by Croix, J. H.
Nathan decided it wasn’t worth trying to sidestep with them. “Yeah, I took her to dinner. I like her—a lot more than I planned on. Don’t know what the hell to do about it though. She doesn’t even live here.”
Hannah’s eyes sobered, and she glanced to Luke. “Told you he really liked her,” she said before turning back to Nathan. “Not sure what to say about the fact that she doesn’t live anywhere near here. Maybe you should just play it by ear.”
Luke looked to Hannah. “So he really likes her, she doesn’t live anywhere close to here and you want him to play it by ear?” he asked with a shake of his head. “Hon, this is Nathan. He plays everything by ear. I’m guessing he wants some concrete advice, or he’d still be playing it cool with us.”
Hannah swatted Luke’s shoulder. “Hey! What do I tell him? He’s right, she lives across the damn country.” She turned to Nathan, leaning her elbows on the table. “I like Tess. I’m glad you like her, but I don’t know what to tell you,” she said earnestly.
Nathan shrugged and picked up another cracker, scooping a generous amount of salmon dip into his mouth. “Damn if I know what to do. Seriously, I just thought she was cute, so I asked her to dinner. She got all prickly about it and it made me want to persuade her. I finally did and then…” he paused, getting flustered.
Luke interjected. “She’s more than just cute for you. She’s got you all tied up. Way I see it, you have two choices: make the most of the next week or so that she’s here, or back off. Whatever you do, be decent to her. She’s the good kind.”
“I’m decent to everyone,” Nathan replied, aggrieved with Luke. “And what the hell do you mean—the good kind?”
“Not saying you aren’t decent. And the good kind, well that’s the kind of woman worth fighting for. Like Hannah,” he said, reaching to clasp Hannah’s hand. “Dude, you’re the one that helped me realize what an idiot I was about to be. Remember all that stuff you said about how awesome Hannah was?” Luke asked.
Hannah smiled wide and leaned her head on Luke’s shoulder. “Awww, I love it when you remind me that I’m worth it. Especially when John kept me up almost all night.”
Luke rubbed her hair. Hannah lifted her head, and Luke leaned in for a lingering kiss. Witnessing the easy intimacy between them made Nathan wish he could leapfrog to that point with Tess. With a mental shake, he reminded himself that he’d had a single dinner with her, a few days of fishing and two nights of unbelievable passion.
Luke looked back to Nathan. “So yeah, Tess is the good kind. Don’t get all defensive about it. Might as well admit you want to enjoy what little time you have with her, so stop worrying about it so much.”
Nathan nodded, his chest tightening at the thought of seeing Tess again. Deciding it was best to get off the topic, he belatedly addressed Hannah’s earlier comment. “Back to dipnetting—I plan to head up to Kenai with Travis tomorrow. Wanna come?”
“Sure. Why don’t you see if Tess can come too?” Luke asked with a wink.
Hannah giggled. Nathan glared at her. “Oh god, Nathan. Just teasing. I can’t help it. It’s fun to see someone matter to you. But seriously,” she said, giggles subsiding. “Taking her dipnetting is an awesome idea. She can’t do anything but watch, but it’s sight to behold, especially for people that love to fish. I’ll go too. That way, she won’t be stuck with three men all day. I’ll even call to invite her,” Hannah offered with a grin.
“You will?” Nathan asked.
“You got it! I got her number the other day because I wanted to invite her for coffee.” Hannah stood and fetched her phone, calling before Nathan had a chance to respond.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Better watch out, man. If you want Hannah to back off, say so fast.”
Nathan shrugged. For the moment, he didn’t mind her meddling. Not to mention that it was impossible for him to say no to any chance to see Tess, the pull was too strong. “No need…for now,” he replied, his heartbeat kicking up.
Hannah walked back into the kitchen, slipping her phone in her pocket. “She’s meeting us at Misty Mountain tomorrow morning. Who’s driving?”
