Rogue Soldier by Dana Marton Page A

of it and enter this century?”
    He didn’t. Not really. Right about now he would have been perfectly happy living in a less-civilized time when nuclear weapons hadn’t yet existed, somewhere he could throw her over his shoulder, take her back to his castle, and that would be the end of that.
    And for a moment he could see clearly—the two of them in an ancient tower room making love on a blanket of shaggy wolf pelts in front of the fire. He could have sworn he felt the heat of the flames.
    He shook his head and picked up speed, his snowshoes gliding forward with ease. She had him tied up in so many knots, he was hallucinating.
    Â 
    M IKE WALKED , squinting against the bitter wind. All the canned food from the cabin was gone, no trees anywhere near and no chance of a fire. Tessa was struggling with each step now. He hoped they wouldn’t have to spend another night on the snowfields.
    They plodded on in silence as night fell, the stars coming out one after the other.
    His eyes caught something in the distance, making him look harder. He grabbed Tessa’s arm and pointed.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œLights.”
    â€œNome?”
    â€œNot yet,” he said. “But probably one of the outlying villages.”
    â€œLet’s go then.” She picked up speed. “I’m ready to face the bastards.”

Chapter Six
    â€œFeeling better?”
    Tessa blinked her eyes open as Mike came into the room with an armload of shopping bags. A moment passed before she remembered that they were in Nome’s Lost Nugget, a quaint bed and breakfast on the edge of the small Arctic town that its inhabitants insisted on calling a city.
    â€œI can’t believe I fell asleep.” She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, blinked the sleep from her eyes. The short nap did little to remedy her exhaustion. All it did was make it clear she needed more sleep, lots more.
    The aroma of food wafted through the door—probably lunch being prepared downstairs. Her stomach growled.
    Mike dumped his loot next to her, looking at her with those swirling cinnamon eyes that were nowfilled with heat as they slid from her face to her bare shoulder. Then he shuttered his expression and stepped back. “Did you make it into the shower before you passed out?”
    She pulled her shirt back into place and shook her head. She’d sat down to undress. That was the last thing she remembered.
    â€œWant to do it now?”
    â€œYou go first,” she said. He’d just come in from the cold, while she’d been snoozing under the blankets. He needed warming up more than she did.
    â€œOkay.” He grabbed a bag, then closed the bathroom door behind him.
    The fact that he didn’t crack a joke about not being selfish and invite her to share the bath was beyond weird and completely out of character. Then again, he had treated her with nothing but professionalism since her embarrassing breakdown and the following bear attack. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
    Maybe not exactly this. The old Mike had gotten on her nerves from time to time, but the new Mike plain freaked her out. His behavior was…unnatural, confusing, irritating. Even more so because she wouldn’t have admitted to missing the old Mike if her life depended on it.
    She scooted closer to the bags and rifled through them—a change of clothes for her and a small firstaid kit. Then she found the source of the mouthwatering smell that filled the room and forgot about the rest of the stuff as she ripped the takeout containers open.
    Barbecue ribs and French fries, a smaller container filled to the brim with a generous slice of apple pie, everything still hot. She stared at the bounty, regretting some of the uncharitable thoughts she’d been entertaining about Mike over the last few days. He had remembered her favorite foods.
    The meat melted off the bones, the ribs cooked to perfection. She shoved a few French