“I need a minute.” Tern grabbed Nadia’s arm and dragged her toward their cabin. “What the hell was that all about?”
“What?” Nadia wrenched her arm free.
“Pairing me up with Gage? You know he’s the last man I want to spend time with.”
“Sweetie, it was the luck of the draw.” Nadia continued ignoring Tern’s scoff, “You need to find out what happened between the two of you anyway.”
“Nope.” Tern folded her arms over her chest as if that would help protect her heart. “If he couldn’t tell me then, I don’t want to hear it now.”
“Yes, you do. It’s been eating you up inside.” Nadia cocked a hip. “Ever think that maybe this is fate?”
“Fate isn’t this sick.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It paired me up with Lucky.” A smile she tried to hide gave her away.
“As if that wasn’t who you wanted to be with anyway.”
She shrugged. “He’s the most fun of the bunch. There’s an unfair ratio of men to women, and since they’ve all had a taste of you, it’s up to me to protect myself from being passed around,” she said, tongue in cheek.
“You bitch.”
Nadia laughed. “Come on, get over it, and let’s have some fun. Think of the havoc you can cause Gage. Get back at him for his mistreatment of you.”
“Right.”
“Hey, you wouldn’t mind if Lucky and I hooked up, would you?”
“Uh…” Did she care? There was a part of her that still cared deeply for Lucky, and she wasn’t hiking down that trail again. But Nadia and Lucky? He’d break her heart. “Be careful, Nadia. He isn’t the kind of man who sticks around.”
“My favorite. Use ‘em and abuse ‘em.” Nadia gave a sly smile. “Time for the games to begin.”
Tern hopped onto a smooth boulder that had been tumbled and spat out by the glacier. The air coming off the ice chilled her to the bone every time she stopped to catch her breath. As long as she kept moving the cold didn’t sink in.
The glacier nestled blue in a valley of black spruce with craggy outcropping. The crystal clearness of the lake lay below, topped by a sky so azure it was almost white. Not even a jet stream marred the translucent sky. It felt as though if she focused just enough, she’d be able to catch a glimpse into Heaven.
The only thing to ruin this moment was the man trailing behind her. Gage cocked the shotgun again.
“How many times do you need to check that thing? It isn’t like the bullets are going to disappear.”
“I don’t like this.”
“You could have stayed in camp.”
“That’s not what I meant. This whole set up. It doesn’t feel right. Having no contact with the outside world concerns me. What if someone gets hurt? A week can be a long time to wait for help to arrive. If it arrives,” he grumbled.
“Afraid of a little adventure?” Tern taunted. They’d only spoken a few words on the hike toward the glacier. Nothing that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
“I’m not afraid.”
She turned and gave him a long look. He’d been afraid of her.
“I’m not afraid of you either,” he said, reading her expression correctly. It irked her that he could still do that.
“Riiight.” Like he wouldn’t have agreed to this ‘little adventure’ if he’d known she was going to be along. She dismissed him and started climbing again, her feet sliding to a hard stop when he grabbed her arm and swiveled her to face him.
“I am not afraid of you,” he repeated through strong, white teeth.
She studied him, eyes bright green, flashing golden specks from within, his nostrils flaring. She moved in closer and laid her hand on his chest. His heart hammered under her palm, and he swallowed hard.
“You’re so afraid of me you can’t stand it,” she whispered, slinking closer, until their bodies touched from breasts to thighs. His eyes smoldered over and his lips parted.
“Your very bones melt when I get close to you,” she continued. “The blood runs hot in your veins, and you want to do wicked things with me. You’re scared to death of what I can make you feel.” She let that sink in before she stepped back.
His hand fell from her arm as though in defeat.
“Don’t worry, Gage, you’re safe from me. A man dumps me like you did and there isn’t anything more that I want from him.” She left him there, hoping his mouth gaped open as he salivated after her. She almost turned back to relish his expression, but knew she’d lose ground if she did. Instead, she consulted her GPS. The geocache had to be around here somewhere.