***
A fishing net snapped out of the water, right into Nathan’s chin. The salmon that had been in it sailed just beyond his shoulder and landed in the water with a splash—a flick of silver and the salmon was gone. Nathan reflexively grabbed the net when it tumbled into the water. Fortunately, the net was light aluminum, so getting whacked in the face by it was more a nuisance than anything else. Nathan turned to find Luke laughing a few feet away. They were standing waist-deep in the mouth of the Kenai River where the water from Cook Inlet was rushing upriver, sockeye salmon following the tide to spawn further up the river. The Kenai River was one of several choices for dipnetting, and Nathan’s personal favorite. The mouth of the river faced Cook Inlet and the mountains across. Along with the view, the sockeye that came through here were sizable—it wasn’t unusual to catch salmon that were twenty pounds or more. Usually one good day of dipnetting, and he and his brothers caught enough to almost fill a chest freezer.
“Yours?” he asked, holding up the offending net and looking to Luke.
Still laughing, Luke nodded and waded in his direction. “Damn fish caught me off guard. Hit the net so hard, I lost my grip.”
Nathan handed the net back to Luke. “Just don’t keep throwing your net at me and catch some salmon,” he said, shaking his head.
“Almost have our limit. Thinking we won’t be here much longer,” Luke replied.
“I know, fish are running today,” Nathan said. He glanced over his shoulder to the shore. Tess and Hannah were seated on two coolers on the beach. Hannah had started out dipnetting with them, but they were catching them so fast, she stayed on shore to gut and clean the salmon.
“She’s not going anywhere, man,” Travis said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He’d been standing silently beside Nathan and Luke, holding his net in the water.
Nathan whipped his head around and glared at Travis. “Like I didn’t know that,” Nathan replied sardonically.
“Wouldn’t know it by how often you keep looking over there. You’re usually so slick, always playing it cool. Can’t keep it together around Tess though,” Travis said, not missing a beat.
Luke piled on. “It’s almost embarrassing, man. You can’t keep your eyes off of her. How ‘bout you just go sit with them and we’ll get the rest of the salmon for you?”
Travis and Luke took turns teasing Nathan for another few minutes. Nathan tolerated their ribbing with a few return jabs, but he found it harder to deflect them when they were pointing out an uncomfortable truth. While Nathan had never purposefully tried to play it cool and slick, he’d never encountered a woman who threw him off of his casual, fun-loving flirt attitude. He kept looking at Tess because he couldn’t seem not to.
“Enough guys,” Nathan said, finally annoyed enough. “Can you cut me a little slack here? Maybe I notice Tess a little more than usual, but could we just leave it alone for now?”
Travis looked toward Luke with a grin. “Wow, now we’ve pissed him off.”
Luke chuckled and looked to Nathan. “Maybe a little, but he wants us to play nice around Tess, so he’s not gonna say too much about it.”
Nathan shook his head. “Guys, could we please move on?”
Just as Luke started to reply, Nathan felt the sudden tug of a salmon swimming right into his net. He yanked his net into the current, forcing the fish into the back of the net. As he turned to walk to shore, he spoke over his shoulder. “Will it get you guys to back off if I just admit I have a thing for her?”
Travis chuckled. “Okay. But only ‘cause you admitted it.”
As he trudged through the cold, rushing water, he heard Luke’s reply. “Damn, didn’t think he’d fess up that fast.”
Reaching the shore, Nathan dragged the net, fish safely inside, onto the sand. He felt Tess before he saw her. She had a subtle, but lively prese
nce. She clearly loved the outdoors and loved fishing. She’d asked tons of questions when they’d first gotten here. He could tell it was hard for her that she had to be a spectator today, but dipnetting was for residents only. The beach was crowded with dipnetters. The season was short, a month usually, and could be impacted by the fish runs. If numbers were low, sometimes the season was shortened or cancelled. The result that when it was time to dipnet, residents came from all over the state. There were hundreds of people crowding the area today. Tess had ambled around, chatting, admiring salmon and making the best of her spectator status.
Nathan was glad Hannah had come along. Once they got going, Hannah had spent most of the morning with Tess in between gutting and cleaning fish. Seconds after he glanced up to greet Tess, Hannah joined them. She deftly took the fish from him, gutting it and cleaning it within minutes. Gulls and eagles circled above, diving down for scraps scattered around the beach.
