Sexy, Single And Searching: Sexy, Single And Searching / Eager, Eligible And Alaskan

Haughtily Cammie Jo rose, nose in the air, and started forward. She sailed past him, but then promptly tripped over her boot laces as she descended the bus steps, and sprawled face forward in the dirt.

IT WAS AN HOUR and a half into their three-hour hike through the spongy forest undergrowth and Mack couldn’t stop looking at Camryn. He smiled whenever he recalled how she’d leaped to her feet after falling from the bus and dusted herself off before he could get to her. He’d made a move to help, but she’d glared at him so hard he’d stepped backward, palms up in a gesture of surrender. She was a feisty thing; an odd combination of half regal cutie, half fierce tomcat.

Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt she possessed quality number two on his “wife” list.

He halted the group from time to time to give minilectures on the flora and fauna. During these little breaks, Camryn assiduously avoided looking at him, pretending instead to be wildly enraptured with a skunk cabbage or chipmunks or wild blueberry bushes.

Apparently she didn’t think he noticed when she cut her eyes surreptitiously at him. For his part, he stared at her boldly. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

Except she was a distraction to beat all distractions. Some nerdy middle-aged guy outfitted in the wrong kind of footwear kept asking him silly questions. Like, “Why are the Sitka spruce and the western hemlock the only variety of trees in the Tongass?”

“Because that’s the way it is,” Mack had finally snapped and he heard Camryn snicker. Was she laughing at him or the nerdy guy?

Caleb and his twelve adoring disciples were a quarter mile ahead of them in the forest. Mack brought up the rear in his group to prevent stragglers while Camryn had positioned herself far ahead of the pack, as if to put as much distance between them as possible by infiltrating Caleb’s group.

Mack admired the way Camryn’s trim little butt swayed from side to side in those snug-fitting jeans. He loved watching her hair bounce about her shoulders as she walked and the way her sweater adhered to her breasts.

He recalled the moment when they were alone on the bus together and he’d been trying to intimidate her with his maleness, hoping to wring a confession out of her concerning her strange behavior the night before. Instead of being unnerved as he expected, he could have sworn he saw sparks of unmitigated mischief in her fabulous green eyes.

“Which kind of bone needs picking?” she’d drawled, all spunk and sass.

My bone, he’d thought but hadn’t had the guts to say.

An unwitting image of that cute little butt of hers curving above his cupped palm jettisoned itself into his head and just like that, boom!, he got hard.

Taking a deep breath, Mack paused, put one hand on a tree and struggled to rein himself in.

“Oh!” someone up the trail cried and it sounded an awful lot like Camryn.

Mack’s head came up just in time to see a flash of color as she tumbled down the embankment.

6

JUST CALL ME GRACE, Cammie Jo thought as she somersaulted head over heels down a steep slope into a mossy creek bed where she ended up sprawled on her butt. The totem might cure shyness, but it didn’t seem to do a darn thing to exorcise a chronic case of klutz.

At the thought of the totem, her fingers flew to her neck.

Whew! It was still there.

Chagrined at her clumsiness, Cammie Jo shook her head.

“Camryn,” Mack shouted, “are you okay?”

She squinted up at the top of the hill and saw Mack in silhouette, the morning sun at his back. She waved perkily. “Fine.”

Cammie Jo heard him coming, crashing down through the mossy undergrowth like a bull elephant on the rampage. She was short-winded by the anticipation the sounds of those rescuing feet wrought inside her.

Mack was coming after her.

In a second, he was there, his arms going around her, lifting her out of the damp mud.

Her back was against his chest, she raised her head. His chin was at her mouth so unnervingly close, Cammie Jo forgot everything but the smell of his woodsy skin and how good his solid body felt. Rampant lust raged through her, startling her with the sheer magnitude of erotic sensations.

She wanted him. Hotly, desperately, madly. Here. Now. On the forest floor, in the woods, in the creek. With the squirrels and birds and rabbits watching. He was magnificent. He was sexy. He was…

Laughing at her.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

“You are, Sugar Plum.”

“I’m not your sugar plum.”

“No,” he said, “I dare say you’re not.”

“Good. So stop laughing.”

“I can’t. You should see yourself. Miss Priss is a mess. Twigs in your hair, mud on your cheek, moss stains on your jacket.”

“Who are you calling Miss Priss?”

“As if you didn’t know.”

“Where is everyone?” She plucked leaves from her curls and looked up at the embankment for signs of the other hikers.

“I sent them on ahead to catch up with Caleb.”

“So it’s just you and me?”

“Yeah.” His voice was husky. “Alone.”

Uh-oh, what was that dangerous look in his eyes?

“Why are you on this hiking trip? Shouldn’t you be out ferrying tourists back and forth from the airport or something?”

“You don’t want me here?”

“I didn’t say that.”

He cocked his head. “Ever since we ran the ad, Caleb’s been swamped with unexpected business. Tuesday mornings are usually slow for me so I’m pitching in for the summer. Helping out a buddy.”

“And getting a eyeful of the backsides of sexy young women.”

“That too.” His grin turned lopsided and he tightened his grip on her waist. “And your backside is the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Liar.”

He held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“You were a Boy Scout?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I find that hard to believe.” She also found it hard to believe that she was standing here in a dark forest alone with the sexiest man on the face of the earth.

“It’s true.”

“Guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“If I kiss you again, will you run away like you did last night?”

“No,” she whispered.

