GoldLust

Sky
Robinson

First in the Wild Alaska series

The 1901 gold rush brings people and excitement to Alaska,
and recently widowed Emma Smith is in the middle of it all, ready to make her
fortune. She’s definitely not interested in love or lust, but that all changes
when she rescues her neighbor James Armstrong from an icy creek and she’s
forced to lie naked with him to save his life. She’d been fighting her
attraction to the burly mountain man for a long time, but with him so close,
touching, skin against skin, she can’t deny it any longer. And soon sex with
James is an addiction, something to warm every Alaskan night. Emma is sure a
traditional man like James couldn’t accept an independent woman like her
permanently. But as the dangers of Alaska keep bringing them together, the
reasons to stay apart begin to fade.

A
Romantica®
historical erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

The mountains of Ketchikan, Alaska, 1901

With a half-day of hiking through Alaska’s rugged wilderness
behind her, Emma Smith was within spitting distance of her claim.
Unfortunately, so was James Armstrong, the closest thing she had to a neighbor
out here. And he made it clear on more than one occasion that he didn’t
appreciate having any neighbors, especially a woman.

James was perched on a low rock that jutted out into the
stream, scooping wet dirt into his pan. His eyes, his burly body, entirely
focused on the task of panning for gold.

“Give up on digging?” Emma couldn’t help but harass him a
little.

He started at the sound of her voice, wobbled on his perch
and nearly fell into the water below before regaining his balance. Dark eyes
under a brown leather hat glared up at her. Just a shadow of facial hair showed
Emma that he hadn’t been at his claim for very long. It also gave him a rugged
appeal. If he wasn’t such an ass, she might even find him attractive. But he
was an ass, so his good looks couldn’t matter.

“Just taking a break from the digging and trying something
different,” he growled and went back to his work.

“You know how to swim?” she poked, enjoying harassing him
probably just a little too much. She shouldn’t care about talking to him,
shouldn’t waste her time on a man like James.

“Won’t need to unless another menacing woman comes along to
scare me.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, but his smooth, deep voice sent
heat to places that hadn’t felt the touch of a man in too long.

She wasn’t interested in him, just in the touch. Must be any
touch, because James was one of the last men in the world she could see herself
with. He was a good man, a strong man, but too set in his beliefs, ways she
didn’t agree with.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your work.” Emma walked upstream,
away from him, but she couldn’t subdue the urge to glance back. And when she
did, she caught him watching her. He stared for a few seconds, unashamed, and
she couldn’t bring herself to break away from his gaze. It was powerful,
seductive. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts
that suddenly saturated her mind.

James grinned, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.
He returned his focus to the water and she was relieved that the intenseness of
the connection ended. There was something about that damn man, he was
infuriating and alluring at the same time.

Emma continued her trek uphill as the water in the stream beside
her rushed the opposite direction. The river was up to the edges of the banks
today, flowing fast, just like every spring as the snow melted and made its way
down the valleys and into the ocean.

There was nothing like Alaska in the spring. The air had a
crispness and a new warmth. Twigs snapped underfoot, breaking up the peace as
she walked along the rocky riverbank. It was the sounds of the wilderness Emma
appreciated the most, the rush of water, birds calling and the complete lack of
any human noise other than the ones she made. Being here, surrounded by the
rugged beauty of Alaska, made all her worries seem insignificant. Made them
almost disappear.

Emma hadn’t walked more than twenty yards in the direction
of her claim when she heard a yelp, then a splash and turned around to see
James sinking into the river. He came up to gasp for air, splashing around in
the water as it continued its journey downhill, dragging James along for the
ride.

Oh God, no. This couldn’t happen. She couldn’t watch another
man die.

Emma ran toward him. Not thinking, just moving as fast as
she could, needing to do something, anything.

The water was too cold and moved too fast. Extremely
dangerous this time of year. No one dared crossing it, even if it meant a
significant shortcut in time and distance to a claim. They all knew it wasn’t
worth the risk. But the water was only thigh-deep way up here, and that would
give James a chance in his battle against nature.

Emma ran down the riverbank, toward him, but watched
helplessly as his body bounced off a jagged black rock, and then another. Her
body clenched with every hit, hoping like hell he’d be able to stop somehow.

