Chapter 9
Hunter
I’m not sure what transpired during Isabella and McKenna’s chat after dinner last night, and I didn’t ask, but the sex we had when we got back to the boat? It was epic. And because it felt more emotionally charged than our previous nights together, it was especially hard to leave her and go back to my room…but that pain of separation gave me a great idea.
With teams leaving the ship every day, there are four cabins now vacant. I tell Isabella to ask for her own, using Beto’s snoring as the reason, and we’re pleasantly surprised when she’s assigned to the empty cabin next to his.
We move in our stuff, shove the twin beds together, and—voila!—we finally have our own private bedroom for the next three nights until we leave the boat behind in Whittier.
There’s something about holding someone in your arms while you both fall asleep naked. Her back pressed against my chest, the weight of her breasts over my arm, the steadiness of her breathing, the smell of her warm, soft skin.
But no matter what; no matter how I want to feel; no matter how much I want to fall for her with abandon, my mantra every night as I drift off to sleep remains the same:
Friends with benefits. Friends with benefits. You’re only friends with benefits.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow as she sighs softly in her sleep beside me, but I remind myself that I’m keeping my heart safe this time. I’m going to enjoy her and the time we’ve decided to spend together. I’m not going to get carried away and scare her off. I’m going to honor our short-term arrangement and say goodbye to her, as agreed, in ten days.
Ten days.
As we arrive at our hotel in Anchorage on a Tuesday night, in two luxury buses holding the contestants and production staff, that sad reality hits home more sharply than ever. We have two nights in Anchorage, two in Talkeetna, two in Fairbanks, two in Nome and two in Utqia?vik. Only ten days left together.
With Team Nerds eliminated after the Jet Ski challenge in Whittier, only six teams—Bradys, Hot Docs, Newlyweds, Primos, Outlaws, and Soul Sisters—are left.
We have a conundrum now that we’re in Anchorage: I’m assigned to room with Rick (the dick) and Isabella’s supposed to be rooming with her cousin. And that’s how it’ll be at the next five stops. Sure, there’ll be times that Beto or Rick are out of our rooms, but I’ve quickly become accustomed to having Isabella beside me as I drift off to sleep, and with so few days left to be together, I’m really not interested in giving up a moment.
I ask at the front desk if I can get a room of my own and pay for it out of my own pocket, and I’m delighted when they offer to comp it since I’m on the production crew, and the room would’ve been empty anyway. I order a bottle of champagne and chocolate chip cookies via room service and text Isabella to come over.
She schleps her luggage into the room and falls into my arms.
“Hi, you,” she says, grinning up at me after we kiss hello.
“Hi,” I say, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead before offering her a glass of champagne.
“Ooo! Fancy! And what a great view!” she says, pulling off her boots and settling into a corner of the couch near the windows. We’re on the seventh floor of the hotel with the lights of Anchorage surrounding us. She holds up her glass and smiles. “What are we celebrating?”
“The race? Being alive? Having fun?”
“Good reasons!” She takes a big sip of champagne.
I toe off my shoes and sit down in the other corner of the love seat. This room is a lot bigger than the cabin we shared on the ship. In addition to the plush king-size bed, it has a desk and a bureau and a shower big enough for two. If I have my way, we’ll be trying out every space and surface together before daybreak. I’m about to suggest we get naked when she turns to me.
“Hunter…I wanted to talk to you about something.”
The slightest bit of uncertainty eases into her expression, and my heart drops.
Is she breaking things off again?
“O-Okay.”
Please don’t break things off again.
I try to ignore the fierce pounding of my heart. I have to hold myself back from reaching for her, from falling to my knees and begging her not to take away the ten days we still have left.
“So, um, when we were in Skagway,” she says, “I asked McKenna to see if she could find me, like, um, a job for July and August. And anyway, well, she found me something at a jewelry store…or maybe it’s an art gallery? I don’t know. I just know they need a cashier for July and August, and she just texted me to ask if I wanted the job.”
Wait. What? I stare at her, gape mouthed. I was so sure she was going to—
“Don’t freak out! It doesn’t have to mean anything! It’s just a way for me to make some summer money,” she says, two spots of pink appearing on her cheeks. “Seriously. I don’t—I mean, I don’t have any expectations. I promise.” Her eyebrows crease, and she bites her bottom lip nervously. “Hunter? Say something. Please.”
I’m so surprised by this turn of events, I scan her face to be sure I’m understanding exactly what she’s saying.
“You’re planning to spend the rest of the summer in Skagway? After the race?”
