41 - Kodiak
41
Kodiak
—
Longing.
Fierce, protective longing rages inside me. I stand at the taffrail beside Leo as Kai navigates Monty’s yacht toward the island.
Toward Frankie.
Despite the midday heat, the arctic wilderness still clings to my bones. Another fruitless week spent searching for Wolf’s body and the cabin.
Frustration sinks in its claws, shredding vital organs. Every time we leave Frankie alone with Monty, the anger coils tighter.
A stalker on the loose, a human heart, a severed hand, more texts, and disturbing threats…enough is enough.
My eyes land on the dock as we approach. Two small yachts sit there, their polished surfaces reflecting the low Alaskan sun. They look brand new and expensive. Typical Monty.
I shift my gaze, and there she is.
My heart stirs from hibernation and starts to beat again.
Long red hair tangles around her shoulders, her petite frame dwarfed by the towering, imposing man at her side.
How will your date end? If you go to bed with the wolf, will the bear and the lion fuck the siren?
A hot dart of jealousy pierces my gut.
He took her on a date last night.
He took her on a fucking date.
Did he take her to bed after?
I understand why they went to dinner, the importance of the one-year mark. I’m even grateful he was there for her. She shouldn’t be alone. At the same time, I resent every moment he spends with her.
Her ban on sex makes it harder to stomach.
It’s been almost two months since we’ve been intimate. The distance isn’t just physical. It’s emotional, straining our bond like a thread pulled taut, ready to snap.
The yacht docks, and Leo and I disembark, our strides purposeful. She rushes toward us, and we envelop her in a crushing embrace, sandwiching her between our bodies.
Our relationship has become a cycle of farewells and hellos. The separations feel wrong, unnatural, like the gray zone between life and death.
But the reunions. Each time we meet again feels like I’m breathing for the first time.
“Missed you,” I murmur against her hair, inhaling her scent.
She smells like everything I miss. Warm skin. Ripe cherries. Sultry, sweet sex. Frankie.
“I’ve been so fucking worried.” Leo kisses her nose, her cheek, her lips. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.” She stares up at us, green eyes shimmering. “Now that you’re here. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Welcome home.” Monty pats me on the shoulder. “We have much to discuss.”
He turns, heading back to the estate.
Security guards stand among the tall pine trees lining the path. Their numbers have doubled.
I lengthen my strides to catch up with him. “What’s with the yachts?”
He pauses, his jaw sharp enough to cut steel.
“They’re yours.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two sets of keys. “Congratulations.” He hands a set to Leo. “You’re only one exam away from finishing flight school.” Pressing the other keyring into my palm, he briefly squeezes my hand. “Your distillery opens to the public next week. I wanted to celebrate your achievements.”
Leo and I exchange stunned looks.
“You’re kidding?” Voice gruff with disbelief, Leo stares back at the yachts.
“Not kidding. And there’s more. Each keyring has an extra set of keys. There are BMW GS motorcycles waiting for you in my garage in Sitka. Consider them part of the gift.”
The warmth in my face wars with the chill in my stomach. “We can’t accept this. It’s too much.”
“We haven’t earned it.” Leo tries to hand back the keys.
“You’ve worked your asses off.” Frankie sidles between us, pushing Leo’s hand back. “Don’t be rude. Giving you these gifts already makes Monty feel awkward.” Her lips twitch. “And dangerously in touch with his feelings. Just accept that he loves you.”
“Just take them.” Monty sighs, his expression pinched with annoyance.
Silence follows. The significance of his gesture, the search in the Arctic, the work that still needs finishing at the distillery, the strain on our relationship with Frankie, and the stalker—it’s all a powder keg waiting to explode.
“Thank you,” I finally say. “This means more than you know.”
Leo grips his nape, nodding, looking uncomfortable as fuck.
“You’re welcome.” Monty continues along the path and steps inside the entryway. “We’re waiting for the hand to be analyzed. The authorities are involved now, which will slow down the investigation. But I’m still moving forward with Wilson.”
“Wilson doesn’t have any updates for us.” Frankie lowers onto the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. “But Doyle Whitaker is missing. After our therapy session yesterday, he never returned to his house in Sitka.”
“He’s either the stalker,” Monty says.
