Noah’s Reckoning: Alaska Dating Games Book 3

by Doyle, S

  He would call me. Which meant there was hope. I picked up the pill from where it still sat on the counter and tossed it down the garbage disposal. It was early, I could probably pull my shit together and make it into work. A remarkable recovery.

  But Noah wanted me to play hooky and I really wasn’t ready to face anyone. So I went back to bed, threw the covers over my head and breathed in the scent of him. I wondered how long my bed would still smell like him. Probably not too long, whenever I next changed the sheets.

  That’s when I started to cry.

  * * *

  Bud’s

  Cal

  “Cal,” Jackson called from across the table. I blinked wondering what his problem was. “It’s your move.”

  Shit. I hadn’t been paying attention.

  “Check,” I said, tapping the table. Not my normal move, but it was easier than trying to cover the fact I hadn’t been paying close attention to the game.

  It was a Monday, so Bud’s was pretty quiet. Just the local regulars and us. And her. Floating around the place like she owned it. I tried not to watch her. I tried.

  “I’ll bet,” Kate said. She was here for the week while Jackson was off rotation, which had become their new norm. “Two bucks.”

  “Fold,” Jackson said.

  “Is she bluffing,” I asked Jackson.

  He smiled. “Let’s just say I folded for a reason.”

  “Jackson,” Kate admonished him. “You’re not helping me here. Besides, you don’t know if I have a poker face.”

  “Babe, you do not have a poker face.” He laughed, clutching her thigh under the table.

  It was an intimate moment. As if there was no reason why he couldn’t and shouldn’t touch her in exactly that way. I’d forgotten what that looked like. What that felt like. Being up here with mostly men, it wasn’t like relationships were on display.

  Now with Angel and Shelby, Jackson and Kate it was easy to be reminded of what happy looked like.

  “I’ll keep you honest,” Angel said and forked up two bucks.

  “Watch it, babe, Angel’s got sick luck,” Jackson told her.

  I folded my cards in disgust. “Where’s Shelby?”

  Eli looked at me like he didn’t want to tell me. “Uh…working.”

  Right.

  “Another round guys?” I looked up and scowled at the woman standing next to our table. Naturally, she scowled back. Only in this obvious you-don’t-scare-me sort of way. When had that happened? When had I stopped intimidating her?

  I scared everyone. It’s why I was a good boss for the crew up here. If you didn’t respect me, then at least you feared me.

  “Vivienne, what are you doing?” I asked her finally. I mean, it was obvious what she was doing. But if this was another one of her attempts to get to me…it was working.

  “Bud and I have an arrangement. I deliver food and drinks and I get to keep the tips. So how about you all order another around and then pony up?”

  “I’m in,” Kate chirped up. She had clearly chosen her side in the battle between me and Vivienne.

  “Yep,” Jackson said, getting out his wallet. Same with Eli.

  “Fine,” I said. I pulled out a twenty and handed it to her. She flashed me a smile then made her way to the bar.

  I shook my head.

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Angel said. “Bud’s needs waitress now that the town is growing.”

  I dealt the river. It was the Queen of Hearts. Red hair. Just like Vivienne. She wore it in a braid down her back any time I’d seen her. I thought about what it might look like free and spread out around her shoulders.

  A pale, freckled version of Julia Roberts, no doubt.

  Then I realized I was thinking about her again and forced myself to stop.

  “Two bucks,” Kate said quickly. Too quickly, I thought.

  Angel shook his head. “Sorry, Kate. I’m going to go with Daniels and assume you’re not bluffing.”

  She pouted and turned over her pocket queens. “Darn, I won hardly any money.”

  Jackson started to shuffle the cards and Vivienne was back. She plopped down each of our beers in front of us, gave Jackson and Eli some change. Then they gave her back some singles. She was about to leave when I reached out to her.

  My hand circling her slim wrist. Fuck. When was the last time I had felt skin that soft?

  Seven years ago. Seven years ago was the last time I had felt anything.

  “Where’s my change?” I asked tightly, because I still wasn’t letting go of her wrist.

  “Figured you would just give me the rest as a tip, so I kept it.”

  She was right.

  “Where is…he?” I knew. Intellectually, I knew. But I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

  “With Shelby.”

  I looked at Angel, who had the good sense to avert his eyes. Because he was the reason for all of this. He was the one who had put my profile in that damn contest. He was the one who had chosen Vivienne out of a stack of responses.

  He was the one who sent her the ticket to come here not knowing that Vivienne wasn’t coming alone.

  I let go of her wrist and she had the nerve to pat me on the cheek. “Poor Caleb,” she said. “I know you’re fighting it, but eventually I’m going to win. You’ll see.”

  I had no idea what she was talking about.

  At least that’s what I told myself.

  14

  Dyson Camp

  Ark

  I heard the knock on my door but didn’t turn around.

  “What is it?”

  The door opened. I expected to see Cal. He seemed to have this crazy sense when things were out of sorts with one of his crew. It was Eli instead.

  “Hey, heard you were back. Thought you were in Anchorage for another day.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not,” I said curtly, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

  He didn’t say anything directly to me, but I heard him mutter something under his breath.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I just said it’s a shame,” Eli said, now leaning against the door frame. “I like Olivia.”

