Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,121
reflection of the window, he shut his eyes tight. Unfortunately, not fast enough. The image of her bare, shapely back and shoulders would now be engrained behind his eyelids, along with those piercing green eyes and wide, easy smile. The inventory of images he was collecting was sure to stick with him long after the weekend was over.
“Okay, I’m good,” she said a minute later.
He turned around in time to see her pull the heavy comforter back and climb into her cot. Her white fleece pajamas with grizzly bears all over them made him smile. “Cute pj’s.”
Her laugh sounded slightly embarrassed. “Yeah right. I’m sure the pajama choices in the other huts are a little less...cozy.”
He opened his own duffel bag and retrieved a pair of pajama pants that could be the male version of the ones she was wearing. He held them up. “Yeah, but are they matching?”
Her laugh broke any lingering tension between them and made his body tingle with that same fight-or-flight response he always got on rescue missions. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure what the right actions were this time. He didn’t want to run away or fight the crazy attraction he was feeling for Maddie, but the fact that she was his ex’s sister meant he needed to do one or the other, and running away wasn’t exactly an option at the moment.
“That is an odd coincidence,” she said, fluffing her pillow behind her.
“Yep.” Though it didn’t exactly shock him. He and Maddie seemed to have a lot in common—not just their preferred choice of sleepwear.
He turned around and removed the plaid button shirt and then lifted his undershirt off over his head. He caught Maddie’s stare in the window reflection and she looked away quickly.
Not before he caught the glimmer of unconcealed attraction in her eyes though.
He quickly removed his jeans and pulled on the pajama pants and then climbed into his cot across from her.
An awkward silence fell over the hut and he cleared his throat. “Comfortable?”
“Yeah...this is actually surprisingly comfortable.”
At least she was. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to roll over without falling onto the floor. His legs hung over the end of his cot. “Good. That’s good.”
“Hey, did you want to switch?” she asked. “I chose this one to annoy you, but I’d be happy to swap with you.”
“Nah, I’m okay. You’re the client, after all,” he said, immediately regretting the word choice. She was so much more than just a client, but he had no right to see her in any other way.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
He stared at the ceiling, still kicking himself for the comment. He couldn’t claim to be great with words. One of the reasons he preferred not to talk too much. “Lights off?”
“Sure, yeah. Probably be easier to sleep.”
He sat up and hit the switch on the wall and immediately the hut was dark, except for a small beam of light streaming through the blinds.
“Well, hopefully tomorrow we have more luck catching something,” he said.
Something other than these unexpected feelings.
* * *
MADDIE LAY AWAKE on her cot, listening to Mike toss and turn on his. It was late and she’d been up early. Normally, she’d have no trouble falling asleep, but she was hyperaware of him just a few feet away.
She also couldn’t shake the nagging question that had plagued her most of the day. “Hey, Mike, you awake?”
“Yep.” His bedsprings creaked as he rolled onto his side to face her. She could faintly make out the outline of his naked upper body. “What’s up?” he asked.
She hesitated. The question was embarrassing, but she had to ask. “When you spoke to Cassie, did she say what happened to Darrel?”
“No...just that he’d had to cancel last minute.”
She bit her lip, straining to see her hands in the dark as she played with her nails. She swallowed hard. “You don’t think he drove past SnowTrek Tours...saw me and then bailed, do you?”
Mike scoffed, then made an odd coughing noise to cover it up. “No... I don’t think that’s what happened.”
She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.
“I mean, the guy would have to be crazy if that were the case,” he said softly but also slightly gruffly, as though sentimental comments took a lot out of him.
Which had the butterflies in the pit of her stomach fluttering on full speed. She was grateful for the dark so he couldn’t see her flushed cheeks. “Okay. Thanks, Mike.”
“But I’m sorry he didn’t show up,” Mike said, an odd note in