Polar Bared (11 page)

She’d die without his help, and for some reason, that bothered him.

Oh please don’t tell me I’m growing a conscience.
He’d thought himself rid of that along with his morals, but apparently like a tenacious weed, it was trying to grow back.

He’d allow it, for now, but if it got in his way, watch out, because he would shed blood if he needed to rid himself of anything that might make him weak.

Even a cute little human.

Okay, maybe not his Pima, but only because there was no honor or challenge in killing a woman.

However, if he wasn’t dumping or killing her, what was his next move?

I need to see what’s happening in this so-called forum that’s contracting hits and get to the bottom of who wants her dead.
Then Gene could do what he did best. Kill something.

He straddled the snowmobile and gunned it. Next stop, a little town on the Alaskan border where he kept another stash in a hidey-hole. Once there, he could decide his next move.

The icy plain stretched in a never-ending white sheet. Nowhere to hide. No succor in sight. Nothing to protect her from the polar bear chasing her.

Chest heaving, legs burning, and fear keeping her upright, Vicky ran as fast as she could, knowing that if she stopped, the bear would get her.

She made a mistake. One almost every person being chased makes. She peered over her shoulder to gauge how far behind her the beast was.

Not far enough. Her curiosity cost her.

It shouldn’t have surprised her when her feet tangled and she fell forward. At least she knew well enough by now to thrust her hands in front of her to absorb most of the impact, instead of letting her face bear the brunt. However, an unblemished visage wouldn’t help her given she’d lost any lead or chance of escaping the deadly predator intent on having her.

Rolling to her back, she couldn’t help but scrabble backward, panting in fright as the massive polar bear, with the vivid blue gaze, lumbered toward her.

His muzzle pulled back in a snarl.

His gaze, cold and hungry.

She shut her eyes and whimpered, praying for sweet oblivion so she wouldn’t have to meet her demise.
Why can’t I faint?
Now of all times the skill failed her.

Eyes shut tight, she didn’t see the bear catch up to her, but she could swear she felt its shadow cover her. Despite her terror, she couldn’t help but peek, and then gasp.

The slavering maw of a polar bear wasn’t what she saw but the cynical gaze of a man. A naked man.

“Gene?”

“You expected someone else?”

“But the bear…Where did he go?”

“Nowhere.”

And with those puzzling words, he lowered his head and—

Thump
. Vicky roused to the lulling rumble of a snowmobile and a knock to the head as she hit the side of the sled.
Ouch.
She took a moment to blink in the darkness, a pitch-black unrelieved by even the twinkle of a single star.

I’m alive.
But in whose hands she couldn’t tell with the blanket draping her head. Given the kind gesture, though, meant to keep her from frostbite, she could guess.

Gene. A guess confirmed with a quick glance. No mistaking his broad back or the odd tingling awareness she got when around him.

He’d prevailed over the attackers, once again her hero, even if a reluctant one.

She stayed nestled in her cocoon, not ready to move yet, not with her mind trying to come to grips with the fact the killers weren’t after Gene.
They were after me!

Someone wanted her dead.
Me. Victoria Lola Sanchez, who never had an enemy in my life, unless you count Wendi in the third grade because I spilled my grape juice on her new dress.
Other than some inadvertent clumsy accidents, Vicky had never done anything to merit someone wanting to kill her. So she had to ask again, why?

It didn’t take her long to guess, thanks to Rick. Dear departed Rick who’d said on more than one drunken occasion the only reason he’d married her fat, boring ass was because she was loaded.

Someone wants my money.
Great. Greed probably served as the motivation, but greed on whose part? An only child, an orphan since her late teens, and a widow, who would benefit if she died?

I don’t even have an updated will.
The last one she had notarized left everything to Rick. What would happen to her assets if she were to die now? Did Rick have some kind of distant cousin who thought he’d inherit? Did she have some until now unknown family member just waiting to get their hands on her inheritance?

“I know you’re awake,” Gene said out of the blue, his voice loud enough to carry even over the rumble of the snowmobile.

“No, I’m not,” she replied, intentionally this time, with a smile he couldn’t see.

