My pulse tripped, then raced at full speed. The thought of spending the long hours of the night with her in a tent, a woman even the most red-blooded alpha males feared, filled me with equal measures of dread and anticipation.
Overlay that with the persistent thought that she could be a Domme...
Again, where I should’ve refused, I found myself shrugging, moving to the back of the sled to grab a thicker anorak. Returning to where she stood watching me, I held it out. ‘It’s a bit of a trek, sometimes over rough terrain. Bumps and bruises are unavoidable but wear this and you won’t freeze to death.’
She took the anorak and shrugged it over her suit, then sent me another spine-tingling smile. ‘Thanks. And when we arrive at our destination, you can tell me what her name is.’
I froze. ‘Excuse me?’
‘The name behind the baggage you’re running away from. I’m sure she has one. I’d love to hear about her.’
CHAPTER THREE
I WATCHED HIM attend to the dogs, his movements efficient, capable, and yet sexily streamlined in a way that made me want to watch him on an endless loop. Which was absurd in itself, because I was used to beautiful men, wealthy, filthily pampered men who strutted about, cushioned by power and privilege.
Even hardened men like my brothers, Gideon and Bryce, who had been through their own versions of hell and back but had somehow managed to rise above, didn’t hold as much interest for me as this man did.
You should’ve paid more attention, because they both seem to have found answers to love and acceptance that you haven’t.
I pushed the thought away, my gaze lingering on Jensen as he petted his dogs, his back turned decidedly on me.
Why was I pursuing this? Why was the urge to needle and probe sliding like a narcotic through my blood? Something about the man had captivated me from the first, even besides the strong possibility that he was a sub. While I’d had my own versions of no in the past—my parents delivering the most gut-wrenching one of all—I wasn’t sure why this particular reluctance from him made me even more determined.
Determined to do what, precisely?
Exactly how did I expect this to go? I was emotionally bankrupt, according to myriad blood relatives, past lovers and strangers. I had nothing valuable to give, save my money, of course. After years of tossing those opinions away like so much chaff, I had finally been forced by my innate stubbornness to admit that perhaps they—and my mother—were right.
Every relationship was doomed to failure. Hell, even my brothers were avoiding me, my bitterness and emotional inadequacy making them run for the hills rather than spend time with me.
I couldn’t even blame them any more. And it certainly didn’t help that I was the spitting image of my mother. The mother who’d callously abandoned us decades ago and never looked back.
The urge to grab the satellite phone, summon my helicopter and get the hell off this barren landscape pulled at me.
I reached for the phone just as Jensen rose and pivoted towards me. Thoughts of leaving evaporated. Something about this man captivated me, made me want to dig deeper beneath the thick layer of concrete he wasn’t shy about putting up.
I would’ve admired his resolve, if he hadn’t ignored me for the better part of an hour and a half.
We’d arrived at his chosen site twenty minutes ago and set up camp on a flat landscape with nothing but snow for miles around. Being born into wealth and spending most waking minutes in the lap of luxury where every whim was catered to had inevitably cultivated healthy jadedness about most things well before I hit my twenties.
But looking around now, I couldn’t help but be overawed by the stunning beauty around me. And as much as I wanted to dismiss it, Jensen was a big part of that draw.
I’d perused his portfolio on the plane ride to Alaska. He was unapologetically talented at his job and had no modesty or pretensions about it. Sure, it grated that he was pretending I didn’t exist at the moment. I would’ve been amused had it not been for the wicked little thrill that tunnelled inside me every time he glanced my way. It pleased me that he was fighting this connection between us. And failing. The man couldn’t help but look at me every few minutes.
He hadn’t answered my question, though.
His gorgeous face had grown taut and forbidding, warning that my question about who had treated him badly wasn’t going to be answered.
Yeah, I’d probably stepped over the line with that one. But, hell, wasn’t that one of my many flaws, according to those who branded themselves experts on me?
I summoned one of my ‘ice princess’ smiles as he approached. ‘Is this going to be an exercise on who blinks first? If so I’m happy to throw in the towel. You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to. I’m happy to let it be.’
He stopped at the entrance of the tent, his gaze pinning me where I sat in the folding chair he’d provided when he’d started setting up the tent. He’d firmly refused my offer of help, a move that’d stung a little more than I cared to admit. So what if I was out of my depth in this whole...snowy outdoors thing, and I’d probably have got in his way more than helped? I could follow instruction. On occasion.
‘Are you?’ he asked, his voice a little stiff and that edgy look still on his face.
‘Not really,’ I admitted. ‘I still want to know.’
‘Why?’
‘I’m a hopelessly curious creature, Mr Scott. I can’t help but wonder why a man like you would consign himself to this wilderness for weeks on end.’
‘And you automatically assume it’s because of a woman?’
‘Isn’t it?’
Something flickered in his eyes, something