“Why did you run away?”

“Er…because I had something in my eye?” That was no lie, she’d had contacts in her eyes.

“Then why did you climb out the bathroom window and leave me with a broken heart?” Dramatically he clutched a hand to the left side of his chest.

Cammie Jo snorted. “Your heart wasn’t broken.”

“But it was.” His tone was light but the expression in his eyes told her she had wounded his pride.

“A girl’s entitled to cold feet, isn’t she?”

“Oh, so that’s what happened.”

Somehow he’d shifted her around in his arms and they were no longer back to chest but chest to breasts and his face was right there, just waiting to be kissed.

“Are your feet cold now?” he murmured.

“Well, they’re pretty wet. I forgot to wear wool socks like they tell you to do in the guide books.”

He made a clucking noise with his tongue. Tsk. Tsk. She wondered what it would feel like to have him make that same sound inside her mouth.

“You’ll never be a good wilderness woman with that kind of memory.”

“Nor by the way I skim helter-skelter down embankments.”

“True enough.” He languidly plucked a twig from her hair, his rough fingers skimming through the silkiness of the loose strands. How many times had she dreamed of moments like these, of being held by a man like this? “But I’m imagining you must have other skills that’d compensate for your lack of memory and balance.”

“You’d think.”

They peered deeply into each other’s eyes. Neither of them blinked or looked away.

“I’m only guessing,” he said. “But yeah, I bet you’ve got a lot of hidden talents. Can you cook?”

“Nope.”

“Sew?”

“’Fraid not.”

“Good with numbers?”

“Sorry.”

“Hmm, so you’re completely without talents?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Ah.” His pupils widened.

“Keep your mind out of the gutter, McCaulley.”

“How do you know where my mind’s at?”

“That wicked twinkle in your eye.”

With the cool air and the dimness of the forest floor contrasting with the heat and brightness of Mack’s eyes, Cammie Jo’s body came alive like a blossoming flower.

“I would like to kiss you,” he said. “But I’m nervous about making the first move. Considering your cold feet and all.”

“That’s thoughtful of you.”

“That’s me, Mr. Thoughtful.”

“Mr. Full-of-himself is more like it.” She grinned.

“So what’s it gonna be? Do we get up, climb out of here and go find the others or…”

“Or what?”

“You tell me.”

She couldn’t stand any more of this cat-and-mouse stuff. She wanted to kiss him and that’s all there was to it.

Have an adventure. Live a little.

Cammie Jo wrapped her arms around his neck, sank to the ground and pulled him down on top of her.

CAMRYN WAS HUNGRY for him, oh yeah, but it was as clear now as it had been last night that she was no expert at kissing. And if she was a novice at kissing did that also mean she was a novice at lovemaking? Mack had trouble reconciling this—since Camryn was old enough and certainly sexy enough to have her pick of lovers—but he couldn’t deny her inexperience.

When he moved his lips from her mouth to the tender flesh at the nape of her neck and then sucked lightly on her skin she just about came undone.

“What? What’s that? What are you doing?” Her body tensed beneath his.

“Love bite.”

“You mean like a hickey?” She sounded horrified.

“Sort of. If I sucked harder it would be a hickey. But giving hickeys in places people can see is immature. I wouldn’t give you one without your permission.”

“Oh, well, that’s good to know.”

“No one’s ever nibbled on you like this?” He shook his head in disbelief.

“Nooo. Not quite like that.”

“How ’bout this?” He nipped a trail up her neck to her ear, breathing in the intoxicating scent of spruce and moss and sexy woman, then slowly rimmed her ear with the tip of his tongue.

She shivered all over and goose bumps sprung up on her exposed skin. “Is that what they call a Wet Willie?”

“Uh-huh, do you like?”

“Er…actually no.”

“I’m not driving you wild with anticipation?” No one had ever complained about his technique before.

“Personally, I prefer a Dry Herman.”

“What’s that?”

“No tongue in my ear!”

He chuckled. “You’re a hoot. And I like your honesty. No more Wet Willies.”

“Hey, down there. You two need any help?” Caleb’s voice rang out in the forest, ruining everything.

Mack rolled off Camryn and got to his feet. “Nope.” He shielded his eyes with his hands and looked up the embankment at the twenty-four people grinning down at them. “I think we’ve got everything under control.”

“Is that what you call it? Are you two joining us for the trek home?”

“We’ll be right there.” Mack sighed. Just when things were getting really interesting between them, well, except for the Wet Willie misstep. How far might things have gone if Caleb and company hadn’t shown up?

Not too far. You don’t have any condoms on you and it’s a sure bet she doesn’t, either.

They made their way up the hill back to the others, then finished the hike. Mack sat next to her on the bus ride back.

“How ’bout dinner tonight?” he asked. “I don’t know. I’m thinking not.” That surprised him. He’d expected her to say yes. “Those iceberg feet of yours again?”

“Something like that.” She smiled, Cheshire Cat-like.

Mack said nothing. He was confused. Did she like him or not? Her kisses had said yes, yes, yes, but now her mouth was saying no, no, no.

“Okay, fine.” He leaned back in his seat, folded his arms over his chest.”

“Oh, why not,” she said. “All right. I’ll go out with you.”

OH GOSH, what would she wear? Cammie Jo perused the dresses Kay had loaned her. They were all so beautiful, it was difficult to choose.

Lulu sat on the floor, thumping her tail and watching her try on first this one and then that one.

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