by J. H. Croix
“I just wanted to come home,” she finally said with a shrug. Her green eyes were guarded. She took a deep breath and turned the focus to him. “So what about you? I mean, I know you inherited the lodge and all with your siblings, but not everyone would drop their life and move to Alaska like you have. What were you doing before?” she asked.
Gage took a long breath, wondering how to explain the events that led him on the long road back to Diamond Creek. Rather than skirting the truth, he elected to keep it bare bones. “I enlisted in the Navy straight out of college. I trained to become a Navy SEAL and that became my life. To keep it brief, after years of missions, it was time to take a break. It was hard to readjust to civilian life when I got back. Then Gram died and we got the lodge, so I decided to take a chance. When I was little, I dreamed about coming back. Some of the best memories I have are from Alaska. So here I am.”
Gage left out the details too painful to consider—Matt’s death in Iraq after his helicopter was shot down, having to fly back in a military plane with what was left of Matt’s body, and wonder why random luck left him alive and Matt who had a wife and daughter dead. With a force of will, he shoved those thoughts away and looked across the table at Marley with her forest green eyes, scattered freckles, auburn hair he wanted to run his hands through, and full lips he wanted to taste.
If Marley was aware of the inner turmoil he’d experienced trying to skate across the surface of the events that brought him here, she didn’t let on. She kept the conversation light and circled back to planning for the lodge, telling him she thought she could have his website up and ready by tomorrow if he wanted.
“Tomorrow? Why would I need it up tomorrow? It’s two months to December.”
Marley tilted her head and wrinkled her pert nose, which was like flicking a switch in his body. The attraction buzzing in his veins amped up.
“You need a website sooner rather than later, so people will find out Last Frontier Lodge exists and will be open again. It’ll take some legwork, but you should look into advertising options, so you can make it visible online. People could start making reservations now. If you’re worried about what to post, I can set it up for you to have a blog where you post updates on your progress. People love stuff like that.”
Gage watched her and made an instant decision. “I’m hiring you,” he said bluntly.
“Huh? I already told you the website is no big deal.”
“I need more than that. I can’t do this stuff you’re talking about. I get it, I understand it needs to happen, but advertising, writing updates on a blog, none of that will happen if it’s left to me. Please say you’ll do it. You told me you’re trying to figure out the work thing. While you’re doing that, you can help me get this side of things worked out. I’ll do the rest.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gage realized he was desperate for her to say yes. Not only did he genuinely need the kind of help she could offer, he wanted any chance he could get to spend more time with her. When Marley looked hesitant, he begged. “Please. Look at me. Can you see me doing this stuff? Not my thing. Please help. I have money from Gram to put into getting the lodge going again. You’ll be our first employee. And it’s perfect because I’m clueless in this area, so you’ll be your own boss.”
Marley bit her lip, and he couldn’t look away. She finally nodded, by which point his mind had wandered onto remembering just how good her lips tasted. When his brain caught up to her nod, he couldn’t help his grin. Her yes meant that many more opportunities to be near her. Are you out of your mind? The rational side of his brain was seriously wondering what had gotten into him. At the moment, he didn’t bother to entertain it.
“Okay. I’ll do it, but…” She held a finger up. “…you’d better get cracking on the repairs because I’m going to be announcing all over the place that the lodge will be open by Christmas because that’s what you said you wanted.”
Gage nodded firmly. “You have my word.”
Chapter 6
Marley walked ahead of Gage into her small cabin. She’d offered to show him what she’d been working on for his website. It was mostly ready to go, other than adding the blog she’d suggested. She’d wondered throughout the short drive home if she’d been crazy to agree to work for Gage. The work part wouldn’t be too difficult, but spending too much time around him would likely fluster her beyond comprehension. All day, she’d been sneaking glances at him. His jeans rode low on his hips. When he moved, she saw flashes of his rock-hard abs. She almost lost herself in his eyes when she looked at him. A low charge hummed through her body, desire sliding through her veins at every look and passing touch.
