by Nancy Warren
“How about you?”
“I was always more sensible than the others. I said I wasn’t getting married until I was grown up.”
“And have you?”
“Married?” His tone provided the answer. “No.”
“Maybe that means you haven’t grown up yet.”
He chuckled. “Oh, yeah. You want to know how immature me and my buddies are? We ended up making a bet the night of Adam’s party. All of us were determined to be the last bachelor standing.”
“Last bachelor standing? This is something to be proud of?”
“That was a long night. Scotch may have been involved.”
“I thought you said your friend Adam was getting married?”
“He is.” He turned back to her and his teeth gleamed white. “One down, one to go.”
It sounded to her like a singularly foolish bet and annoyed her on some level. “And what do you win?”
“Win?”
“Does this foolish bet include a prize?”
He turned once more to look at her. A sheen of sweat gleamed on his forehead, otherwise he looked as cool as a bowl of ice cream. “Prize?” He seemed to think about it for a moment. “Bragging rights, I guess.”
She could feel a hot spot forming on her heel. She hoped there were blister pads or some kind of plaster in the first-aid kit. “It sounds to me as though Adam is the person who really won your bet.”
“Yep. That’s exactly what Adam says.”
Well, at least one of them had some sense, she thought as she trudged on.
Was she seriously considering dating a man who would enter a contest where not getting married was the goal?
She watched him moving through the forest, his shoulder muscles rippling as he beat back the branches and vines, his body moving with athletic grace. Even through her fatigue she felt a quiver of desire.
What did it matter? She wasn’t looking for anything permanent. She could have some fun with Max knowing he wouldn’t suddenly go all serious on her.
It was a perfect arrangement. He’d proven himself to be a good pilot, a good man to have around in an emergency. She enjoyed his company, was attracted to him physically. Something about him suggested that he wasn’t going to make a thirty-year career out of his job at Polar Air. They’d probably keep him until the snow fell. If he couldn’t handle an Alaskan winter, he’d move on. And even if he did she doubted he’d last more than a year. She could enjoy him while he was here and they’d part friends.
So why did she feel so irritated by that stupid bet?
11
CLAIRE WAS BEGINNING to think they’d never hit water, that, somehow, in spite of the compass, they’d been wandering in circles, going nowhere.
And then, they heard the blessed sound of water. It felt as though they burst out of the trees and there was the river, swift, blue and as welcome to her as the sun in the morning.
With a cry of relief, she ran to the edge of the river and knelt down, plunging her hands into the cold water, splashing it on her face, and then, using her cupped hands, she drank and drank until she could drink no more. She couldn’t imagine waiting to purify the water and at the rate it was racing, she doubted there was any need to.
Water had never tasted so good. Even the most expensive champagne she’d ever sipped, and admittedly she’d never sampled the really top-drawer stuff, didn’t come close. She glanced down river and saw that Max was sucking back cold, clear water as greedily as she was. Clean, tidy Max glanced up at her and grinned, water running down his chin. For a second their gazes held and she felt a surge of sexual heat so strong she caught her breath.
He rose, never letting his gaze drop, and she felt powerless to break the connection. He came closer, not even bothering to wipe the water off his face so it caught in the late-afternoon sun and sparkled.
Closer.
Never breaking stride until he stood right in front of her, so close she could see the stubble on his face and glimpse the black flecks in his dark brown eyes. Eyes that stared at her with an intensity that made her shiver.
He moved even closer. She didn’t step back but held her ground, held his gaze.
He grabbed her shoulders, pulled her to him and kissed her with the same urgency as when he’d drunk deep of the stream only moments ago.
She felt the roughness of a face that hadn’t seen a razor in two days, the coldness of the river water on his lips, the hot, potent energy flowing through him and into her.
She wanted more. More of that energy, more of his solid sexiness, more of the feeling that something positive and wonderful was happening in the midst of this madness.
She pulled him closer and he responded by deepening the kiss. She felt the warmth of the sun on her shoulders, heard the buzz of insects and the rush of water. Sensed the powerful attraction between them as his tongue took mastery of her mouth.
She’d known kisses before, of course. Friendly kisses, exploratory kisses, passionate kisses, but she had never experienced a kiss that seemed to lift her off her feet and transport her to a different place. She had never known a kiss that made her body feel like it was buzzing with excitement. She couldn’t stand still; she found herself squirming with desire, wanting him as she’d never wanted a man. She knew, with an instinct she didn’t question, that it was the same for him. Like a quiet but insistent yes dancing along their nerve endings pulling them ever and inevitably closer.
He pulled back and they were both panting. “Wow,” he said.
“I thought we were going to have a date when we got back?” she reminded him.
“We are going to have a date. We are going to have the date to end all dates.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Does it matter to you?”
The thought of waiting until they were back in civilization, until there was an evening in both their schedules that they could devote to romance, was no sooner contemplated than dropped. She knew on some level that this crazy life-or-death adventure was causing her to throw caution to the winds, but she realized she didn’t want her caution back. Let it stay floating on wind currents, like an aircraft headed through a weather system. For now, she needed that man with every fiber of her being. She’d worry about consequences later.
