She thought he was watching the lights just to please her, to show how romantic he could be, but she kept wanting to slide her hands all over his body and feel his cock thrusting inside her. What if he really wanted to watch the lights? She didn’t want to ruin it for him.
He started caressing her arm, and she moved her hand down his body, touching his rigid cock, and she smiled. He was always ready for her.
He kissed her forehead, but she moved against his body so she could kiss his mouth. He parted his kissable masculine lips to her and drew her inside. She kissed him long and deep, straddling his leg, rubbing her mons against his thigh. It didn’t take much of touching him, feeling his heat, and smelling his sexy scent before her body reacted in a primal, needy way. Sharing her own scent that said she craved the wolf. She ground her body against him, trying to find her own release.
He raised his knee so his thigh was firmer beneath her spread legs, his hands combing through her hair, his mouth on hers, his tongue plunging, taking, until they had to come up for air.
“Beautiful,” he whispered against her ear, the light stubble on his face brushing against her cheek as he nuzzled her.
And then he was moving her onto her back where she got a glimpse of the gorgeous light display overhead. He only smiled at her and wickedly began to stroke her, as if to say the northern lights couldn’t hold a candle to the way he’d make her feel.
He would be right as he stroked her into oblivion. She felt like she was shooting into the dancing lights and burning up with them. Then his mouth was on hers again, and he had her wrapped in his arms, his knee spreading her thighs apart before he slid his cock into the center of her being and held still while she adjusted to his size, the hot, hard length of him.
This was it. The mating. Taking care of each other, their offspring, loving each other until the end. This felt right. And she loved him for it.
Then he began to thrust, and she saw the love in his eyes as he gazed down at her, and she felt the love for him as she gazed up at him. He kissed her nose, her eyes, her cheeks, and her mouth.
Their tongues tangled while he drove his cock into her, and she thrust her pelvis to make a deeper connection. Then she locked her ankles around his legs and enjoyed the ride as he took her up to that brilliantly colored starry field above and she cried out in exaltation.
It occurred to her that people could hear her a mile away, if humans were staying that close by. Gavin came inside her, the heat of his seed warming her as he finished and then sank against her. “Beautiful,” he said, then re-situated them so they could continue to watch the light show.
“Wow,” she said, his arms wrapped around her as she held on to him and enjoyed the night show. “You are one hot wolf. And I love you with all my heart.”
“So are you, and I love you right back. If you’re not too tired, maybe later tonight, the lights will appear again, and we can repeat what just happened to make it even more memorable.”
She laughed. “You’ve got a deal.”
Chapter 17
After making love again last night and doing just what Gavin suggested—watching more of the northern lights on full display—they got up late the next morning and had oatmeal for breakfast. Gavin pulled out the sat phone and called Eleanor, knowing Conrad would have been home long before this. “This is Gavin Summerfield. I lost the sat phone and had no cell reception in the Boundary Waters,” he said, leaving a message on Eleanor’s answering machine. “I didn’t see any evidence of what you were looking for. If you want me to investigate further, I can.” The message machine cut off, and Gavin called again. “The party returned home, but I had no way to contact you. The charges will be just for the first couple of days. I’m headed home now. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.” The message machine cut off.
“You had to leave a message,” Amelia said.
“Yeah. So we’ll see if she calls back to have me do any further investigation.”
“How much do you want to bet she won’t?”
“I agree with you there. I keep thinking about her wanting me, no one else, to investigate Conrad. And she wanted to make sure I was flying, not paddling in.”
“You didn’t say that before. The part about not paddling in.”
“I just can’t see how she could be connected to Heaton. I mean, why would she want me dead?”
“And Red wanted me dead?” Amelia asked.
“I would think if that were the case, she was involved in the jewelry heist. That’s the only connection between you, me, and Red.”
“She’s an heiress. If she was the one who hired the men to do the heist, why would she need the money?” Amelia asked.
“Maybe she’s not that financially set. I just assumed she was because she was worried about divorcing Conrad and losing some of her money in the settlement. But maybe that’s the reason she’s afraid of losing it. She isn’t as well off as I’d imagined. She’s also living in Seattle, where the jewelry heist occurred.”
“When we have better access to the internet, maybe we can learn more about her.”
“Yeah. I just couldn’t see the connection, but maybe it wasn’t about Conrad at all. We were loose ends in the heist. Come on. Let’s get on our way. While we’re in Seattle, I want to do some digging into her background.”
After packing up, they had paddled a couple of hours when they heard angry voices arguing on an island nearby. Gavin recognized the one canoe as the kind Asher had rented. “That could be Asher’s canoe.”
“Who in the world would he be arguing with?” Amelia whispered.
“Some hapless camper, probably.”
They pulled their canoe onto the shore.
“I’d feel better if you stayed with the canoe,” Gavin said, hoping she’d go along with the suggestion. “Unless he’s just angry with another paddler, if it’s Asher, this might have something to do with our case.”
“I’m sticking with you.” Amelia grabbed the camera, her Taser, and the sat phone.
