Wild Heat (Northern Fire)

by Lucy Monroe

His words couldn’t have been clearer. “You don’t want them to know about us.” Which she agreed with, especially when she wasn’t sure what exactly us meant.

  However, hearing his absolute dedication to making sure there was no chance they’d get sussed out bothered her.

  He leaned against the doorjamb, filling the opening. “I don’t make it a habit of introducing my casual sex partners to my family.”

  “But I’m already a friend.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So, we have to hide that we’re having sex.” She spelled it out, needing to know exactly where she stood.

  Tack looked relieved she got it. “Right.”

  “You said you didn’t do sex with locals.”

  “For exactly this reason. I don’t like subterfuge, but I won’t have my family thinking they’ve practically gotten me married off either.”

  Because sex wasn’t love. It wasn’t even a relationship.

  “Why break your rules?” She hadn’t forgotten he said he didn’t do friends with benefits either.

  “I wanted you.” He leered at her, the expression both funny and unexpectedly arousing. “I still want you.”

  “A few days ago, you were telling me I was too damaged for sex.”

  “With strangers.”

  “Or you.” Or maybe the no sex with him thing had been about his rules.

  Caitlin didn’t like the confusion clouding her brain.

  “Look, we established that I had my reasons for not wanting to do this.” He waved his hand between them.

  “But you set those reasons aside. Why?” She might well regret asking, but she didn’t hide anymore.

  At least not from herself.

  “I didn’t think it through.”

  “What does that mean? You didn’t think of this sex-for-eating thing?” She could believe that all too easily. It was a little weird and she wasn’t sure she bought that he wasn’t using it as an excuse to do something he wanted. She liked that explanation better anyway.

  “No. That works for me and you, too, if lunch was any indication.”

  She frowned, but didn’t comment.

  “Back at the Skilak trail, we started something.”

  Oh, yes, they had. “Something you said you didn’t want to do again.”

  “I was wrong.”

  “So, you want me?” She started braiding her hair, aware of how provocative the stance with both arms above her head was.

  His focus went to her breasts, his eyes darkening. “If that’s not obvious, I’ve been doing something wrong.”

  “No. I get it.” She smiled, enjoying the way his attention never wavered from her. “What I don’t get is how I went from too damaged to have sex to you offering your kisses and body as incentive for me to eat.”

  “You’re overthinking it, Kitty.”

  “Maybe, but that’s what I do.” For good or ill. And maybe she was just trying to get him to admit that there was more to it than his strange deal. “You’re using sex to take care of me.”

  “I didn’t think it through up on the trail.”

  “Think what through? Rejecting me?”

  “Exactly. I didn’t see it as rejecting you.”

  “Just sticking by your rules.” And protecting her from herself, even if he wasn’t going to admit that part now.

  “Right. Only it turned out be some kind of trigger for you.”

  “You noticed.” Of course he’d noticed; he offered her kisses in exchange for eating lunch only a couple of hours ago.

  “I figured if saying no kisses caused the problem…”

  “Offering them would fix it.” Caitlin wasn’t sure how she felt about being seen as a problem. A project. Something he had to fix.

  Refused to accept that was all she was capable of being.

  There was one thing she could give him that no one else could. Closure on the past, even if it opened up her present to feelings she didn’t want to deal with.

  Oh, he clearly didn’t think he needed it, but just look around. Here Tack was, living in his dream home, the one he’d built for his future family with no concrete plans to share it with someone else. Sure, he said he’d get married someday, but he wasn’t looking. Not even a little.

  He was working insanely long hours, building a business that anyone else would consider firmly established.

  Tack had shut part of himself off. She wondered if anyone else had noticed. His family didn’t act like they did. Maybe they were too close to him to see it.

  Caitlin wasn’t vain enough to believe her rejection was the only cause, but the death of his grandfather had come after and with it the loss of any chance for Tack to prove his value to the old man.

  Tack deserved to be happy. He deserved all of his dreams coming to fruition.

  He needed a friend like her, someone who saw beyond the confident exterior he presented to the rest of the world. And if having a sexual relationship with her helped him to get past her rejection of him, she wanted that too.

  Even if all she could give him was amazing sex and companionship he enjoyed, that wasn’t nothing. It was something besides his business to focus on every minute of every day. He smiled, shamelessly adjusting himself. “Exactly.”

  Or maybe just unconsciously. He liked the idea of kissing her, that was for sure.

  “And the sex?” she taunted.

  “If it’ll help you heal, no way am I letting you go to a stranger until you’re in a better place.”

  Well, that made sense, even if it was borderline insulting. The man had a protection streak wider than a glacier and just as solid. She finished her braid and realized she had nothing to hold it. “Do you have a hair tie?”

  He sometimes wore his hair pulled back in a ponytail.

  “Sure.” He opened a drawer in the double vanity, pulled out a black one, and handed it to her.

  She took it, her mind reeling. “Do you mean to be patronizing, or is it just a side effect of your certainty you know what is best?”

  He frowned. “I saw a problem—”

  That problem being her. “And you wanted to fix it.”

  “Right.” His tone implied he saw nothing wrong with that.

