Ursa Major (12 page)

“But you should,” Liam said, his voice barely a whisper. He dipped his head.

Sarah closed her eyes and lifted her face towards his. Their lips brushed with the hesitant caress of someone discovering something rare and precious and afraid that it would go away. Liam cupped the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair. He slanted his mouth across hers, deepening the kiss.

She opened her mouth, inviting him deeper. His tongue slid along hers, stroking, caressing. She curled her fingers into his arm, her other hand creeping up his shoulder. If only she could stay here, locked in his embrace. His muscled legs bracketed hers. His free hand slid along her back to rest just above her waist. Touching from mouths to knees, he enfolded her in his embrace.

Like heaven. Like ambrosia. Like good Swiss chocolate she wanted to nibble at bit by bit. That was Liam’s kisses. Her sex dampened, her nipples hardening as her body telegraphed in no uncertain terms what it wanted and needed. The slight whirr of the furnace serenaded the kiss, and when the need for air parted them, he dipped his head back to hers immediately.

Sarah welcomed him. She arched against him. A wild hunger rose from deep within her, driving her to stroke her tongue along the length of his, inviting him deeper. The hard press of his arousal against her stomach drove her even higher. Right here, at the top of the world, nothing mattered except the two of them…and the bears.

Please
. Her mental whimper didn’t reach her lips, but as his hand dipped lower to cover her rear, she relished him pressing her closer to him. A hard thigh slid between hers, and had she not been pouring her heart and soul into the kiss, she would have shouted her triumph. Instead, she flattened her breasts against his chest. The press of his body against hers reminded her of the time he’d stepped in front of the grizzly to save her. The folds of her pussy opened for him, slick with her desire.

Her hand fell from his arm, down to the waistband of his sweater. Grabbing the hem, she slid her hand beneath and flattened it across taut, male skin. She whimpered against his lips, her fingers tracing a path across sinew and muscle to his pectorals. The flat beads of his nipples teased her fingers, and she stroked them, evoking a moan from him.

The back door slammed.

Her hand stilled, as did his. He lifted his lips just enough to part them. “Cameron’s here.”

The words acted like a bucket of cool water on her overheated libido. Swallowing hard, she forced her eyes open. “We could go upstairs,” she offered. Her ragged breathing sounded too loud to her ears, the need in her body so acute she ached with it.

“We can’t.” Regret echoed in his voice.

We shouldn’t.
The unspoken words hovered between them. Drawing a deep breath, Sarah pulled away, determined that she wouldn’t cry out or reach for him. She was a big girl and could handle herself. “All right.” She let her eyes dip south just enough to see the press of his erection against his jeans, and the physical evidence of her effect on him sent heat flushing through her.

“Sarah,” his voice warned her that he was a man hovering on the edge of self-control.

She balled her hands into fists and shoved them in her pockets, once more in an attempt not to touch him. Clattering in the kitchen warned her she didn’t have much time.

“I’m sure you have work to do,” Liam said, once more sounding like himself.

“I do.” She wasn’t anxious to get to it. “Though I’ll admit, I want to see as much as possible before I have to go back to
Washington
.”

Cameron stepped through the door, a loaded plate in his hand. “You’re going back to
Washington
?” He stared at his brother, not her.

Sarah looked at the two men. She hadn’t made any decisions yet, at least not anything concrete. Suddenly, by speaking the words aloud, she’d feared the choice had just been made for her. “I’m not sure,” she said, not liking the frown on Liam’s face.

“Really?” Cameron looked from her to his brother and back again.

She battled the flush of embarrassment creeping over her cheeks. The heat contrasted with the cool window. She tried to tell herself it was just the warm air from the heating vent above them. She knew better.

He’d seen them kiss. Though Liam had pulled away, enough tension still sparked between them, Cameron would have been deaf, dumb, and blind not to know. She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure what my plans are to be honest, Cameron. I feel like there’s more for me to see and do here.” She spoke firmly, putting on her best political voice, that same voice that had urged Congressmen to action and swayed the views of those in power. She smiled.