“I mean…” She blinks, reaching for her champagne and finishing the rest of it in one gulp. “I don’t have to. I was thinking about it…but if you don’t want—”
“I want!” I blurt out. Calm down. I lower my voice to a soft growl. “I fucking want, Bella.”
“You do?” she asks, her face registering relief. “Oh. Okay. Phew.” She giggles softly, her posture relaxing. “You scared me for a minute. I thought maybe…”
I scoot closer to her on the couch, reaching up to cup her cheek. “Baby, there is—literally—no scenario in which I want less time with you.”
She leans forward, pressing her lips to mine, and—holy shit—this feeling inside and the way it cascades through me…this blindness, this rawness, this tenderness…it comes and goes from her, with her, at her command and by her leave, and it feels so much like a rush of love, it makes me close my eyes and reach for her, lifting her roughly onto my lap as our kiss deepens. I wrap my arms around her, and she straddles me, her knees digging into the couch on either side of my thighs. I feel my cock swell and harden beneath her. I want her. I need to be inside of her. Now.
Sliding my hands under her ass, I stand up with her tongue still in my mouth, her legs wrapped around my waist and her ankles locked at the base of my back. I walk us to the bed in three or four strides, lying Bella on her back and leaning away to pull off her socks, jeans, and panties. With her pussy so exposed, my mouth waters. It’s been too long since I tasted her.
I kneel at the foot of the bed and pull the Y of her body to my face. Draping her legs over my shoulders, I spread her lips with my thumbs and lean forward, my tongue lapping her clit in one long, smooth stroke.
“Hu-Hunter!” she cries, her knees tightening over my shoulders.
As I feast on her sweet, soft skin, I feel her orgasm building. Her head thrashes against the bed, her fingers fist in the duvet, and her heels press into my back. With a scream of surrender, she comes against my mouth in waves of pleasure, her cunt dripping slippery cum onto my mouth and chin.
As she rides out her orgasms, I pull off my shorts and boxers, stand at the foot of the bed, lift her hips, and slide inside of her hot, wet pussy.
Her eyes open, locking with mine, and she smiles at me.
“I love…this,” she moans, closing her eyes again. “Fuck me, Hunter.”
My only goal to satisfy her again, I find a quick rhythm, plunging deeply into her love channel, then withdrawing just as slowly. My cock massages every tiny fold, every silky surface inside of her. Over and over again, pumping faster and faster, until I find my own relief, crying out in pleasure as my cock throbs relentlessly inside of her.
I pull away from her gently, crawling up on the bed to join her. We’re sweaty and panting as we face each other, our heads on the plush hotel pillows, our eyes dreamy and smiles drunken. She drapes her arm over my waist, and I throw mine across her hip. We have a huge bed to share, but we’re using it just as we did the little twin on the ship, lying chest to chest, heart to heart, as close as possible. I grab the duvet from behind me, and pull it over us, cocooning us together.
She leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose.
“You’re good at eating pussy.”
I bellow with laughter.
“What?” she asks, giggling with me as she blushes. “It’s true! It’s a compliment!”
“I’ll take it,” I tell her. “Thanks.”
“Oh, no. Thank you,” she says, taking a deep breath that presses her breasts against my chest. Her voice gets a little more serious. “Hey…you sure you don’t mind? Me spending the rest of the summer in Skagway?”
“Mind?” I ask. “You’re in doubt…after that?”
Her shoulders shrug. “I just want to be sure.”
It occurs to me that our initial agreement only lasts until the end of the race, though. We haven’t talked about what happens with us when we return to Skagway together.
“Can we…I mean, I’d like to keep thisgoing for the rest of the summer,” I tell her. I don’t want to ask too much of her, but I don’t know how I’d bear to see her all summer long and not be intimate with her. It would hurt too much.
“A summer fling?” she murmurs.
“Actually,” I whisper, “I’m not sure. I don’t know.”
“Fling” doesn’t feel right anymore.
The reality is that I could sign on for a short-term fling with Isabella when I thought she was going home after the race. I could get on board with the whole “friends with benefits” philosophy. But I’m not sure I can keep enjoying the physical side of things without becoming attached. Not for another two months.
“I don’t either,” she admits.
“Tell me what you want, Bella.”
She takes another deep breath and sighs, her eyebrows knitting in thought.
“I don’t want to be with anyone else.” She bites on her lower lip, which I’m beginning to recognize is a nervous tell. “And I don’t want you to be with anyone else.”
“Sounds good to me. We’ll be exclusive.”
“Mm-hm,” she says, nodding. “And there’s no point in me staying somewhere other than with you. Don’t you agree?”
