She told herself it was jet lag. Then she convinced herself it was a natural depression she always experienced during her summer hiatus from the show. She tried getting back to yoga, but it didn’t calm her as it always had in the past. She even thought about going to her Pilates class, but she couldn’t muster up the energy.
Her real problem, of course, was that she missed Max. Why on earth she missed that grouchy, sullen man was beyond explanation.
Except that she’d never felt so…challenged. So needed. So in tune with another human being on such a primal level.
Max made every other man she’d dated seem shallow by comparison. What would they know of dragging an injured man through miles of freezing terrain? For most men of her acquaintance, their most hazardous ordeal was bumper-to-bumper traffic.
No television show was good enough to take her mind off Max. No Chinese takeout could feed her hunger for him.
Enough.
After three days of self-pity and an entire box of tissues, Serena rolled off the couch, shut the TV remote in the end table drawer and returned the call to her mother. Yes, she would definitely be there for the family’s barbecue on the Fourth. Then she took a long, cleansing shower, fixed her hair and makeup and went out to dinner with friends.
After dinner she made herself go to a club with them, but within half an hour, she was ready to leave. As she parked the BMW in front of her condo and got out, her cell phone rang. She checked the ID, but didn’t recognize the number. But the area code was Alaska.
Her throat closed. “This is Serena,” she choked out.
“I heard you’re looking for a story.” Max’s deep voice had never sounded so sexy, or so dear.
“Uh, yes. I’m always ready to investigate something newsworthy.”
“Well, there’s this crazy woman.”
Serena swallowed. What did he want? “Yes? Is she dangerous?”
“Only when she hides in the back of your plane.”
She smiled. “Oh?”
“Or tries to cook.”
“Hmm. I think I know this woman. Kind of pushy? Gets into your business even when you ask her not to?”
“I prefer to think of her as outgoing, and interested in solving mysteries.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and I was wondering if she might be available to interview this secretive man?”
“Well, it depends. Does this man want to be interviewed?”
“I think he’s ready to give her an exclusive.”
Her heart beat so fast she was short of breath. “In that case, I can be on the next plane to Anchorage. Maybe he could arrange to have a plane pick me up there?”
“Oh, he already has.”
“Well, I’ll need time to pack and book a flight. When will he be arriving in Anchorage?”
“The same time as you. If we leave Los Angeles tonight we can make it to Barrow by tomorrow night.”
“Wha—?”
Max stepped out from behind a thick hedgerow, his teeth flashing as he smiled at her. He dropped the phone from his ear and headed for her car.
Tears blurred her vision as Serena ran into his arms. “Oh Max!”
He held her tight and kissed her, desperate, hungry kisses. His fingers tangled in her hair.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered against his lips. Her arms snaked around his neck and curled into his nape. He looked so handsome. He’d cut his hair, and was still clean shaven, and was wearing a button-down dress shirt with his jeans. She’d never seen him look so sophisticated.
“Serena.” He pressed a tender kiss to her temple. “I’ve been lost without you.”
“Oh, Max. I missed you so much. I—”
“Shh.” He put a finger on her lips. “Let me talk first, okay?”
She nodded and he lowered his finger. The muscle in his jaw twitched and he met her gaze with eyes full of intent. “You’re my soul.” His hand cupped her cheek. “My Searching One. My life. I love you. And I don’t care what it takes. I’ll move to Los Angeles. Or I can fly down whenever you’re home. Or we can find someplace in between. As long as I can be with you. Wherever you are is where I belong.”
“Max.” She hugged him tight around the neck, kissing him under his ear, down his jaw. “I love you, too.” She covered his mouth and poured her heart into the kiss. “You have a business in Alaska. And Evelyn. We can’t leave her. And I miss those cold, snowy nights. Besides, Alaska is a part of you. And I love it because it’s part of who you are.”
“Ah, Serena.” He smiled, picked her up and twirled her around. “Alaska, it is.”
Epilogue
MAX LANDED smoothly at the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport and taxied down the runway. Next to him, Mickey whined. The malamute knew they were almost home.
Home. It seemed like a dream sometimes. To come home to someone. To fall into Serena’s arms and bed and know how right it felt. No longer cursed, but blessed. No longer wandering, he’d found the place where his soul belonged.
The days were growing shorter. The nights longer. Soon they would have only darkness for four months.
“Max, you’re early,” Chris greeted him as he brought the first cooler of meat into the kitchen of the North Slope Inn. “Did you get the turkey?”
“Yes, and yes,” Max continued as Chris opened his mouth. “It’s a twenty-five-pounder. You’re not feeding the entire town, you know. It’s just Serena’s parents and my grandmother.”
Chris shrugged. “Arna likes leftovers.”
“And I am eating for two now.” Arna entered the kitchen and moved beside her husband wearing her usual impassive expression.
But Chris was beaming.
“Wow, congratulations!” Max slapped Chris on the back.
“Besides, I like his dressing.” Arna glanced up at Chris and her face took on such a look of love. Max understood that feeling now.
“I like his undressing, too.”
“Ow.” Chris jumped and Max caught Arna’s hand moving from behind Chris’s backside. Max grinned.
“So.” Chris cleared his throat and hid his blush by opening the cooler and bending to unload it into the fridge. “Your first Thanksgiving with the in-laws, huh?”
Max nodded. “I met them in L.A., but it was pretty rushed. You have their room booked, right?”
“They’ll have our best accommodations, Max,” Arna assured him.
By the time Max finished unloading their supplies, he was so anxious to get home he almost skidded his truck off the road.
Serena had to leave for Switzerland in two weeks and he intended to take advantage of every minute she was here. By which he meant to keep her naked and in bed as much as possible.
He pulled the truck up and jumped out, almost beating Mickey to the door.
As he walked in, he smelled something burning, but he couldn’t have cared less. He wasn’t hungry for food.
“Serena?” He wandered through their living room and kitchen, and then checked the bedroom and bathroom. No Serena. Worried, he finally noticed the back door ajar.
“Serena?” He stepped outside and spied her sitting in a deck chair with her knees drawn up to her chest. She was wearing her parka with the hood up, and had a huge down comforter wrapped around her. “What is it, sweetheart?” He hunkered down in front of her.
She sniffed. “If God had intended me to cook, he wouldn’t have made me such a great judge of restaurants.”
Max fought to keep from grinning. “You know I don’t care if you cook. Let’s go out tonight.”
She sniffed again. “It’s okay. Aanaga brought your favorite stew earlier today. Just in case, she said.” She gave a rueful smile and rolled her eyes. “She knows me too well.”
“She knows you’re the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. Now, come inside, it’s freezing out here.” He took her arms and rose, pulling her up as he stood.
“But the stars are so beautiful.” She looked up.
She was r
ight. For once it was a cloudless night in Barrow.
At that moment, the northern lights flashed green and purple in the sky. Serena gasped and watched until the lights faded away. “Max. I finally saw them. They’re so beautiful. It’s like they were waiting until I was with you to show up.” She beamed up at him and wound her arms around his neck. “Every time I’ve seen something magical, I’ve been with you.” She kissed him, but he pulled away, worried she was too cold, and guided her back into the house.
And later, after he’d heated every part of her body, he whispered, “When I’m with you, my life is magical.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8787-1
PRIMAL CALLING
Copyright © 2011 by Juliet L. Burns
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