Liam’s frown deepened.

“I see,” Cameron replied. He arched an eyebrow at his brother, an unspoken signal Sarah couldn’t miss. Her relationship, or lack thereof, with Liam was none of his business. Just because there were way more men than women up here in
Alaska
, didn’t mean he had to get all macho at the thought of her kissing his brother. And truly, that’s all it was, a kiss. It couldn’t be more. No matter how much they wanted it.

“Actually, I was going to offer Sarah a camping trip before she left. We’ve been out and back, but never really on a camping trip. It’s up to her whether she goes or not, though.” Liam said. He grinned at her. “What do you say? Are you up for roughing it for a few days out in the wilderness?”

Sarah paused with indecision. Alone, in the woods with Liam…After the kiss they’d just shared she had no doubts what would happen. No matter how much she might crave closer physical contact with him, fear fluttered in her stomach. She swallowed hard.

“Sure,” she said, mustering more courage than she felt. With Cameron staring at her, almost as if he weighed her against some invisible standard to which she never had a hope of measuring. “When did you want to leave?”

“Probably wait until morning. I’ll go over your gear tonight and make sure you have everything,” Liam said, stepping toward his brother. “Was there something you needed, Cameron?”

“Yeah.” He glanced at Sarah. “Can we talk in the den?”

Sarah started for the stairs. “I’ll go upstairs right now and pack. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

Liam reached out and caught her arm as she passed. The look in his eyes told her he was ready, and for more than checking her gear. “You won’t regret it.” He flashed a smile, and as she stepped away, Sarah wondered if he was talking about the camping trip or something else.

~* * *~

Liam herded his brother toward the den. How much had Cameron seen? Closing the door behind them, he turned and stared at his younger brother. “What did you think you were doing?” He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” Cameron countered, keeping his voice low enough to stay within the confines of the room. “You were kissing her. She’s
human.
”

“I know,” Liam growled.

“We’re supposed to keep our abilities a secret. You aren’t supposed to convince your brother to turn into a bear just so you can introduce her to one the same way you’d introduce someone to a new neighbor. I don’t know what’s going on here, Liam, but you’re getting in very deep trouble. I’m sure the Quintursa wouldn’t like it if they found out you were endangering all of us. Sarah isn’t stupid. She’s going to figure it out sooner rather than later. Put her on the next plane and ship her back to
Washington
where she belongs.” Cameron dropped into the chair in front of Liam’s desk.

Liam straightened. Sighing, he crossed the room and went to his desk. Sinking into the leather chair behind it, he regarded his brother. “You act as if I don’t know all of this,” he said, struggling to keep his voice even. “And the Quintursa isn’t going to find out.”

“The hell they won’t. They know everything.” Cameron countered.

Liam grinned. “You forget, that I’ve been the eldest brother for a while. There are a lot of things that you don’t know.”

“And plenty more that you won’t share, that we do know,” Cameron replied. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. “Look, I’m not saying it’s not about time you found a woman. We’re worried about you living all alone out here in the lodge. But her? She’s from a completely different world. No one wants to see you get your heart broken. I’m sure one of the women in Coldfoot would be happy to warm your bed.”

“And have mother find out about it and come out here like the momma bear she is?” Liam snorted. “Hardly. At least with Sarah, by the time she finds out, Sarah will be back in
Washington
.” He stumbled past the pang that hit him at the thought of her leaving. It had to be that way. They literally came from different worlds.

“You have a point. If mom thinks one of her babies is about to settle down…” Cameron chuckled. “Be careful, okay? It’d hate to explain to the Quintursa that you hadn’t been laid in so long you let common sense fly out the window. She’s
human
. That’s all you need to know. Even if she does have a damn good figure.”

Liam surged across the desk. “You stay away from her, little brother.” He grabbed the collar of Cameron’s shirt.

