by J. H. Croix
That night after the four photographers had retired to their tents, she glanced over at hers and sighed. Sometime during the hike away from camp, some type of animal, likely a marmot, had shredded a corner of the tent door, just enough that the fastener to the tent pole was torn and the tent leaned drunkenly to one side. That meant she would be sharing Quinn’s tent tonight. Not such a great plan if her body’s reaction to the idea told her anything. The moment she’d heard Quinn chuckle and comment she’d be sleeping with him tonight, heat had rolled through her body in a flash. She needed to get over this weird attraction to him as soon as possible. She didn’t really do the whole relationship thing—too messy, too inconvenient. She’d also found that men tended to shy away from her anyway. She was too much of a tomboy.
She’d temporarily considered just sleeping outside under the stars, but that wasn’t smart. Autumn nights were cold out in the wilderness and while a tent didn’t offer too much protection, it was better than nothing. She looked across the dying fire to Quinn. His features were shadowed in the dim light, his amber hair gilded with gold in the flickering firelight. He glanced up and caught her eyes. For a flash, she thought she saw something in his gaze, but he shuttered it and his usual teasing smile hooked the corners of his mouth.
“I’m about to crash. You want me to help drag your sleeping bag in the tent?”
She stood swiftly. “Nah. I got it. Mind putting the fire out while I do that?”
She heard him stand as she strode toward her torn tent. She gathered her sleeping bag and carefully tidied up her backpack before carrying everything over to Quinn’s tent. He was using a stick to sift through the coals and push them down into the pile of ash. Moments later, she was kneeling over trying to straighten out her sleeping bag when she heard the tent zipper. She scrambled to turn around. In her rush to turn, she fumbled and instead of him being up close and personal with her bottom, she found herself a mere inch or so from his face. For a beat, she wanted to close the space and see if his lips felt as good as they looked—full and sensual against his strong and masculine features.
Instead she scrambled back with her heart beating staccato in her chest and that inconvenient desire flooding her. Quinn merely grinned and crawled into the tent beside her. Without a word, he yanked his t-shirt off and slipped into his sleeping bag.
“G’night,” he said, his voice gruff.
She could hear the smile in his voice because that’s how he always was. Everything held a hint of fun for him. Meanwhile, he’d left her dry-mouthed and nearly panting at the glimpse of his chest—all sculpted muscle and a true six-pack of abs. She’d seen him shirtless before, but she’d never thought much of it. What the hell was wrong with her? She shook her head and slipped into her own sleeping bag, grateful she’d be cocooned away from his body through the night.
She woke hours later, her hand—oh my god!—her hand was sliding over the hard planes of his chest. While somehow, her tank top had slid up and she was draped over him, one of her bare breasts pressing against his side and his hand cupping her bottom. She had absolutely no idea how they ended up tangled together like this, but both of their sleeping bags were unzipped and one of her legs was thrown over his. It felt sooo good to be close to him like this, her body was nearly aflame with need. This was not good, definitely not good.
Quinn came to slowly and realized he was rock hard with need and Lacey was draped all over him. He felt her lush bottom under his palm and almost groaned at how good it felt. Lacey Adams had been forbidden fruit for as long as he’d known her. She was always all business when she was around him, so he’d struck the same tone. But he couldn’t help himself from appreciating how damn tempting she was with her auburn hair, her bright green eyes, and her body, which was nothing short of a work of art. She was completely fit. Her life demanded it with her years of leading hikes, dog sledding trips, cross-country skiing and then some in the wilderness. Somehow though, she retained her femininity with an hourglass figure, lush breasts and generous hips to soften her athletic build.
To wake with her like this sent his body and mind into all kinds of wild imaginings. Suddenly she stiffened against him. Ah hell, she was awake and now he had to find a way to be a gentleman about this. Because unless she made it crystal clear she wanted something more, he’d try to respect their friendship. Her hand stilled on his chest and she slowly lifted her head.
“Um, I’m not sure how this happened,” she said, her words rough with sleep.
Seeing as he knew damn well she could feel his hard cock against the leg she’d thrown across him, he couldn’t really deny his state. He chuckled. “Me neither.”
Her eyes lifted and met his in the dark. He’d give anything for just enough light to be able to read her gaze. With his pulse thundering and lust lashing at him, he held his breath and willed his body under control.
She shifted her leg off of him. The feel of her silky skin sliding over his only served to tighten the need clawing at him. She slowly untangled herself from him, and he reluctantly let his hands ease off of her. She sat up and tugged her tank top down and looked over at him again. “Didn’t mean to climb all over you like that,” she said, her tone sheepish.
He aimed for nonchalant. “No need to apologize. We were asleep.” He left unsaid the fact that he would have happily allowed her to climb all over him again, but he sensed he needed to bide his time if he was ever to have a chance with Lacey.
She was quiet for several beats before she spun around and slipped back inside her sleeping bag. “Right, we were sleeping,” she said softly.
He listened to the sound of her breathing as she drifted back into sleep. He lay in the dark, wide-awake as his body settled down, the hot lust surging through him gradually ebbing away. An owl called in the trees nearby, another owl returning the call from a distance.
The following morning, Quinn woke before Lacey. He rolled his head to the side, a smile curling at the sight of her. Her auburn hair lay in a tousle around her face and shoulders. She was on her side facing him with her hands tucked under her chin. Her full lips were relaxed and tiny freckles were scattered across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. He resisted the urge to lean over and kiss her. As if she sensed him looking at her, her eyes opened, green with flecks of gold and bright in the gray light of dawn.
