by Seton, Cora
He entered her, slowly, deeply. She sighed inside his mouth as if she’d waited forever for this moment. Hell, maybe he had too. Ty didn’t want to rush. He pinned his eyes to hers, wanting to see the exact moment she reached her next oh. Desire and joy danced in her baby blues. He must’ve been doing it right.
His pace was slow, deliberate, and deep. He wanted to give her a chance to experience… everything. She raised her hips to meet him, tightening her muscles each time. It was an extra squeeze on the uptake that was thrilling and impressive. Holy shit, where’d she learn to do that?
“Faster.” She gripped his ass, throwing the ride into overdrive.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He pounded into her, their hips smacking together. Her nails dug into his ass. She closed her eyes and threw her head back. A cry escaped her open lips.
“Yes!” she yelled. “Yes. Oh, Ty.”
Two more thrusts and his world exploded. He carried her up and over the edge with him into sweet, sweet oblivion. He could tell by the way her arms fell away that she was completely spent. He was too. Crap, it was the best ever. He focused on the way she felt beneath him—soft and sweet. He didn’t want to move.
Would he experience anything like that again? Depression snuck in to ruin his buzz. He’d stay on top of her for a moment, to catch his breath.
Just a moment, nothing more.
A whimper woke him. I fell asleep? He’d never done that before. Shit, he was squishing her! “Sorry, sweetheart.”
She didn’t answer. He rolled over carefully and was surprised to find her sleeping like a baby. He got up to go to the bathroom and dispose of the condom. It was dark outside. What time was it? Another whimper made him jump. He palmed his pistol and stalked the sound toward the door. He lowered the pistol when he found Lucy making the soft crying sounds. She’d crawled on her belly and was begging to go out.
“Okay, girl. Let me get dressed.” Conan bounded over to him. “All right, you too.”
He got dressed as quickly and as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to wake Holly. But when he opened the door to let Conan out, the gust that blew into the cabin scraped across his skin like fingernails of ice.
“Ty?” Holly sat up.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m taking the dogs out. Go back to sleep.”
“No! Don’t go.” Her voice had an edge of terror to it.
Uh-oh. Why was she spooked this time? He closed the door and came back to the bed. “I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”
“But those men! Crow and the others. They’re looking for you, aren’t they?”
He sat beside her. “Yes.”
“And if they find you…?”
“They won’t.”
She grabbed his sleeve. Her hands were warm through the shirt. “They’ll kill you.”
“They won’t find me.”
“We both found this cabin. They’ll find you, Ty.” She was in full-fledged panic mode.
“I’ll be gone before then, Holly.” He took her hand in his and kissed it. “I’ll be long gone.”
Her mouth opened and closed. The sadness in her eyes told him that his words hit home. Hard. She lay back down and stared at the dark ceiling. Shit. He couldn’t bear hurting her. He scooped the dog up and carried her outside.
Ty had no friggin’ idea how he’d be able to let Holly go.
*
This was happening. He was going to leave her. Soon. She knew it all along, of course, but suddenly faced with it? It sucked big hairy donkey balls. She slapped her cheek for thinking such vulgar things. But not hard, because it was true. Should she tell him she was falling in love with him? Would he believe her? Did it matter? She didn’t want him to go, but she had no right to beg him to stay.
She stared at the ceiling and willed her eyes not to drip. Men hated it when women cried. Or at least, Ronald had. Because her tears could trigger his rage, she’d taught herself to suck her emotions back inside where he couldn’t see or touch them. She could do it again with Ty. Suck it up, buttercup, and put on the pageant smile.
She couldn’t keep him. She knew it from the start yet somehow before the best lovemaking of her life and after the moment he’d opened up to her about his job and grief, she’d started to wish she could keep him. Forever.
SEAL Ty Whitehorse had to save the world. It was his job. Getting the information about Crow to his superiors was important. Necessary. But he’d be wandering in the snow storm blind. He had no snowmobile, no helicopter. His GPS equipment didn’t work and he wasn’t familiar with the territory. If Crow and his men found him out there…
There had to be a way to protect him. Think, Holly.