Cameron grinned like a maniac. “So that’s how it is. Good hunting, brother. I think you’re going to need all the luck you can get.” Pulling Liam’s hand away, Cameron rose to his feet and whistled on his way out the door.

Liam sank back into his chair. So that’s how it was indeed. He rubbed his hand over his face and knew Cameron was right. He was going to need all the luck he could get.

With the tent setup, a camp fire burning, and some kind of one-pot dinner simmering over it, Sarah felt as cozy as if she had opted to stay in the lodge. Watching Liam monitor dinner made her glad they hadn’t. He sat there, occasionally stirring the pot with a wooden spoon. She balanced her notebook on her knee and debated about asking him about his work with the drilling site.

“Do you do that often?” she asked, her researchers need for knowledge out weighing the woman’s need for discretion. “Go in with a bear like that.”

Liam shrugged. The spoon stilled in the pot. “When I have to.”

She sensed his evasiveness, much like the lobbyists who never really wanted to reveal how much money they gave to congressmen. “You look like you’ve had a lot of practice. You seem comfortable with the bears, almost as if you could imagine yourself as one of them.”

Liam stiffened.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend, but one of my friends in college was on the equestrian team. When she worked with her horse they were like one being focusing on the same goal. That’s what I see when I watch you with the bears. You’re not afraid of them and you won’t let them boss you around. It’s like you know who you are in your skin and so do they.” She pressed her lips together, aware she babbled.

He fished the spoon out of the pot and rested it on the upended lid on the ground. “You could say I’ve had some experience with them. I’ve lived out here all my life. You can’t do that and not run into a bear or two.”

Though he tried to shrug off her question, Sarah sensed a deeper meaning behind his words. “But living out here and doing what you do with the bears are two separate things. You must have spent a lot of time around them to be able to understand them like you do. I know you’ve been in some pretty remote places. At least that’s what your website says. This is different. I can’t explain it, but it is.” She hated searching for words. Whether in written reports or arguing her company’s case in the political arena, she knew her stuff. Sighing, she flipped open her notebook, hoping maybe one of the passages that she’d written in her notes would jog her memory.

“Why do you think that is?” Liam turned the tables on her.

“I don’t know. We were talking about you.” Sarah rose to her feet. She crossed the space between them, crouching down by the fire. In this light, the flames glinted from his tanned skin. His parka hung over a tree branch, the sweater he wore too thin for the outdoors. “Aren’t you cold?” She reached for him with a gloved hand.

“I’m tending the fire,” he replied, not really answering her question.

“You’re being awfully evasive,” she countered. “I don’t know why you’re good with bears any more than you know why I’m good at my line of work.” She grinned, thinking she had him there.

Liam chucked and stroked her nose. “But I do. You’re tenacious and you like the truth. Am I close?”

He was, frighteningly so. A heated flush crept over her cheeks and down her neck.

“Guess I was.” He turned his attention back to their dinner.

Sarah thought for a moment. “Because you’re like the bears. You’re wild and untamed and you feel like your habitat is being encroached upon by people who don’t understand and don’t care. You fight for what you believe in and are ready to give everything to defend those you feel are under protection. Am I close?”

Liam sucked in a harsh breath.

A few flakes of snow tumbled from the leaden skies. Sarah held out her hand, watching the flakes, each one unique, melt on the palm of her glove. “Think it’ll keep up.”

“Wasn’t supposed to,” Liam muttered, casting a wary eye toward the sky. The flurries distracted them from their conversation.

Sarah stared at the scudding clouds, wondering what would happen if the storm got any worse. They’d hiked for a few hours before coming to this place, and while they could return, she didn’t relish it in a driving snowstorm. Surely Liam had checked the forecast before they’d started off this morning.

“So did I hit the nail on the head?” Sarah asked, noticing the stew was bubbling and her stomach rumbled.

“So you think I’m wild and untamed?” he countered.

“Maybe,” she hedged.