“How are you feeling?”

Good question. She sat up and took stock. Other than a stiffness in her joints from lying in the sledge, “Pretty good. Just a bit sore.”

“I’ll stop in a bit so we can eat and stuff.”

And stuff being an uncomfortable squat in the snow to pee while he stood guard. Cheeks burning, she kicked snow as best as she could over it, which for some reason amused him.

“Hiding it doesn’t mean I don’t know it’s there,” he remarked.

“A gentleman wouldn’t mention it.”

It didn’t take his leer to guess his next words. “I’m not a gentleman, Pima.”

No, he certainly wasn’t. Nor a shining example of a hero with his foul language. Certainly not a valorous knight with his habit of killing people. And yet, Vicky couldn’t help but trust and like him, despite his flaws. Beneath the irritable loner hid a good man, one who wouldn’t let her come to harm, who put his life on the line for her.

Oh my god, I’m like a cliché. Chubby nerd girl falls for violent bad boy.

How exciting.

“What’s got you grinning?” he grumbled, having caught her mid fantasy.

“Uh. Well. I was just thinking—”

“Sounds dangerous.”

She blinked in surprise. Had Gene actually made a jest? “I was thinking, that um, maybe we should camp for a few hours, you know so you can get some sleep. You must be tired.”

“Why, Pima, are you trying to get me in the sack?”

Her cheeks could have boiled water with the heat infusing them. “No. Of course not.” Although the thought might have crossed her mind. But how could he have guessed that?

A short laugh barked forth from him as he caught sight of her in the glare of the snowmobile headlights. “Holy shit, you’re blushing.”

“Am not,” she mumbled.

“Liar,” he chided.

“It was just a suggestion. Sorry I made it.”

“Actually, I think stopping is a good idea. This stretch between here and the border to Alaska can prove treacherous. I’d rather navigate it by daylight in case we run into trouble.”

“You think there might be more of those guys still after us?”

“Yes.”

She gasped.

“Not out here though,” he added with a naughty grin.

Oh how she almost melted. Funny how a mischievous smile could transform his craggy features and render him even more attractive than before.

I’ve got it so bad.
What a shame nothing would ever come of it. Gene had made it very clear he thought she was a pain in his buttocks. His Pima. Although, of late, he seemed to say it with less disparagement than before.

“If you’re not worried about an attack, then what are you worried about?”

“The kind of trouble I’m talking about is fissures and drifts, the kind that could cause serious damage to our sled. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer not to walk a few hundred miles to the closest town.”

Hundreds? A number that brought home just how remote they truly were. Why, a man could do anything to her out here and no one would ever know—or hear. “Do we have what we need to camp?” she managed to squeak in spite of her rapidly beating heart.

“Let’s find out.”

When it came to surviving, Gene knew his stuff. In short order, he’d fabricated some kind of shelter using a tarp and the side of the sledge. Inside this low-angled lean-to, he placed a pair of sleeping bags, unzipped from their singular state and rezipped together to form one large cocoon.

She eyed the makeshift bed with trepidation and, yes, some excitement. “We’re sharing?”

“I don’t want either of us freezing to death. Just do me a favor and kick off your boots before climbing in. Oh and shed the coat. With the pair of us in that sucker, things will stay hot enough.”

With an unseemly haste, Vicky obeyed and crawled into the low-ceilinged tent. In moments, a big body had joined her, making the ample space tight. So tight that her body ended up pressed against his.

Gene groaned.

“Are you okay?” she asked anxiously, unable to see his face in the dark. “Did I poke you somewhere?”

“I’m fine,” he growled.

“Oh.” She lay on her side, facing away from him but aware of how her buttocks pressed against his thighs. She couldn’t help but shiver, awareness of him doing strange things to her body.

“You’re cold.” He stated, didn’t ask, as Gene went from lying on his back to his side. To her surprise, his arm curled around her waist and drew her into him.

She almost gasped in surprise, the intimacy shockingly pleasant. Her head ended up tucked under his chin, her back against his chest, her rear nestled against his groin. Oh my. Even she knew what the hardness pressing against her meant.