  “And if I don’t want to be seen as a problem to fix?”

  “Don’t kid yourself. No way can sex be that good if I see you as anything but a drop-dead desirable woman.”

  Okay, that made no sense and flew in the face of what he’d been saying. Only the absolute certainty in his voice brought her spiraling thoughts to a screeching halt. Not only did he believe what he said, but also he was right.

  That sex had not been the result of pity; it hadn’t been medicinal. It had been earth-shattering.

  And it was something else only she could give him right now. His rules meant no other locals could and he was going to be too busy with MacKinnon Bros. Tours to go into Anchorage anytime soon.

  “So, what was the shower?” she mocked, wanting to push and reveling in the fact that with this man she could. “Payment on account so I’m obligated to eat dinner tonight?”

  “The shower was a fantasy lived out in three-D Technicolor.”

  Yeah, she’d kind of gotten that impression. “You liked it.”

  “Not sure like is the right word for something that burned every rational thought from my mind and turned my legs into jelly.”

  Okay, so she was a project. But she was also a woman who could give him pleasure he didn’t expect or know how to control.

  Caitlin could work with that.

  He moved in until she was pressed between him and the counter. “Look at me.”

  He waited until she met his gaze.

  All she saw in his chocolate brown depths was sincerity.

  “I’m going to take care of you, Kitty. You can trust me not to lie to you, not to promise things I can’t or won’t give, and I make this promise: I won’t break you like he did.”

  “O—” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Okay, but just so you know. I
wouldn’t let you.”

  His smile was almost too bright to look at. “Good.” He turned to go back into the bedroom, but stopped. “Kitty?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’ll eat tonight because you’re hungry, but if thinking about what we’re going to do later helps, then fantasize away.”

  She threw the towel on the counter at him. “Arrogant jerk comes to mind.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I’ll be thinking about it too. Don’t make me have to come home and jack off.”

  Sexy arrogant jerk.

  * * *

  Tack watched Kitty greet Gran MacKinnon, thanking her for the invitation to dinner. Though the invite had come from his mom via Tack, the Homestead was still technically Gran and Granddad MacKinnon’s. Kitty’s recognition of his gran’s status was just the right thing to do.

  She fit in Cailkirn better than she thought she did. Always had.

  When she turned and hugged his Inuit grandmother and greeted her with equal deference, something dormant came to life inside of Tack.

  He turned away from the tableau that caused the strange feelings, determined not to let them take root.

  It didn’t help that when Kitty had changed, she’d put on a pretty, figure-hugging blue dress. And her shoes were a good two inches higher than the more sensible heels she’d worn earlier, making her legs look about a mile long.

  She’d done something with her eyes, too, making them seem bigger and the blue even brighter than usual. Her freckles weren’t as pronounced, like she’d put powder over them or something. Having her hair back in a braid enhanced the perfect oval of her face but took her from Kitty-sweet to Caitlin-chic.

  He preferred her natural beauty, wild red hair, freckles, and all.

  His fingers itched to undo her hair, letting the wild mass fluff around her face. If he could, he’d strip the dress off and reveal his wildcat underneath too. He was sure she hadn’t done anything to disguise the sweet cinnamon sprinkles over the upper swell of her breasts.

  Contemplating her nakedness and what he’d like to do with it sent a montage of X-rated images through his mind.

  “She looks better than she did at lunch,” Aana observed.

  Tack nodded, trying not to choke on his thoughts. “She was a little stressed.”

  Aana frowned, concern darkening her eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

  “I know, Aana, and so does she.” He reached down and put his arm around his diminutive mom’s shoulders. “Kitty’s just adjusting to being home. Cailkirn doesn’t offer the anonymity of the big city.”

  “But surely that helps her to feel more protected and cared for.”

  “Or smothered.” Hell, sometimes even he felt smothered and he loved their small town.

  Aana looked unconvinced. “Considering how badly that anonymous life in LA went for her, I’d think she would be glad to be home, surrounded by people who know and love her.”

  “I am,” Kitty said, having heard at least part of their conversation.

  She gave his mom a more genuine smile than anything she’d offered earlier.

  As long as he didn’t let himself start thinking about things better left in the broken dreams of the past, having a casual sexual relationship with Kitty could be good for both of them.

  He craved her body with an intensity he would have found impossible to ignore forever. Better to give into the desire while he still had some level of control. He would work through longings that needed to be relegated to the past and she could reconnect to the feisty, sensual woman who lived inside her.

  Kitty pulled his aana from him and into a full body hug. “I’m so sorry for behaving like an idiot at lunch today. You are and have always been one of my very favorite people.”

  Aana blushed with pleasure. “Thank you, Caitlin. The feeling is mutual.”

  Kitty let his mom go but didn’t try to establish a city-sized bubble of personal space around her. “Even after today?”

  “Of course. Tack has reminded me that you need to get used to having people around who care about you.”

  “I’m sure he’s right.” Kitty’s tone wasn’t as confident as her words.

  She’d never really enjoyed the intrusive nature of small-town life, but she’d been more resigned to it in the past. She’d get there again. It was an adjustment for anyone used to the anonymity of city life. While the benefits of living in Cailkirn outweighed the faults, they still existed.

