“Yes, that’s what we suspect.But once Taro arrived in Luleå and knew Papa was safe, he was determined to go through with his plan.He didn’t want this to keep happening.Didn’t want to have to keep looking over his shoulder all the time.”
“And his plan was?”she prompted.
“He was hoping to fly back to America as soon as tonight so that he could attend a meeting with an FBI agent.He believed a friend of his in the LA police department had set it up for him, and he was going to negotiate a deal.”
Aurora drew in a sharp breath, and then pursed her lips.Her warm drowsiness disappeared.If only Jiro had been forthcoming with this all along, they might not be lying almost naked together, trying not to freeze to death.Then she stopped to consider that statement.Lying naked together, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.But then logic overtook her carnal side.
“My partner, Inspector Viskten, has a friend, Jacob, who works for the FBI over in Seattle.If you’d told me this earlier, maybe we could’ve avoided this whole situation.”
“Oh.”
Was that all he could say?Why were men so annoying?She wanted to sit up and glare at him.But she was enveloped in this swaddle, and also found it extremely hard to stay angry at him when he continued to stroke her back so tenderly.So instead, she poked him hard in the chest.
“Ouch,” he flinched away from her pointy finger, but his tone was amused.
“Jacob used to be Mårten’s partner before he moved to Seattle last year.Jacob will do just about anything for Mårten, and vice versa.I’m sure he will sort something out.I just need to get hold of Mårten.”
“Sorry.”Again he sounded contrite, but she wondered if she could believe him.This was a complicated path they were treading.There were so many secrets and lies between them.He’d already held so much back from her, could she ever really trust him?Even though he said he was an open book now, she still had niggling doubts.She wasn’t sure where this was going—whatever this was—or even if she wanted it to go anywhere.But one thing was for sure: there were certainly smoking-hot vibes like she’d never felt before.
“I know,” she said on a sigh.
Talking about Mårten brought the email she sent him to mind.It was still a good six hours before he would receive it.What should they do until then?Should they wait here and stay warm?Or walk up the hill to find reception?There were so many things she should be doing right now, but her mind was becoming foggy.She hadn’t managed much sleep last night, getting in late after staying up with Jiro and his father, and the exertion of trekking through the snow for hours on end, on top of the huge adrenaline burst during the shootout, she was fried.She was still trying to puzzle out what her next priority should be when she fell fast asleep.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JIRO KNEW THE exact moment Aurora fell asleep.He felt her go limp beside him, arm heavy where it draped over his chest, all tension draining out of her as her breathing became slow and rhythmic.He enjoyed the sensation of her warm breath floating over his chest.Poor thing, she must be absolutely exhausted.He was feeling much the same way, now finally warm and drowsy in their little bundle, and he knew he would let sleep claim him soon too.If only he could get rid of all these recriminations jamming up inside his head.How many different ways could he be a dickhead?His actions today had been less than satisfactory.Jiro prided himself on his normally quick thinking, as well as his knowledge of the outdoors.All of that experience had fled at the sound of that shot firing across the snow, and now he was more than disappointed in himself.He was disgusted.With the way he had acted, as well as the way he had treated Aurora.But he was going to make up for all that; he made a solemn promise to himself.
Aurora’s story about her mother’s passing had hit him straight in the solar plexus.He had lost his own mother exactly eight years ago, almost to the day, as well.It was one more reason Kenichi had asked him to come on this cruise.So they could remember Deborah Nashimori.She hadn’t died suddenly in a traumatic accident, instead slipping away ever so slowly, as leukemia drained her body.He had refrained from mentioning this today, however, not wanting to take anything away from Aurora’s story.But it was an interesting connection that the two of them had.Both losing their mothers at a highly impressionable age.And then both being raised by a single father.They seemed to share the fact that they had issues with their remaining parent.
Aurora’s admonishment that he should’ve told her sooner about to plan to meet with the FBI had also hit home.He’d kept the secret out of loyalty to his brother, but that loyalty was probably misguided, and now he was drowning in self-reproach.Perhaps if he’d insisted she stay in the room last night when Taro revealed the truth, she could’ve told them then about her partner’s connection to the FBI, and all this might have been stopped.Now, because of his stupid pride and his brother’s stupid stubbornness, everything had got away from them.Where was Taro now?Was he even still alive?Jiro liked to think so because without him the Kyodo-Kai gang couldn’t continue their smuggling operation.So, a better conclusion would be they were holding him somewhere to force him to agree to their terms.Which meant he probably didn’t know that Jiro and Aurora were supposed to be dead right now.
