Chapter 10
Of course, the first thing she did was roll over, a command like that impossible to follow. Shocked she looked down the hill to see a baby bear nosing around in the new trees, it was by far the most exciting thing she’d ever seen. But she controlled her excitement until the bear wandered off down the hill, knowing that there had to be a mamma bear close by, and there was nothing fiercer than a mother bear.
When she tried to sit up the next time, Jared let her, but he was still watching the hill intently. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I doubt it, there can’t be much here for him to eat. But the best thing we can do is build the fire up and make a bunch of noise so that they know we’re here.” Nicole said, throwing more wood on the fire.
“They? Are there more of them?” Jared asked, looking nervously around him.
“If there’s a baby bear, and that was a baby, then there’s a mother close at hand.”
Jared thought about that for a second, got up and began to make as much noise as he could, banging on a pot with a spoon and yelling at the top of his lungs. When Nicole started laughing, he gave her a dirty look and continued. When he’d finally worn himself out, he sat down next to her by the fire, panting from the exertion.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get eaten by a bear.” He said, putting his arm around her. Then he added, “Especially not now.”
“Well I don’t think those bears are going to come anywhere near us now. You’ve made sure of that.” Nicole said, then realized what Jared had said at the end.
“What do you mean, not now?” She asked, wishing suddenly that she hadn’t.
“Now that I’ve finally stopped being stupid and done what I’ve been wanting to for weeks, I’d hate for it to end with us getting eaten by a bear.” Jared said, looking in her eyes. “I know we don’t have much time before I have to go back and face the real world, but I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened, none of it. You’ve woken me up Nicole, made me see the world differently. But it’s not just that, I think you’re teaching me how to stop plotting and planning everything in my life and live for the moment — something I’ve never done.”
It was at that moment that Nicole knew that she was in love with Jared, at least the Jared who was with her right then. She wasn’t sure about the one who lived in Juneau and wanted to be governor, but this one she loved. He would be hers for only a short time, and she was going to make the most of that time. Her exhaustion suddenly gone, she reached up and stroked Jared face, then pulled his head down and kissed him.
Jared seemed to understand what she wanted, and gently pulled her down onto the sleeping bags, then covered her body with his. “I’ve never made love out in the open, but when I’m with you I seem to do things I’ve never done before.”
When his mouth came down on hers, all the sounds of the night evaporated, Nicole only hearing the beating of their hearts. Hers was thumping in her chest, Jared’s kiss igniting a fire inside her as only he could. Jared slowly undressed Nicole, peeling off her shirt and pants first, then unhooking her bra exposing her breasts to the cool night air.
Her nipples immediately hardened, and Jared couldn’t help but suck one into his mouth. Nicole sucked in a deep breath when his hot mouth began to suckle on her breast, his teeth just nipping her, sending delicious waves of pleasure rushing to her core. When he switched to the other one, she arched her back, restless and wanting more. But Jared had no intention of giving her what she wanted so quickly, he wanted her writhing under him as she never had before.
Until now he’d kept their love making simple, but tonight he wanted to take her someplace she’d never been before. Wanted to show her what he couldn’t tell her, because if he told her how he felt about her, he’d never be able to walk away from her in a few weeks. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t see how Nicole fit in his life. But one thing he knew for certain, he was going to try and figure that out.
He quickly stripped out of his clothes, then laid down next to her again, loving the way her naked skin felt against his. While his hands explored her body, gently skimming her skin until she was covered in goose bumps, he kissed her. A deep slow kiss that made Nicole breathless with both passion and love.
When he broke the kiss, it was to nibble on her neck, his breath in her ear making her shiver with delight. “I’ve never felt this way before.” He whispered in her ear.
Nicole’s heart leap with joy and desire at his words, “I want you Jared.” She said, finding his erection and wrapping her hands around it.
“Not yet, sweetheart.” He said, then slid his hand into her panties which was all that separated them.
Nicole immediately opened her legs to him, anticipation washing over her, but Jared did nothing more than run his finger between her folds. Groaning when he felt the moisture concealed there, he shifted between her legs and eyes locked on hers, slowly slid her panties down her legs then slipped them off. He took one of her feet in his hands and brought it to his mouth, then kissed her toes, shocking Nicole with the pleasure it caused.
She let out a quiet, “Oh.” And Jared couldn’t help but smile.
After sucking on each toe, he moved to the other foot, sliding his free hand up the inside of her thigh as he did, making her writhe as he’d imagined. When he’d finished with her foot, he began to place feather soft kisses on the inside of her legs, slowly working his way up to her throbbing core. Nicole could do nothing more than grab fistfuls of the sleeping bag underneath her, Jared’s kisses pure torture, but one that she was willing to endure.
When he gently pushed her legs farther apart and bent her knees, Nicole sucked in a deep breath her instincts telling her what was coming. But nothing could have prepared her for that first touch of Jared’s hot tongue on her swollen clitoris, every nerve ending in her body suddenly became alive with pleasure, a pleasure so intense it couldn’t be sustained. Without warning her orgasm came rushing over her, making her cry out and grab Jared’s head where it rested between her legs.