When they entered her cabin, she flicked on a lamp by the door. It cast a soft circle of light. The common area downstairs was an open kitchen into living room area with floor to ceiling windows that came to a peak at the top. A small bathroom and laundry area was off of the kitchen. The upstairs consisted of two bedrooms and a bathroom. She hung her jacket and kicked her shoes off, Gage following suit. Her pulse pounding, Marley walked toward the small desk to the side of the living room. Before she reached it, Gage said her name, his voice gruff in the quiet space.
She turned to find him right behind her. His smoky gaze locked with hers. His sculpted features were cast in shadow. His lips quirked when he took a step closer, coming within inches of her. His body emanated heat. Her breath caught. Her pulse pounded, heat gathering inside, a slow burn in her belly. Awareness prickled across her skin.
Gage opened his mouth as if to say something and then shook his head sharply. He swore under his breath and next thing she knew, his lips were on hers. She tumbled headlong into the cauldron of desire swirling around them. She hadn’t known her body felt so desolate without Gage’s touch, but she drank in his touch as if she’d been parched. He kissed slowly and deeply, his tongue delving in to meet hers, pulling back to trace her lips, catching her bottom lip in his teeth and tugging lightly before trailing his lips down her neck in a path of fire.
Marley’s body gloried everywhere he touched her. He tugged her roughly against his body. The feel of his hard muscles was a heaven she couldn’t have imagined. They were standing beside the back of the couch. Gage turned and rested his hips against it, pulling her into the cradle of his thighs. She felt surrounded by strength, warmth, heat, and an encompassing passion she couldn’t deny.
His palms slid under the back of her shirt, warm and strong, the calloused surface sending sparks across her skin. He deftly unhooked her bra and slipped his hands around to cup her breasts. She groaned into his mouth at the feel of his touch. She hadn’t known how much she’d missed being touched. She couldn’t have imagined that anyone could make her feel the way Gage did. She was hot, achy and frantic for more. When he pulled her shirt up over her head, she sighed in relief when it fell to the floor and his lips closed around a nipple.
Burning for more, she shoved his shirt up. He reached behind his neck and in one motion tugged his shirt off, tossing it behind him. She groaned when her body came against his, the feel of his skin electric. His hands were everywhere, his knee shifted between her thighs. With every motion of the rough denim against her center, pleasure streaked through her. His name came out in a broken gasp when he rolled her taut nipples between his fingers. She pleaded for more, a small shriek escaping when he finally closed his mouth around a nipple again after teasing her to the point of madness. She was wound so tight inside, she didn’t recognize herself.
Her hips shifted restlessly against his leg as she raced toward a release she didn’t know if she could survive without. Gage suddenly paused, coming still. He said her name, his gravelly voice sending shivers through her. She opened her eyes to find his smoky, lightning gray gaze on her.
She tried to rein her mind in and force herself to focus, but the buzz of desire was so strong, she could barely manage. She shook her head. “What?”
“You have to know, I don’t want to stop,” he said, his voic
e strained. He swallowed and took a slow breath. “But I don’t know if this is what you want. I like you. I don’t want things to get weird if this goes too far, too fast.”
Reality started to intrude in her mind. Gage’s mere existence muddied her thoughts and shoved reason out of the way. Gage was far more experienced than she was and likely meant for this to be nothing more than a fling. She didn’t even know if she could handle a fling. Meanwhile, her body screamed for her to ignore reason. She looked into his eyes and realized she wanted him with a ferocity she’d never wanted anyone. But she was far from knowing him well enough to know what he wanted and wasn’t so sure she knew what she wanted. Other than him. Inside of her. Now.
“I, uh, don’t know. I guess. This, um, thing between us is kind of…a lot.”
Her body moved of its own accord, her hips shifting against his thigh again. Her face was afire, hot and flushed. Gage’s eyes darkened and flicked down to her breasts. She was bare in front of him, her nipples glistening in the lamplight, her breasts heavy with want for more of his touch. She could feel his arousal against her leg—hard, thick, and hot.
