by Marie Carnay
Keira laughed. “No. I’m novice at that, actually. I’m a food photographer. That’s what pays the bills.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You take pictures of food?”
“Mm-hmm. For blogs, magazines, newspapers. You name it. But I’m pretty sick of it. There’s only so many shots of rainbow colored pasta you can snap, you know?”
He nodded. “Growing up in a restaurant, it took me years to get over the smell of garlic bread.” Grant put the dishes in the sink and turned on the water.
Keira sat on the bed slack jawed as she watched him clean up.
Men doing dishes never turned her on. She’d seen plenty of that in her years snapping pictures in every type of kitchen imaginable. But Grant. His back muscles flexed beneath his t-shirt. His arms bunched and rolled like molten steel. He wasn’t like most kitchen rats.
She wanted to be the bowl in his hands. The dishrag he twisted. The soap he squeezed.
I have to get ahold of myself. Keira shifted on the bed and her bare skin brushed the hem of the blanket. Right. I’m practically naked. “So about my clothes.”
Grant answered over his shoulder. “Sorry. You were passed out and wet. You needed to dry.”
“No, no.” Keira waved him off. “I’m not upset.” She stood up and padded over to Grant with the blanket trailing behind. “Just curious as to when they’ll be dry.”
He dried the last dish and turned around. “Probably in the morning.”
“Thanks.” She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but no words came out. Instead, she just stood there, confused and turned on. The urge to rush up and kiss this man who’d saved her from a frigid Alaska river was overwhelming and so unlike her.
Keira had never once in her twenty-five years made the first move on a guy. One built like a fitness model with sultry brown eyes and a grin to die for? Not even in her dreams.
Besides, he hadn’t made a single move. Since he’d gotten a good look at her almost naked body, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. He wasn’t into her, not one bit.
“You’re thinking something.”
“What?” The question startled her and she blushed. “It’s nothing.” Keira shook her head and began to turn away when Grant reached out. His fingers grazed her cheek and there it was again. Heat. Need. He turned her face back to his and this time was different. The mask was gone.
“Don’t think for one second I don’t want you, Keira.”
Her mouth fell open and her fingers loosened their grip on the blanket. “I don’t understand.”
“You hardly know me.”
“So?”
“What if you don’t like what you find out?”
Keira swallowed and inched closer. “What if I do?” Her whole body buzzed with nervous energy and she knew this was more than physical attraction. It wasn’t the trip or the cabin or the almost drowning. It was Grant. She licked her lips and stared up at his brown eyes so dilated they looked black. One kiss and the stain of his touch would always haunt her lips. She knew it.
It didn’t matter that she’d lost her camera. That she was miles from anywhere familiar. Life was for living and taking chances. That’s why she’d come to Alaska in the first place. She had forced herself to go somewhere out of her comfort zone. A new, exciting somewhere.
He stood in front of her, body tense and still. Waiting for me. Keira smiled and lifted herself up onto her toes. Her eyelids flitted shut, her body swayed, and there was no going back. Holding the blanket with one hand, she reached up and pulled his face down to hers.
Their skin touched, heat and tingling fire racing across her body and sparking somewhere inside. Oh, wow. His lips sent off ricochets of lust inside her and she moaned.
Grant growled in response and deepened the kiss, pressing his lips hard against hers. He slid his arms around her back and hugged her body close. Her breasts crashed into his chest and her hips ground against his. Before she knew it, he’d leaned her whole body over and raked his tongue across her mouth.
She opened on a gasp, his tongue prying her lips apart to dip inside and pillage. Every flick and lap of his tongue stoked the fire he’d created. Oh my God. Never had Keira been kissed like that. Like he’d trekked through a barren desert and her lips were cool water.
His hands squeezed her tight, digging into her soft curves, running up and down over the blanket. Her nipples hardened and she let the blanket go before reaching out. His body tensed as she explored, her fingers running up the firm muscles of his chest. Damn. Solid and sturdy with more strength than she ever imagined. Grant was ripped.
As he flicked his tongue against her lips, he let go of her back and the blanket fell to the floor. All she had on were workout undies. No sexy bra and panties. Not even an ounce of makeup. She probably looked like a drowned rat. But Grant didn’t seem to mind. He ran his hands down her sides, massaging her thighs and ass as he ground her hips against his.
The heft of his erection pressed into her belly and she moaned into their kiss. It had been so long. All she wanted was for him to lay her down right there on the floor and ravage her. She reached for his jeans, fumbling with the button, but he pulled away. He held her back with one arm locked as his eyes raked over her body, wild and unfocused.
She blinked. “What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
He ran his hand through his hair and wetted his lips. “I’m sorry, Keira. I’m supposed to be protecting you, not trying to get in your pants.” He let her go and staggered back as he wiped the back of his mouth with his hand.
Keira bent and picked up the blanket. She wrapped it around herself and frowned. “Last time I checked, I’m not wearing any.”
His features turned grim and Grant spun on his heel. He grabbed his shirt hanging on the line, his boots from beside the fire, and before she could say another word, he was gone.