“Or the victim.” She rubs her chest, her brow furrowing in thought. “The security team sweeps this place for cameras every day. Someone is watching and listening as if they know us. As if they’re one of us.” She meets my eyes. “Sirena could be involved. She knows about Wolf and the cabin.”
“No one has told her about Denver or the stalker,” I say.
“What if she found the cabin long before you started helping her?” She squints at me. “She could’ve found Wolf, Denver, and that fillet knife.”
“How did she deliver those things last night while she was in Fairbanks with us?” Leo shakes his head.
“With help.” She shrugs. “The woman is resourceful. Is she still trying to fuck you?”
“Is he still trying to fuck you ?” Leo thrusts a finger at Monty.
“Yes.” Monty leans against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles. “Trying and failing. None of this is helping. We can’t rule out Sirena. Her involvement doesn’t seem plausible, but we must consider every angle.”
Leo releases a snarling string of curses and paces the room.
“If we could just find that fucking cabin.” I slump onto the couch beside her. “It’s like it doesn’t exist.”
“We’ll find it,” Monty says with a confidence that I’ve come to admire. “When do you leave on the next scouting mission?”
“Not for a while. Leo needs to take his exam, and I have a distillery to open.”
“Once it’s open, finding time for anything else will be hard.” She reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers.
“I’ll make time.”
I can see it in her face. The doubt. I haven’t made time for her in weeks.
Once the distillery is running and the stalker is found, I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to her. I’ll give her the epilogue she wants.
With a lot of sex.
We spend the rest of the day scrutinizing the details of the investigation, looking for things we’ve missed, and ensuring we’re all on the same page.
That night, Leo and Monty slip away to discuss Monty’s proposal for the seaplane base.
Leo has decided to accept the offer. We’ve talked about it often over the past month, and he’s grown past his distrust for Monty.
So have I.
“Let’s go to bed.” I lift her from the couch and carry her up the stairs to the room she sleeps alone in more often than not.
She doesn’t try to wriggle free. Instead, she coils her arms around my shoulders and buries her face in my neck, telling me without words how much she missed me.
I don’t need to wonder how her date ended last night. She would never betray Leo and me.
After we undress and wash away the day’s stress, we turn off the light and climb under the covers.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” She drags her fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp.
“Going back to work.”
The renovations are finished, but I’m still putting the final touches on my handcrafted vodka recipes. I retained most of the staff from Tipsy Sailor , but there’s training to be done and so many little details to finalize.
I wish I could take her to work with me. She hasn’t seen the renovated space. But it’s too dangerous. I don’t want her to leave the island.
“I’m going back to work, too.” Her hand tightens in my hair.
“What?” I rear back.
“Shh.” She pulls me back to the pillow. “Listen, you brute. I’m surrounded by security guards. Here. There. Every fucking where. Monty took me to the hospital last night to arrange the details for my safety. I’ll be under constant watch with guards and cameras and hospital staff at all times. Kody, I need this.” Her voice wavers, her eyes pleading. “I won’t let this stalker control my life and keep me prisoner.”
“Frankie…” My temples pound.
“And I’m going to the opening for your distillery.” She sets her jaw. “I’m not missing it.”
“Christ, woman.” I bring our foreheads together. “You’re going to take years off my life.”
“You said that in the hills. We’re still alive. Still fighting. This is what we do. We survive.”
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” My pulse thuds, heavy and sluggish. “I didn’t know. I should’ve worked out the date.”
“It’s not a day I wanted to remember. But four days after I was abducted…” She dusts her mouth across mine. “I met three beautiful, feral men.” She bites my lip. “I met you.”
“That’s a day to remember.” I tug her hips against mine, fitting us together.
“Will there come a time when I tire of my compulsion to be touched and kissed by you?”
“Don’t count on it.”
Our tongues collide, and sparks fly across my skin. Our hands roam, each fingertip a brushstroke of electricity, singeing my nerve endings.
We kiss and touch and reconnect for the rest of the night. My cock throbs. My balls ache. But I don’t break her rules. I promised I would wait.
Besides, my desire extends beyond sex. My all-consuming need for her is this. Our connection. The intimacy that exists between us.
I only need her to look at me, see me, and feel the temptation as I feel it with her.
And she does.
With a kiss that lasts hours.
With an embrace that doesn’t break.
With a whisper of love on her lips that no one can take.