Alaska Heart (23 page)

****

My arm rested in the curve of Dale’s waist while he pressed warm kisses to each of my fingertips and sunlight blared through the windows. Nestled behind Dale’s naked body, I relished the feel of his bottom cradled against my thighs. I rubbed my cheek against the expanse of his back and ran my lips along his shoulder. He shifted to his back and turned his head to look at me. The dimple in his cheek said
good morning
.

“Hey.” He landed a kiss on my forehead.

“Hey.” I was too satisfied, too liquid, to use more than one word at a time.

“I’ll never forget last night for as long as I live.” Dale hooked a strand of my hair behind my ear and draped his hand on my neck. He slid his arm under my shoulders, and I rested my head on his chest. As his fingers played in my hair, I closed my eyes again.

Dale’s heart drummed steadily beneath my ear, his breath slow and relaxed as his chest rose and fell. Sounded like music to me. Fine, natural, human music. The song I had been looking for but instead had found me. I hadn’t thought it possible to feel what I was feeling, but here I was, lying next to Dale, flooded with emotions I’d never experienced.

Dale shifted so he was facing me. He brought his other arm around my waist, and I flinched.

“Did I hurt you?” His eyes filled with concern as he searched my face.

I shook my head and kissed his nose. “The plastic pieces on that wrist brace are cold. It surprised me, because the rest of you is so…hot.” I nipped at his bottom lip. He nipped back.

“I actually have to go to Cantwell today for an appointment about this.” Dale looked to his wrist. “And a reporter wants to interview me back here in Fairbanks at two o’clock. I don’t suppose I can convince you to come with me, can I?”

“You probably could if you were more attractive.” I widened my eyes when Dale’s mouth dropped open.

“Jerk.” He pressed the wrist brace to my stomach. I tried to recoil, but Dale’s other arm held me firmly in place.

“C’mon!” I giggled. “That’s so cold!”

“So was your comment.” He thrust up his chin in mock offense. “Do you take it back?”

“Yes, yes,” I squealed, as he rose out of the sheets, urged me onto my back, and straddled me. “You’re the most attractive man I’ve ever met.”

“Mmmm.” Dale pursed his lips, pretending to be perturbed.

“Honest.” I pressed my palms to his chest and nudged him away. “I haven’t seen a chest like this on anyone.” I traced a finger around his pectoral muscles down to his abs. “Perfect and very, very attractive.”

“That sounds better,” Dale began, “but I don’t know that I’m convinced.” He tightened his legs around me and gathered both of my wrists in his left hand. Holding my arms above my head so my mid-section was unprotected, he asked, “Are you ticklish?”

“I…” The wicked gleam that flickered in his green eyes had me flopping between amused and aroused. “Shit, no.”

He jabbed his fingers playfully around my ribs. My instinct was to curl up to protect myself. No such luck. I was pinned beneath Dale, writhing and gasping. He succeeded in finding every one of my most ticklish spots and didn’t stop until tears streamed from my eyes.

“That ought to teach you a lesson, Gaia-girl.” He released my wrists and sank down to tease my lips. He wiped at my tears with his thumb.

“You’re more fun to tickle than my nephews.” He circled his index finger around my breast.

The simple touch made my stomach tighten, my temperature rise. Reaching out for Dale’s shoulders, I pulled myself up to sit, and he shifted back a bit. He gripped my chin, turned it up, and seared a course down my neck with his lips. A moan escaped from my throat as Dale’s tongue flicked at my nipples, teasing, tasting, then feasting.

“Great Goddess,” I sighed. “I could stay right here forever.”

As soon as the words were out, Dale pulled away from me. He looked at me for a long, silent moment. “I wish you would, Alanna.”

When I opened my mouth to say something—what exactly, I wasn’t so sure—he put a finger to my lips to stop me.

“I know, I know,” he said. “You have to go back to New York. I get it, but for the record, I think it sucks.” He leaned forward and planted another sultry kiss on my lips. He rose from the bed and padded to the closet. He pulled out a sweater and picked up his jeans off the floor.

When the shower started, I slid to the edge of the bed and sat with my elbows resting on my knees.

