She's the One (15 page)

What she was feeling was infatuation, tenderness. Not love.

Nodding to herself, she hit the reply button, her hands trembling as she wrote:

Man-ville is gorgeous. Taking lots of pics. I’m sorry, too. Glad you two made up. Talk to Luke, he’ll be thrilled and he’ll understand why you’re scared. You need to lean on each other until you’re comfortable
telling the rest of the fam. Take care of yourself and don’t overdo. Breathe. Have faith. It’ll be okay.

The door to the room opened with the sound of a sliding key card and the metal-against-metal scrape of the latch. Dylan walked in and her body heated at the sight of him. She hit the button to send the text and tossed the phone aside.

Yeah, Man-ville was great.

So great…she kind of wanted to stay.

L
ATER THAT AFTERNOON
, Alex was fresh from the shower and ready to explore. “Come on, come swimming with me in the hot springs.”

Dylan flipped down the edge of the newspaper and gave her a regretful shake of his head. “No, thanks. I don’t swim much.”

Did that mean he didn’t like to swim, didn’t know how to swim? She found that hard to believe considering he lived on a lake and went fishing all the time. “I’ll teach you.”

“I know
how
, Alexandra. I don’t want to.”

“You don’t like to swim?”

“I like it fine.”

He knew how to, he liked it. What was the problem? Something wasn’t right. She crossed her arms over her chest, not about to give up. “Then why not swim?”

Inhaling, he finally said, “I don’t like crowds. You go on without me.”

She frowned at that. She knew Dylan didn’t like crowds—that was obvious given his desire to live in the middle of a wilderness—but they were here and they were alone and swimming together would be fun. It was the only one of her excursions that involved getting in a pool.

Couldn’t he compromise? Pretend for an afternoon? It wasn’t as though there were
that
many people there.

When she glanced at him and made eye contact, she saw a sad awareness in his eyes. He knew she wanted to go, knew he was disappointing her. So why not meet her halfway? She wasn’t asking to go to a stadium full of people for a ball game.

“Go change. Enjoy yourself.”

Dylan went back to reading his paper and Alex dug her bathing suit out of her duffel, searching until she found the bright red two-piece with strings and a piece of U-shaped metal that held the material over her chest. Fine, he didn’t want to go. But she wasn’t going to sit in the room while Dylan read the paper, of all things.

She tossed the bathing suit on the bed and was about to try to find her lotion when she noticed Dylan eyeing her suit from behind his newspaper, a dark frown on his face. Smiling to herself, she had a brainstorm and dropped the towel.

A muffled curse came from behind the paper and it rattled again. Dylan cleared his throat. “How long do you think you’ll be?”

She bent and stepped into the suit, slowly pulling the bottoms up her legs. “Not long. But I
can’t
come all this way and not get in the pools. That would be such a waste.” The elastic settled into place on her hip bone with a
snap
. “I really wish you’d join me. I love the feel of the water on my skin. It’s very relaxing. We could find a nice quiet spot and just sit there if you like.”

She picked up her top and by the time she put it on and pulled and tucked and straightened and tied, the
newspaper was on the floor and Dylan was on the edge of the bed. “Alexandra…”

She looked up, trying her best to look innocent.

Dylan swallowed, the sound rough. “Is that…new for your trip?”

She hid a smile. At least he hadn’t gone with the old
You’re wearing that?
question that got so many guys into trouble. “You like it?” She did a slow turn, modeling it for him. Like every woman she had a hard time finding a suit that fit right, was comfortable and still somewhat modest. She’d known the moment she’d tried this one on that it was the suit for her. She’d bought three of them, the red one she now wore, a black one and a deep purple one.

“It’s…you’re beautiful. Maybe I’ll…walk down to the pool with you. I’ll get dressed and get my coat.”

“And sit there in the cold beside the pool instead of in it? No, you can’t do that,” she said firmly.

“Alexandra, I didn’t bring trunks. I didn’t plan to swim.”

“They have at least three different places selling bathing suits here.” She walked over to him and rested her forearms on his shoulders, clasping her fingers behind his head. “Tell you what, I’ll run to the gift shop really quick to buy you trunks. We’ll go swim, play and later…we’ll stay in and do whatever you want.”