And by some miracle, James wedged himself between two large
rocks, was able to hold onto one and stand up as the water rushed around his
lower half.

Emma sprinted toward him, grabbed a branch lying on the
shore and reached it out toward James. It was several feet too short, and he
didn’t dare move away from the rock.

“What the hell are you doing?” His angry voice surged above
the sound of the rushing water. “That’s not going to work. Go get the rope out
of my bag.”

For a minute she considered letting him drown. Rude and
obnoxious even when he needed her to save his life, but that’s just how James
was.

Emma went to his bag and grabbed the rope and then ran back
to the river.

James was starting to go purple around the lips and she knew
he didn’t have much time left before hypothermia would take over. The water was
barely warmer than the temperature of the snow it had melted from. Fifteen
minutes in it was about all a person could tolerate, and he already did not
look good.

“Hold on,” she shouted, and then mumbled under her breath,
“I don’t know why I’m even doing this.”

But she did. If Emma didn’t save him, no one would. There
was no one else.

The rope scratched against her hand as she clenched the
loops. With careful aim she threw the end of the rope to James. It plopped into
the water a foot short of his outstretched hand.

Shit.

Emma waded into the fast-moving water, up to her knees. Her
trousers and shoes got soaked as the rope moved farther downstream, but not
closer to him. She stopped, afraid if she went any deeper she would get sucked
in and be in the same predicament and they both would end up dead.

“Oh God.” Blood rushed through her body and Emma held her
breath as she pulled in the rope, readied it for another throw.

She couldn’t let him die. They didn’t get along, but he was
a good man. James had saved her life, without anyone asking. He stepped in when
help was needed, risked his own life and almost died saving her. She was sure
as hell going to do the same for him.

Rocks rolled under her feet and she wobbled, almost falling
in before she found good footing. She stood steady as the freezing water moved
around her ankles.

Emma held her breath and threw the rope again. It splashed
into the water, almost hitting James in the face. He reached out to grab it and
the rope went tight. Her body jerked forward a little but her feet held strong
against the rocks below the surface.

“Hold on,” Emma shouted, talking to herself as much as him.
Her voice cracked with fear and she wrapped the rope around her arm for a
tighter grip. If she couldn’t hold on, he was as good as dead.

“Yeah,” James grunted as he took his first step away from
the rocks, away from the only thing keeping him from being dragged down the
stream. He was putting all his trust in her.

Emma leaned back with all her weight against the current,
against the force of James pulling on the rope as he walked slowly toward her.

She moved backward as he walked forward and finally had her
feet on dry ground. Emma’s heart pounded and the muscles in her arms burned as
she held onto the rope, pulling him with every ounce of strength she had. James
struggled against the water, against the rocky river bottom, but he made his
way closer and closer to the shore, closer and closer to safety.

“Aaaahhhh.” His yell echoed through the valley, letting
anything nearby feel the fear as he lost his footing and plunged under the icy
water again.

The rope pulled tight, dragging Emma toward the water. She
plopped down on the shore, digging her feet into the dirt and leaning back with
all her might.

“Come on. Stand up,” she whispered. “You can do this.”

James came to the surface again, sputtering and holding
tight to the rope as his legs splashed in the water behind him.

She held still, every muscle in her body tense, not knowing
if she would be able to hold on much longer. Her muscles burned, fingers ached.
Get your feet down. Stand up. Come on, James.

James found footing again. The intense pressure was off her
as James moved slowly, steadily again, until he finally made it to the shore.
He got onto his knees and crawled onto the shore, then kissed the ground before
he flopped onto the mud and rocks with a grunt.

Emma stood up and stared down at him, trying to catch her
breath. Her hands shook, knees wanted to give out. James had nearly died right
in front of her. She’d come extremely close to watching another man die. Tears
threatened at the corners of her eyes, but she couldn’t let herself cry. James
was still at her feet, shivering uncontrollably. He wasn’t safe yet.

“Do you have a blanket?” she asked.

He looked at her with a confused expression but said
nothing, just stared.

“A blanket. Do you have a blanket?” she repeated a little
louder.