“Idiot. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”

Huffing loudly, I climbed out of the bed and collected my discarded clothes. I donned my underwear and bra as I found them. Folding my jeans and sweater, I tucked them under my arm and went in search of my suitcase. I paused for a moment in front of the bathroom to admire Dale’s outline behind the steamy shower doors.

Waking like this every morning would be heaven. So cozy, so…normal.

“Idiot,” I repeated, shaking my head.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Gypsy, in the middle of an enormous stretch, greeted me. Zynk opened one eye from his position in their oversized basket bed, but made no attempt to come to me. Gypsy nosed around at my feet as I walked into the living room and unzipped my suitcase. After yanking out a pair of sweatpants and a thermal shirt, I slid into them and a pair of socks. I sat on the edge of the couch, and Gypsy put her head in my lap.

“I know, Gypsy. He’s perfect. He’s so easy to love, but what am I supposed to do?” I looked into the dog’s deep blue eyes. She cocked her head to the side as if she were truly listening to me. “I can’t leave everything behind. Everything I’ve worked for. This article could mean a promotion. Big money, pup. It’s about time I had big money. A big career. A big chance.”

Gypsy nuzzled a little closer and let out a low whimper.

“You think Dale is my big chance, don’t you?”

Again, the dog whimpered and pressed her nose into my hands.

“Don’t think I haven’t considered that.”

“Considered what?”

Dale came down the stairs. He looked amazing in a black sweater, sleeves pulled up to his elbows, and the jeans he had on last night. The definition of the word
swoon
was crystal clear to me.

“Considered that you’re fantastic.” I turned back to Gypsy, and the dog put her two front paws on my thighs. She slopped her tongue across my cheek and then jumped down to trot over to Dale.

“I think Gypsy agrees with you on that.” Dale sat on the last step to give his dog a vigorous rubbing. When he was through, he came to me and sat on the edge of the coffee table, his knees touching mine. He placed his hands on my thighs, not unlike Gypsy had done with her paws.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he began. “I have no right to ask you to leave your life behind in New York. We’ve only hung out for a few days, but I feel as if I know you better than people I’ve known my whole life. I like being with you, Alanna.”

His eyes met mine now, and the intensity there gripped my insides.

“I like being with you,” I said. “A lot.” I leaned forward and wrapped my hand behind his neck. When our lips touched, it was tender, intimate. Each of us was riding the same wave. Feelings were happening in high speed. They were powerful and confusing all at once.

Dale looked to the clock on the wall behind me. “I’ve got to go if I’m going to make my appointment in Cantwell.
Mi casa
is your
casa
while I’m out. Help yourself to anything you want. You going to work on your article?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve got a couple of ideas I want to try out. The plan is to make a huge dent in it today so the majority of my remaining time can be spent fawning all over you. Would that be okay?”

“That would be more than okay.” A genuine smile slid across his lips as he stood.

“Good luck with the appointment and the interview,” I said, standing as well.

“Thanks. I don’t want to do either of these things. I know the doc’s going to make me stick with this brace because my wrist still hurts like a bastard when I move it.” He held up his right arm and looked at it in disgust. “And as far as the interview goes, I think the rush of my win is wearing off now.”

“Is that so? I’d imagine a guy could float on that cloud for a good long time.”

“Nah.” In the kitchen, Dale poured us both a glass of orange juice and dropped four slices of bread into the toaster. “I’m already thinking about going back to work at Ram’s Den and training for next year’s Iditarod.”

“Ambitious guy, aren’t you?” I took a swig of my orange juice.

“Slackers don’t get first place. Isn’t that why you’re writing your article? To get ahead?”

I nodded. He understood how it was. Didn’t make it any easier though.

He pulled the toast out and plopped the slices on a plate. Walking to the refrigerator, he extracted butter and jelly, pulled peanut butter from a cupboard.

“What’s your poison?” he asked.

I pointed to the peanut butter, and Dale slathered it on two pieces of toast. Hesitating with the knife over the second two pieces, he angled his head as if deciding what he wanted. After a moment, he plunged the knife into the peanut butter. Good man.

We munched on our toast, the thought of a day apart weighing on us both. How did I go from being almost a complete loner to someone who was miserable at the prospect of a single day without Dale?

Jeez.

