“Then what are you waiting for?” She couldn’t keep her voice from turning sultry. “Come here.”
His lips curled up into a sexy half grin that made her stomach do a series of flips. He crossed to her, and as his fingers connected with hers, she tugged him down.
He dropped into the spot beside her and wrapped his arms around her as she pressed against him. Their mouths collided at the same time with an explosive need that had been growing all evening. His rhythm was powerful and hungry, and she loved it. She joined in the kiss just as powerfully and hungrily, eager to be kissing him again so passionately.
With his arms tightening, she could feel his wildly beating heart and guessed he could feel hers beating just as hard for him. This love between them was intense, probably because they were both intense people who felt things deeply. It would mean incredible highs, but would it also mean they might go through difficult lows?
She didn’t want to think about that tonight, not on their wedding night.
It. Was. Her. Wedding. Night. How had she gotten to this point, and what was she going to do about it?
Her kissing came to a halt.
He immediately tamed his passion and broke the kiss. He rested his cheek against hers, his scruffy jaw grazing her and his heavy breathing filling her senses.
Was she scared? What was going on?
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded. She was all right. She really was. But... she wasn’t sure that she was ready to do more than just kiss. All that really mattered was being close to him, even if that meant just curling up beside him. They would have their whole lives for everything else, which meant they didn’t have to rush and could wait to be more intimate until they were alone.
“I think we need just a little more time before...” She struggled to find her next words. “Before we, well, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” He smoothed a hand over her hair. “I should like the first time I make love to my wife to be special and beautiful and meaningful, not something rushed and hushed.”
She breathed out the tension that had started to build, and she let herself relax against him. “I love you even more for that.”
He reclined onto the couch and pulled her down into the spot in front of him, the same way they’d slept the previous night. After he situated the blanket over them, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her head.
She snuggled back into him. “Max?”
“Yes, darling?”
“Just because we’ve agreed to wait on making love doesn’t mean I want to wait on kissing you.”
“Do not worry, my love. I do not want to wait on that either.” His fingers combed back strands of her hair, and in the next instant, his lips were upon her neck, hot and hard and heavy.
She gasped her pleasure and arched into him. If this was what she had to look forward to tonight, she would not complain in the least.
20
Three full days trapped in the mountains, and now they were well into their fourth.
Max had expected to be able to leave by now. At the very least, he had anticipated that a rescue operation would have arrived. But they had not seen a single living creature since arriving, not even a bird.
Emberly had speculated that the wind conditions had prevented an air rescue and that the arctic temperatures and heavy snow accumulations had halted anyone from reaching them by land.
With her fishing line down the crude hole they had sawn in the ice, Emberly peered up at the sky—the first blue, sunny sky they’d had since the start of their journey. “Kade could at least drop off more supplies for us, even if he can’t land his chopper.”
After rationing what little food they’d had, they had eaten the last morsels the previous evening. Now, today, their hunger was keen.
The snow was too deep for the snowshoes. But with the clearer weather, Emberly had hoped they might be able to ride out on the snowmobiles. Unfortunately, the batteries on both would not start due to the below-freezing temperature.
They had also turned on one of the phones and attempted to make contact again. But still they had not been able to connect to any service, not even for a simple text.
After their failed attempts at rescuing themselves, Emberly had suggested they do a little ice fishing. Max hadn’t objected, especially because his stomach was protesting its lack of sustenance. Thankfully, the cabin had a pair of fishing poles, extra fishing line, as well as a small tackle box with artificial bait.
Dressed in as many layers as they had, he and Emberly had used the snowshoes and managed to hike to the lake through the trail they had shoveled. The ice had been difficult to break through, but Emberly knew a few tricks, and eventually they had created a hole big enough to allow them to fish.
