The veiled ‘Are you mad?’ in his tone drew equal amounts of irritation and amusement. But more than that, it drew intrigue and possibilities directed at the man standing tall and delicious in front of me. Twin emotions I hadn’t allowed myself to experience in a long time. Because inevitably both had led to painful disappointment.
‘There’s a chance to salvage something from this debacle. Or would you rather I scrap it and call it a failure?’ I asked Larry.
‘Of course not. I just meant...’ He paused, casting a dark glance at Jensen.
‘I think your PM is worried about your safety,’ Jensen said with a trace of amusement.
I didn’t smile back. I was a Mortimer after all. And as with most individuals with nine or more zeros attached to their bank balances, I’d been at the receiving end of a few security scares. I couldn’t afford to be blasé about it, even in an icy wilderness like Alaska. ‘Should he be?’ I tossed at him.
Every trace of humour vanished. ‘I won’t let any harm come to you. You have my word.’
For a taut stretch our gazes locked, unspoken words arcing between us. ‘Instruct the crew,’ I told Larry without taking my eyes off Jensen. ‘No need to freeze here if you don’t have to. Tell Elsa to pack me a change of clothes and get going. I’ll check in tonight.’
He knew better than to argue with me. Barely ten minutes later the small camp was all packed up and aboard the helicopters.
The apprehension I should’ve felt at being alone with this...captivating stranger was curiously absent as I watched my crew leave. Behind me, Jensen stashed my bag under the tarp covering the trailer then approached. I didn’t look his way as he stopped next to me.
‘I spotted a mother bear and her cubs feeding about half an hour from here near a broken ice floe. We can start there if you want?’
I shifted my gaze from watching the choppers turn into dark specks in the sky. ‘You’ve had that information since you got here and chose not to share it?’
He shrugged, drawing my attention to one broad shoulder. ‘It wouldn’t have helped if you hadn’t been inclined to see things my way. In the time it would’ve taken to gather your crew to get there, they’d have been gone.’
Neat answer while delivering the punch he no doubt intended to. ‘You don’t think very highly of me, do you?’ There was a distinct sting to that knowledge, one quite different from the dull throb of pain I’d experienced over decades of holding my emotions inside.
‘I don’t know you. I’m only going on what I’ve seen so far.’
‘Are you? Then why do I get the impression you’ve already made up your mind about me? Is it perhaps because you believe you know me despite us having only just met?’
‘Are you accusing me of something, Miss Mortimer?’
I studied the profile he insisted on presenting to me. There was a tightness around his mouth and jaw that spoke to more than the face-value conversation taking place. ‘Yes, I am.’
His delicious lips pursed for a second. Then he exhaled. ‘The dogs are rested; we can probably make it in time if we leave now.’
‘Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m accusing you of?’
His gaze finally turned my way, and the endless depth of icy emotion swimming within nearly made me sway. ‘No. My statement goes both ways. You don’t know me either, so whatever you think of me is most likely flawed.’
‘Ah. So that’s how we’re going to proceed, is it?’ I asked softly. But he caught the steel I hadn’t disguised. ‘First, we skirt each other warily, assessing weaknesses before we land the first punch?’
This time his lips twisted in a cynical twitch. ‘I’m sure you have far better things to do than to waste time delving into what makes me tick.’
His tone suggested he applied a very heavy vice versa to his statement. And despite the icy weather, my blood heated up. I reined in sweet, exhilarating control with a subtle clench of my fingers.
‘You’re right. But I wouldn’t have needed the time anyway. I know exactly who you are, Mr Scott.’ This time the gleam in his eyes was fairly mocking. But before he could tailor words to that look, I added, ‘And I also know exactly what you are.’
The gleam faded as if extinguished, his face settling into an inscrutable mask. And even though his gaze stayed on mine, everything about him bristled with restlessness. An almost visceral need to...deny.
Except he couldn’t. Not without denying a vital part of himself. Not without perhaps...letting himself down? But he strained against exposing his true self to me until his struggle was as real as the snow beneath his feet.
God, what had happened to him?
An equally visceral need to know attacked me, punching right through my defences to that secret vault I’d sealed shut once and for all.
Five seconds ticked by. Ten.
After twenty, his head snapped forward, his jaw jutting out with aggression that spoke of his turmoil. An aggression I wanted to wield beneath my fingers. To test and twist and mould into something sublime.
My breath shuddered out, astonishment at my train of thought nearly overwhelming me.
‘The day needn’t be wasted. Or we can waste time and your money on a hypothesis that leads nowhere.’
I allowed myself a small laugh, saw a slight tensing of a different kind in his frame as he heard it. ‘My hypothesis is definitely leading somewhere. Otherwise why else would you be so wound up? But by all means let’s change the subject.’ I waved a hand at the vast white tundra. ‘Take me to your mama bear, Mr Scott.’
CHAPTER TWO
SHE WAS A SPOILT, overindulged princess.
The kind who watched a few episodes of a reality show about surviving in the wilds of Alaska and suddenly decided they wanted to dabble in nature.