He pulled her to him, fitting his head directly in the little bit of cleavage she had, his mouth on her skin. Her body immediately heated up from his touch, especially when his hands cupped her behind and his thumbs slid beneath the elastic.

“Whatever I want?”

She smiled, seeing the indecision in his eyes. She
could tell he wanted to go with her but was letting something hold him back. She had to convince him, show him that he could forget his scars and have some fun. “
Any
thing. Now, what color do you want?”

His grip on her butt tightened and squeezed. “Blue,” he growled like a grumpy bear.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to go alone.” Alex started to pull away when he tugged her back.

“It’s just swimming.”

D
YLAN SPENT NEARLY THE ENTIRE
next week taking Alexandra flightseeing. The places she wanted to see were widespread, so it took hours flying to and from the destinations.

They flew over Mount Redoubt so she could photograph the top and the little puff of steam rising into the air from the active volcano, Mount Spur, she gaped at the blue of the glaciers and she downloaded hundreds of pictures after every trip.

Playing with Colt and listening to Zeke and the men talk was the entertainment of their quiet evenings at the lodge but Alexandra didn’t seem to mind, which raised his hopes that she could get used to a simpler life, maybe even like it. That she could get used to living there? Staying there?

Surprisingly, swimming in the hot springs had been fun. Several people were rude enough to stare at his scars, but whenever it happened, Alexandra made a point of reaching out to grasp his hand, cracking a joke or doing something to draw the attention from him to her.

But more important, no one recognized him, and aside from the attention his scars drew, no one seemed to notice him otherwise.

It was a good realization to have after spending so much time alone. Maybe enough time had passed and Zeke was right that Dylan was the only one holding on to the past. Maybe he could do more than dream of a future with Alexandra.

While he carried his sleepy son to bed and tucked Colt in, Alexandra grabbed her pajamas and toiletries to wash her face. Dylan would have liked Alexandra to join them but that was one ritual she said she wouldn’t intrude upon. He knew why she kept her distance from Colt and their father-son time but Dylan also hoped if he could get her to agree, she might begin to see herself in their lives rather than passing through.

Minutes later Dylan entered the small bathroom and stood behind her, his broad shoulders dwarfing hers in the little mirror.

Zeke and the others had built another bonfire and if they held true to form, they wouldn’t come inside for another hour or more.

Dylan waited and watched while she rinsed her face and patted it dry. He could watch her perform the simple chore for the rest of his life and not get tired of it.

Alexandra lowered the towel she held, her fingers clutched it as if she could read his thoughts. She wanted no pressure and he’d tried to adhere to the rule but with every day that passed it became harder to imagine her gone.

Holding her gaze in the mirror, he saw her eyes darken with a hint of fear. Not of him physically, but, if he had to guess, of what she saw in his eyes when he looked at her.

“Dylan…
don’t.”

It was a warning, one daring him not to trespass, daring him not to say the words because she wasn’t ready.

He kissed her temple and turned her to face him. The pulse in her throat picked up speed, matched the pounding in his chest. Dylan stared into her eyes and kissed her as he wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her off her feet, and carried her through the bathroom door to his bedroom.

In seconds they were naked, the tension in the bathroom carrying to the darkness of his bedroom. There wasn’t time for foreplay, neither of them seemed to want it. He took care of protection and slid home, muffling the low sound she made with his mouth. Taking her hands in his, he carried them above her head and pinned them there, controlling her movements and bringing her to the very tip of pleasure, all the while watching her, his gaze never faltering, never letting
her
close her eyes or look away.

Her fingers gripped his hands and she arched her back, her gaze heated and revealing as he drove her and himself over the edge.

Dylan left the bed briefly to take care of the condom but immediately returned to spoon her from behind. She fit into his arms perfectly.

He held her, feeling her body begin to relax and twitch with sleep. And because he couldn’t keep quiet any longer, couldn’t
not
demand more, he pressed his nose into her hair and whispered, “Stay.”

“S
TAY
.”

The next day even the roar of the Super Cub’s engine couldn’t drown out Alex’s thoughts. Last night as she’d
fallen asleep she could have sworn she’d heard Dylan say the word. But in that place between wakefulness and sleep, had she imagined it? Because she
wanted
to hear it?

She’d crept to her room in the wee hours of the morning to be in her own bed when the lodge awakened. When she saw Dylan at breakfast he’d acted as though nothing had happened, reinforcing her thoughts that her mind had supplied the word, not him.

