Shelter (Heroes of Big Sky 2)

I don’t have to go far. I find her standing in the kitchen with a steaming mug of tea.

“I figured out the gas stove,” she says. “I lit it without blowing us up. Used some bottled water I found in the pantry.”

“I appreciate you not blowing us up.” I lean into her, the mug trapped between us, and help myself to her lips. They taste sweet. “You put sugar in your tea?”

“Just a little. I found a sugar packet in the pantry. It’s handy that they haven’t cleared it out yet this year.”

“Is there any hot water left?”

“Plenty,” she confirms. “Help yourself. I’m gonna step outside.”

She kisses my shoulder as she passes, and when she’s no longer in my view, I lean against the counter and take a deep breath.

I don’t think there’s been a time in my twenty-seven years that a woman has had such an impact on me. Emotionally or physically.

While my tea steeps, I nose around in the office and find a radio that I can use to talk to the ranger station.

I turn it on, and after several seconds, I’m talking to Roger, my boss.

“I’m glad to hear you’re okay,” he says. “What are the conditions? Over.”

“I haven’t been outside yet, but the wind is gone. I’ll go scout it out in just a few, over.”

“Let me know what you find out. If you need us to come up and help you down, we can do that. Over.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in touch. Out.”

I walk back to the kitchen, grab my tea, and open the back door.

And when I step outside, I stop dead in my tracks and stare in horror.

Chapter 4

~Remi~

“It’s okay,” I assure Seth calmly as we stare at the big grizzly sow currently standing about twenty feet away. “She and I have been talking. She’s not aggressive.”

“I want you inside, now.”

“Oh, I’m working on it, but I don’t want to startle her.”

“Look at me.”

I can’t. I can’t look away from her.

“Remi, damn it, look at me.” His voice is still low but firm. I risk a quick glance over, relieved to see that the door isn’t as far away as I thought it was when I first panicked and saw the bear. “Ease this way. I’ve got you.”

I swallow and smile at the bear. “Easy, girl. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re just going back inside, okay?”

I walk slowly to my right, and when Seth clasps my hand in his, my heart dislodges from my throat. When he pulls me inside and shuts the door, I let out a whoosh of air.

“That was an experience I don’t plan to have again.”

“You did so great.” He tugs me into his strong arms and hugs me close. “She could have turned aggressive. They’re eating and getting ready for hibernation. I should have thought of it.”

“I’m okay.” I pat his back and rub a soothing circle. “We’re okay. But we’ll have to hike down, and she’s around. Maybe we can just live here through the winter. Or until she goes into hibernation.”

His chest rumbles against my cheek as he laughs. “As fun as that sounds, I think we’ll be heading down later today. However, there’s a pretty big snowdrift covering the trail.”

“I saw that, too. Before Yogi’s wife came wandering over.”

“The trek is going to be treacherous for a few miles. I don’t know how far, to be honest. I’ll call down and get a plan going with my boss.”

“You have cell coverage up here?”

“No.” He kisses my forehead. “I found a CB radio and called down to the station to check in while you were outside talking to Mrs. Yogi.”

“Okay. I like that you can talk to other people and that we’re not just left to our own devices.”

“We would be fine even if we were,” he assures me. “Go enjoy your tea by the fire. I’ll figure out what the hell’s going on.”

“I don’t usually leave things in the hands of a man,” I admit as I walk away. “But in this particular situation, I’m fine with it. You get us handled, and I’ll be lazy. Until it’s time to hike down. Does this mean I can’t hike up to the glacier?”

I glance back and see his head whip up to stare at me in horror.

“You absolutely can not hike to Sperry Glacier. No.”

“Killjoy,” I mutter and sip my tea as I walk back to the fire.

The truth is, I’m tired. I don’t know if it was yesterday’s hike, and the ensuing adrenaline rush of running out of the storm that wore me out, or the energetic sexy times with Seth.

“Probably both,” I mutter into my mug.

The man may be tall and well-muscled, but he can move. And he’s strong. He just shifts me around like I’m a ragdoll.

It’s not unpleasant at all.

I could get used to being touched, kissed, and coaxed to orgasm like it’s his damn job.