“Like somebody off the cover of a romance novel?” He laughed.

“Nah, you’re better.” She pressed her lips together, suddenly aware of what she’d just said.

Liam stared at her, unabashed hunger in his gaze. If he’d been a bear, then she was the sweetest, most succulent pot of honey, he’d ever seen.

Sarah licked her lips.

Liam’s gaze followed the movement, what sounded like a soft groan emerging from his throat. The rapid bubbling of their dinner filled the silence.

“When’s dinner going to be ready?” she asked in a futile attempt to break the moment.

“Anytime.” He didn’t look away from her.

Sarah swayed toward him. A kiss, just one. Out here in the woods with the softly falling snow it might as well been the perfect scene for seduction. The only thing better would be inside a warm lodge watching the flurries.

Their lips brushed. A hesitant touch like the first touch of a match to tinder, flames licked over her skin, warming her inside her winter clothing. His kiss deepened, his fingers sliding around to cup the back of her neck. His fingers tangled with the strands of her hair revealed beneath her stocking cap.

She melted against him. Her eyelids fluttered closed, her breath sighed into him just as her body yearned to join with him. So wild, so untamed, he tugged at her senses. The falling snowflakes caressed her skin, kissing her with a hint of winter’s chill. Warmth from the fire burrowed through her. Her hunger faded away as his lips moved over hers.

Arousal stirred deep inside her. She wanted him as he was right now, as hard and fast as the rushing rapids. Curling her fingers around his arm, she clung to him, and she knew that once this trip ended, she’d never be the same woman she was now.

The need for air parted them, and she drew a ragged breath.

“Dinner,” Liam said, a true man thinking of his stomach. He reached beside him for the plates. He spooned generous portions from the simmering pot and handed her a plate and a fork. “Eat up.”

Sarah took the meal from him. She scooted back to her chair and started to eat. The scrumptious mix of pasta, ground meat, and vegetables really hit the spot. She hadn’t believed that camping fare could be so tasty. From lowered lashes, she watched as Liam dug into his plate with the appetite of, well…a bear.

He reminded her of the wounded grizzly, so proud, yet trapped within the confines of human life. She bet if he didn’t have to lead tours, if he could just roam the wilderness, he’d be the happiest man alive. A part of her wanted to travel with him, to forget the citified ways of
Washington
and simply live out here among this beautiful country. Right now, watching Liam clean his plate, then go back for seconds, she didn’t want to return to
Washington
D.C.
. Not if it meant she could stay out here, fighting for his causes, for her causes, and actually do some good in the world.

The realization rocked her back on her heels. Her dinner forgotten, she stared into the flames. Swirling snowflakes grew heavier, until a thin layer blanketed the ground. She looked longingly at the tent.

“We should probably get inside.” Liam placed the lid on the pot. “I’ll put the food away in a little bit.”

He wasn’t afraid of bears. He might go through the motions of stowing the food and safe campers, but with the storm brewing, animals of all sorts would be on the lookout for the easy meal that their dinner would provide. Just another piece of the puzzle of the man called Liam.

Sarah followed his direction, bringing him her plate and then returning to the tent. She carefully removed her boots just inside, trying hard not to get any snow on their bedding. With the flaps zipped closed over the mesh openings in the tent, she saw only shadows. The four tent walls made her think she was in her own, little world, one in which she had far too much time to think.

She had enough information to go back to
Washington
D.C.
at any time. She didn’t want to return, but the truth was, seeing one more tree, one more panoramic vista wouldn’t change her mind. Even when she removed her personal feelings from the situation, she knew no matter how carefully a company went about it, further drilling would only damage the ecosystem. And that’s exactly what her report would say.

The zipper on the tent’s opening pulled her attention away from thoughts of work and reports. Liam crouched low as he stepped inside, deftly turning to sit and peel off his boots. “I tried to brush most of the snow off,” he said apologetically.