She sat up. I know the territory. Maybe if they made it to June’s place, they’d be able to get a message out through other channels. June Harvey was an Auxiliary Communications Watchstander for the Coast Guard, which meant she had special radio and communication equipment. Maybe she was outside Crow’s dead zone.
Holly swiped at her leaky eyes. This could work! She and the dogs made the run from Uncle Bob’s cabin to town many times, and June’s place was even closer. She’d be Ty’s guide. Except…she grimaced…Lucy wasn’t able to run and there was no way Conan could pull both adults on the sled. There was only one answer.
The cabin door swung open and with it brought a chill she doubted she’d ever be able to shake off without Ty’s warm arms. He stomped the snow off his boots and came in.
“Damn, it’s well below zero out there.” He wrapped Lucy back up in her towel and added more wood to the fire. “How do you people live in this freezing weather?”
“You get used to it. Sort of. Come back to bed, and I’ll warm you up.”
He put a few more logs in the stove and warmed his hands with the heat. Staring at the flames, he said, “I’m leaving when the sun comes up. It’s too damned cold and dark to go now.”
“You want to leave before the blizzard passes?”
“It’s not a matter of wanting to leave, Holly.” Wowza, the sadness glowing in his eyes was more than enough proof that he meant it. He didn’t want to leave her. “But I need to stay ahead of Crow. He’ll figure out soon enough the men he sent to check on the helo crash are not coming back. More will follow with snowmobiles. I’m on foot, and I have no idea how far I’ll have to go to break out of Crow’s communications lockdown.”
“About that. I have a plan.”
He faced her. “You do?”
“Yeah. But we have until the sun comes up, right? Why are we still talking? Seriously, Ty, you’re such a chatterbox. I’m dying of needing you over here.”
“Can’t have that,” he growled. Quickly, he stripped off his clothes and climbed under the covers.
“Wowie. You are freezing.” She rubbed his chilled arms and wrapped her legs around his.
“That’s working.” He grinned. “Really, really well.” Sure enough, his erection poked her thigh, begging for a little more somethin’-somethin’.
“Condom?” She asked.
“Crap. They’re in my pack. Why didn’t I get one while I was up?”
“I’ll get one. You’re not warm yet. Which pocket?” She got out of bed and traipsed across the cold wood floor. Her toes still hurt, but not as much as her heart. She couldn’t lose him.
“Small one, front, left.”
She opened the foil. “I know what you’re thinking…”
He crossed his hands behind his head and let her “dress” him. “Mmm? What am I thinking?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Wishing, really. That I’ll make sweet passionate love to you all night and never stop.”
He met her gaze. “Holly…”
No, don’t say it. She pressed on, “I’ve found a way for your wish to come true. All you’ve got to do is admit you want me a lot. And sort of like me, even a little.”
He pulled her on top of him. “Holly…” He lifted her chin. “This thing between us is crazy. I mean we just met. I don’t know what your fav
orite color is—”
“Pink.”
He grinned “Huh, I guessed it. And your favorite food would be—?”
“Pancakes, salmonberries, and smoked salmon.”
He chuckled. “Weird. Mine too.”
“Anything else you don’t know about me?” Besides the obvious one about my ex?
“Yes. I don’t know why a lady like you would want to spend time with a guy like me. It doesn’t make sense. You’re perfect. I’m”—he shrugged—“me.”
Was he serious? “Oh, baby. That’s an easy one. Because you are you. You’re gentle, sexy, kind, strong, sexy… Did I say that one already? Crazy, or not, I’m falling for you, Mr. Whitehorse.”
He pulled her up closer and planted a big juicy kiss on her lips. After several long delicious minutes, he whispered, “Hell, I don’t care if it’s crazy. I want you, Holly, and I like you. More than a little.”