5
The front door shut and Keira gawked at it, hand on blanket-clad hip. He’d just walked away. He’d kissed her like she was his whole world and then just turned around and shut her out.
Keira pouted. She hadn’t come to Alaska to fall into bed with an adonis of a man, but now that she’d had a taste and been turned down…The independent spark inside her flared and she stomped her foot.
Fine. If he wasn’t going to kiss her, or give her any of the things her lady bits sorely missed, then she’d have to entertain herself. Which she would do right that instant by finding her camera.
Maybe it landed on the bank when she fell, or washed up a bit down shore. Either way, looking for it got her away from Grant’s cabin and back out in the crisp Alaskan air. She could clear her head and tell her new-found libido to chill the heck out.
And who knows? She just might run across some other wildlife. A caribou might be a hell of a lot happier to see her than Grant. She reached for her clothes and groaned. Damn. Still wet.
Keira frowned. The prospect of going outside with wet clothes was about as appealing as staying put. She pulled her pants off the line. Ugh. Could you get frostbite from damp pants in the summer? It was Alaska. She grabbed her shirt as a shot of pain lanced through her head.
Ouch. She reached for the wall for support, closed her eyes as her vision blurred. If Grant were there, he’d be focusing his concerned brown eyes on her and guiding her to the bed.
But he wasn’t there. She was on her own. At last, the throbbing receded and Keira blinked the room back into focus.
Headache or no headache, if she could find her camera, it would be worth the risk. Selling even one of her photos would mean goodbye to rushing across town to catch bananas foster before the flame went out.
They couldn’t be that far from where she’d fallen in. Not even a man as built as Grant could carry her for miles. Could he?
As she struggled to slide her arm through the wet flannel, the front door opened.
Grant barked out a question before the door even shut behind him. “What are you doing?”
“Getting dres
sed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
She refused to turn around.
“You need to rest and relax. You might have a concussion. You almost drowned.”
“Thanks for the play-by-play reminder, but I need to find my camera. It’s the only one I brought on this whole trip.”
Footsteps landed behind her. Thud, thud, thud. “You are doing no such thing.”
Keira whipped around. Oh, hell no.
Grant dropped a giant parcel at her feet. Her pack! She fell to her knees at his feet. “You found it!”
“Lucky thing that you’d taken it off up the bank. It was right where you’d left it.” He slipped another pack off his shoulders. It must be his—the man was finally wearing a shirt.
She swallowed down an inappropriate wave of disappointment. “Thanks. Sorry I snapped at you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry I walked out on you.”
They stood in awkward silence, Keira trying to figure out something to say, Grant staring at the floorboards between their feet.
Grant broke the silence first. “The camera is that important to you?”
Keira snapped her head up. “Yes. It’s my whole life.”
He chewed on his lip. “You can’t go searching for it. You’ve been through too much.” He glanced up at the window and exhaled. “And it’s not safe out there. There are moose and elk. Bears.”
Who did he think she was, Pollyanna? “I’m well aware of the risks. I prepped for this trip for six months.”
His features softened as he gave her a lopsided smile. “That’s good. But I still don’t think you should be out there alone. Your clothes aren’t even dry.”
“I need my camera. It’s why I’m here.”
He nodded. “How about you stay here? I’ll go look for it.”
“What?” She stepped forward and her head swam.
“See. You need to stay and rest.”
Keira wasn’t an invalid. “No. I’m coming with you.”
“I can cover more ground on my own. I know the terrain and the flow of the river. I’ve been coming out here since I was a kid. For all you know, the camera washed up on the opposite bank.”
Keira exhaled and the fight went out of her. The last thing she wanted to do was navigate the river. She’d had enough water for one day. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Grant reached out and took her by the arms. The heat of his fingers seared her skin and she glanced down. Oh my God. I’m in my underwear. Her face flushed, but he ignored it.
“Stay. I’ll be back in an hour. Two at the most. You can rest. Have a shower. There’s a bathroom through that door. The tank’s half full, so there’s plenty of water.”
“The tank?”
He nodded. “We have water trucked in a few times a year.”
Keira raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t imagine living like that. But a shower…The city girl in her was rejoicing. What cabin had a shower? She glanced down at her stringy, matted hair, and her decision was made.
She wanted her camera, but she wanted him to kiss her again, too. Turning down conditioner at this point would be beyond idiotic.
She let her arms relax and smiled. “A shower would be awesome. Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Keira stared out the window as Grant disappeared over the nearest hill. He’d gone ultralight with a small pack and a bottle of water. He’d cover way more ground than she ever could have.
He was right. Leaving without her was the best decision, even if she did miss his touch the second he was gone. Keira knelt at her pack and fished out her toiletry kit. Shower time.
Maybe if she cleaned herself up, Grant wouldn’t be so hasty to walk out the door.
She stepped inside the tiny bathroom, flipped on the lantern hanging from the ceiling, and caught her first glimpse of herself in the mirror. All thoughts of a wilderness seduction fell away as she realized that she looked like a lost, drowned rat. Her hair fell in stringy clumps all around her face, there were dark circles under her eyes, and the blossoming bruise on her forehead looked seriously nasty.