Before the pleasure could disappear, Jared slid up her body and inside her, driving himself as deep as he could with one powerful thrust of his hips. Then he stilled, letting Nicole’s body adjust to his, her body still trembling with pleasure. When she tried to wrap her legs around him, he pulled them up to his shoulders and drove himself into her even farther. Nicole responded by lifting her hips and opening herself even more for him, loving the way he filled her.
Jared locked his eyes on hers and drove himself into her over and over, each thrust bringing him closer to fulfillment. Nicole dug her fingernails into his shoulders, her whimpers of pleasure driving him closer until he felt himself just on the edge. Sliding her legs back down, he reached between them and began to rub her clit in circles until panting with the power of her orgasm, Nicole pulled him over the edge. Her body clenched around his, squeezing his throbbing penis so powerfully that he let go and emptied himself inside her.
Jared collapsed on top of Nicole but soon rolled over and pulled her to him. As their breathing returned to normal, they watched the night sky, both too moved by what they’d just shared to speak. From farther down the mountain, they heard the mother bear call to her baby and the baby answer, and they both laughed.
“I don’t think they’ll come back now for sure.” Nicole said, burring her head in Jared’s chest a little embarrassed by what they’d just done out in the open.
“Well, if they do, I’m sure I can think of a few other ways to make some noise.” Jared said, running his hand down her back to her butt, then gently squeezing.
Nicole laughed, “I’m sure you can, but that might have been all I can handle for one night.”
“Hmm, I doubt that.” Jared said, rolling her onto her back and reaching between her legs.
Gina hit the send button feeling even more annoyed than she had before she sent the email, wondering why she thought that this one would be any different. It had been three days since she’d sent the first one, two since she’d sent the second, and now she’d just send number ten, the last in a long string she’d sent today. It was frustrating that Jared wasn’t communicating with her, especially now that she’d set their plan in action.
It hadn’t been that hard really, once she’d gone through all the pictures from Jared’s phone it had been simple to come up with a plan. Of course, it hadn’t been cheap to carry out that plan and she’d had to spend all her savings and max out her credit cards to get it done. But the man she’d hired to hack into Seth’s computer and make a few changes to the plans for the mine had done his job, assuring her that what she’d paid him would be nothing compared to what she stood to gain.
But she couldn’t risk Jared getting caught up in what was going to happen, so first she’d sent him a simple message that he should stay far away from the mine. When he hadn’t responded as she’d hoped, she’d sent another message. Now she was beginning to worry that he was ignoring her, wouldn’t get her warnings, and there was nothing that she could do but wait. What she’d done could have catastrophic results, and now that she’d had some time to think about it, when there was a chance that Jared was going to get caught up in it, she wasn’t so sure it had been a good idea.
It wasn’t her fault though, he’d pushed her to this point, sending her away like he did. She’d held it together in front of everyone, but when she’d gotten a few miles down the road, she’d let her anger out which had eventually turned to tears. Once at home, she’d immediately began trying to find a way to accomplish what they’d set out to do, sure that Jared would be pleased. So, it wasn’t her fault if things didn’t go quite right, she had only been looking out for herself, since no one else was going to.
When Jared and Nicole pulled up to the mine, it looked much different than it had the last time he’d been there. The road had been repaired just enough to get the large equipment in that they’d need. It looked strange parked next to the abandoned mine, like something that didn’t belong. Everywhere he looked there was activity, and for a moment the mine didn’t feel as foreboding as it had the last time they were there.
But he only had to look at the gaping hole to remember what it had been like inside it, and was glad it would be sealed permanently in only a few days. Seth didn’t know it, but he’d already explored putting up a memorial to everyone who’d lost their lives because of his family’s greed. It was a small step, but it was the first of many he planned to take, and he had Nicole to thank for that.
They found Seth in the command tent surrounded by stacks of papers, and a bunch of people. “So, the plan is to start setting the charges tomorrow, the first will be the most dangerous, and everyone need to listen to George. He’s in charge as long as we’re blasting, listen to him and we’ll be fine.” He said, then turned to the man who’d been sitting beside him.
While George began going over maps of the mine, he slipped away and came over to Jared and Nicole. “We’ve got tents already set up for you, and there’s a shower tent behind this one. You two look like you’ve had a long couple of days.”
But the truth was that when he really looked at his brother, Seth thought that he looked happier than he’d ever seen him. There were no lines of worry on his face, something he’d thought he’d never see, and he was smiling. When he’d sent Jared off with Sam and Julie he’d only had the faintest hope that his brother might change, but somehow, some way, the impossible had happened.
“It wasn’t that bad.” Jared said, then smiled at Nicole, who blushed.
Seth couldn’t help it, his mouth fell open in shock, his brother was in love, that was one thing he’d wouldn’t have expected in a million years. “Well, then you two go and get cleaned up and we can catch up at dinner.” He managed to say to cover his shock.
After dinner, Jared decided he’d better check in with the people back in Juneau, he’d been avoiding it for far too long, and it was time to face them. He wasn’t planning on telling them about his change of heart now, but he couldn’t avoid them any longer. Sure enough, there were multiple emails waiting for him, demanding an explanation about what he’d been doing for all this time. There was also an email from Gina with a strange message saying that she’d taken care of everything and to stay away from the mine.
