Alaska Heart (22 page)

On Ram’s signal, Vince unveiled the easel to expose a drawing.

“What you see here, folks,” Ram said, “are designs for tables and booths, a real stage, plus a dance floor to be added to the existing tavern. We’re going to be bringing in local bands on the weekends, and the new room will be called
The Dream Big Room
in honor of Dale’s big dreaming and big winning. This picture will hang on the wall in the new room.”

Ram pointed to Violet on the other side of him who also stood beside a covered easel. She unveiled hers to show a framed picture of Dale and Gypsy in front of Dale’s sled. The same shot I’d seen on the poster my first day at Moose Point. The picture, I’ll now admit, that had made me go looking for Dale.

The audience clapped, and soon everyone was on their feet, their applause nearly bringing down the walls.

“You’re all going to spend your Friday and Saturday nights with us,” Ram said, throwing his arm around Dale’s shoulders. “Sunday through Thursday are up for grabs too.”

Laughter flooded through the tavern. Such a happy sound. Dale tossed his arm around Ram’s shoulder, and several camera flashes followed. The two of them looked so close, not just father and son, but friends, partners. Dale didn’t look so nervous anymore. Instead, the love he had for his dad beamed from his face. My eyes watered as I watched them.

Ram stepped back to the microphone and held his hands out for the crowd to sit.

“The governor would now like to say a few words.” The governor took Ram’s place at the mic. After Ram’s announcement, her speech was about as animated as watching grass grow, though her message was well intended. Something about following your heart and living as if every day was a step toward something important. Good advice. The governor presented Dale with a plaque on behalf of the city of Fairbanks, and he received his official Iditarod trophy. Armed with both of these, Dale approached the microphone.

“Thank you. Your support makes all the difference. And Dad…I don’t know what to say about the expansion plans besides I’m honored and hope it does inspire others to dream big. Not everyone has someone like you to help them see that big dreams are possible.” Dale stopped and gave Ram a huge hug. They looked like two bears embracing.

“I accept this plaque and this trophy for all of you, for all of Fairbanks. I also have to mention my dogs, especially my lead dog, Gypsy. Without her leadership and obedience and without the hard work of every dog on my team, winning would be impossible. The dogs are the real athletes, but until they figure out how to make thank you speeches, I’ll be happy to accept your congratulations myself.”

Chuckles fluttered through the bar, and I was now completely enchanted. Adding well spoken, good-natured, and fair to his list of commendable qualities, Dale was well on his way to being the perfect man. The perfect man for me.

I had officially fallen for him. Too soon. Too fast. Dale had wormed his way, pretty much effortlessly, into my heart.

My heart. The piece of me I’d taken offline while I tried to make a name for myself at
Gaia
. Dale had rebooted my heart, probably with his first email now that I thought about it. Hadn’t I already decided to like him after reading his comments? Hadn’t he already captured my interest with his clever responses and funny jokes online? Seeing him in person—and shit, the view was unbelievable—only tossed me further over the line between friend and something more. Something I’d needed to help me make the most out of life.

“Hey.” Selia’s voice so close beside me jarred me from my thoughts. “You okay?”

When I turned to look at her, her hazel eyes were full of concern. She rested her hand on my forearm.

“Yes. I’m okay. Why?”

“I don’t know,” Selia began. “You look…far away.”

“I am far away. From New York.”

“You know what I mean,” Selia pressed. “You’re either thinking these people are nuts to get so excited about a stupid sled race, or…” She paused, and a slow smile, not unlike Dale’s and Ram’s, slid across her lips. “Or you’ve let Dale catch you in his net, and now you don’t know what to do about it.”

I looked back to Dale who was trying to make his way back to the table, but was stopped by further congratulations and pats on the back. He took the time to talk to each person, laugh at their jokes, listen to their stories.

“Uh-oh,” Selia said, her eyes extra-wide now. “You in the net, girl, ain’t ya?”

I nodded. “For as long as I’m here, I’m in the net,” I said. “But I only have a week left. I’ve got to go back to New York. I have a job there. Friends. A life.”

“Do you have love there?” Selia sat back in her chair, but had to get up when Dale arrived. I didn’t get a chance to answer her question as she corralled Mick, Riley, and Noah into their seats for dessert. Jake pulled her into the seat beside him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He squeezed her close, and she planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. They looked at each other in that way soul mates do.