He shook his head and stared at her for a couple more
seconds then closed his eyes and nodded. “It’s…up…” He pointed in the direction
of his mine. There was no tent here, so that was likely where he was planning
on sleeping tonight. If he made it that long.

James wasn’t in the water for much more than ten minutes
total, but it was definitely taking its toll on his body. The entire
six-foot-four, two hundred pounds of muscle and man shook violently from the cold.
His clothes were soaked, he’d lost his hat to the water and he looked like a
drowned rat.

Nature sure had a way of putting someone who seemed strong
at her mercy in a heartbeat. You could never let your guard down, never believe
you were on top or she would show you who was really in charge. Emma had seen
it happen firsthand and knew better, but men were foolish enough to believe
they were invincible, that somehow they had a foot up on Mother Nature.

“Yeah. I…I have a blanket. It’s up in the mine.” James
struggled to his feet and started to move in that direction, shivering and
wobbling as he did so.

“Do you want me to help you walk?” Emma offered because he
looked as if he was going to fall over as he tried to move his frozen muscles
in some kind of coordinated fashion.

“I don’t need your help,” James snapped and then tried to
stand up a little straighter. But he couldn’t control the shivering that jolted
his body, couldn’t control the effect of the freezing water.

She wrapped her arm around his waist without asking again.
He wasn’t in any position to make good decisions on his own behalf.

They ducked into the mine, and her eyes didn’t adjust to the
darkness as fast as she wanted. The mines all looked the same on the inside,
dark and uninviting compared to the natural beauty outside.

Emma put her hand against one wall as she walked into the
darkness. When her eyes finally adjusted a little she found a blanket and laid
it out over the dirt floor.

“Take your clothes off.” She grabbed another blanket.

“I…I don’t think so.” He stood shivering, staring at the
ground.

“I didn’t save your ass just so you can freeze to death. Now
take off your clothes or I’ll do it for you.” He had to be the most stubborn
man on the earth, freezing to death and still refusing to listen to anyone.

Emma laid a second blanket next to the one on the ground.
Then she started taking off her own pants.

“Well, you didn’t say you were going to take yours off too.”
His teeth chattered, but he started to work at undressing. “In that case, I’d
be more than h-happy to oblige.”

A grin spread across his purple lips. Shaking hands worked
to take off his shirt.

He had muscular shoulders, gifted by God and sculpted by the
daily physical labor of working his mine. Even purple and nearly freezing, he exuded
a raw masculinity that Emma couldn’t ignore.

“This is not an offer for anything. I’m just trying to keep
you from freezing to death.” She didn’t know if she was saying the words more
for his benefit or hers.

He responded with chattering teeth. James struggled to pull
his boots off. By the time he got to his pants, he couldn’t control his hands
enough to unbutton them.

“Here, let me help you.” She worked at unfastening his pants
and pulled them down.

He didn’t resist as she undressed him, just shook.

Emma kept herself from looking down at his cock as his pants
dropped. Didn’t ask if he needed help lying down, but eased him down to the
blanket on the ground and covered him with the other blanket.

She turned her back to him as she finished taking off her
own clothing. When she turned around, he was staring at her. He didn’t smile,
didn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes was completely disarming.

“I would appreciate it if you would turn your head.” James
staring like that caused a warming that shouldn’t be there. Not in this
situation, not in any situation.

He turned his head as she requested and she slid under the
blanket next to him, wrapping her warmth around his cold, shaking body. Her
breasts pressed against the muscles of his back. Her legs wrapped around his.

It was ironic, the closest she’d come to being intimate with
a man for the last two years was to save the neighbor she didn’t get along with
from hypothermia.

Emma lay still, barely breathing, afraid to move. She was
already rubbing against him too much for comfort. The chill of his skin against
hers caused her nipples to turn into stiff peaks. At least she was going to
blame the chill, not the appeal of the man lying next to her.

He shivered beneath her, but the shaking gradually became
less and less aggressive. After what had to be over an hour, James’ body
finally warmed and relaxed beside her, but as he relaxed, she became more
tense. Emma was enjoying being naked next to a man too much, and she couldn’t
be attracted to James. It wouldn’t do her a damn bit of good.