“All right, but if there’s real trouble, you duck into the woods, get naked, and shift.”
They hurried toward the sound of voices just ahead, careful to be as quiet as humanly possible.
“You were supposed to take down the first group of passengers,” Asher said, his voice hot with anger. “My wife and her lover along with it.”
Gavin’s adrenaline was already filling every cell, and now he was angry. Whoever was out here had been in on the plot to kill Asher’s wife.
“I planned the whole thing that way, damn it! Based on the schedule, I had the timer set correctly. Your wife’s boss screwed everything up by arriving early and flying an hour earlier than scheduled. I mean, hell, how could I have predicted that? Flights might leave later or on time, but they don’t leave an hour earlier than scheduled—normally.” Heaton!
“Hell, that’s how I missed seeing the plane crash! I thought the flight hadn’t arrived yet, so I paddled there late and then had to see for myself who made it to shore,” Asher said.
“The PI said someone stole Amelia’s raft. Was that you?” Heaton growled.
Asher snorted.
“What the hell for?” Heaton sounded like he was still carrying a torch for Amelia.
“The bastard was involved with the police and put me away the first time. I figured if they were stranded on the island, they’d never know who did it and wouldn’t run into me later either. I heard them returning and had to drop the canoe.”
Gavin and Amelia moved into the brush, close enough that they could get a glimpse of the two men—Heaton and Asher Michaels—while being hidden from their view. Why wasn’t Gavin surprised? Obviously, Heaton had never left the Boundary Waters like he said he was going to. The men were facing each other, offering Gavin and Amelia a clear view of the gun Asher had pointed at Heaton.
“From what I hear,
someone else paid you to take the plane down too. Maybe someone with more money. Maybe someone who was targeting a different passenger or group of passengers.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Heaton looked nervous now, like that’s exactly what had happened and he’d been caught up in the scam.
Gavin had to wait and listen, to learn what he could of the truth before he could attempt to take them down. Then he saw that Amelia was recording everything on his camera.
“I had drinks with one of the pilots who works with you, and he said he figured his manager hired you to take it down. The manager wouldn’t care who was on it as long as the old man was flying it. So a second person paid for the job, other than me?” Asher asked.
Heaton looked as pale as if he was going to pass out. “Will you put the gun down?”
“We had a deal. You kill my wife, along with everyone else on the plane to make it look accidental. At the same time, you’d get rid of the guy who fired you. I get rid of my unfaithful wife and her lover. And you’d do it so it looked like a damn accident. You said you’d be able to. No problem.”
“I would never have double-crossed you. Do you think I have a death wish?”
“My wife has gone home, and I’ve lost the chance I had to make this look like an accident. She’ll be wary of a second attempt now. No telling what she’ll do—leave notes with her family, saying to suspect me if she dies accidentally, probably. She’ll most likely cancel her insurance policy. I can see coming home to sign divorce papers. Which is not where this was supposed to go. Now aircraft investigators are looking into the accident. What if they implicate you? You said no one would ever consider it any more than pilot error. If they decide you did it, then where does that leave me? I’ll tell you where that leaves me. They’ll question you, and who will you say paid for this? Me.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with the change in schedule. And I swear they’ll never be able to figure out that it was sabotaged.”
“You’re a loose end I can’t afford.”
Before Gavin could take Asher down to stop him, Asher fired five shots at Heaton.
As soon as Gavin broke through the brush to tackle him, Asher turned the gun on him. Heart racing, Gavin dove for cover and quickly rose to shoot Asher twice in the shoulder. Crying out, Asher dropped the gun, cursing, and Gavin rushed forth to retrieve it before Asher could regain it. Gun secured, Gavin shoved Asher to the ground and pinned his good arm behind his back. Heaton was gasping for air. He sounded like he didn’t have long to live.
“Sorry,” Heaton croaked out to Amelia. That was the last breath he would take.
Amelia had been video recording all of it to protect themselves and document the confessions, but once Gavin had taken Asher down, she’d rushed forth to check on Heaton. She shook her head at Gavin. “Asher killed him.” She pulled out the sat phone and called the sheriff’s office with a report about the shooting and their location. “Yes, my boyfriend’s a former Seattle cop and a private investigator in the area. He’s got the suspect pinned down for now. I need to run and get some rope to tie him up with,” she said to someone on the phone.
She dashed off, leaving the camera with Gavin as she continued to talk to the authorities.
“Feels like déjà vu, me taking you down, only this time, it’s for cold-blooded murder instead of dognapping,” Gavin growled at Asher, furious with the man. “Maybe you’ll stay in the slammer for longer this time. Like for life.”
Forever, Gavin was hoping.
When Amelia returned with the rope and the first aid kit, Gavin tied Asher’s hands in back of him.
“Damn it, you’re killing me.” Asher scowled at him.
“Yeah, tell someone who gives a damn.” Even though Gavin and Amelia had assumed some of what had happened might be true, hearing it for real had to be upsetting to Amelia. Gavin gave her a hug and saw the tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry about Heaton.”
She nodded. “Though he deserved what he got.”