So was that what she wanted to hear? What she wanted him to say? Demand? What about Colt’s issues? What about her job? The review and the fact she’d never told Dylan about it?

Sitting behind Dylan in the two-seater Super Cub, she stared out the window at the vastness of land below, deciding she wasn’t sure. A part of her wouldn’t mind a few words to let her know what she meant to him besides his obvious physical reaction to her, but knew there had been a couple instances—one of them last night in the bathroom—when she’d warned Dylan not to press and he’d heeded her request. It was her own fault she was so confused because she kept shutting Dylan down when he tried to talk to her. She couldn’t demand no pressure from him and not give it herself.

“Look down. That’s the land I told you about.”

She looked down and saw—nothing. Thinning trees, lots of snow. She didn’t see any buildings or people. That was the land? Maybe she’d missed the houses and they’d flown over without her seeing them?

After twenty more minutes the land flattened as they neared their destination. This part of Alaska was the opposite of the area around the lodge. It was wide-open, with no signs of trees.

Finally they flew over the half-dozen homes on the wind-barren plain and circled around for landing. The houses weren’t elaborate—simple boxes that nearly blended into the snow-covered ground. Only the smoke coming from chimneys and the people spilling out of one of the doors revealed the life inside.

On the ground, Alex looked around quickly before Dylan introduced her to Owen Foxx and his wife, Kate, their children Marcus, Kyle and the youngest, Sarah.

“What a wonderful surprise!” Kate said in response to Alex’s presence.

Once all the niceties were out of the way, Kate led Alex over the snowpack to her home. “Come in and warm up while the men unload the supplies,” she said. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Other than the supply drops we rarely have guests, especially women.” Kate flashed a bright smile. “And look at you. You’re so glamorous.”

Alexandra blushed at the description. “Thank you,” she said with a laugh as she pulled her hat from her head and went to work on the buttons of her coat.

“Have a seat in the living room while I make us some tea. Or would you prefer coffee?”

“Either is fine. Don’t go to any trouble.”

“No trouble at all. The others will be in soon.”

Alex moved into the living room Kate indicated, taking in the simplicity and the homey feel. “Your house is lovely.”

Kate was busy at the stove, so Alex continued looking about, noting their computer setup and plastic containers of school supplies stacked neatly nearby. Turning, her eyes widened when she noticed a wall
stacked floor to ceiling with books and magazines. Tilting her head to one side when she spied a familiar spine, she headed toward the stack. “Looks like you get a lot of reading done.”

Kate popped her head around the corner and laughed. “It’s an addiction. The summers are short and the winters are long.”

Alex picked up one of the magazines. “
Traveling Single?
”

“Have you heard of it? It’s a vacation magazine,” Kate said from the kitchen. “Owen teases me about the single part saying I’m planning my divorce, but I like it. Those are all old issues Zeke gave me when he was done with them. I get the new ones through an online subscription now but I can’t bear to destroy those. I like being able to turn the pages.”

“Are you planning a trip?” Alex asked, seeing a mix of romances, mysteries and biographies amongst the shelves.

“I am. I’ve gone to New Zealand and Australia and to Hawaii, but I’m not sure where I want to go next.”

“Does your husband have a preference?”

Kate’s laughter drifted into the living room. “Oh, he’s not going. Not that I don’t want him to,” she clarified, “it’s just that he never does. Owen got hurt on the job a while back and sitting for long periods of time is painful for him. That’s when he began to carve. But, I love to travel and need to get away sometimes, to be someplace warm. We’ve had our share of arguments over it, but even Owen says I come home a new woman.”

Alex tucked her hair behind her ear, Kate’s words bouncing around in her head. She could identify with how Kate felt all too easily. Suppose Alex decided to
stay, would that be her future with Dylan? Traveling alone, even though she wasn’t single? She’d practically had to drag Dylan into the hot springs, and he’d said that day when she’d held the flashlight under the cabin sink for him that he didn’t travel.

Opposites were supposed to attract but how well could she and Dylan get along if that was such a personality issue? Seeing him interact with Ansel and Walter and, later, the hunters, Dylan didn’t seem like an antisocial guy. He joked, he got along with people. So what was the problem?