Then, in a sudden movement, he released her and hiked her skirt to the waist, pulling her thighs wide apart.
“Oooh,” she moaned, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, Russell's fingers slid through her wetness, spreading it and then delving deep into her well. Riley's moan turned into a shriek as his mouth closed around her clit.
“That's it, honey. Scream for me. I'm going to make you come so hard.” He eased a second finger inside her and set to work.
Riley's toes curled in the sheets as her man went down on her with exquisite skill. He lapped and teased the tender nub as he tickled her g-spot.
Tension coiled in Riley, hastening her toward the promised peak. She wept and whimpered but made no attempt to fight the pleasure. Russell showered his love onto her, not only with his powerful lovemaking, but with his mind as well, shedding golden light on the fragmented parts of her psyche. Pleasure and love swelled and surged in her, tightening her down and down until coiled ecstasy sprang free and she was whole, healed and happy; darkness banished from her soul.
Only then did Russell withdraw his fingers, strip her dress off completely, and roll Riley onto her hands and knees. She lowered herself to her elbows, presenting her still-clenching sex to her bear, eager to be mated by him. Russell's big hands captured her hips. He thrust hard, stretching her open with his thick erection. Riley squealed into the blankets. His rhythmic surges reignited her waning orgasm, leaving her weeping in ecstasy, her face buried in sheets that smelled of her man. Of herself. Of their love. In and out he moved with forceful grace, pleasuring her body and feeding her soul all at once, until with a window-rattling roar, he ejaculated, pouring his life essence into her body.
Then he gently lowered her to the bed and curled against her back. “I love you, Riley,” he rumbled, his hand splayed on the outward curve of her belly.
“Hmmmm,” she hummed in utter relaxation, the aches of her ordeal fading. Many long minutes passed before she spoke again. “Russell?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I need a shower.”
“So do I,” he said. “But you go first.”
“No, you go,” she said. “I want to lie here a while longer.”
He chuckled, kissed her cheek, and hoisted himself from the bed.
* * *
Russell looked up from the book he was reading, seated on a comfortable sofa he'd found in the living room of the bungalow. Despite the havoc Danny had wrecked on the once-cozy home, a few places remained livable. Russ' stomach growled. Have to get something to eat soon. There's nothing worth mentioning in the kitchen, and I bet poor Riley is starving. But first, he had something quick and important he wanted to share with her. He met her eyes and in a heartbeat he was hard once more, ready to bend her over the sofa and claim her again and again. The knowledge that she was naked under the clingy sundress tortured him. Down boy, he told himself fiercely. You have a lifetime to lay your lady. Give her a minute's peace. We have more important things to do right now.
“Riley, you said your brother was after the combination to the locked safe in your father's study, right?”
“Yes,” she replied, twisting a strand of wet hair around her finger. “But I have no idea what it is. I didn't even know Father had a safe.”
“Did you know Danny took your father's book?”
She shook her head. “He blotted out the protective herbs around the house and under the bed, and stole my pillow. I was too tired to notice, remember? So by the time he took me, he had me so deep in dreams, I had no idea what was going on. I woke up on your airplane. Why would he take that? It's just a dusty old book.”
“Because despite being crazy, Danny wasn't an idiot. It's a dusty old book, yes. One riddled with margin notes. I bet he was hoping, if you wouldn't or couldn't help him, to find the combination in these pages. Did you notice how he'd torn every book in the den off the shelves?”
“I did, now that you mention it,” Riley replied.
“Was your father the sort who remembered things easily, or did he tend to write everything down?”
“Oh, he made notes for everything,” Riley replied. “He always said 'a mental note isn't worth the paper it's written on.'” She gave a wistful chuckle at the memory. “He made notes about where he had placed his notes. Why?”
“Then it stands to reason he would have jotted down the combination to his safe's lock, right?”
“Oh yes,” Riley agreed, then her eyes widened. “Do you think it's in this book?”
He nodded. “Makes sense. This was his favorite, right? I bet he always had it at hand.”
“Oh, he did,” Riley agreed, drawing closer. “Always.”
“And sure enough, on page 252, I found a curious set of three numbers.” He extended the book.
She regarded the top right hand margin and her eyes lit up. “Do you think those are it?”
“Shall we find out?” Russell countered.
“Oh yes!” Riley clapped her hands together.
Russ levered himself up off the sofa and took Riley's hand. Together they moved into the den. Russell knelt before the safe and reached out. “Do you want to do the honors?” he asked Riley.
She shook her head. “I almost died for whatever is in this safe. I don't think I'd be able to touch it.”
“Fair enough.” He twirled the lock past zero and landed on thirty-seven. Then he turned it to the right and stopped on five. Last, he went directly to twenty-three, and pulled on the handle. The door swung open. Russell stared in shock. Riley, who had perched on her haunches to watch, sat down hard on her bottom, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Inside the safe sat two old and tattered books with faded gold leaf embossing. One appeared to be a Bible, of the old-fashioned type that had family records inside the cover. The other was a copy of The Pilgrim's Progress, signed by Billy Graham. While both were certainly personal treasures, neither had any particular monetary value. Russell doubted the set would have brought $200.00.
