Chapter Five
Gabrielle stared at her laptop screen and wanted to scream. The webpage she stared at recorded everything about why she was in Alaska, a blog of day-to-day activities and the hunt that something might be wandering in the Arctic Circle.
Little bird, my ass.
Memories surged, every single one of them ugly. The blog almost felt like another betrayal, although she didn’t think that was Kenny’s intention. And maybe she was just over-reacting. After all, she’d been such a young, idealistic girl when Burt Dendy had sunk his hooks into her, spinning tales of the Yeti and making the hunt seem romantic and glamorous. She’d changed her life around for him, began to miss school, and after she’d spent the entire semester allowance following him to the Himalayas, her parents had yanked their support which forced her to drop out of college.
A knock sounded on the door, bringing her out of her thoughts. She wiped her cheeks, surprised to find she’d been crying. “Come in.”
The door opened and Jaeger stood there, holding a tray in one hand. A covered plate and a can of beer was his offering. He came into the room and shut the door with his heel. “Dinner,” he said, setting the tray upon the dresser near the door. “Agathe’s mixture of her homeland and Alaska. Braised caribou, prepared like Mørbradbøf, with onions and cabbage.”
She raised the lid off the plate and inhaled. Her mouth watered.
“Thank you, it smells amazing.” She cut a piece of the meat and with a fork, lifted it eye level to inspect the meat. “I’ve been to Tibet and Bhutan, and I’ve eaten many odd things, but this will be the first time for caribou.”
He shrugged. “A little tougher than pork. I will warn you that it does not taste like chicken.”
She smiled and ate the morsel on her fork. The flavor burst across her taste buds, slightly salty, very savory, and a little chewy.
“She’s a very good cook,” she said once she swallowed. “Is Agathe from the Netherlands?”
“No, we’re both from Greenland, by way of the Vikings,” he replied. “I came here about ten years ago to set up this lodge.”
“Vikings?”
“Yes, both our families are direct descendants, and Agathe’s family has served my own for many generations.”
Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. “Is that still common? I mean, I’ve studied tribes in various parts of the world where family traditions are handed down like that, but that’s a practice not readily found in more modern civilization.”
“Agathe is a traditionalist,” he said with a shrug. “I have two younger brothers she could’ve gone with, but she decided to stay with me. And I’m thankful to have her. She is a den mother here at the lodge.”
“I can see why,” Gabrielle murmured around a mouthful of food. “This is really wonderful. Does the lodge’s name mean anything?”
“Frosset means frozen in Danish,” he said. “My family’s moto is Frosne Hjerte. It means frozen heart. Frosset seemed like a fitting name.”
They lapsed into silence while she ate and she was surprised it wasn’t uncomfortable to be around him and not talk. His presence was actually more soothing, even though her senses still danced at his nearness. When she finished, she laid her utensils on the plate and wiped her mouth.
“Thank you for bringing this to me,” she said. “Do you always provide personal service like this to your guests?”
“No,” he said. He sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him.
She hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of being near him. She had an inkling of where he wanted the evening to end, but she still wasn’t quite sure if it would be a wise move.
“Will you be up for snowmobiling tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around herself. That seemed to help stifle the urge to sit next to him. “Although I know it’s a long shot that any evidence or proof will still be out there.”
He frowned. “What is more important to you? The proof that cryptids may exist or proving to yourself you made the right career choice?”
“Ouch,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t hold back your punches, do you?”
“We may not have known each other very long, but I feel a connection with you, Gabrielle.”
She blew out a puff of pent-up frustration that startled her bangs. She didn’t want to admit that she felt it, too. “I don’t trust easily anymore, especially when it comes to my work.”
“Mark told me about your history with Dendy.”
She reached over to her laptop and turned it around.
“That’s how Dendy knew I was here,” she said, pointing. “Kenny wrote a blog and tweeted about it. So I guess a little bird did tell him.”
“Does he do this often? Pop up wherever you are, uninvited?”
Gabrielle shook her head. “This is the first time since our partnership dissolved, and I don’t know why now.”
He studied her for a moment. “Why the Yeti?”
She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the words she never voiced aloud before. “I’ve always felt like there was more to this world than what our eyes can see or our hands can touch. I became an anthropology major but was seduced by the dark side, per se. In this case, legends of the Yeti. And the search can be addicting.”
