and kiss him. He had this whole untouchable look and she wanted to touch. God, she wanted to touch, lick and have her way with him.
A flash of blue popped in his eyes so fast she could have sworn she dreamed it.
“Eat,” Frost said, pushing her food closer to her. “If you want to use the daylight hours we have, you need to hurry so we can go. And no, we won’t leave until you eat. In this cold, you burn twice the calories you would living farther south. You need those pancakes.”
She wasn’t fighting him on that. Her stomach grumbled. As were other parts of her body. Had it really been two and a half years since her body started ignoring all men and chose to shut down? It appeared it had taken coming to the end of the world, Antler, Alaska, to find her libido again.
6
They’d all ridden separately to the cabin. She in the Jeep and them in a massive SUV with snow tires and chains that looked ready to handle whatever the Alaskan weather threw at it.
When they arrived at the cabin, she waited for them at the front door and slipped out of her snow boots, coat, and all her cold weather gear, ready to show them around.
The cabin was warm, and watching both men fill the living area with their massive sizes heated her more.
She was five-seven and these guys were a good foot taller than her. She hadn’t met many men like that. Most of the time, she was as tall or taller than the men. These guys, they made her feel three feet tall.
They slipped out of their jackets and it was then she realized all they had on were T-shirts.
“You two aren’t cold? It’s like minus thirty outside.”
Frost laughed, and Ice gave a slight smirk.
“It’s not bad,” Ice said in that voice that made her undies need wringing.
Her cell phone rang out a few notes and she yanked it from her pocket, knowing it was her mother.
“Give me a second. Look around and I’ll be right back.” She rushed into the bedroom down the hall and shut the door.
“Mom, how are you?”
“I’ve been calling you several times, Raven. I was ready to call the pilot to get the jet ready. Are you okay? Did you find Juliet?”
“I’m fine, and no, I did not find her.” She sat, exhaling slowly. Why was her heart beating so fast? Those two guys were like chocolate for a girl on a diet. Not a good idea. “I did meet two locals who are going to help search for her. Well, they’re sort of locals. They work with the police department in New York.”
“This is marvelous. Two you said?”
“Yes. Two. Big guys.” She thought about both men. “Huge. Bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“Are they hot?”
“Mom!”
“In case you’ve forgotten, it has been thirty months, three weeks, and five days since you last had a boyfriend and probably just as long if not longer since you got some.”
“You’re counting?” she gasped.
“Someone has to. You’re going to turn into a freaking celibate and that’s not getting me grandchildren, Raven. So, is at least one of those men do-able?”
She slapped a hand over her face and shook her head. “Do-able? Mom, stop trying to talk cool.”
“Just answer the question. Your lack of response leads me to believe there is a sexy man helping you out.”
She groaned and dropped on a chair, leaning her body back. “Try two. Both these guys are hot enough to raise the water levels of Alaska by melting the polar ice caps.”
“Good god. Really?” her mother asked, excitement and curiosity plain in her voice.
“Yes. Both are tall, blond hair, bluest eyes, and enough sex appeal to make clothes disintegrate with a single look. I don’t know what it is about them, but I can’t seem to stop imagining very bad things with both of them. It’s so unlike me.”
Her mother laughed. “Don’t categorize yourself, sweetheart. One of the things I realized as I got older was that we have aged telling ourselves doing certain things are bad. Trying risqué things is against what society has taught us, so it’s wrong. The truth is, it’s your life. Fuck society. When I was young and naïve and a new bride, I thought porn was bad.” She laughed again, her voice full of humor. “Bad. Then one day, your father told me he was going to get me out of that mentality.”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t need to know more—”
“Shush,” she chuckled. “I’m not going into detail. But your father taught me that I’d allowed others’ beliefs make me dislike something. I ended up enjoying it a lot when your dad and I used it to enhance our sex life. Now, I know a lot of women out there don’t feel as I do, and that’s okay. But I no longer make my decisions based on what others think, and neither should you.”
“You mean…”
“I mean, honey, if one or both of those guys interest you, don’t let what society deems as wrong or strange or different stop you from trying what could be a fun experience. Not to mention, your actions are yours alone, so screw what anyone else thinks.”
“I’ve never heard you speak this way, Mom,” she said quietly.
“You’re not a child, Raven. But I notice a lot of what society has deemed as wrong holds you back from trying new things. Don’t. Live, honey. You are in the world to experience whatever you want. Don’t change that for anyone.”
“Does Dad know you feel this way?”
Her mother laughed louder. “How do you think we’ve lasted thirty-seven years married? I learned early on that couples try a lot of things along the way to keep their marriage alive and their sex life exciting. Your dad and I know what works for us. Here’s a little advice, sweetie.
“Every man on this planet has something that turns him on during sex. From heels to sexy lingerie, to porn, to playing dress up, and so much more. Find out what your man likes and give it to him.”
“Really?” She couldn’t believe her mother was telling her this now. When two men were down the hall and currently filling her mind with dirty images.
“Men are simple. We make things hard. All a man wants is to watch TV without being interrupted, to eat good food, and to never be denied sex. Especially dirty sex. That’s it. Remember that, and your life will be perfect.”
She grinned. “So, this is how you always get your way with Dad?”
“They all want the same thing. All of them. Now, go spend some time with those two hotties and let me know what happens. I hope when I call you tomorrow, the update is that you did something wild in Alaska, and it wasn’t being chased by a polar bear.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. Go get laid.”
She hung up the phone. Her mother gave her the green light to get her freak on. Not that she needed her approval, but everything she’d said made sense. Her mind turned back to the men in the cabin with her, a renewed sexual interest in Ice and Frost.
They were really sexy, and her hormones did crazy things around them, but she’d never done anything crazy like hook up with two guys. What if only Frost wanted her? What if only Ice wanted her? No, she’d gotten the distinct impression they both did. How in the hell could she work that out?
7
Frost watched Ice grip a book in his hand as they listened to the conversation down the hall. They already knew she was the one. Their mate. Gerri Wilder had sent them to their mate. Did she know? Of course, she did. Gerri never did anything without a good reason. The woman they’d been hired to protect and ensure got into no trouble was their mate. God, she was beautiful. Tall, sexy curves, and the prettiest face he’d ever seen. Her smile lit up his chest.
“She’s the one,” Ice said with a note of worry in his voice.
“And she’s searching for her missing friend.”
“We’re protecting her. Not because we’ve been hired to, but because she’s ours. There’s no way I’ll let anything get to her. If something happened to her friend, we’ll find out, but I’m keeping her close.”
“I think including her in everything we do is the best thing.” Frost thought about the situation. Her friend could be dead. Accidental or on purpose. If foul play was involved, someone in Antler had made it happen. Knowing there could be a killer in the small town didn’t sit well with him.
“We have to tell her we’re shifters.” Ice frowned. “I want her to get used to the idea quickly.”
“One thing at a time,” Frost replied, picking up a stack of land maps with location points. “Let’s figure out what happened to Juliet and then we’ll take it from there.”
“My mother is going to love her,” Ice told him with a slight grin. “She’s feisty.”
