WILD MEN OF ALASKA

chapter NINE

Eva felt a ping of guilt for not letting Lynx in earlier. She could have been nicer. Not yelled at him as much. Maybe not slam the door as hard as she had. But damn it, she was still mad. A part of her realized the mad came from being scared, and he was to blame for that too. She liked control, and he’d left her in a situation where she’d had none. Granted, she might have driven him to leave her.

Seemed she was good at that too.

Hadn’t she driven Davis into Jeremy’s arms? Or was it the other way around? Not that she’d wanted to keep Davis, but she sure missed Jeremy. He’d know what to do about Lynx. He’d want to know what the hell held her back from partaking of such a beautiful man.

A bittersweet smile played at the corners of her mouth. Maybe she should pick up the phone and check in with Jeremy?

She reached for her cell and then set it down. No, that part of her life was over. She was on to new and better things.

New, yes. Better? That still remained to be seen.

Though she had to admit, she’d been happier in the short time since arriving here in Alaska than she’d been in Cincinnati. She might be considered a cheechako, but she was learning, making new friends, discovering new things daily. But the one thing she really wanted to experience was sex with Lynx.

It wasn’t healthy to go this long without sex. Her mouth watered with the thought of being with Lynx. He made her feel desirable.

Lynx was so big and manly, she felt like a woman, all fragile and feminine around him. Not something she’d had a lot of experience with around Davis. With Davis, she’d been the man in their relationship. Funny, she hadn’t figured that out before she’d found him and Jeremy in her bed.

Lynx made her feel desired.

That’s it. She needed to apologize to Lynx, and the best way to show her sincerity was to have her way with him.

Plan decided, Eva quickly went and changed her clothes, slipping into sexy under things that would make Lynx stutter. She followed the lingerie with a low, snug-fitting violet top that let the lavender lace of her bra peek over the edges of the material. That would drive him crazy. She added a blue and purple glass pendant on a long silver chain around her neck to help draw his eye to her pushed up cleavage. Just in case he missed it.

Slipping into a floral skirt in pinks, blues, and purples that ended just above her knees, she hoped she wasn’t going too far. She hadn’t noticed a lot of skirts being worn here in Chatanika. This was Carhartt and Timberland country. But the day was nice, with the sun hot and high in the sky. Besides the skirt would allow her freedom of movement and quick access to Lynx when she got him horizontal. That thought had her inner muscles clenching with excitement.

She stepped into red-hot strappy sandals, knowing they would to be murder to walk in on the gravel driveway, but they completed the look and did great things for her legs. She wouldn’t be walking long in them anyway. She planned to drive over to his house. No more trekking through the forest until she got her bearings or bought a handheld GPS.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror and shared a satisfied smile with her reflection. The man would have to be dense as wood not to understand her intent.

Eva picked up her purse, opened her front door, and skidded to a stop. A surprised squeal escaped her before she could cover her mouth. A bull moose chomped the grass that needed to be mowed in her front yard. It was so close to the house there was no way she’d be going anywhere. The moose glanced up.

Hey, she recognized that look in his eye.

It was the same damn moose who’d chased her up a tree last week. Was he the town mascot? Welcoming committee? That would explain one reason for the small population. A rogue moose chasing people off.

“Shoo!” she hollered and received a bored blink for her efforts.

“Get!” she tried again. This time the moose took a big step toward her. She squealed again, and jumped back into the house, slamming the door. Her heart pounded, and her breath came out in loud gasps. What did she do now? She ran to the window and looked out.

The intimidating animal was still there. She’d slammed the door hard enough to sway the trees and yet he still stood there. He turned back to his lunch and continued grazing as though he had no intentions of leaving.

Was this a common occurrence in Alaska? Could you be held hostage in your own house by a moose? She did not want the headline of The Daily News Miner to read: Woman expired as a bull moose held her prisoner in her house.

She wasn’t dying this way.

And she wasn’t dying without sleeping with Lynx first.

This was ridiculous. She needed something to scare the thing away. A gun was a thought. It was the second time she’d had that thought, so she’d better look into it. First, she had to learn how to shoot one so she didn’t accidentally kill herself or someone else. She headed to the kitchen. There had to be something in there that she could use.

Knives? Right, get serious. Pans? No, she liked her pans. They’d come with her from Cincinnati, and it wasn’t like there was a Williams Sonoma down the street, or probably in the state. Nope. Not taking that chance. She saw the bowl of fruit and reached for the apples. Maybe she could scare him away with these. She didn’t want to hurt him, just startle him into scampering off.

She returned to the window to see him munching away as though he had nowhere else to be. Slowly, she cracked open the front door. His ears twitched, and his head came up. She let an apple fly. It hit him on the front flank and bounced off. The moose blinked again and then ambled over to where the apple had rolled to a stop. It sniffed and then ate it in one bite. His head came up with what she could assume was more interest. He took a step toward her, and with his long legs, his step was considerable. She screamed and threw all the apples at him. He bobbed his head and went after each one. She slammed the door.

That wasn’t the smartest thing she could have done. She’d fed a wild animal.

Yeah, you sure taught him.

So much for taking care of this problem herself. She prided herself on being smart enough to realize when she needed back up.