  “I like Olivia, too. What’s your point?”

  “I just thought…never mind. Anyway, you need to talk or…anything, I’m around. We both know Cal normally handles this sort of thing, but since he’s the new bear with a splinter in his paw these days, I wouldn’t count on it. Since I’m sort of responsible for that splinter, I figured I would fill in for him.”

  “We should have told him,” I said, feeling some of Cal’s pain. Women were…complicated. At least I had seen Olivia coming. What we did to Cal was like hitting him across the head with a two-by-four.

  “Yeah. Well, nothing I can do about it now. The damage is done. So holler if you need me.”

  I didn’t need anyone. I just needed to think through some of the shit that was in my head. No way in hell I was sharing what I had done to Olivia. Fuck, Cal would have my balls for breakfast if he knew I’d left her unprotected. There was no reason to say anything.

  Unless of course she was pregnant.

  Pregnant. With my kid.

  “Angel.” I stopped him just as he was leaving. “You ever think about kids?”

  “Yeah. I do. Shelby and I are thinking two, maybe even three. You know how she is with them.”

  “What about before Shelby? Did you think about them then?”

  Eli laughed. “Fuck no. Didn’t think I would ever get married. Then Shelby happened and it’s all I can think about. We want to see how she handles the winter so we can decide what the next few years are going to look like, but my plan is to propose this Christmas. Spring wedding, then we’ll see.”

  Proposal, wedding, babies. Five months ago, all he’d wanted was a freaking date.

  “That’s fast.”

  “That, my friend, is love,” he said smugly. “Which is why I was hoping Olivia was the right one for you.”

  I snorted. “The right one. We’ve b
een at each other’s throats for months.”

  “Dude, because you wanted her. She wanted you, too. We all saw it. Figured you two were either going to scratch that itch and call it a day. Or you were going to scratch that itch and find out you wanted to scratch it again and again and again.”

  It was that. The second one. Again and again and again.

  “Because that’s how it starts,” Eli continued like he was caught up in his own philosophy. “At first it’s the fucking and it’s amazing and you’re totally pussy-whipped. But then it changes, and you get comfortable with each other and it deepens. Then one night she’s got cramps and wants you to hold her and you think that’s pretty amazing, too. My favorite thing in the world is lying in bed with Shelby just talking. You know how she can be, yammering on about whatever. I lie there and hold her and talk about shit and it’s my favorite part of the day.”

  I looked at him, but I didn’t know what to say.

  “Sorry, man. I get it,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m pathetic when it comes to her. Only I really don’t care. Later.”

  “Yeah.”

  He left and shut the door behind him. I sat on the bed. It was late. After ten. But I didn’t hesitate. I took out my phone and called her.

  “Hi,” she said after two rings.

  “Hey. Is it too late?”

  “No, I was just getting into bed.”

  Her bed. That I had called our bed for a few nights. “I like your bed.” I liked the pillows and the soft sheets. I liked the way it smelled of her. Even better when it smelled like us.

  “I think you meant you like having me in my bed.”

  My lips twitched. “That, too. Listen, I’m calling to say I’m sorry about this morning.”

  “It’s okay. I know I shocked you with my decision. It was only natural you were surprised.”

  I huffed and ran my hand over my face. “That’s the thing, Liv. I wasn’t really that surprised. You had a look on your face the first time I mentioned the day-after pill. Then that first morning…I could tell you didn’t want to do it. I shouldn’t have flipped out on you the way I did. I just don’t know if I’m ready.”

  “Ready to be a dad?” she asked me, her voice softer, quieter.

  No, I meant ready for all of it but that wasn’t something I wanted to share. “It’s late. I should let you go.” Except I didn’t want to. “Did you end up going to work?”

  “Nope. Decided to see the whole hooky thing through. It was fun. It would have been more fun with you, though.”

  “Yeah, I cost us a day, didn’t I.”

  This was the part where I manned up and told her I could come down next weekend. Take her on a date. See another movie. Hell, even a chick flick if that’s what she wanted. Except I didn’t. Because I wanted her to ask me. I wanted her to be the one to put herself out there. To invite me. To take the risk.

  “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you. Later,” she said awkwardly, as the silence dragged out between us.

  “Yeah. Hey, Liv?”

  “Yes, Noah?”

  “Can I call you again tomorrow night?”

  She was biting her thumb. I knew that because I knew when Liv had to think about something hard, she bit her thumb pad. “Sure. I would like that.”

  “Goodnight,” I said gruffly then quickly hung up the phone.

  * * *

  The next night

  Olivia

  It was almost ten-thirty. He wasn’t going to call. I threw my head back on the pillow and groaned in frustration. I hated feeling this way. I hated the fact that I was sitting in my bed with my prettiest nightgown on, as if that mattered over the phone, caring whether or not the almighty Noah Aikens called me—

  My phone rang and I squealed. I looked down to see his name, which I probably should change, because I had him in there as first name Noah, last name, Asshole.

  “Hi,” I said and hoped I didn’t sound breathless.

  “Hey. Sorry I’m calling so late. I was out at the rig.”

