Wild Men of Alaska 04 - Wild Men of Alaska - Four Book Bundle by Tiffinie Helmer

and meltdown of his daughter.
    He was free of both of them now.
    “So...what is he up to now?”
    Skip didn’t pretend to know what she was asking. “Same. Drinking, fishing, drinking more. At least, the women of the village steer clear of him. He’s alone. Fitting punishment if you ask me. Life without you a part of it is hell.”
    Her heart thumped. Did he mean his life was hell because she wasn’t in it?
    “Yes, Wren, that’s exactly what I mean.”
    Again. What was with her? It was like she didn’t have control of herself. Speaking her mind like this without being aware of it was disconcerting to say the least.
    Silence lengthened between them again. She understood it was up to her to make the next move.
    Skip wasn’t going to.
    If she wanted to be with him, it was up to her to let him know. But did she want that? Who was she kidding? That’s all she’d ever wanted. She’d always been too scared to reach for happiness. When she was a kid, anything she took a fancy to her father destroyed. Skip was the only person he hadn’t driven off. Skip wasn’t afraid.
    She needed to stop being afraid.
    “How’s the arm?” she softly asked.
    “Bearable.”
    “Bearable enough?”
    He groaned. “Wren, don’t tease me.”
    “You used to like it when I teased you.”
    He dragged in a heavy breath. “Don’t toy with me.” There was a pleading quality to his voice that had the knotted strings around her heart unraveling.
    She turned on her side to see him better. “What do you want from me?”
    His eyes glowed with intent in the snow-lit evening. “Everything.”
    She didn’t want to hurt him. She’d already hurt him more than she expected forgiveness for. “Skip,” she whispered.
    That’s all it took. He reached for her, cradling her head in his palm as his mouth captured hers. He groaned as she curled into him, fully aligning their bodies. They’d always fit together so well. Her breath caught, and she became dizzy from the intense rush of feeling and emotions unleashed.
    “Wren, baby, why oh why did you put on so many layers?”
    A giggle escaped her, and suddenly everything felt right. For the first time in years, things felt right. His hand snaked under her three shirts and found her skin. “You’re so hot.”
    “Hot as is ‘hot’ or hot as in heat?”
    “Hot. You’ve always been too hot to handle.” His fingers flicked open her bra. “You had to sleep with this on too.”
    “I needed everything I could think of.”
    He pulled back. “Are you sure about this?”
    She met his eyes, his searching. “Yes, Skip.” To prove it to him, she sat up and lifted off the sweatshirt, followed by the long-sleeved t-shirt, and finally the undershirt.
    An animalistic sound escaped him as she tossed off her bra.
    His one good hand shook as he cupped her breast. “Such beauty.” He lifted and took a nipple into his mouth, making her arch into him. It was her turn to express a wild noise. Little pulls contracted her nether regions as his mouth sucked her nipple, lightly at first then harder, flattening the nub to the roof of his mouth. A long drawn out moan followed. He released her and recaptured her mouth, as though he couldn’t decide where he wanted to be most. His hand continued to tweak her nipples, one minute cupping her breast the other molding the mounds and intermittingly flicking his thumb over the sensitive tips and rolling them between his fingers.
    “God, I need two hands. I need to touch more of you.”
    No, she needed to touch him.
    “Touch away,” Skip said. “I’m all yours, baby.”
    She didn’t mind so much that her words had escaped her this time. With a smile, she undid the buttons of his shirt and inch-by-inch revealed those taut muscles she hadn’t allowed herself to explore earlier.
    “Skip, you are...magnificent.”
    “And here I thought you hadn’t noticed.”
    “Oh, I noticed.”
    “I had to do something to work off my sexual frustrations while you were away.”
    Had