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And the look on Wolf’s face right now? I’ve never seen him so peaceful.
Billows of steam curl from the stove as Kody pours more water on it.
“We’re almost out of coal,” he murmurs.
“How far do we have to hike to get more?” Frankie traces the shell of Wolf’s ear.
“A few miles.” I bend to grab a towel and sling it around my hips. “Down the river. It’s a dangerous hike this time of year.”
“More dangerous than what we did today?”
“No.”
“What about the pemmican in the hunting cabin?”
“That’s farther.” I find her eyes. “I’m building the door first.”
I won’t leave until the threat against her is confined.
“Kody told me about that plan.” Wolf’s peaceful expression gives way to shadows. “That won’t end well, and you know it.”
“Got a better idea?” I raise a brow.
It takes him a moment to answer. “Nope.”
“So, consensus reached?” My gaze meets each of theirs, earnest and unwavering. “We imprison him. Collect the pemmican and more coal. Ration the remaining food. And hope for a short winter.”
“Ah, but darling, hope is a treacherous bitch.” Wolf stretches out on his back, head on her lap, and closes his eyes to the world. “I concur with everything except the frivolity of hope.”
“Very well.” My nostrils flare in a silent snarl of determination. “The rest of you?”
Frankie and Kody offer their nods.
We soak in the silence for a while, lost in our thoughts.
Eventually, Wolf pops up, stretching and yawning. “It’s fucking hot. I’m gonna dip.”
“I need to spend some time on my distiller.” Kody rises, squinting at Frankie. “You staying?”
“Can I?” She lifts a brow at me and flexes her toes. “Feels so good in here.”
“Yeah,” I rasp.
Anything you want.
Kody follows Wolf out, his limp still prominent but not slowing him down as much as yesterday.
When the exterior door shuts behind them, she climbs down and sits on the other end of my bench, facing me.
The Arctic is full of wonders and mysteries. But this right here, sharing eye contact with Frankie Novak, is one of the most profound things I’ve ever experienced. Every time she looks at me, it makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be alive.
A smile shimmers those eyes. The way it rises onto her face, chasing away the gloom and setting her red hair aglow. It’s a smile that blazes as bright as the midnight sun, even in the darkest corners of hell. It’s real and good and wildly unguarded. We had a miserable day, and endless more of the same await us, but that smile makes me forget. I forget about everything but her.
She’s so beautiful. So fucking arresting. With her confronting stubbornness and her selfless heart, she’s all I need for an eternity. She’s my forever, and she’s staring right at me.
“They aren’t coming back.” She loosens the towel around her chest.
“No.” My attention flies to her hands, fixated.
“We won’t be interrupted.”
“I’ll nail the door closed if I must.”
The fall of the terrycloth onto the bench is a lightning strike of excitement in my gut.
She parts her legs.
Molten heat rushes to my groin.
Rising to my feet, I slowly shed my clothes, one garment at a time. The green in her eyes hunts the weird variation in mine as I stand nude before her and lean my back against the wall.
We watch each other, communicating without words, flirting without touch. A crooked smile from her. A hungry glare from me. Our lips part at the same time, gulping hot, wet air.
She pushes off the bench. I step away from the wall. The steam swirls out of our way as we float into a sensual dance, circling with our hands at our sides. Our bodies drift closer and closer without making contact, maintaining that slow rotation as we sway side to side, rocking to a synchronized beat.
Our eyes never let go of their holdfast.
The sizzling chemistry, the heated looks, the excruciating restraint on our impulses—all of it builds into an electric charge that crackles and steams between us.
I want to fall upon her and mount her like an animal. She expects that. So I don’t.
Her hand slides around my neck, and my pulse rises. She brings us closer, trying to connect our mouths. I deny the kiss and graze my cheek along hers, breathing at her ear, drawing it out, toying with her. My favorite prey.
When she sighs and turns her head away, I wrap a hand around her tiny waist and haul her hips against mine, letting her feel how much I want her.
She rises on tiptoes and gives me those huge, bright eyes.
I take her face in my hands, my thumbs against her parted lips, and gently shake her head. “You’re not in charge.”
A seductive grin spreads beneath my touch. Then she wickedly tongues my thumb.
My cock jerks against her. “That’s how you want to play this?”