I’m arousing him.

For some reason this elated her. She tried to ignore a nagging voice, that sounded remarkably like Rick’s, insisting that Gene, like any normal, hot-blooded male who’d gone without sex for a while, would have the same reaction if put in close proximity with a woman. Really, given his rough handsomeness and killer body, he could do much better than a chubby geek like her. He could—

“What’s got your mind whirling a mile a minute?” he asked. Gone was his usual sarcastic tone. He sounded almost gentle, as if their intimate pose in the darkness was a hideaway where he didn’t need to put on a brash front.

Thank goodness he couldn’t see her cheeks now. He’d guess for sure. As to admitting aloud her thoughts? Never. With her luck he’d laugh at her. Or, worse, pity her.

“Nothing, just wondering about everything that’s happened.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Do you have any idea who might want you dead?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No. The only thing I can think of is someone is after my money.”

“You rich?”

Again she nodded.

“Who stands to inherit?”

“That’s just it, nobody. I have no close family, and Rick’s dead. I don’t know who would benefit from me dying.”

“Maybe it’s for vengeance.”

“For what? I haven’t hurt anyone.”

“Are you sure? Maybe some guy’s jealous girlfriend or wife isn’t happy you slept with their significant other.”

She couldn’t help her laughter. “You think someone would be jealous of
me
?” A note of incredulity colored her reply. “That’s ridiculous.”

“I don’t see the humor. You’re very attractive.”

This time she snorted. “How long have you been out here? I am nothing close to the modern definition of gorgeous. Cute maybe if you’re into chubby geeks, but I can assure you, that’s not the case. Besides, I haven’t had a date since Rick died. As a matter of fact, I’ve never been with anyone else.” Why she admitted that sad fact she couldn’t have said, but now that she’d admitted the pitiful truth, she couldn’t take it back.

“You’ve only been with the one man?”

She nodded. “I know it’s pathetic.”

“That’s not the word I would have used,” he mumbled in a low voice.

“Well, it’s the reality, which is why I doubt jealousy is the reason behind the attacks. Are you absolutely certain they weren’t after you?”

“Why, Pima, are you trying to shift the blame to me for the murderous attempts on your life? Are you implying I’m the type of guy to have enemies?”

She squirmed, and she could have sworn he growled. His grip around her waist certainly got tenser. “You’re the one who said he had people out to hurt him.”

Gene chuckled. “Indeed, I did. And I do. But alas, in this case, it seems it is not I who is the target but you, my
luscious
Pima.”

How huskily he said it, the word almost a caress. She couldn’t help but flush with heat, and awareness tingled within her, urging her to do something more than just lie in his embrace. But to do anything else was too forward. Never mind the bravery she’d shown when she’d given him the one kiss, alone, in the dark with no distraction or escape, no way could she act on the urges heating her body.

“What do we do next?”

“I can think of a few things,” he murmured, the palm of his hand flattening against her belly, and his face nuzzling her hair.

“Like?” She whispered the word.

“The right answer is to keep moving until we reach a town and I can get a hold of some contacts and truly see what’s going on with you.”

“And the wrong answer?” She held her breath, both wanting and fearing the reply.

“Don’t tempt me, or I’ll show you,” he growled, his hand pulling her tight against him where his erection pressed hard and insistent against her.

“What if I want you to show me?” she asked, the intimate moment giving her a bravery she never possessed in daylight.

He didn’t reply. Instead, his whole body shuddered, and he buried his face in the vee where her shoulder and neck met. His teeth gripped the skin there, a sharp tug. She gasped.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

The darkness and his words gave her the courage to act. When else would she ever have the chance? She turned until she faced him, unable to see him in the pitch-black but feeling his warm breath, and even better, when she placed her hands against his chest, she felt the rapid thump of his racing heart.

“I’ve never had anyone make me feel like this before,” she admitted.

“I can’t give you what you need.”

And what do you think I need?”

“A relationship. A home. A life without chaos.”

“I’m not asking for those. I just want to feel close to someone.”