Northern Encounter (6 page)

He spent the next few minutes demonstrating the heater and the short-wave radio that provided emergency contact with Good Riddance. It took all of his effort to concentrate on the task at hand rather than on the contrast of the paleness of her hand against his darker weathered one and the scent of her nearness. He’d never had such a primal reaction to another per son.

“You’ll want to take off your jacket and a couple of layers, otherwise you’ll be too chilly when we go out again.”

While the heat worked its way into the corners of the room, Clint dug out their midmorning snack. “Caribou jerky,” he said, handing a portion to Tess. “It’s pure protein, which is what you’ll need to see you through the morning.”

She nodded and bit off a chunk, chewing thoughtfully. “Not bad. Actually, it’s pretty good.”

“Beats the hell out of whale blubber.”

“I’ll take your word on that.”

While she ate, she arranged her equipment on the lower bunk farthest from the heater. “I’d like to avoid too much temperature difference—well, as much as possible, so I’ll leave them on the bottom bunk and away from the direct heat.”

“That makes sense.”

“When we start out, would you show me how to mush? That is what it’s called when you give the commands and Kobuk pulls the sled, right? Mushing?”

“Sure. I can do that. You weren’t kidding about wanting to be guide-worthy, were you?”

She shrugged and although her mouth curved into a smile, the depths of her spruce-colored eyes held a distant sadness. “You’re my guide but if something were to happen to you, and accidents do happen, I need to know how to survive out here on my own. At the end of the day, the only person you can really count on to take care of you, is you.”

The fact that her statement seemed to have been borne from experience found a home deep inside him. And she was the last woman he wanted wending her way into him.

M
ERRILEE LOOKED AT
the numbers on the ledger page for the third time without really seeing them. Biting back a sigh, she closed the book, her concentration not worth a hill of beans today. Of course, that’s what not sleeping all night when your man decided he’d move to the couch did to a woman. Bull’s sole response had been to murmur, “I can’t sleep with a married woman,” before he’d left the bed. She hadn’t followed him. She knew him well enough to recognize he needed time and space to process everything. He’d been gone before she came out of his bedroom this morning. Actually, she’d heard him leave around five.

She was jerked out of her morose reverie by the sounds of Tad and Baby Doll coming down the stairs. Even if they weren’t the only two upstairs, she’d unfortunately recognize Tad’s annoying chuckle anywhere, especially in her own home.

It was past noon but rather than be put out by their late appearance, Merrilee was just grateful she hadn’t had to deal with his sorry ass any sooner in the day.

“What’s shaking, Merry?” Tad said as they entered the airstrip office. Baby Doll—Merrilee couldn’t remember the girl’s real name to save her soul—teetered beside him on three-inch heels. She obviously had a death wish if she planned to set foot outside in those heels, but then Tad did have that effect on a woman, she thought darkly.

“Your belly when you came in?”

Tad pretended to wince while Baby Doll giggled.

“Your tongue is just as damn sharp as it ever was.

Baby Doll wants to get her nails done. Can you hook her up at the salon?”

“Salon?”

“Yeah. You know…massage, hair, nails, all that stuff that floats the female boat.”

“Have you had a look around town?”

“It was dark when we got in last night. C’mon, Merry, hook her up.”

Merrilee picked up the phone and dialed. “Hey, Curl. You busy this morning?”

“I was just finishing up a caribou head. What can I do you for?”

“Nails?”

“Do I need my dremel?” Curl asked. Curl regu
larly had to attack some of the men’s toe nails with a dremel tool. Bull had been dremeled a time or two.

Merrilee glanced at Baby Doll’s long finger nails which were probably in better shape already than any other woman’s in Good Riddance. “No. You won’t need that.”

She mouthed at the other woman, “Polish change?”

Baby Doll nodded enthusiastically.

“Just a polish change.”

“Polish change? I don’t know about that, Merrilee.”

“I have total faith in you, Curl.”

“If you say so.” Curl, however, sounded un convinced.

“What time?” she pressed.

“I guess whenever. I’m just finishing up.”

“Okey, dokey. I’ll send her right over.” She hung up the phone and smiled brightly at Baby Doll. “He says come right on over. It’s just two doors down and across the street. How about I get Teddy next door to take you down?” Teddy, Gus’s second in command, would be more than happy to pop out and deliver the other woman to Curl’s.

“That’d be great, as long as I’m not putting anyone out,” Baby Doll said. When you got past the fact that she’d been foolish enough to hook up with Tad, the woman seemed decent enough. Sadly, she possessed a touch of naivete that reminded Merrilee of herself
back when she, too, had bought into Tad’s bill of goods.