“Morning,” he said.
She shifted onto her back and stretched before rolling to face him again. “Good morning. How long have you been awake?”
“Just a few minutes.”
“How’s your hip?”
She shifted her legs and shrugged one shoulder. “A little sore, but that’s all.”
She pushed up on one hand and crossed her legs under her. Her hair draped around her shoulders, long waves falling around the curves of her breasts, which were inconveniently on display in her fitted tank top. She leaned over and dug around in her backpack, tugging out a flannel button-down shirt, which she threw over her shoulders. He watched as she shimmied into a pair of fleece leggings. She glanced over her shoulder as she slid her feet into a pair of lightweight boots. “Don’t suppose you’ll be making coffee this morning?”
He grinned. “No need to ask.”
She returned his grin and unzipped the tent flap, disappearing through it. He dug through his own backpack and tugged out another set of clothes. Moments later, he was lacing up his boots when he heard a shuffling sound and then a thump. Lacey’s sharp cry was distinct. He scrambled out of the tent to find her on the ground by the blackened fire circle.
Peter and Chad, two of the photographers on the trip with them, were nearby. Chad was kneeling beside Lacey. “You okay?” he asked.
Quinn raced to Lacey’s side, kneeling down. “What happened?”
Lacey had fallen in a tangle, her legs crossed at the ankles. She started to move, all but swatting Chad and Quinn away, but her hand flopped on the ground. Quinn eased an arm around her back, propping her weight against him. “Easy. Tell me what happened.”
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Lacey shook her head. “I can’t see well. Everything’s all blurry.”
Chad caught his eyes. “She said a minute ago that her legs felt tired and then all the sudden she collapsed.”
Quinn’s doctor brain switched on and he started rifling through possibilities right away. Given her slip yesterday, it could be related solely to that, or it could be something else. Right now, he just needed to get her comfortable.
“Let’s get you over to one of the chairs.” He and Chad slowly eased her up.
He could sense her irritation. The fact she didn’t shove them away and stand on her own concerned him. Once she was seated in a camp chair, he stood and glanced around. “Can you grab me that water bottle?” he asked, gesturing to Peter who’d been waiting nearby while he and Chad had helped Lacey to the chair.
Peter snagged the water bottle in question and strode in his direction. Quinn met him on the way. “Notice anything before she fell?” he asked, his voice low.
“Not much more than what Chad said. She mentioned her legs felt tired. Before that, she seemed, I don’t know, kind of out of it. Just for a minute or so and then she fell.”
Quinn nodded as he took the proffered water bottle from Peter. “Thanks. We’ll give her a few to see if she’s feeling better. Hope you guys don’t mind.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Of course not! You’ve already given us the best trip we’ve ever had. We’re happy to sit tight as long as we need. Don’t even worry about it.”
“Good to know. Let me see how she’s doing.”
Quinn headed back to Lacey’s side, hooking his hand around a camp chair on the way over and setting it down beside her. “Have some water,” he said, handing her the bottle.
She accepted it from him and took a long swallow. After she lowered it, he noticed her grip was shaky, so he reached over and took it from her. “How you feeling now?”
She canted her eyes to his and he saw fear in their depths, such an unusual feeling for Lacey, it worried him. “Weird. I feel weird,” she finally said. “After I came out of the tent, I just started to feel funny. One of my legs felt numb and both of them felt weak. For a second, I couldn’t see right and then I just fell. That blurry thing is gone and my legs are starting to feel more normal, but it’s just weird. What the hell happened?”
Quinn’s mind flipped through possibilities, but he didn’t want to go there right now with her. “Maybe your fall was a little harder than you thought. Let’s see how you feel after a little bit. You still up for coffee?”
She grinned and nodded emphatically. “That might be just what I need.”
Two days later, Lacey made her way along the gravel path leading to the airstrip that would fly them out of Katmai and back to Diamond Creek. After her odd episode the other morning, she’d had some of Quinn’s coffee and felt like herself after that. The rest of the trip had been uneventful. Well, they’d had a close encounter with a brown bear and breathed a sigh of relief after they avoided two mama moose and their calves. Quinn was taking up the rear as they made their way to the airstrip. She could hear the whirr of the plane’s prop in the distance. She glanced skyward and suddenly her vision blurred again. She stopped right where she was and shook her head. Just like the other day, her legs felt weak and one of them started tingling. “No, no, no, no,” she mumbled to herself. She must have looked up too quickly. That’s probably what happened the other morning. She ignored the weakness and tingling and started walking again. Her right leg wouldn’t cooperate. She felt as if she was dragging it behind her. On sheer will alone, she kept trudging along the path.
Before she knew it, Quinn was at her side, catching her as she fell. His hold was so strong, steady and sure. She just let go because she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. The last thing she remembered were Quinn’s amber eyes locking onto hers. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Coming Soon!
When We Fall (A Last Frontier Lodge Novel)
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Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Christmas on the Last Frontier
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
Stay With Me
Catamount Lion Shifters
Protected Mate
Chosen Mate
Fated Mate
Destined Mate
Ghost Cat Shifters
The Lion Within
Lion Lost & Found
Acknowledgments
To my dogs who make life fun, to my hubby who keeps inspiring me, and to some feathered friends who have kept me laughing this summer. Always: my readers. Hugs and gracious thanks for your support!
About the Author
Bestselling author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes sexy contemporary romance and steamy paranormal shifter romance with strong independent women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
Places you can find me:
@jhcroix
jhcroix
jhcroix.com
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