She opened her legs and slid down his shaft. They fit so perfectly together. She began to rock, pulling herself all the way to the tip of him and back to the base.
“That’s so good,” he growled.
Mercy, it was. She was quickly coming undone. He was too. Holding onto her hips he guided her faster, faster, faster. They were both slick with sweat. Needy. Desperate. She gripped the sheets over his head as leverage and propelled herself across his amazing wonderland body. They cried out in unison.
At the foot of the bed, Conan howled with them.
“Shut up, boy,” Ty threw a pillow at the dog. “It’s not amateur night.”
Holly burst out laughing. Mercy, the man was adorable. She wanted this crazy thing with Ty Whitehorse to be a real relationship. Putting her head on Ty’s chest, she listened to the methodical drums inside his chest and imagined a lifetime of mind-blowing sex, deep conversation, and laughter. Life with Ty would be great.
“Ty?”
“Mmm?”
“I’m going to tell you my plan. But I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
Chapter Eleven
‡
“I don’t like it. I’m not leaving you like that. You’ll be stranded and alone.” Ty sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
“I won’t be alone. Lucy will be with me. Won’t you girl?” Holly patted the dog’s head. “We’ll be fine. There’s food, water, shelter. Everything I need.” Except you.
His jaw muscles were flexing again. “No. This is my job, not yours. I can’t put you at risk. You take the sled when you’re feeling strong enough to stand on your beautiful feet and head back to town. I’ll be fine.”
“I can’t put you at risk. Don’t you see? It will work. You take Conan and the sled to June’s place. It’s a half a day’s sled ride from here. June is one of our on-call Watchstanders. She picks up distress signals in the ocean or on land and relays the emergency to the Coast Guard.”
“Like an emergency dispatcher?”
“Exactly. Alaska is huge. Too much territory to cover all at once. The Coast Guard relies on these volunteers to be the eyes and ears for them.” She scratched his back. “She’ll get a message to the admiral for you. Crow didn’t wipe out her communications. I’m sure of it. If she’d been having blackouts like those Preston was researching, everyone would’ve been talking about it.”
He put her feet in his lap and gently rubbed them. He pressed into the pad under her big toe, and she almost puddled into his lap. Her toes were sore but felt oh my gosh wonderful when he did that. All except the pinky toe. It was especially sore and she worried about the color. Purple-black wasn’t good. She’d have Dr. Wynn take a look at it when she got home.
“I can’t strand you here,” he said.
She sighed. “It won’t be for long. Get your message out. Then tell June to send one of her sons to come get me and Lucy with his snowplow. I’ll catch up with you at June’s.”
“You’ve thought it all through.” He rubbed her calves.
Oh, Mama. She closed her eyes. “Yeah. I’m good with escape plans.”
He stopped rubbing.
She couldn’t keep secrets from him anymore. She was in too deep.
“It took me four months to plan my escape from DC,” she said softly. Her eyes were still closed. “Only two people knew what I was doing—my divorce lawyer who served the papers after I left, and an advisor from the Battered Wives Center. The advisor was an angel. She helped me plan everything. I was supposed to act natural, you know. Not spook him. Not clue him in. I did everything just right those four months, pretending that I loved him, trying not to set him off. I almost made it without incident until that darned presidential dinner party…” She shivered. “It was hard for me to maintain the act when he was drinking. He was a mean drunk.”
Ty started rubbing her calves again. Easing her tension. Goodness, he knew just how to touch her.
“Presidential dinner?” He asked.
Okay. He caught that. She opened her eyes. Putting a hand on his cheek she whispered, “He could hurt you.”
“Hurt me? I’m a SEAL, sweetheart.” He added a twitch of his lips but cold steel had settled in his blue-gray eyes.
“You’re not invincible.”
“Who is he?”
“Ronald Hartman.”
“Congressman Hartman?” he growled.
“Yep. The good ol’ congressman from Kentucky.”