Gavin knew she meant because he was a wolf who had intended to kill her father and the others for money and revenge. Gavin bandaged Asher’s shoulder.
“I’ll get the emergency blanket in case he goes into shock.” She raced off again.
“And some water!” Gavin called out to her. They’d have to wait a considerable time before anyone could reach them, but he suspected they’d be better off paddling to a location where Heaton and Asher would be picked up.
“Okay!”
After a few minutes, Amelia returned with water and a blanket. “The Lake County Sheriff’s Office told me that with 2,300 square miles to cover, they have only three duty stations. They have to call the U.S. Forest Service, because they fly in to remote areas from a seaplane base. The seaplane is out on another mission. An injured teenager whose canoe flipped over in rapids. He was caught between the rocks and has been in the water for eight hours. Three others with him are still in the water too. No one has been able to reach them yet.”
“Okay, so what does that mean for us?” Gavin asked.
“You shouldn’t have shot me! That’s what it means,” Asher growled.
“The sheriff’s office is calling a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter team, or MART, that works rescue missions with the Saint Paul and Brainerd fire departments. They need two hours’ notice to get everyone on board. They’ll have to get as close as they can to our site, portage, then go by canoe the rest of the way here. Seaplanes just can’t get into some of these lakes, like this one. I’d say we should take him to be picked up earlier, but we can’t leave Heaton here, or a bear or wolves might find him and think he’s supper.”
“He’s dead,” Asher reminded them.
“We can’t split up. I don’t want you alone with Asher, and I don’t want you staying here with Heaton, should a bear or a pack of wolves show up. We stay together,” Gavin said, determined to protect her at all costs.
“And I could die. Then that would be on your head,” Asher said.
Gavin snorted. “Not something I’d lose sleep over.”
“I have the camera recording that proves exactly what happened and shows Gavin acted in self-defense. If you die, no great loss to the world,” Amelia said.
“How about we carry Heaton’s body out in one canoe, you in the other?” Gavin asked.
“I’ll go with the woman.” Asher had to be crazy if he thought he had any say in this.
Gavin shook his head. “You’ll go with me.”
“He doesn’t want to go with the dead body. Some boyfriend he makes,” Asher gritted out.
“Okay, so how are we going to get them there?” Amelia asked.
“I’ll tie Asher’s hands in front, and he can help me carry Heaton to the beach.”
Asher grunted. “Over my dead body.”
“That could be arranged.” Gavin didn’t want to untie Asher. He didn’t trust the man, and he wasn’t sure what kind of a shot Amelia would be if Asher tried to fight him. Gavin didn’t think she could help him carry Heaton. Even if she could, they would both have their hands full. On the other hand, Asher was human. Gavin didn’t trust that he could wait it out on the island for an emergency crew to get to them before Asher could be in real medical distress.
“I’ll call the sheriff’s office to let them know where we’re headed.”
“Okay. After you do that, keep the gun on him and shoot him if he tries anything,” Gavin said.
She conveyed the information to the sheriff’s office about where they were and where they were going and that they would meet up with them in four hours.
When she ended the call, Gavin handed his gun to Amelia. She slipped Asher’s gun and the sat phone in the camera bag. Thankfully, she’d had enough presence of mind that she’d used the bottom edge of her shirt to handle the weapon.
“Don’t shoot me by accident,” Asher warned he
r.
“Don’t worry. I’ll only shoot you on purpose, if it’s necessary.”
Gavin untied Asher’s wrists, then retied his hands in front of him. “Okay, let’s get going.” Gavin had Asher carry the upper part of Heaton’s body, while Gavin carried his legs so he could keep an eye on Asher.
“You can take our canoe,” Gavin said to Amelia as she followed behind the men. If Asher did anything stupid, like trying to tip over his canoe, Gavin wanted to make sure they didn’t lose their possessions.
“Do you need my help with Heaton?” she asked.
“No. We’re good.”
“Speak for yourself,” Asher said, grunting.
With Asher stumbling under the weight of Heaton, it seemed to take them forever to reach the canoes and load Heaton into his own canoe. “I’ll tie Heaton’s canoe to mine,” Gavin said, not wanting Amelia to have to deal with it. He made up a towrope, MacGyver style. “Come here, Asher.”
“This isn’t necessary. I can help you paddle.”
“Like hell you can.” Gavin could just imagine getting a paddle upside the head.
After retying Asher’s hands in back, Gavin helped him into the front of Asher’s canoe. Then he waited while Amelia got into hers. “We’ll push hard to get there by tonight. Hopefully, the EMTs will arrive and the police, and they can take care of these two.”
“Okay. The gun’s easily reached, so if Asher tries something, I’ll just add another hole or two,” Amelia warned. “Or I could use the Taser.”
“As if I’m going to do anything.”
Amelia lifted her paddle. “Are you sure I shouldn’t tow the canoe? You’ve got more deadweight in yours, and you’re dragging the other one behind you.”
“We’ll be fine. And, Asher, if you begin feeling light-headed, lie down in the canoe,” Gavin said.
“I’m surprised you would be concerned.”