“Hon, do you happen to have any other shoes with you?” Merrilee glanced at the red stilettos.

The girl smiled brightly. “Of course, I’ve got these in black and a tiger stripe print.” A sudden frown bisected her forehead. “You don’t think the red goes with what I have on?”

“It wasn’t so much the color as the heel, hon. There’s ice and snow out there.”

“Oh.” She looked simultaneously lost and crestfallen. “No, this is all I brought.”

“What size do you wear?”

It turned out that while Baby Doll was at least six inches taller and thirty pounds lighter than Merrilee, they wore the same shoe size. By the time Teddy came over, Merrilee had hooked Baby Doll up with a pair of mukluks that tickled her fancy. She turned one way and the other, admiring her feet and legs. “These are even cooler than Uggs.”

“Glad you like them,” Merrilee said and mouthed a thank-you to Teddy.

“Wear my red stilettos while I’m gone since we wear the same size. It’s sort of like having a sister you can swap with.” Merrilee could’ve kissed Baby Doll for likening her to her sister rather than her mother. The much younger woman beamed. “I always wanted a sister.” She waved her hand, “Go ahead, put on those red heels and strut, sister.”

Merrilee couldn’t help but smile and wave the girl on to have fun. As the front door closed behind Baby Doll and Teddy, she got down to business with Tad. Jeb and Dwight were parked over by the chess board arguing with each other, but since they were both stone deaf, they might as well not even be there.

“Okay, let’s get our business done so you and Baby Doll can get back to Atlanta.”

“I’m getting the impression you aren’t happy to see me, Merry.”

“Eat shit and die” wasn’t going to get her very far with Tad. Instead she opted for “Okay, Tad, I’m sure you wanted me to see you’ve managed to find your self a young honey. I’ve seen. Poor thing doesn’t know what she’s in for, but that’s not really my business.”

“I thought you’d be happy that I’m finally ready to sign those divorce papers.”

They both knew he could’ve sent them by any number of overnight delivery services but Tad had always been about control and playing games. His refusal to divorce Merrilee all these years because she’d dared to leave him had been nothing more than control and his determination to have the last word.

As always when dealing with Tad, Merrilee found herself falling back into the same old patterns. “Well, that’s just fine for you, but it doesn’t really matter to me any more whether we’re divorced or not. I’m not so sure I’ll be signing those papers after all.”

T
HE WIND WHIPPED PAST
Tess’s face, cold yet invigorating as they followed the path the sled cut through the crusted snow. Ahead of her, lashed into his traces, his canine muscles bunching and expanding as he pulled the sled, Kobuk was a beautiful sight to be hold as he broke the trail. She was achingly aware that Clint was beside her, his strong hands guiding both sled and dog.

Though his hands were gloved now, she’d noticed them last night and then again during the cabin set up.

Today, in better lighting, she’d seen a scar bisecting the back of his left hand.

She gave herself over to the experience of the moment—the wind against her face, the brush of the fur trim against her cheek, the sheer exhilaration of passing through stands of spruce.

All too soon, Clint gave the command and they glided to a stop at the edge of a clearing. It was perfect. Exactly what she’d wanted. Tessa requested a sheltered setting, plus this was the last area he’d spotted the wolves.

“It’s pristine,” she said, standing and looking around, seriously awed. This would make beautiful, tranquil footage. She turned to Clint without thinking, driven to share the experience with the only other human being there. “It’s as if there’s no one else in the world and this place is totally untouched. And
the silence is unreal. You and I could be the only two people in the world.”

He was standing on the sled’s back runners. Their gazes locked and the Universe seemed to stand still, to distill to the two of them in a world of light and dark. And even in the cold, there was a heat between them, a blanket of attraction and desire that enfolded them.

She leaned toward him, drawn. He bent his head. The only sound between them was the breaths they drew and exhaled. Tess wondered if Clint could hear the thudding of her heart against her ribs in the deep quiet. His breath, warm, fragrant with coffee, mingled with hers. It was strangely more intimate than sharing a kiss, that gentle coupling of air that warmed her face and teased against her lips. A rush of heat coursed through her in the wake of a longing that wrapped its way around her soul.

His gloved hand cupped her head, his lips hovered a mere breath from hers. Anticipation was sweet as his lips descended to claim hers. A sudden sharp snap jerked them apart, breaking the spell, ending a kiss that hadn’t quite gotten started.

Startled, Tessa jumped, nearly losing her footing.

Clint caught her, his gloved hands on her arms, and steadied her. She took a cautious step back, forcing him to let her go. Tessa absolutely couldn’t continue to react this way to him. She didn’t know what it was
about him, but she was intensely, incredibly drawn to him.