I didn’t have anything like that in New York.

Dessert—chocolate peanut butter pie—did wonders to cloud my thinking even further. Not only was I pining for sex with Dale, now I also rode a caffeine buzz and thought of love.

“One final treat for tonight,” Ram began at the mic again. “Our own Violet and Vince will perform for us with their band, Quiet Psychotiks. Put your hands together for them, will ya?”

“Violet and Vince have a band?” I said, leaning toward Dale.

“Yeah. They kick ass, too. Hard rock, my favorite,” Dale said, his voice strained. “My dad hates their music.” His eyes looked a little misty.

“He’s letting them play for you.”

Dale nodded as he took my hand. “C’mon.”

“Where are we—”

He pulled me to my feet and zigzagged through the guests already crowding around the makeshift stage. We slid between people to get a position directly in front of Vince and Violet. Vince had an electric guitar slung around his neck, and Violet was at the mic. A burly guy sat behind the drums, an unusually tall girl sported a bass guitar, and a completely bald dude stood ready at a keyboard.

“We’d like to congratulate our buddy, Dale, on his win, although he’s always been a winner to us.” Vince pointed a finger at Dale who pointed a finger back. “We’d also like to thank Ram for letting us play though he’s referred to our music as ‘disturbing’ on several occasions.”

An opening screech on the electric guitar sent Violet into an angry rant about “being who you wanna be.” Her voice was just a touch bluesy, and Vince was magic on the guitar. I dug the tune and soon found myself looped inside Dale’s arms as we danced together. The movements had enough gyration, rubbing, touching to stimulate and seduce. When their set ended and Dale pulled me against him, I could hardly refrain from wrapping my legs around his waist.

“I think it’s time to go,” he whispered.

“I’ll second that.” I had a little trouble catching my breath.

Some people had left while the band was playing, and others made their way toward the doors now that the music had ended.

“Let’s say good-bye to my family.” Dale led me back to the table where Ram sat with Mick on his lap.

“Dad, once again, you’ve proven to be Father of the Year.” Dale reached out his hand, and Ram accepted it.

“You keep giving me reasons to celebrate. What’s a father to do but throw a fitting shindig?” Ram held his hands out to his sides.

“What’s a shindig, Pop?” Mick asked.

“A heck of a good time, Micky.” Ram mussed his grandson’s hair.

“Can we have a shindig on Sunday, Pop?” Riley asked, coming to stand beside Ram.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Alanna’s coming!” Noah chimed in. He ran over and took my hand.

“Then we’ll certainly have ourselves a fine shindig.” Ram winked at me.

“I’m always in the mood for a shindig,” I said.

“Bet you got them all the time in New York,” Ram said.

“Yeah, but they’re nowhere near as fun as this was.” Dale’s entire family smiled in one synchronous movement. They looked like a painting. I committed the image to memory. For when I was back home in New York. Alone.

It only took moments for me to gather my stuff in my room at Moose Point. Even though I told Dale that I’d meet him at his place, he insisted on following me to the resort.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he said.

If someone had said that to me in New York, I’d most likely be calling the police or getting a restraining order. Here in Fairbanks, however, pure desire made Dale say such a thing. Desire and perhaps the instinct to protect me from a killer.

As I pulled into Dale’s driveway behind him, I gazed dreamily at his house. It looked so snug nestled in the trees, the soft glow of the outside lights illuminating the sturdy wooden logs. The dogs barked in the backyard, but it wasn’t a “Feed us, dammit” bark. More like a “Hey, come out and see us” instead. It made the house even more welcoming.

“Let’s get this stuff inside.” Dale walked out of the garage and opened the passenger door of the Explorer. He grabbed almost everything, leaving me with my purse and laptop.

“Eager, aren’t we?” I followed him into the garage.

“Dancing with you turned me on. Hate to waste it.” He fumbled in his jacket pockets for his keys. “Damn.”

“Can’t find them?” I stepped onto the stair behind him and reached into both of his jacket pockets. They were empty. I slid my hands into the back pockets of his jeans though clearly the keys weren’t there. Giving his butt a squeeze, I grinned wickedly behind him when he let out a moan.