He paid it little attention, he didn’t have time to deal with her just then, instead he concentrated on formulating an email that would sound like it was full of information but really held nothing. It took him several hours, but he finally hit the send button, and the group email went out. Relieved to have that out of the way, he went in search of Nicole, trying to figure out how he was going to get her into his tent for the night, unwilling to spend even one night away from her.
After a good night’s sleep in a tent just big enough for the two of them, Nicole walked Jared to the command tent and kissed him goodbye. “I’ll see you later this afternoon, it shouldn’t take me long to get caught up.” He said, wishing that he could go with her instead of dealing with what was happening in Juneau.
He watched her walk away, feeling a lightness inside him that he’d never felt before. Not sure what it was, he’d decided not to think about it too much, to simply enjoy the feeling and the woman who inspired it. Reluctantly he turned and went into the tent, it was time to deal with the backlash his group email would have caused this morning.
Backlash didn’t even describe what his email had set in motion; there were multiple angry messages he had to deal with. Several men had threatened to pull their support if he didn’t do something and fast, each making it very clear that he wasn’t their only source of information about what Seth was up to. He did what he could without outright lying, sending off emails for hours, until he wanted to just throw the computer in the river and walk away. The whole time he’d been working, he’d been watching emails from Gina come in one after another, adding to his frustration.
He ignored them, viewing them more as an annoyance than anything else, but when he’d sent his last message, he opened the first one. It was almost as cryptic as the one from the night before, so he clicked on the next one, then the next. By the time he reached the last message, he’d begun to get worried, cringing he clicked it open and cursed. He read it twice more before he jumped to his feet, ran to the map on the wall and made a few calculations. Looking at his watch, he cursed again, then tore out of the command tent, hoping he’d make it on time.
It took him far longer to get to the mine than he would have liked, the mile seeming more like five as he ran. If he was lucky they’d be behind schedule, wouldn’t set the charge off on time so that he could warn them. Out of breath when he got to the mine, a sea of people between he and Seth, Jared took a deep breath to issue a warning. Before the words could come out of his mouth, Seth pushed the plunger and the mountain side rumbled and the ground shook.
Jared unsteady on his feet as the ground shook, out of breath, pushed through the crowd to the front. “Get everyone out of here.” He yelled when he got close enough.
Seth and George looked at him, then at the mountain which had begun to rumble again. “What?” Seth yelled back.
“You have to get everyone away from here, the charge was in the wrong place. The whole side of the mountain may come down.” Jared was finally close enough not to have to yell, but the intensity of his voice had more impact on Seth.
He looked at the mountain again, then shouted, “Everyone go, get away from the mine.”
The crowd of people split in two, the group going in opposite directions, but it was too late. With a warning rumble, a huge piece of the mountain side detached itself and began to slide, taking with it anything in its way. Most of the crowd had gotten away, but there were still several people standing shocked in the center of the slide. As Jared and Seth watched, trees and boulders were swept into the air, only to come crashing down to Earth, after several narrow missed, Jared knew that he had to do something.
When he started toward the slide, Seth pulled him back. “You can’t go in there. You’ll never be able to get to them. It’s not worth the risk.”
“I have to.” Jared said, trying to shrug off Seth’s arm. When Seth wouldn’t let him go, he shouted, “It’s my fault Seth. I can’t explain right now, but it’s my fault.”
Seth was so shocked he let go of Jared, who immediately jumped onto the moving piece of rock to try and rescue the people whose lives he’d put in jeopardy. By the time he got to the first person, the rock had stopped sliding and the debris had settled, relieved he helped the woman to her feet. When the dust had finally settled, Jared was relieved to find that there was only one person who was injured badly enough to need a stretcher, a broken leg that was causing the man a lot of pain.
When he turned to ask for the stretcher, Seth held up his hands. “Jared don’t move, we don’t know if the mountain is going to shift again. George is looking into what you said, but until we know for sure, I need you to hang tight.”
Jared could feel the mountain shifting slightly under him, “Okay but this man needs help.”
“We’ll get a chopper in here and lift you both out. It’s on its way and should be here in just a few minutes. Just try to relax and don’t move any more than you have to.” Seth said, motioning for everyone to back away from the slide.
As Jared was waiting he wondered where Nicole was. She was supposed to have met him at the mine or at the command tent, but he’d been so distracted it hadn’t occurred to him until just then that she hadn’t shown up. They’d been working up above the mine, and suddenly he began to panic, thinking that she might have been injured. But he heard his name, and she was there, standing next to Seth, tears streaming down her cheeks.
When the helicopter finally came into view, Jared was ready to do what he needed. It wasn’t easy to hurt the man when he had to move his leg to strap him into the stretcher, but the mountain rumbling underneath him told him that he didn’t have any time to waste. He slid into his own harness and strapped himself in, looking up at the helicopter, more scared than he’d ever been in his life.
But when he looked down at the man, he knew that his fear could be nothing compared to his and blocked the fear, even put a smile on his face when he asked, “Are you ready for an adventure?”