  “How’s it going?” I asked.

  “Jackson’s doing his thing. Checking for leaks. Any type of water contamination.”

  “He’s not going to find any because your containment design is foolproof.”

  He huffed. “Nothing’s foolproof, Liv.”

  “That is,” I assured him.

  “What about on your end? The corporate wonks still squawking?”

  “And the bean counters. Don’t forget the bean counters.”

  “I fucking hate those guys.”

  That made me smile. “Yeah, well, I’ve got your back down here. You just worry about Kurt and Fred.”

  “Don’t forget about Brigita.”

  I laughed. “Do the guys know you named your wells after the children in The Sound of Music?” While I thought the story was sweet, I was pretty sure they would give him all kinds of grief about it.

  “That’s cute you think they know what The Sound of Music is.”

  “But it’s a classic!”

  “Babe.”

  Right. Not necessarily a guy’s classic. Besides, who was I to talk? I’d never seen The Godfather all the way through.

  “It’s late. I should let you go,” he said. “I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten you, though.”

  Probably. It was late and I meant it when I said I had his back with corporate. They weren’t happy so it was good that I could keep reminding them about the no-choice part. That, and the fact they still had three functional wells in the North Sea that Noah was going to work to get more productivity from.

  Still, when he’d asked if he could call me, I had a thought these calls might go in a different direction.

  “You mean you’re not going to ask me what I’m wearing?” I teased him. Because I had gone to the effort of putting on my sexiest nightgown.

  “It doesn’t always have to be about sex. I told you that,” he said. Rather harshly I thought.

  “Got it,” I snapped back. “You’re not interested. Goodnight, Noah.”

  I hung up the phone before he could say anything then tossed it on the bed.

  A second later, it was ringing. I wasn’t going to answer it, but as soon as it stopped ringing, I regretted not taking his call. Until it started ringing again.

  I scrambled to pick up.

  “What?” I barked at him.

  “Just so we’re clear, I’m never going to be not interested,” he growled.

  “Fine.”

  “Fine. I’m calling you tomorrow and when that phone rings, you better be fucking naked.”

  “Fine,” I said again.

  “Good night, Olivia.”

  Then we both hung up.

  The jerk.

  Wait. Did I just agree to phone sex with Noah tomorrow?

  I smiled as I slid underneath my covers.

  I’m pretty sure I did.

  * * *

  Ark

  “Get there, Liv,” I growled into the phone while I furiously worked my dick. My first attempt at phone sex and I was going to blow before I got Olivia off. Not happening.

  “I can’t,” she whined into the phone. “I’ve never been particularly good at this. Too much in my head.”

  “Then get out of your head. Listen to me, Olivia. It’s just us. I’ve got you underneath me and my dick is sliding in and out of you so hard.”

  “I wish you were here,” she whimpered.

  “I am. I’m right there between your legs, deep inside you where I’m going to fill you up with my cum.”

  “Noah!”

  “There you are! That’s my girl. Come for me, baby. Let me hear you.” I bent over as my orgasm hit me. My jizz spurting out onto my stomach. Olivia panting in my ear. Her nineteenth orgasm, which seemed wrong. Like I had lost ground being away from her. “Fuck!” I shouted.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “That was intense given you’re hundreds of miles away.”

  I didn’t feel that way. I felt like she was next to me in
the bed, her hair spread out on my pillows. Her scent in my nostrils.

  For a while we were quiet. The phone in my hand resting on my chest. I might have even dozed off, but neither one of us wanted to disconnect until we had to do.

  “Noah?”

  I moved the phone closer to my ear but didn’t open my eyes. “Hmm.”

  “You’re tired. Never mind. We can talk when I see you next. I’ll be up in a few weeks.”

  A few weeks. I didn’t like the sound of that. Three weeks until I could touch her, taste her, smell her. All those things, beyond simply hearing her voice, that I needed.

  Except I didn’t know how I was going to make seeing her happen and still keep our secret from the guys.

  And if she’s pregnant? That certainly wasn’t a secret we could hide.

  “Liv, you take a test yet?”

  “A test? Oh…no. It’s too soon. I think I would have to be late before taking anything.”

  “You’ll let me know, though. When you do. You won’t try to hide anything from me?” If we were in it, then we were in it together. No matter what happened. She needed to understand that.

  “No. I promise. There wouldn’t be any point.”

  Right. Because her stomach would be round with my kid.

  Fuck, I needed to get those images out of my head. Whether because it bothered or me or it seemed too real, I wasn’t sure.

  “I should go. I need my sleep.”

  I grunted as I was mostly half way there.

  I was about to hit disconnect when I heard the faint, “Goodnight, Noah.”

  I grunted again and she was gone. I was alone in my room and I didn’t like it even a little bit. I didn’t think too hard about what it meant. I only knew it meant something.

  15

  Hope’s Point Airport—aka the runway

  Ark

  I could hear it coming in over the mountains. Doogie bringing the plane down for a landing.

  Yes, I knew what I was doing. Yes, I conceded this was the equivalent of the whole pigtail-yanking thing again. A few days ago, she’d said she would be up in a few weeks. I’d decided that was too damn long.