He cocked his head. “So you do this because you believe in the supernatural?”
“I don’t classify it as supernatural.”
“Many people would. Many people probably think you’re crazy.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well, there’s a few who don’t. I have funding through a local college interested in the Yeti legends. It’s through their history department that Mark, Kenny, and I were able to explore for so long. And for us to come here. I’m on the last bit of our grant so I’m hoping to find something positive to bring home to them. Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” he replied. “You can ask me anything, Gabrielle.”
“Why did you use the word ‘werewolf’?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead he patted the bed again, and this time, she sat down. Her heart beat accelerated as her pulse jumped from simply being near him. There it was again, that electric arc that seemed to wrap around them like gossamer strings. Was it really just physical attraction that would die away as soon as it was satisfied? An itch to scratch? After all, she’d only been with one man and that relationship had ended in betrayal.
Maybe it was time to take a new model for a test drive. Erase the old with a new memory, something to look back at fondly whenever Dendy showed his face again.
“Maybe, like you, I, too, believe in things our eyes cannot see or our hands cannot touch,” he murmured. Their gazes met, locked. He leaned closer until his warm breath fanned across her face. Her heart thumped with anticipation and her panties grew damp. The time for denial fled. She wanted this. Wanted him.
Jaeger possessed her mouth, curling one hand around her head to hold her in place while he kissed her. This was different than before. This kiss had a touch of possession in it. He plundered her mouth and she let him as her mind went blank. It was only him and her, and the presence of a bed beckoning her to lay back. Jaeger left her mouth and made his way to her ear where he sucked lightly on the sensitive area behind the shell.
“Oh, wow,” she breathed. “That feels so good. You feel good. M-maybe we should, um, stop.”
“One more kiss,” he whispered.
Jaeger kissed her cheek as he slowly moved his hands down until he cupped her breasts. She gasped as he teased the nipples with a fingertip.
“One more?” he asked before he pressed his lips against hers again. A light, feathery brush of their mouths as he continued to tease the turgid peak under her bra.
“O-okay. One more,” she agreed, stuttering a little from the desire wracking her body.
One hand left her breast and he slid it down her side, over her hip and across her thighs until it nestled between them. Instinct, or maybe reflex, had her legs opening. Hoping, yearning, he’d touch her further.
Taking the invitation, he moved suddenly. Not releasing her, but only shifting until he kneeled between her spread thighs. Determination seemed to shimmer in his movements as he placed a hand on her chest and pushed her until she lay flat on her back. He then unsnapped her jeans and tugged on them. Gabrielle lifted her hips so he could slide them down. The momentary break in the sensual haze he’d wrapped around her made her wonder if she should call a halt to this, but her body didn’t want to stop. So she gave into the demands of what she really craved.
One more kiss.
Jaeger pulled her jeans off, dragging her panties along with them. He slid his hands under her bare ass and lifted as he bent over her. Okay, so one more kiss was placed on her pussy mound, but that only led to another and another, until fingers slid along her slit and opened her up to his loving.
“Oh!” She gasped. “Lick my pussy!”
Jaeger obeyed, starting from the bottom of her pussy and licking up, until he drew her clit into his mouth. Gabrielle panted, bucking her hips against his mouth, wanting more. He gave it, sliding his tongue up and down, sucking and licking until Gabrielle was in heaven, her mind in a daze as she gave herself up to the unbelievable pleasure.
“I’m going to come,” she cried. She thrust her fingers into his hair. “Please oh, please don’t stop.”
Gabrielle’s legs twitched and she lifted her pelvis off the bed, wrapping her thighs around Jaeger’s head. The tension built, coiling higher, until it suddenly snapped and threw her off the plateau. Gabrielle gave a breathless little scream as light burst behind her closed eyes.
She fell back limp, her limbs wet noodles she couldn’t move. Jaeger left the area between her legs and lay beside her. Not caring that his face was wet with her release, she leaned forward and kissed him, tasting herself upon his lips. It was sexy as hell.
He brushed her hair off her forehead. “Gabrielle,” he murmured, his voice soft and endearing.
“What about you?”
He smiled. “Not about me, love. This is all for you.”
She closed her eyes, content. Wow. A man who gave pleasure without expectation? She might have found her mythological creature after all.