She answered his question by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him back to her, kissing him with the same fervent desire he’d shown her. He made a small sound, half growl, half groan and pulled her even closer.
The world receded. Time stopped. Her senses were so focused on that kiss she’d have sworn the river ceased flowing and fell into silence.
He tugged at her shirt, pulling it from her pants, undoing buttons with haste. She suspected he might have ripped the thing off her, let the buttons fly where they might, except that they both knew she had only the one shirt. So he was careful. But fast.
She felt the sun on her naked shoulders, then his lips were there.
He had her bra unfastened almost faster than she could have done it herself. This man was smooth. She was sure he’d been with countless women. But when he slipped the bra off her shoulders and the sun tingled on her breasts, she felt for a moment like the first woman he’d ever seen. His gaze was worshipful and he reached for her slowly, touching her gently but firmly until her nipples ached with need. When he lowered his head and put his mouth on the tip of her breast she felt sensation spiral through her, coming to rest heavy in her belly.
She dragged at his shirt, trying to be as smooth as he’d been when he unbuttoned hers, but it was hopeless. She was too frantic. She fumbled and cursed in her haste until he laughed and stripped it off himself.
He was magnificent. Tawny and muscular and with a six-pack on him that made her want to run her tongue over the ridges of muscle in his belly.
In unspoken agreement, they finished stripping themselves, both driven by need rather than a desire for slow seduction. There was a time for slow seduction, and Claire was a sucker for it. But not here. Not today.
Today she needed
to feel Max pounding within her almost as much as she’d needed that water.
She dragged off her boots and socks, then removed her pants and panties together in one lumpy movement. She was so eager to see Max that she turned at the very moment he did.
“Oh, you are so beautiful,” he said. “Better than I imagined.”
And he was exactly as beautiful as she’d imagined. The powerful body of a warrior, the intelligent face of a deep thinker and a big, hard cock that seemed to her fevered imagination to be reaching for her, as though as eager to stroke her secret places as she was to feel him there.
Max ran his hands down her back, over her hips, then hoisted her up so she squeaked. He settled her on a rock ledge and stepped between her legs. Already she was panting with need.
Normally she’d have “the conversation” about testing and histories and so on before things ever got to this stage. But there was nothing normal about this. She tried to bring a little sanity to the proceeding even as her body cried out for fulfillment. “Do you have anything?” she gasped.
A flicker of wry amusement twisted his mouth. “I’m not a sixteen-year-old who carries a condom in his wallet.”
“Is there anything I need to worry about?”
He shook his head. “Clean as a whistle.”
Her legs were splayed and she could feel her own wetness gathering. He put a finger there and rubbed softly, finding her hot button and massaging her as though he’d been born to pleasure her. He didn’t ask, but she felt she should let him know. “Me, too. No health issues.”
He nodded. “Do we need to worry about getting you pregnant?”
It was hard to think with the waves of urgent desire that were building within her. She was on the pill but normally she’d insist on a condom until she knew a man better and trusted him completely. Instinctively she did trust Max, however. “No,” she panted.
He must have felt how close she was, because he replaced his fingers with his cock, rubbing the tip against her most sensitive place. The different sensation, the feel of that wonderful, hot, hard man that she wanted so badly inside her was too much. Her hips began to gyrate to his rhythm. She lifted her hips up, supporting herself on her hands so she could dance with him without scraping her sensitive skin on the rock beneath her.
“Oh,” she cried. He kissed her, licking deep into her mouth as she cried out her climax.
“Oh, that’s right,” he crooned. “That’s good.”
She couldn’t form words. She could only mime what she needed. She nudged him with her hips, shifting until his cock was grazing the soft, swollen opening to her body. She was pulsing, wet, and felt her body begin to suck him right into her.
It was his turn to lose his mind. She saw his eyes lose their focus, then his movements became less controlled. He stroked her all the way in, all the way out, until he couldn’t anymore and, grabbing her hips, began to thrust in and out of her. She felt him as deep inside her as she’d ever felt anyone. It was glorious to be stretched and stroked. There were crazy sounds coming out of her mouth, out of his. She felt her need build again. Could feel her body tightening around him. He could obviously feel it, too, because he began to tremble. She gripped his biceps and found them slick with sweat, rigid as he held her up, tried to hold himself in check.
“Let go,” she cried, needing him to give her everything he had.
“Don’t want to hurt you,” he muttered.
“You won’t.”
It was all the encouragement he needed. She felt the moment he let his control snap. He thrust into her, hard and desperate, again and again, driving her up higher until she crested the peak once more and her head fell back as she cried out.
A moment later, his own cry echoed hers.
She felt the wetness gush inside her. Felt his twitch and still he moved in and out of her. More slowly now, bringing them both down easily. She felt the aftershocks, rode them as he continued pumping in and out of her. Her sighs grew more gentle and then he reached for her and kissed her with a slow sweetness that melted her heart.
“That was am—” he began.