“What was that? It sounded like a gunshot.” And she sounded dismayingly breathless.

“The tree branches snap and crack from the ice. So does the ice in the rivers and lakes. And because there’s no other noise, it always sounds very loud.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Have you ever been to a glacier before?”

“No. I’m looking forward to going.”

Dalton was scheduled to fly them the day after tomorrow.

“In the summer, it calves directly into the river. The ice creaks and groans and it sounds like artillery fire going off. Of course you won’t get that now, but it’s still impressive.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” She looked around. “But this is just amazing.” She busied herself setting up one of the cameras on a tripod. Kobuck had settled down, still in his traces. A wolf howled and the dog’s ears pricked up.

“That sounds close.”

“It’s probably farther than you think. Sound travels. However, with the pack in this general area you may get lucky and wind up with some video footage.”

He moved swiftly and efficiently, setting up the small low-profile tent the three of them would share. Filming in such cold weather meant having
to periodically switch cameras off. Waiting in the tent meant keeping themselves and the equipment warm. It was going to be tight, close quarters which was good from a keeping warm standpoint, but not so good for her resolve to keep her distance from him, especially in light of that almost-kiss. She’d just never counted on reacting to him this way.

Her option however, was to stand around outside like an idiot and freeze her ass off. Nothing for it but to climb into that tent.

C
LINT WATCHED AS
Tessa opened the tent flap, his attention caught and held by the curve of her rear visible just below the edge of her parka. He definitely didn’t need to be checking out her ass any more than he’d needed to almost kiss her earlier, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. There was a lot to be said for self-control and he needed to find some if he was going to be sequestered in the tent and then that cabin with her.

He released Kobuk from the traces and directed the dog to the tent. Sort of a sad state of affairs when a man had to fall back on his dog as a chaperone, although ostensibly Kobuk was another heat source. Ducking, Clint stepped into the tent and pulled his boots off, placing them on the mat near the front. Melting snow was wet and a wet tent didn’t exactly work.

Tess had pulled her gloves off and was rubbing her hands together to warm them.

“Give it a few minutes and it’ll heat up in here.”

There was a flicker in her eyes and that thing that seemed to dance between them flared once again.

“It’s—” her voice was husky and she paused to swallow before continuing “—it’s already warmer in here than outside.”

He nodded. He was plenty damn hot as of right now. “You’ll want to pull your coat off and acclimate or you’ll be cold when you go back outside,” he said, shucking his jacket.

Sitting cross-legged, she pushed the hood back and unzipped her parka. Static left strands of her pale blonde hair standing up. She shrugged out of her jacket, her sweater clinging to the outline of her breasts as she worked her arms free. Clint swallowed hard and pretended to check the zipper on the tent—looking anywhere was better than looking at her breasts with the cold outlining her nipples against her layers of clothes.

In the close confines of the tent, with the biting cold that numbed his sense of smell no longer a factor, her scent seemed to surround him. No perfume, she didn’t strike him as a perfume wearer and he didn’t smell any, but she was a mix of shampoo, soap and woman. It was a soft, delicate scent that seemed to fit her. She was obviously resilient and capable, but he’d sensed a softness, a vulnerability about her that was grounded more in his intuition than anything she’d said or done.

She wrapped the camera she’d been carrying inside her parka and placed it in her lap. Kobuk lay curled between them. “Does he like to be patted? Rubbed? Or would he prefer to be left alone?”

“That dog will take any attention you’re willing to give him. He’s shameless.”

She scratched Kobuk behind the ears. “He’s not shameless. He’s a good boy. And he was beautiful pulling the sled earlier today. Weren’t you? You did such a nice job,” she said in a crooning, sing-song voice. She buried her hands in his fur, kneading and stroking. There was an inherent sensuality to her movements that tightened Clint’s gut. It was far too easy to imagine the slide of her fingers and palms against his bare skin, stroking, kneading. And there was the erotic contrast of her light skin against his darkness. Damn it to hell. He had to think about something other than her touching him or him touching her or the thrust of her nipples and the curve of her lips.

He had never been a man driven by his carnal de sires, but it was as if Tessa had awakened a slumbering part of him and damned if he knew what to do about it other than ignore it. He hoped like hell he didn’t do something totally stupid and unprofessional like reaching over and burying his hands in the silky strands of her hair while he sampled the feel of her mouth and the taste of her tongue against his.

And to compound matters, even though it would be
unprofessional and even though he knew better than to get involved with someone like her—look where it had gotten his father and then him in college—he had a dangerous instinct based on the way she’d looked at him earlier that she was attracted to him as well.

“How’d you get started making ambient videos?” He threw the question out in desperation. And actually, he was curious. It was an unusual choice of profession.