Hannah walked over to their cluster of coolers to tuck the fish inside one of the coolers and shift ice on top. Tess stood to his side, looking out over the water, a hand shading her eyes. Nathan took the moment to look at her. Sun-kissed and wind-blown, her curls blew in a tousle around her face and neck, the bright sun glinting in the gold. Her cheeks were rosy. She was attired in colorful striped rubber boots, loose red capris and a beige cotton shirt. Her arms were dusted with sand. Who’d have thought he’d think rubber boots were sexy? On Tess, they just added to the charm. She was carefree, sultry and sexy—without even trying. Nathan wanted to pull her in his arms and kiss her.
Tess turned away from the water, catching his gaze. The reserve that she so often displayed held for just a moment and then dissolved. Her lips tipped in a small smile. She held his eyes for a moment before a giggle burst out of her.
He tilted his head to the side. “What was that for?”
She shrugged, the small smile widening. “Don’t know. It’s just fun to be here.”
Nathan stood in place. They were surrounded by people, a bustle of activity. The waves crashed into the shore, voices carried across the water, a salty mist blew off the water, a gull dove down and landed at his feet, pecking at the edge of his fishing net. A gust of wind blew sand across them. Tess pushed her curls behind her ears and they immediately blew wild. She laughed again. Nathan took two steps to reach her side and leaned over to kiss her. Her lips were cool and salty. He forgot where they were, every sense funneled toward her. Holding her lips in a light kiss, he slid a hand down her back, nudging her closer.
Chapter 10
Tess’s mind was wiped blank. She leaned into Nathan, her breasts brushing against his chest. The voices surrounding them faded, she heard only the rhythmic sound of the ocean waves rolling into shore and felt the mist drifting off the water. The bubbly joy she’d felt just before Nathan kissed her morphed into that frenzied heat he elicited in her. His palm slid down her spine. Nathan deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping into her mouth, tangling with hers in lazy strokes. She loved kissing him—he was leisurely and thorough, nipping, nibbling and stroking.
Nathan abruptly pulled away. “Damn,” he swore softly.
Tess looked up into his blue eyes, momentarily dazed. The sounds around them came back into the fore. Glancing around, the reality of where they were returned—they stood in the middle of fishing nets, people and gulls. She took a step back.
A sharp whistle came from the water. Tess saw Luke wave at them. “Nathan?”
He held still, holding her eyes for a long moment, heat arcing between them. “What?” he asked.
Tess nodded toward the water, just as Luke whistled again. “I think Luke’s trying to get your attention,” she explained. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Nathan appeared just as dazed as she felt.
He turned to the water. “Yeah?”
By this point, Luke was wading toward the shore, net in tow. “Got another salmon,” he called out.
Nathan met Luke at the water’s edge, returning with a salmon. Hannah startled Tess when she spoke just at her shoulder. “I got it,” Hannah said, reaching over to take the salmon.
A moment of awkward silence passed when Hannah walked back to the coolers. A tumble of thoughts danced through Tess’s mind. Part of her wanted, desperately wanted, to have Nathan to herself just now, to keep kissing him, to spiral into that place he took her where nothing but sensation reigned. It was like a drug she’d never had. Another part of her kept interjecting that she needed to keep her distance, needed to remember that this was just a fling, that she’d be back in North Carolina soon, that this couldn’t amount to anything more.
Nathan stood quietly, just watching her. His black curls were messy, his eyes such a bright blue, the masculine angles of his features stark in the shadows from the sun. Tess had surreptitiously watched him most of the day, savoring the moments when the whites of his teeth flashed in a smile against his sun-burnished skin.
He cleared his throat. “Think I should head back out to catch a few more salmon,” he said.
Tess nodded.
Nathan held her gaze. “I’d rather just keep on kissing you…But wrong place, wrong time,” he said with a sheepish smile.
Tess bit her lip. “I know. Go fish,” she said, giving him a push on the chest. Nathan curled his hand around hers and lifted it, turning it over to place a soft kiss in the center of her palm. Tess thought she might melt, right there on the beach, surrounded by salmon being cleaned and gutted, gulls swooping, and people, all focused on something to do with fish. Her heart hammering, she stepped back when Nathan let go of her hand. He gave her a last look and waded back into the water.
