Polar Bared by Eve Langlais Page B

out here though,” he added with a naughty grin.
    Oh how she almost melted. Funny how a mischievous smile could transform his craggy features and render him even more attractive than before.
    I’ve got it so bad. What a shame nothing would ever come of it. Gene had made it very clear he thought she was a pain in his buttocks. His Pima. Although, of late, he seemed to say it with less disparagement than before.
    “If you’re not worried about an attack, then what are you worried about?”
    “The kind of trouble I’m talking about is fissures and drifts, the kind that could cause serious damage to our sled. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer not to walk a few hundred miles to the closest town.”
    Hundreds? A number that brought home just how remote they truly were. Why, a man could do anything to her out here and no one would ever know—or hear. “Do we have what we need to camp?” she managed to squeak in spite of her rapidly beating heart.
    “Let’s find out.”
    When it came to surviving, Gene knew his stuff. In short order, he’d fabricated some kind of shelter using a tarp and the side of the sledge. Inside this low-angled lean-to, he placed a pair of sleeping bags, unzipped from their singular state and rezipped together to form one large cocoon.
    She eyed the makeshift bed with trepidation and, yes, some excitement. “We’re sharing?”
    “I don’t want either of us freezing to death. Just do me a favor and kick off your boots before climbing in. Oh and shed the coat. With the pair of us in that sucker, things will stay hot enough.”
    With an unseemly haste, Vicky obeyed and crawled into the low-ceilinged tent. In moments, a big body had joined her, making the ample space tight. So tight that her body ended up pressed against his.
    Gene groaned.
    “Are you okay?” she asked anxiously, unable to see his face in the dark. “Did I poke you somewhere?”
    “I’m fine,” he growled.
    “Oh.” She lay on her side, facing away from him but aware of how her buttocks pressed against his thighs. She couldn’t help but shiver, awareness of him doing strange things to her body.
    “You’re cold.” He stated, didn’t ask, as Gene went from lying on his back to his side. To her surprise, his arm curled around her waist and drew her into him.
    She almost gasped in surprise, the intimacy shockingly pleasant. Her head ended up tucked under his chin, her back against his chest, her rear nestled against his groin. Oh my. Even she knew what the hardness pressing against her meant.
    I’m arousing him.
    For some reason this elated her. She tried to ignore a nagging voice, that sounded remarkably like Rick’s, insisting that Gene, like any normal, hot-blooded male who’d gone without sex for a while, would have the same reaction if put in close proximity with a woman. Really, given his rough handsomeness and killer body, he could do much better than a chubby geek like her. He could—
    “What’s got your mind whirling a mile a minute?” he asked. Gone was his usual sarcastic tone. He sounded almost gentle, as if their intimate pose in the darkness was a hideaway where he didn’t need to put on a brash front.
    Thank goodness he couldn’t see her cheeks now. He’d guess for sure. As to admitting aloud her thoughts? Never. With her luck he’d laugh at her. Or, worse, pity her.
    “Nothing, just wondering about everything that’s happened.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue.
    “Do you have any idea who might want you dead?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “No. The only thing I can think of is someone is after my money.”
    “You rich?”
    Again she nodded.
    “Who stands to inherit?”
    “That’s just it, nobody. I have no close family, and Rick’s dead. I don’t know who would benefit from me dying.”
    “Maybe it’s for vengeance.”
    “For what? I haven’t hurt anyone.”
    “Are you sure? Maybe some guy’s jealous girlfriend or wife isn’t happy you slept with their significant