Gage’s eyes landed on hers again. “We’re in agreement there. This is a lot.” He paused. His hands had fallen to rest on her hips. He ran them up her sides, his thumbs coasting across the soft curve of her belly, and brought them up to curl around her breasts again. “I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you. So if you want this to stop, say the word. Now.”
Marley stared at him through the soft light, his smoky gaze locked with hers. She tried to think clearly, but need pounded through her. In a flash, she decided she would follow what her body wanted. She hadn’t been intimate with anyone in years, and had never even come close to feeling what she felt with Gage. She didn’t want to miss the chance to taste more, even if she had to untangle her feelings later. “I don’t want to stop,” she said softly.
He inhaled sharply, his eyes darkening. He lifted a hand and stroked it through her hair, his palm cupping the back of her head. Hot shivers raced through her. His eyes fell closed as he brought his mouth to hers again. She tumbled into a hot, wild kiss that went on and on and on. Gage’s hands roamed over her body—a palm sliding down her back in a delicious caress, a hand cupping her breast, softly thumbing her nipple, both hands curling around her bottom and dragging her closer to him.
She was awash in a tumult of sensation. He tugged her close against his hard chest. The contrast of his hardness against her soft curves was intoxicating. She gasped in his mouth when his knee shifted between her legs, pressing against the center of her desire. Sensation sharpened within, gathering pressure. Desire danced and sizzled in her veins. The remainder of their clothing was torn off. In a blur, she found herself standing before him, bare save her purple silk panties. Gage was seated on the couch, his arousal evident. His body took her breath away. Every inch was hard muscle, honed to perfection. His eyes were on her, his gaze like fire as he looked over her body. He reached his hands up, resting them on her hips and tugged her forward.
He looked up, and she watched as he dragged a hand across her belly and down. She was drenched in desire, the silk wet. He stroked his thumb across her clit through the silk. Already ragged, her breath fell out in a gasp. His hooked a finger over the edge of her panties and tugged them down. They fell around her ankles. She kicked them away.
“Beautiful…”
Marley couldn’t quite believe he thought that, but his eyes were reverent as they coasted over her. Tossed in the wake of passion, she couldn’t form a reply. Before she knew what was happening, Gage tugged her hips closer and brought his mouth to her. Hot, wet strokes of his tongue, his fingers delving inside her channel, plunging in and out in a slow rhythm. She tumbled so far, so fast, her climax took her by surprise, washing over her in a crashing wave. Her knees buckled. Gage’s strong arm latched around her, holding her steady while he stayed with her as she shuddered.
His fingers slid out of her, his mouth slowly moving away when she finally stilled. Dazed, she met his eyes. Holding her gaze, he stood and lifted her in his arms.
“Bedroom?” he asked.
Hardly able to form a thought, she gestured weakly to the stairs. He moved swiftly, following the direction of her gesture to the top of the stairs. He shouldered through the door to her bedroom. Her brain had started to function, though barely, by the time he set her on the bed. She reached to the nightstand and switched on the lamp. He stood beside the bed, his body a sculpted work of art. Though she’d just had the most earth-shattering orgasm she’d ever experienced, the sight of his body inflamed her. His gaze traveled over her, his eyes dark. She didn’t know when he’d grabbed a condom, but he had one in hand. He tore the package with his teeth and rolled it on, his eyes pinned to her the entire time. She couldn’t have looked away if her life depended on it. As it was, she was fairly certain her body couldn’t make it past this moment without the feel of him inside of her.
She trembled with want as he moved toward her. The bed dipped when he rested on a knee, the heat of his body moving over hers in blur. She felt the tip of his cock at her entrance. His elbows bracketed her face. He brushed her tangled hair off her forehead, his eyes dark and intent. The air around them felt alive—vibrating with passion. She shifted restlessly under him, desperate to feel him inside of her. She should have known he’d maintain control and drive her further into the fire that consumed her. He proceeded to feather kisses across her face, down her neck and over her breasts. All the while, he nudged at her entrance in subtle strokes.