“Mmm,” she said, kissing him, cutting him off because the experience had been so superlative she didn’t want words to spoil it.
He set her down and as her feet touched the ground the gravel provided a rough reminder that they were outdoors.
“I don’t care how cold that river is,” she said. “I am going in.”
“Clean freak.”
She glanced at him. Raised one eyebrow. “Are you going to watch from shore?”
He grinned, knowing he was caught. “Hell, no. I’m going in, too.”
It wasn’t a long dip. The cold water stole her breath, but she could at least feel a little cleaner and soothe her hot, aching feet.
Knowing she couldn’t risk wet socks, she sadly left hers on the bank, but she was certain her panties would dry. She washed them as best she could and laid them out on a warm stone in the sun.
She even dunked her head, longing for shampoo. At least she could soak out the sweat and dirt.
She came out of the water shivering and lay naked on the rock ledge, soaking in the warmth of the sun. The insects blessedly stayed away thanks to the breeze.
Max crawled up beside her naked and cold. She felt the heat of the rock beneath her, the warmth of the sun on her front and Max warming up beside her. Then heat began to kindle inside of her.
She knew he felt it, too, when his hand began to roam lazily over her body, touching her breasts, her belly and then lower.
She couldn’t believe she was ready again. Two explosive orgasms and her body was still greedy for more.
A shadow fell across her face and she opened her eyes to find Max leaning over her. He kissed her mouth even as his fingers began to play between her legs.
She let her own fingers explore. His face, his warm, muscular chest, the athlete’s belly and finally, his impressively hard cock.
She stroked him, squeezed him, toyed with him as he was toying with her. She cupped her hand under his balls and squeezed gently.
He began to kiss his way down her body. Even though there was no one to watch them but the odd overflying eagle, she still felt absurdly exposed. Then, as he parted her thighs and lowered his head, she stopped thinking at all.
He licked her, taking his time, building her up slowly. Then, when her hips began to gyrate, he pushed two fingers inside her and stroked to her rhythm. It was exquisite. She wanted to make this last forever but she could feel herself growing closer.
He stayed with her, keeping a steady rhythm and pressure of his tongue on her clit until she felt herself beginning to melt. He pressed on her G-spot and simultaneously sucked her clit into his mouth.
She exploded with a wild, frenzied cry. Her body clenched against his fingers, against his tongue and he continued stroking inside her, letting her down slowly.
The roar of the river, the feel of his lips kissing his way back up her body, the wonderful pulses of remembered pleasure, all filled her with the most incredible sensation.
She’d nearly died yesterday.
And today, she’d never felt more alive.
12
THEY DINED ON fish and berries again.
“We are so lucky to be stuck out here when food is plentiful,” she said.
He nodded. “And the weather’s good.”
She shuddered at the thought of everything that could have gone wrong, from injuries to bad weather. As though reading her mind he said, “We’d have made it, you know. In any season. We’d have survived.”
“In winter?”
“Sure. Haven’t you ever built a snow cave?”
She looked at him in fascination. “Have you?”
“Absolutely. Excellent skill to have.” He tossed a fish bone into the fast-flowing river. “Once, my buddies Dylan and Adam and I took a winter survival course. It was pretty cool. You really get to know what you’re made of.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
He glanced over at her. “I’m enjoying this wilderness adventure a whole lot more. Company’s better.” He glanced back in the direction of the crash site. “And maybe it’s more exciting because it’s real.”
The fire was crackling, the stars were just coming out and she felt a quick spurt of pleasure to be here, now, with this man. She knew that tomorrow would bring rescue and all her old problems would be back on her shoulders, along with the much more sinister dilemma of what to do about Frank Carmondy. Could he really be behind the crash?
And, if so, how would they ever prove it?
Once more they took turns keeping watch and sleeping. When Claire woke she felt as though she’d been beaten up. Her back was sore from sleeping on the hard ground, her feet did not want to go back on the road and yet there was such beauty all around her. The river tumbled by, the cool air was fresh and bracing and birds were singing their hearts out.
As he had the morning before, Max had water already heating. “We’re going to have to make some additions to that emergency pack,” she said, as she accepted the pot and sipped hot water. “We need those little packets of espresso coffee. And some mugs.”
“Here, have a power bar.” She took the bar and peeled open the packaging. The bar was dense and chewy and she sincerely hoped it was packed with energy.
“Hey, don’t look so glum,” Mr. Cheerful in the Morning said. “We’re going home today.”
She felt anxiety clutch at her chest. She hoped her memory was correct and they were headed for a logging road that would lead them to an emergency phone or a larger road. There was a lot more wilderness out here than there was civilization. But she knew this state, she reminded herself. She’d flown all over it. They’d find their way out.
They would.
So, she forced a smile and said, “When we get home I am planning to shower for at least an hour.”
“I’m going straight for food.”
They packed swiftly and put out the fire.
Next they had to figure out how to get across the river.
“How deep do you think it is?” she asked Max, raising her voice so he could hear her over the rushing water, though of course he’d have no more idea than she did.