“That’s okay.” A cold gust of wind whooshed into the tent, making her burrow deeper into her sleeping bag. “Did you know the storm was coming?”

“This?” Liam shimmied into the sleeping bags.

A wall of his body heat rolled into her, wrapping her in his warmth. His musky, woodsy aroma surrounded her, and she realized, belatedly, that he’d zipped the sleeping bags together. She hadn’t really noticed when she’d crawled into them. She’d been lost in her own thoughts. Now, she couldn’t move two inches without bumping into him. Her breathing grew shallow as her breasts rose and fell beneath her sweater.

“It’s not a storm. In a few hours it’ll calm down and you’ll hardly know this happened. We just have to wait it out.” Liam sounded unconcerned.

Sarah’s stomach flip-flopped at being trapped for a few hours in such close quarters. She debated about crawling out of the sleeping bags, putting her boots and coat back on, and sitting in the farthest corner of the tent. Except, she realized as she lay there, she no longer shivered. “So we’ll be safe in a few hours?” she asked, just needing to hear his confirmation again.

“Yeah, we will. You worried? I’ll take care of you.” Liam’s assurances rumbled through Sarah, stroking against a very primal, very feminine part of her.

Had they been back in the city she would have dismissed it as a “me Tarzan, you Jane” response. Out here, she needed him in order to literally survive and a part of her…liked it. Feminists be damned, the idea of Liam taking care of her, protecting her, made something flutter deep inside. “You know, if we were in D.C., I’d have to take care of you,” she countered, not wanting to appear to vulnerable. At least there was somewhere in the universe where she could still be a tough chick.

“You don’t think I can handle myself in the city? I have been in them, you know.” His smile revealed his dimple.

Sarah curled her fingers into a fist, resisting the urge to reach out and caress that endearing feature. “I bet you have,” she replied, and when his grin widened, she knew she was in deep trouble.

~* * *~

Liam didn’t know what possessed him to banter with him. Hell, at this point, he didn’t know what made him zip their sleeping bags together, except he figured he’d have enough self-control not to jump her and they needed to conserve body heat out here. Except now, watching her sweater move with every breath, knowing her slender jean-clad legs weren’t very far from his, had his body hardening with a swiftness that distracted him from the conversation.

“So what cities have you been in?” Sarah asked.

Her words made him pull his attention north, to her lush, full lips and the memory of what it’d been like kissing them. Damn. He was worse than a horny teenager. “A lot of them.” He hedged, not quite ready to reveal the extent of his globetrotting. His work had taken him to nearly every continent—he hadn’t been to
Antarctica
yet—and not all of it had been civilian work. He doubted she’d want to hear how he’d spent months in a Soviet prison, and while he’d been there, he’d been working for his people’s super secret intelligence organization. “I’ve been to D.C.,” he added, as if his going to her town would lend him more credence. Then thought he might surprise her by mentioning, “and
Beijing
.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Really? Business or pleasure?”

“A bit of both. I went on a twenty day trip across most of
China
, partially because I wanted to see it and partially because I wanted to see how other eco tour companies ran.” Now that they were talking about his work, he rested his head on his hand.

“I bet that was a trip of a lifetime,” she said. Her eyes sparkled with interest, and not just in the conversation.

Liam curled the fingers of his free hand into a fist, lest he reach out and toy with the strands of her hair. Deep in his gut he knew he shouldn’t give into whatever this was sparking between them. The kiss by the fire had been a mistake, as had the ones before it. Even knowing that, knowing that he was who he was and she was human didn’t stop the hunger from raging deep inside. And for a moment, he wondered what it would feel like to have her beneath him, to find himself buried in her warm body and to know just for a moment what it felt like to connect with another person.

Slowly, he uncurled his fingers. Strands of her hair, like rich mocha, hovered closed to his ungloved fingertips. He reached for them, caressing the silken tendrils between his thumb and forefinger. Lifting it to his nose, he inhaled and let her lavender scent surround him.

Sarah leaned toward him.