Unable to tolerate the want coiling inside of her, she scored his back when she dragged her nails down and grabbed his hips, arching into him. He swore and surged into her in one deep thrust, filling her completely. Though she wasn’t a virgin, years without sex left her tight. Gage was, of course, well-endowed. She gasped at the feel of him inside, stretching her. He held still for a long moment, and then began to move. She may have broken his discipline long enough to get him inside of her, but he found it again and proceeded to drive her wild with slow strokes.
Feverish with desire, she tumbled back into the web around them. She danced on the delicious edge of another orgasm, the pressure building and building until she shattered and flew apart. Only then did he alter his pace, his hips drumming into hers, his back arching as shuddered against her. In the aftermath, he fell to her side, still inside of her. They lay still in the quiet room—the only sound their ragged breathing.
As Marley came back to herself, she felt suddenly self-conscious. She’d wanted this like she’d never wanted anything before. But she couldn’t have known she’d lose herself in it. She figured Gage was accustomed to making women fall apart in his arms. She braved a glance at him and found his gray eyes closed, his lashes dark against his cheeks. His chest rose and fell with his breath. As she looked at him, he opened his eyes. She flushed, but she managed not to look away. He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek before bringing his lips to hers briefly. Without a word, he shifted his hips away from hers and rolled to stand. He strode to the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom. She heard a rustle and the water running before he returned. She assumed he’d disposed of his condom.
Entirely unselfconscious about his body, he walked to the bed and lifted the covers, gesturing for her to move. Uncertain what he meant to do, she rolled out of the way. He climbed in bed beside her and tucked the quilt around them both, pulling her against his chest. His palm was warm on her back as he stroked in slow circles, the rough skin sending tiny shivers through her. She couldn’t help the sense of comfort that stole over her—unfamiliar and yet a feeling she craved.
Gage’s chest rumbled when he spoke. “Unless you tell me I can’t stay here, I wasn’t planning on leaving.”
Marley lifted her head. His eyes met hers, the tiniest glimmer of uncertainty flaring in their depths. She took a breath. “I wasn’t planning to ask you to leave,” she said softly.
“Well, that’s settled th
en.”
His voice was gruff, the corner of his mouth kicked up. She couldn’t help her smile. He reached behind her and switched off the lamp. Resting her head on his shoulder, she looked out the window that faced the forest. Stars were bright in the dark sky. A sliver of the moon sat above the mountains across the bay. She fell asleep, feeling sated, safe and warm. For the first time in months, it didn’t cross her mind to check the locks.
Chapter 7
Gage walked across the roof to the area where he’d left some extra shingles. He’d spent most of the morning replacing torn and missing shingles on the lodge’s interconnected rooftops. For the most part, the roof had held up well, but long winters, windstorms and ice had left a few damaged areas. He was finishing up the last repair. He grabbed the shingles and strode back to where he was working. He quickly pried up the torn shingle and replaced it with a new section. After applying sealant and nailing it in place, he hefted the backpack he’d used to carry his tools and tossed it over his shoulders. The roof had a slight slope to it, but it was easy enough to walk around. He paused by the chimney in the center of the main portion of the lodge and admired the view. Kachemak Bay sat quietly under the sun, the water calm today. The snowy mountains were bright against the blue sky. From here, he could see beyond the bay into Cook Inlet, Mount Augustine rising in the waters in the distance. The air was brisk, the scent of wood smoke drifting from someone’s woodstove.
He instantly wondered if it was Marley’s. It had been two days since she’d knocked the axis of his world sideways. Before he’d been skin to skin with her, he’d become quite familiar with the depth of his lust for her. But he couldn’t have known what it would feel like to be with her. He’d walked in thinking he could control the situation. Instead, he’d come out on the other side wondering how to catch hold of the reins again. Marley affected him like no woman had ever affected him. Her complete lack of artifice combined with her utter abandonment into the passion that burned like a brushfire between them was intoxicating. He turned and walked to the edge of the roof, quickly climbing down the ladder. The sun was still high in the sky, but it was early afternoon, which meant he only had a few hours of good daylight left to add another coat of paint on one of the buildings.