Dale placed the plate in the sink, and, after he clinked his glass against mine, we downed the rest of our juice. He disappeared into the small downstairs bathroom off the kitchen while I washed the plate and glasses. Gypsy poked around Zynk’s face until he opened his eyes and sniffed at her. She nuzzled him until he stretched out his front paws and rose from the bed.

“Good for you, Gypsy,” I whispered. Now there was a gal who had control of her man. Then again, she didn’t have complex emotions and commitments to cloud her mind or her heart. She had it easy.

Dale reappeared and crossed the kitchen to retrieve his jacket. Shrugging into it, he came to stand in front of me. He placed an arm on either side of me, corralling me against the sink. Though his lips were turned up, his eyes told me he wasn’t his usual jovial self.

“Promise you’ll miss me.” He rested his forehead against mine.

“Promise.” I brought my hands to his cheeks, caressed them, and the warmth came back to his eyes. “I might even have something that resembles dinner ready when you get back.”

“Looking forward to it.” He kissed me so my lips ached for more when he pulled away.

“You probably won’t be saying that once you sample my cooking.” I released my hold on his face, but he only leaned forward and gathered me into a tight embrace as if stalling his exit.

Dale stepped back and tugged on the end of my hair. “I’m going to take Gypsy with me. Zynk’s all yours.”

At the sound of his name, Zynk looked up from his water bowl and let out a short bark.

“I’m sure he’ll be good company. Not as good as you, though.”

“I’m a tough act to follow.” Dale’s smile reached his eyes now, and we were all right again. Both resigned to enjoy the time we did have with each other. “C’mon, Gypsy.” He patted his thigh, and the dog trotted after him as he went out to the garage. “Bye, Alanna.”

“Bye.” I blew him a kiss.

Who was I?

He closed the door behind him, and I stood in the kitchen for a long moment. I turned toward the window over the sink when barking erupted from the backyard. Dale had entered the dogs’ enclosure, and every one of the dogs was on its feet, crowding around him. Gesturing, Dale got all the dogs under control in seconds. Each one sat on its haunches in front of its own doghouse as he went into the shed. The dogs waited patiently while he prepared their food. When he came back outside and placed bowls in front of each dog, they dove into the food on his signal.

Dale was impressive to watch. He leaned against the shed, waiting for the dogs to finish. As his head turned skyward, the sun illuminated his chiseled features. He fished a pair of sunglasses from his jacket pocket and popped them on, which made him look more like a famous athlete somehow.

Dale patted his chest, and Gypsy rose on her hind legs until her front paws rested below his shoulders. He closed his arms around the dog and stroked her furry back. His lips were moving. What secrets was he telling Gypsy? She licked his chin, and he laughed as he wiped off her slobber. He pointed to the ground, and Gypsy dropped to all fours next to him.

I was about to end my Dale-watching and hunt down my laptop when he turned toward the window and waved.

“Now how did he know I was still here?” I said to Zynk, who had come to sit almost on top of my feet.

I waved back and forced myself to leave the kitchen. “I’ve got to get this article done, Zynk, because ninety-nine percent of my brain wants to be focused on that man ninety-nine percent of the time.”

Zynk let out a bark.

“Okay, okay. You’re right. It’s one hundred percent of the time.”

I decided to poke around a bit before I dove into my article.

All right. All right.

I’ll be honest. I was curious. I’d only seen the living room, dining room, and kitchen downstairs and the bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Dale’s log cabin, however, had more rooms worth exploring.

“You want to give me the grand tour, Zynk?” I looked at the dog, who simply wagged his tail at me. “I’m on my own, huh?”

I wandered into the downstairs bathroom, which was much smaller than the upstairs one but covered in the same slate tile. A sink, toilet, and narrow shower stall made it officially a full bath.

Stepping out again, I meandered to the room behind the stairs. An office. Long windows flanking a set of French doors lined the far wall and led out to a stone patio abutting the house outside. Wooden bookcases, stained a golden brown, spanned another wall, packed with an assortment of books. I approached one of the shelves and read the titles.

“
Live Green
,
Basic Dog Sled Repair
,
Owning Huskies
,
Palmistry
.” I flipped through the one on palmistry. I had always been interested in reading palms. Skimming a few pages, I learned I had an air hand, which was considered the writer’s hand. No surprise there.