He stood up, paced the cabin. “You’re shitting me. He’s the guy pushing for vet’s rights. Better accountability during wartime. Housing and funds for the families of the wounded. More mental health funding for those who come home messed up. If Hartman’s bills had passed earlier, some of my buddies would be alive today.”
“This is one of the reasons why I didn’t go to the police. I didn’t want my messy marriage to interfere with the good things Ronald is doing. He’s not a bad man.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Hartman is a bad man. He’s a rotten sonofabitch who just happens to be doing good things. What sort of asshole hits a woman?” In three long strides he was there, pulling her into his arms. “I want to beat the hell out of him for hurting you.”
“Please, Ty, just forget about him. He’s dangerous, but he can’t reach me here. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about. Like teaching you how to drive a dog sled.”
*
The sky was getting lighter while Holly’s heart got heavier. Ty would be leaving soon. She stood in the snow fully dressed in boots, parka, and the full nine yards including the comforter Ty had ripped off the bed and thrown around her. Snow fell softly around them, but she was plenty warm. Her feet hurt, badly, but she could act like she was fine until Ty got on his way. She could curl up in a ball of misery and sorrow later.
Holly taught Ty how to put the halter on Conan and attach all the sled lines. The basket was packed with food for both of them. Ty still needed to include his gear and weapons. His pack was still inside the cabin.
“Okay, why don’t you try a short practice run to the bluff over there? Put your feet on the rails. Try a nice comfortable stance because you’re going to be there a while. It’s about four hours to June’s place, give or take.”
Ty stood on the rails, “Give or take what?”
She grimaced. “You getting lost or not.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m a SEAL, sweetheart.”
“I know, but in this storm…”
“I’m also an Apache and the best scout on my team. Don’t worry about me.”
She rose up on her toes and nibbled his chin. “I’m going to worry about you until you are in my arms again.”
His grin was crooked. “I’ll make it in two hours.”
She chuckled and patted his butt. “All right, handsome. You know all the commands. Hold on tight and give Conan the command to go.”
Unease darkened his features. “Are you sure about this?”
He looked like a giant boy going on his first rollercoaster ride. “Yep. You can do it. When you get to the bluff, turn around and come on back.
Go ahead, give Conan the command.”
“Um, hike?”
Conan took off like a bullet. Ty held on, gliding over the snow like a fast moving train.
Hmm. Maybe he will make it to June’s in two hours. “You look great! Give him a ‘whoa’ when you want to stop.”
Just then she heard a voice behind her. Her heart nearly exploded with fear until she realized someone was talking on Ty’s radio. Charlie? Had his buddy broken through Crow’s communication barriers? She waved to the figure speeding across the snow. He was too far. She quickly hobbled inside to listen. Ty had said the window to communicate with his team might be short. Should she say something?
“Hello. If anyone can hear me, I am looking for two buddies lost in the storm.” A man’s voice crackled. “Please, if you’ve seen them, let me know. I have to find them.”
She picked up the radio. What do I do?
“My buddies went down in a helicopter. If you’ve seen them, please respond. They could be injured.”
Oh, my gosh. This is it. Ty’s chance to be rescued.
If the window to respond was short, Ty would want her to give Crow’s location to the SEALs. But Holly was more interested in protecting Ty from Crow. Saving his life was the most important thing in the world. A fierce protective streak surged through her, even stronger than when the moose attacked Lucy. She’d fight anyone to keep Ty safe. Including Ronald.
“We have reason to believe they’re still alive. Time is of the essence. If you know where they are, please contact the team on this channel.”
The team! It was Ty’s teammates.
She pressed the button. “Hello. Is this Charlie?”
There was no answer.
Shoot, maybe she wasn’t supposed to say his name on the radio. “Um, whoever this is. I do know about your buddies. It wasn’t a regular crash, their helicopter was shot down. I saw the whole thing. Um, over.”
The man came back on. “This is Charlie. Are the men dead?”
“One is, yes. I’m sorry. Preston? The other, Ty, is here with me.”