And then even after all of his bad behavior toward Aurora, a part of Jiro couldn’t ignore how much he was attracted to her.Wanted to make love to her.Earlier, when Aurora had first stripped off and climbed in beside him, it had taken Jiro nearly everything he had to keep his lustful thoughts at bay; the last thing she needed was to feel him with a raging hard-on, when she was only trying to save them both from hypothermia.He even began counting backwards from one-thousand in his head, just to keep the blood from rushing to his groin.Her body had felt so good against his, ice-cold as they both were.When he’d suggested they get even closer on the pretext of sharing more body heat, he’d reveled in the feel of her long legs wrapped around his.He possibly would’ve kissed her if the opportunity had arrived.Perhaps it was better they were wrapped so tight in their survival blanket that they could barely move.He wasn’t sure how to unravel his feelings toward this complicated woman.She had very quickly wormed her way into his heart with her feisty nature, quick wit, and formidable need to make sure justice was served at all costs.He certainly hadn’t come here to fall in love.That was the last thing on his agenda.And yet…
He was in a bit of a pickle, he decided.But now wasn’t the time to try to figure everything out.So he lay there listening to the fire crackling, just enjoying the feel of their bodies intertwined.Aurora’s soft breathing finally lulled him into a calmer frame of mind, his eyelids becoming so heavy he succumbed to the effort of trying to keep them open and let them drift closed.If she was prepared to take an hour or so to recover, then so was he.Sleep was a form of healing, and who knew, he might have some answers when he finally awoke.
* * *
Jiro woke with a start when Aurora stretched beside him.It took him a few seconds to remember where he was.But when he did, he relaxed back down onto the hard bench.He was exactly where he wanted to be right now, snuggled up with a beautiful woman inside an isolated cabin.What could be more romantic?
But then she moved next to him again, and the spell was broken.
“How long have we been asleep?”he asked groggily.
“Not too long,” she replied.“The sun is still above the horizon.An hour at the most.It’s probably only mid-afternoon.”At least they hadn’t slept the whole day away.But it meant they’d lose the light soon; these god-awful dark winters would drive him crazy if he lived here.
“Well, your plan worked.I’m toasty warm now,” he said, moving his arm out a little from where it had been cramped into an awkward position wrapped around her waist—not that he would’ve had it any other way.
“Me too.”As she said this, she stretched again, pushing her pert breasts against the side of his chest.The surge of lust was immediate.The sexual desire he’d forced away earlier came back with a vengeance.How could any hot-blooded male not react to having this gorgeous, almost naked woman beside him?Right then, he made a decision.
There were things they should be doing, phone calls to be made, and dead bodies to be recovered.They needed to get up and get moving, but suddenly none of that mattered.Jiro knew he was going to kiss her, and he hoped she’d respond the same way she had earlier.Their kiss back at the cabin had been a spontaneous thing, born of intense need and emotional adversity.This time he was going to kiss her properly, deep and incisive, an exploration that would let her know how much she had bewitched him.He wanted to taste her mouth again, set his tongue exploring her cute bunny teeth once more.
As she began to wriggle to get free, he snagged her around the waist and held her tight.With the other hand, he worked the silver blanket away from his shoulders, so he was free to then use his thumb and forefinger to reach down and tip her chin up and access her lips.He wasn’t asking this time, he was taking.Her surprise at the touch of his mouth quickly turned to greedy hunger as she sucked on his lower lip.But he was determined to take his time, so instead of plundering her mouth with his tongue—as he so wanted to do—he swept it across her lower lip, gently tasting the corner of her mouth.Aurora made a noise, small like a lost kitten, and yet it shot straight through him, piercing him with a desire so strong he wanted to growl like a wild animal.
The hand that’d been wrapped around her waist drifted up to find the soft swell of her breast beneath the lace of her bra.He already knew the details of the black lacy bra; they’d been etched into his mind as she had stood in front of him, undressing.Had she worn this bra for him this morning?It was an enticing thought.Shimmying his fingers beneath the under wire, he found her nipple, which was peaked and plump, and he played with it, delighting in the way it hardened to his touch.
Aurora made another small noise, grinding her hips against him.At least he knew she was enjoying this.One of her hands was tangled in his hair, pulling his head down so she could get more of him, and the other was stroking his thigh from where it was trapped between their bodies.Soon, she managed to wriggle free a little and now the stroking was much closer to the junction of his thigh.Much closer to his…
He was burning up.“Holy mother of God, Aurora.”Before he quite knew how it happened, he had worked his way on top of her.His cock was as hard as a rock, their underwear the only thing keeping them apart.He wanted to be inside her.She groaned and tilted her hips up to grind against his.It seemed she wanted the same thing.Then something occurred to him.He mentally double-checked himself, but came up with the same answer.Shit.