“This was what he was after?” he asked, stunned.
Riley couldn't speak, but she nodded vigorously.
“I take it back. Your brother was an idiot after all.”
A deep rumble began to shake Russell's chest. It burbled into his throat and spilled out of his mouth in a roar of ursine laughter. Clutching Riley to him, the couple laughed and laughed until laughter blended with tears.
Epilogue
Summer had finally melted the snow blanketing the Athabascan village. Prairie flowers bloomed in wild profusion between the houses and into the unclaimed land, stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions. In such a setting of perfect, natural beauty, any further adornment would have appeared tawdry, or so Riley thought as she stood before the creek. Behind her, natives and werebears in human form gathered in a horseshoe configuration. On Riley's left, Nasnanna, who had quickly become one of her closest friends, stood arrayed in a white fringed and embroidered dress over matching leggings, her baby perched on her hip. To her right, Russell beamed at her, gorgeous in khaki pants that clung to his muscular thighs, a white shirt and a fringed doeskin jacket, also heavily embroidered and beaded. His brother, similarly attired, waited behind him. A cool breeze, fragrant with pine and flowers, snaked its way down a distant mountain to ruffle the hair and dresses of the guests. Riley pulled her shoulder wrap a little tighter around her. Beneath it, the lacy straps of her loosely cut white tea length dress offered no protection from the chill. Despite the cold, she couldn't stop smiling as she slipped a simple band of rugged Yukon gold onto Russell's left fourth finger. His father spoke, intoning words Riley would never remember. All she knew at this moment was the love in his eyes. The certainty in his voice as he spoke his vows, vows that meant nothing, as the commitment had long since been established. She knew the warmth of his hand, which mirrored the warmth of the sun on her head, defying the chilly breeze. She knew the weight of their child nestled in her belly, a squirming heaviness that filled her with endless wo
nder. She had learned peace, safety and love for the first time in her life because of this man.
Russell leaned in over her expanding girth and kissed her lips, sealing their vows. Cheers and roars erupted all around them.
Riley had never doubted her decision to sell her childhood home, and this moment confirmed what she'd always known. The buyers, a couple who had adopted their two granddaughters, had been delighted to get a cozy family home at a good price. And Riley, after setting up a fund to provide her brother with a spot in a group home, had been happy to put the rest into savings for her baby's future. The little girl, who they'd decided to name Skye Angelica, would be able to pick from any university in the country, as would any siblings they might provide her in the future. More babies… I hope Russ wants a few. Riley could picture them now, snuggled up on the wooden-armed sofa under a blanket, eating popcorn and screaming at silly horror flicks. She sniffled as Russell turned her to face his family, and her hand flew to her throat, touching the loose choker of dentalium shells and below it, the thin chain that supported her black jasper amulet. Upon their return from Portland, Russell had found it flung in a corner, which explained at last how Danny had managed to get so deep into Riley's mind.
Shaking off the unwelcome thought, she smiled for their wedding guests. So much had changed since her arrival in Alaska, all for the better. Now, at the beginning of a new journey, Riley finally had found a home.
Dear Reader,
I hope you have enjoyed your romp in the Alaskan wilderness with Riley and Russell. What a fun couple. When they appeared out of nowhere demanding to be written, what could I do besides agree? And I'm so glad I did.
If you enjoyed their journey as much as I did, I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd let other people know, and head over to Amazon.com to leave a review. There is no greater gift a reader can give an author than honest feedback.
As far as the background of this story, I did a great deal of research on the Athabascan people in order to make Russell's family seem life-like. Of course, his particular group lives in secrecy and isolation because of their close alliance with the werebears, so any differences between them and better-known groups is certainly due to that.
The information about psychic phenomena, telepathy, cords and dreamwalking come from a dear friend who literally wrote the book on the subject. For information in the non-fiction form, be sure to check out Empath Basics by Sandra Martinez. It's a fascinating read, and certainly manageable enough even for a novice like me.
Thank you again for the time you put into reading my book.
Love always,
Simone
Other Books by Simone Beaudelaire
When the Music Ends (The Hearts in Winter Chronicles Book 1)
When the Words are Spoken (The Hearts in Winter Chronicles Book 2)
When the Heart Heals (The Hearts in Winter Chronicles Book 3)
Caroline's Choice (A Hearts in Winter Romance)
Naphil's Kiss
Watching Over the Watcher
Amor Maldito: Romantic Tragedies from Tejano Folklore
Keeping Katerina (The Victorians Book 1)
Devin's Dilemma (The Victorians Book 2) COMING SOON
Xaman (with Edwin Stark)
Darkness Waits (with Edwin Stark)
High Plains Holiday (Love on the High Plains Book 1)
High Plains Promise (Love on the High Plains Book 2)
High Plains Heartbreak (Love on the High Plains Book 3)
Saving Sam (The Wounded Warriors Book 1) with J.M. Northup
Justifying Jack (The Wounded Warriors Book 2) With J.M. Northup. COMING SOON
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
Other Books by Simone Beaudelaire
Polar Heat Page 18