  His mom didn’t seem to notice Kitty’s iffy sincerity. “I would like time to catch up with you away from all this hubbub.”

  “I’d like that too.” Kitty didn’t even wince when she agreed.

  Had her attitude changed so much, or was she hiding her real reaction?

  “Good.” Aana was all smiles and motherly approval.

  Kitty took a step back, an unconscious bid for distance he doubted Aana noticed either. “Gran and my aunts would be delighted if you’d join us for lunch Friday.”

  That explained Kitty’s change of heart about sharing a meal with his mom. The Grant sisters would make a good buffer, more than willing to answer questions Kitty found difficult. Not only that, but they would also stop his mom from grilling her too intensely.

  They were a wily group of women. And though they might not completely understand Kitty’s recovery needs, they were fiercely loyal and protective of their chick.

  “I told Gran how poorly I’d behaved and that I wanted to invite you over to make up for it.”

  Tack had chalked the half hour Kitty had taken to change her clothes up to her extra efforts with makeup and such. Apparently, she’d taken some time to speak with her gran, who had not joined him and Miss Elspeth in the parlor until just before Kitty came downstairs.

  When Kitty had taken Miss Elspeth aside to talk quietly to before leaving with Tack, he’d assumed she was reminding the elderly woman about the dinner plans with his family.

  A completely irrational urge to horn in on Friday’s lunch hit Tack. What if her family didn’t notice how stressed his mother’s probing made Kitty? What if they didn’t run interference like she so clearly believed they would?

  He realized he’d gotten lost in his head when both Aana and Kitty stared at him expectantly.

  “Sorry I missed that. What did you ask?” he directed his inquiry in their general direction, not knowing which woman had done the asking.

  “I wondered if we should just invite you to join us right off, rather than have you come up with some excuse to stop by the Knit and Pearl at lunchtime on Friday.” His mother’s expression was too knowing.

  The question was way too close to the thoughts running through his head. And there could be only one reason for that.

  No. No way in hell was she going to start thinking he and Kitty were headed toward being a couple. He had to nip this line of hopeful speculation in the bud.

  “No,” he said louder than he’d meant to. “That won’t be necessary. I don’t usually forget my lunch.”

  Both women appeared taken aback at his vehemence.

  “I thought you’d jump at a chance to have Miss Elspeth’s cooking,” his mom said with a perplexed frown.

  Oh. Oh shit. She hadn’t been thinking about him and Kitty at all.

  “Even her cooking isn’t worth sitting through one of your gabfests.” He winked at Kitty. “I’m warning you, once those three get started solving the town’s problems, both real and imagined, even Miz Alma takes herself off. If Aana brings Emaa, it’ll be even worse.”

  “I’ll take that under consideration.” Kitty’s joking tone and smile was more forced than before.

  His mom slapped his arm. “That’s enough out of you.”

  “You know it’s true.”

  “Just for that I’m going to call Miss Elspeth tonight and ask if she won’t defrost some of her venison stew for our lunch,” Aana threatened.

  “That’s fighting dirty.”

  His mom put on her most innocent face. “I don’t know wha
t you mean.”

  Kitty laughed at them both, the sound too natural not to be sincere. “I’m sorry to mess with your revenge plans, Miss Malina, but I already asked Aunt Elspeth to make her summer vegetable soup.”

  “It’s not summer yet.”

  “Frozen vegetables work almost as well, though she won’t approve of me telling you that.” Kitty winked at his mom.

  She was going to be just fine on Friday.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When it came time to sit down to the table, Tack avoided the open spot beside Kitty. He was illogically sensitive to how things looked after his mix-up about what his mom might be thinking about him and Kitty. So, Tack elected to sit to the right of his cousin Cian.

  Then Tack spent all of dinner regretting his cowardly move.

  Him sitting next to the woman who used to be his best friend wouldn’t make his family start wondering if something was going on between them.

  If he was going to manage a secret casual sexual relationship with Kitty Grant, he would have to work on the paranoid.

  Thankfully, his emaa’s grilled salmon was perfect. Flaky and moist with the hint of the special herb rub she used and the smoke from the fire, it teased his appetite despite his frustrating thoughts.

  Tack was happy to note that Kitty had divided her food and was eating steadily between bouts of conversation. She sat between his uncle, who didn’t add much more than a grunt here and there, and Shila.

  Tack’s sister kept up a steady stream of conversation and Kitty didn’t seem to mind.

  “Why aren’t you eating your dinner?” his mom asked Kitty when there was a lull in the competing voices at the table.

  Wishing again that he’d taken that seat beside Kitty, Tack frowned at his mother warningly. “She’s eating just fine.”

  Hadn’t his aana learned anything at lunch today?

  “But she’s barely touched her food.”

  “That will be enough, Malina. I’m sure your mother raised you better than to embarrass a guest at our table.” His gran nodded toward Emaa while chastising her daughter-in-law in a tone Tack had never had the courage to ignore.

  “I did,” Emaa backed Gran up with a gently chiding look for his mom.

  “I didn’t mean…” Aana’s voice trailed off.