“So much for that plan.” She stuck her tongue out at her reflection. The small shower stall next to the toilet wasn’t much, but it would wash the grime and dirt of the river away. The two towels on the rack seemed like an invitation.
Keira turned the water on and groaned in delight as she stepped under the steaming water. She never knew that hot water could feel so good. She grimaced when the first streams hit her head but then her muscles relaxed as the warmth eased the pain.
Her mind traveled again and again to Grant. The man had thrown her off-kilter from the moment she had laid eyes on him. He was the reason she’d fallen into the river to begin with, but he had more than made up for it by saving her life. She couldn’t deny that there were far worse things in life than being saved by a handsome stranger.
She grabbed the shampoo and squeezed it into her palm. Her love life had been beyond non-existent lately. Ever since Wade asked her to drop everything and move to Thailand with him, she’d been alone.
Keira was settled in Seattle; it was her home and she wasn’t about to uproot herself on a whim. But that’s where she’d planted roots. Finally, she had a home. The days of moving wherever the Army told her family to go were long gone. Her trip to Alaska was the first time she’d left Seattle in over three years.
Her lack of love life had to be reason she’d tried to jump Officer Grant. Her body was just giving her a big red flag that she needed to get laid. Maybe spending time in this remote cabin with the handsome officer wasn’t such a bad thing.
She had no idea how long she’d been in the shower when a loud thumping registered in her consciousness. It was someone banging on the bathroom door. Suddenly she realized that there was no shower curtain or anything to hide behind.
“Are you okay in there?” Grant’s voice floated through the door.
“I’m fine!” She quickly used the bar of soap she found in the stall and rinsed her hair before turning the water off. She dried off, combed her hair with her fingers, and took stock in the mirror. Her skin was pink from the steamy water, and her eyes looked brighter than earlier. A million times better than before.
Keira stared down at her bra and panties. In her haste, she’d forgotten to pull out any clothes. She shrugged. She’d already been practically naked in front of the man, so he shouldn’t mind. She pulled the blanket around her chest and knotted it to keep it from falling down. Then she gathered her underwear and took a deep breath. It wasn’t a big deal.
She stepped back out into the main part of the cabin and Grant’s eyes widened as he took her in.
She winced. “I forgot to get any clothes.”
“Did you find my camera?”
“Not yet. It’s starting to get dark, so it would be better for us to stay here tonight. We can look again in the morning.”
Keira’s heart sank, but she knew it wasn’t a good idea to argue. “I appreciate you looking.”
Grant cleared his throat. “Part of the job.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, and Keira could see the heat in his eyes as his gaze moved slowly down her body. If he kept looking at her like that, she’d drop the blanket without a moment of hesitation. What the hell was wrong with her?
She nodded and then crossed to the fireplace and put her bra and panties on the lower rod of the drying rack. She touched her shirt and jeans. They were still wet. Grant’s clothes hung next to hers and she resisted the urge to reach out and touch his shirt.
Keira put on a cheery voice. “Well, what do we do now?” She knew exactly what she wanted, and it wasn’t to call it a night in that lumpy old bed. Not unless Trooper Wilcox was wrapped up in her arms.
Grant’s eyes traveled the length of her. “I’m going to grab some firewood from out back.”
She swallowed. “Don’t be long.”
6
Grant tramped around to the back of the cabin. Gather th
e firewood, go back inside, ignore the throbbing hard on inside your jeans. That’s what he needed to do. But all Grant could think about was Keira and the way she bit her lip when she looked at him. The color in her cheeks when she thought he wasn’t looking.
The curves of her body barely hidden by that blanket. He shouldn’t touch her. She’d almost drowned. Might have a concussion. She needed rest, not his dick.
He shook his head. Being a jackass wasn’t going to help anyone. Grant walked back around to the front door. He shoved the door open and crossed the cabin floor, his arms loaded down with firewood. He set them on the stone hearth around the wood stove and shoved a couple logs into the fire. They should be set for hours.
With a deep breath, he stood up and turned around and almost bumped into Keira.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to kiss me.”
He stepped back and held up his hands. “You almost drowned. We can’t…I can’t…If I hurt you…” God, when had he turned into such a blathering idiot?
She closed the distance between them and he growled. “I mean it, Keira. You need to back up. If we go down this road, I don’t know if I can stop myself.”
“Then don’t.”
“What if you’re hurt?”
“You’ll make me feel better.”
“What if you wake up in the morning and regret it?”
“I won’t. Grant, you saved me from the river. You found my pack and took care of me all day.”
“That’s my job.”
She shook her head. “Bullshit. You could have called for back-up or taken me to your car or a million other things. You wanted to stay here with me.”
Every word out of her mouth chipped away at his resolve. He wanted to be the good guy. The trooper she could depend on. Not some sex-starved asshole who took advantage. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
She laughed. “If anything, I’m the one taking advantage of you.” She palmed his chest. “I want you, Grant. You want me.”
He licked his lips and she smiled.
“Give in to the moment. You want my body? You can have it.” She dropped the blanket and Grant’s whole world tilted.