“Hope you aren’t trying to hide the fact that you are seriously into Nathan,” Hannah said as soon as Tess sat down on the cooler across from Hannah.
Tess felt her face redden and wished for the one-millionth time that she wasn’t a blusher. Looking to Hannah, she caught her warm eyes and smiled ruefully.
“Guess it’s kinda obvious, huh?”
Hannah pursed her lips and feigned thoughtfulness for a moment before nodding emphatically. “Yeah, it’s way obvious. On the upside, Nathan’s just as bad as you,” Hannah said.
Tess couldn’t help herself. “Really? How can you tell?” Her curiosity about Nathan was growing by the second, and she’d had no chance to get to know anything about him from anyone else.
“Oh, let’s see. I can tell because the guy can’t keep his eyes off of you, he’s like a teenager, all starry eyed. He takes every chance he can get to be near you, and he just forgot you were in the middle of this…” Hannah paused and gestured around. “And kissed you right here. I was worried for a second that you two were about to go a step too far for public consumption.”
Tess’s blush deepened. It was hard to admit, but it felt damn good to hear that Nathan couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She had tons of other questions but wasn’t sure whether it was okay to pry.
Hannah’s eyes held an assessing look. With a shrug, she continued. “I’m guessing you have some questions about Nathan.”
Tess glanced toward Nathan who stood between Luke and Travis again, his back to the shore. Looking back toward Hannah, she blushed again. She had plenty of questions, but she didn’t even know where to start.
Hannah nodded even though Tess didn’t say anything. “Here’s the thing, Nathan’s a sweetheart, but he doesn’t let that show too much. He’s the baby of his brothers, if you didn’t know that already.” At Tess’s nod, Hannah continued. “He just turned thirty-one this year.”
“He’s only thirty-one—he’s three years younger than me! Oh dear god,” Tess exclaimed, interrupting Hannah. “I’ve never dated anyone younger than me. Now I’m gonna feel old.” She shook her head. Three years didn’t seem much, but handsome as Nathan was, it made her question how he viewed her even more.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Oh who cares? It’s three years. Not like that makes all that much difference. If he was three years older, y
ou wouldn’t think twice. Don’t be silly.”
Tess looked over at Hannah and realized she might be reacting a bit much. She just had assumed Nathan was her age or older. “Okay, maybe I am. I just hadn’t thought about it and don’t want to feel like the old one.”
Hannah quirked an eyebrow at her. “Since when is thirty-four old? I’m guessing that how old you are if Nathan’s three years younger.”
Tess shrugged sheepishly. “I guess it’s not. I just hadn’t thought about how old Nathan was…that’s all. Honestly, I hadn’t thought I’d be doing much of anything with anyone on this trip. I sure as hell didn’t plan on going out on any dates, much less more than one. This whole situation with Nathan has been…a surprise. I’m not so sure what to do about it.” Tess closed her eyes for a moment, wondering just how she’d ended up here, sitting on a cooler, longing for a moment of privacy with Nathan, a man she’d definitely not expected to fall for. Sifting through her feelings led only to further confusion, complicated by the realities of the situation. In another week, she’d be back in North Carolina. Nathan would remain here, in Alaska, roughly five thousand miles away, give or take.
The teasing manner faded from Hannah’s eyes, her soft blue eyes empathetic. “Yeah, I can see that. You just didn’t know you’d meet Nathan. He might be the baby, but those Winters brothers are all pretty damn easy on the eyes. Seeing as I married one, I get the draw.”
Hannah’s words drew a chuckle from Tess. “Yeah, he is seriously easy on the eyes. I have to say I’ve wondered how come Nathan was even single. It’s not like he couldn’t have his pick of women,” Tess commented.
“He could. I had the same kind of questions when I met Luke. But, trust me, Nathan’s a good guy. He’s a flirt, I won’t deny that. But I’ve always thought he just needed to find the right person. I realize there’s all kinds of things in the way—mainly that you don’t even live here—but I think you’re great with Nathan,” Hannah said earnestly.