“What’s that?” I said. “Did you say the keys are in your front pockets?” I pressed my body against his. I wrapped my arms around his waist and angled my hands into the front pockets of his jeans. I wiggled my fingers around, but didn’t retract my hand when my fingers closed around the keys. Instead, I massaged Dale’s thighs, catching the feel of his arousal several times. He leaned back against me, and for a moment I thought he was going to fall on me.

“Somebody help me,” Dale whispered. “I want you inside more than anything, but I don’t want you to stop what you’re doing out here either.” He let out a growl when I reached further into his pockets and explored his thighs with my fingertips.

I dragged my hand out with the keys and stepped in front of Dale. “Allow me,” I said.

“Hurry.” The word was a plea as Dale rested his head on the doorjamb and fought not to drop all my stuff.

As soon as I had the door open, he rushed in, buzzed through the kitchen, and dumped everything he carried onto the living room couch. He ripped off his coat and twirled me out of mine before I knew what was happening.

He pinned me to the kitchen island, one arm on either side of me, as he explored my mouth with heated precision. “C’mon.”

Dale led me upstairs to his bedroom. The bed wasn’t made—an open invitation to hop in. He raked the blankets down further to clear a space onto which he lowered me. I only had time to blink before he pulled off my boots, unzipped my jeans.

“This isn’t going to be slow and easy,” he rasped in warning, shedding his own sweater and T-shirt in one move.

“No.” I clawed at the zipper on his jeans. “We’ve already done that.”

I wasn’t in the mood for slow and easy. Fast and hard, like unleashed animals, sounded right. Time to feed the hunger, the demands. No holding back.

“I can’t get enough of you.” Dale cupped my face with his palm. “Can’t get close enough.”

“Let’s try anyway.” I pulled Dale down on top of me. He ran his lips along my chin and down my neck as I arched against him. Drawing back, Dale slid me out of my sweater, toying with my breasts along the rim of my blue lace bra.

“Did Violet pick this out for you too?” He freed my breasts in one quick motion.

“She did,” I managed around a moan.

“Bless her.” Dale scooted down to press his lips against my exposed navel. He kissed a trail along my stomach, up between my breasts. My skin tingled under the light scrape of his whiskered chin as he brought each of my nipples to taut attention. Traveling higher, his lips scorched a path up and over my chin, finally ending to feast on my mouth. His tongue caressed, probed, drove deep, causing me to do the same to him.

I wrapped my arms around his back and raked my fingers along the muscled angles of his shoulders. The feel of him, of his very skin, sent me spiraling out of control. No logic here, no reason. Only passion and heat. Only the unquenchable need for more.

“Dale,” I breathed as he burrowed his fingers into my hair. My own fingers intertwined around the back of his neck, locking him in close proximity. Combing through his tousled hair, I let him slide my jeans and panties off.

“Man, you’re perfect. So soft, slender.” He sat back to look at me. His eyes devoured me, and I enjoyed being the snack.

I removed his jeans and boxer shorts so he was naked atop me.

“I’ve been picturing you like this all night.” I tugged him down to me again.

Dale flooded my lips with hungry kisses. I drank them all in, savoring the natural, outdoorsy taste of him. His hands closed over my breasts, and he kneaded them until I cried out in arousal. He skimmed his left hand over my stomach, across my hip, down my thigh. When his finger traced the edges of my moist center, I free-fell from the heavens. His lips never left mine as he brought me back up to the peak. When he plunged into me with his finger, I sucked in a ragged breath full of ecstasy. He explored my depths with a skilled choreography that left me near the explosion point.

I surrounded his erection with both my hands. The arm he’d been leaning on, weak from his sprained wrist, crumpled under his weight. Stroking, gently at first and then more aggressively, I elicited a rumble from Dale’s throat as he rested his face against my shoulder. His sounds of pleasure resonated deep inside me, urging me on. My heart revved as I handled him.

“Alanna, please…” Dale said into my hair.

His plea surged throughout me. Guiding him onto his back, I took him into my ready core and rode the blissfully erotic wave that crested over us. Each thrust took us higher, and together we escaped the boundaries of the real world to soar amongst the stars.