by Sky Robinson
Gold Lust
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
Gold Lust
Sky Robinson
Chapter One
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 st
ream. 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.
James moved restlessly, then turned to face her.
“There, that’s better. I could get used to this.” He wrapped his arms around her and grinned.
“You’re not going to be getting anything but body heat from me. In fact, you seem to be doing just fine. I think I’ll get dressed and start a fire.” She moved so that her skin no longer touched him, but it didn’t get rid of the tension flooding her body.
“Never hurts to try. You are a woman?” He paused and moved back so his eyes could drift down her body. “Hard to tell sometimes with the clothes you wear.”
His words were rude, but the expression on his face was one of teasing and curiosity. And lust.
“Men’s clothes just happen to be a lot more comfortable than women’s. I’d like to see you try to climb mountains in a dress.” She forced herself to focus on the words, not his eyes.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been ridiculed for wearing pants. Emma rolled out of the blanket and turned her back to James.
“Maybe you should stop climbing mountains and start wearing dresses. Women are meant to stay home and raise children,
not work in mines.” His voice held no venom, no anger, but the words still had a little sting to them. It was what everyone expected, and she didn’t like it.
James paused for a second and it made her uneasy. But Emma kept from the temptation of looking back, kept from checking out his expression, kept from trying to read the man’s mind.
“You’d look pretty damn good in a dress.” His voice was low and rough, and it didn’t matter if the words should have been offensive to her. They had a much different impact.
Emma pulled the shirt over her shoulders and then turned to look at James. His eyes moved over the still exposed lower half of her body, sending heat to every inch of her skin.
She actually enjoyed the fact that he thought she would look good in a dress. There was something definitely wrong with her. Even more aggravating was the heat that pooled between her legs when he looked at her like that. Stupid.
She shouldn’t care about his thoughts. Emma pulled her shirt closed and started buttoning, but her hands shook as she worked. Not from cold, but from nervousness and a desire that she couldn’t shake.
“You should be thankful I do climb mountains. If I hadn’t decided to come today, you would’ve been washed right down the stream.”
“Yeah…thanks for that.” He looked her in the eye as he said the words and that was even worse than when he looked at her body. It felt as if he was looking straight into her soul.
“You’re welcome.” She never expected James Armstrong to thank her for anything. It was strange. This whole situation was strange.
Emma fumbled with the buttons but she finally finished closing the shirt and looked up to face James. A smirk plastered across his face and he watched her, unashamed.
Not bothering to mess with undergarments, Emma moved to the door of the mine. She would finish this ordeal, make a fire and dry out her pants and his clothes so she could get to her claim and start working instead of wasting her time rolling naked in the blankets with James. She only had a week to work, and then the ships would start coming in. She would have to go back to town to try to rent out the upstairs rooms of her house. There wasn’t any time to waste.