“I do.” Relief makes my whole body relax. “So, live with me for the rest of the summer. Sawyer can move into the lodge for a couple of weeks until my cabin is ready, and then we can stay there together.”
“You sure?”
“I’m positive,” I say, brushing her lips with mine. As I draw away, I feel like I need to confess something to her. “Bella, I’m trying not to catch feelings for you, but…”
“I know,” she says, holding me close to her. “I know. Me too.”
“If we’re together until the end of the summer, I’m going to fall for you.” I already am. “If you don’t want that…”
“I do. I mean, I want that. I mean…” Her eyes brighten with tears. “I don’t want to get hurt, and I don’t want to hurt you, and my job starts up again the Tuesday after Labor Day…but I…I…”
“How about this?” I say, rubbing her back. “How about we try to figure out how to give this a real chance? How to stay together?”
“Hunter,” she says, her voice emotional and expression bleak. “I can’t envision a future for us where we both have what we want and need, where we end up somewhere we can both be happy.”
“We have a whole summer to figure it out,” I say.
I can’t give this up without trying. I won’t.
“But what if we can’t?”
“We can,” I tell her firmly, praying that my words are true. “We’re smart and young and we care about each other. We have to at least try.”
Her face brightens as she nods at me. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I ask, unable to help the smile that takes over my face.
“Okay. Yes,” she says. “We can try to figure it out.”
This time when I press my lips to hers, I deepen our kiss, and my cock, which has rested long enough, swells with blood. It takes me a second to realize that Bella is pressing gently against my chest, pushing me away. I lean back, scanning her face.
“But if we can’t…” she says. “If we can’t figure out a way to make this work, we let each other go on Labor Day. We say goodbye, and we wish each other well, and we don’t hate each other for the rest of our lives.” Her eyes seize mine and hold them. “I can’t bear you hating me all over again. Promise, Hunter. Promise me that even if we say goodbye at the end of the summer, we stay friends.”
I don’t know if it’s a promise I can keep, but I can’t say no. I’m willing to do almost anything to make us work.
“I promise,” I whisper.
“Make love to me,” she says.
I roll on top of her gently, only too happy to oblige.
***
Isabella
At the Denali Brewing Company in Talkeetna, the remaining teams are tasked with searching a mountain of kegs for one of five that’s still full. Once found, we have to deliver it to the Talkeetna Lodge via stick shift transmission antique truck.
Beto and I manage to find the second full keg, after Team Brady, but unlike Greg Brady, neither Beto nor I know how to drive a stick shift.
We race into a nearby restaurant and find an older man willing to give us a crash course on how to operate the truck. But we stall out about twenty times on the five-mile journey, and by the time we get to the hotel to make our delivery, we’re in fourth place, after Team Brady, Team Hot Docs, and Team Newlyweds. Only the Soul Sisters are still behind us.
Our detour in Talkeetna gives us one of two choices: fish or fly.
For fish, teams are taken by van to a chartered boat at the nearby Susitna River, where Chinook (King salmon) are running. They will need to catch a fish and take it to the pit stop back at the Talkeetna Lodge. The boats are covered and heated, and the challenge is pretty easy once you’re out on the water, but wildlife can be unpredictable. If the salmon are feeling lazy, or if you can’t get the hang of spin fishing, you could be out of luck.
For fly, teams head to the nearby Talkeetna Airport where they board a K2 flightseeing tour to check out Denali from the air and take a publication-worthy picture of the peak with a professional grade camera. But clear weather is never guaranteed at 20,000 feet, and if you can’t bring back a good shot of the mountain, you won’t have completed the challenge.
Both challenges will take approximately two hours, but with wildlife and weather variables, both could end up taking a lot longer.
“What do you want to do?” I ask Beto.
“Not gonna lie, cuz,” he says, “I’d love to see Denali from the air. But I know how to spin fish, and I’m comfortable on a boat.”
“Fishing it is,” I tell him, feeling a tiny bit disappointed.
The truth is, you do see a lot of Alaska when you participate in a show like this one, but the trade-off is that you don’t have enough time to see or do everything. A kickass activity like having a free-of-charge, bird’s eye view of the tallest peak in North America will have to wait for another day.
We race to the waiting vans marked “Fish” where we’re driven to the Susitna River. On the way, Meghan, a member of the production team who’s sitting shotgun, turns around to interview us.
“Hey guys, we’re going to do a quick interview, okay?”
“Sure,” says Beto. “Whatever you need.”
We scoot closer together on the second bench seat of the van while our cameraman, who’s sitting on the first bench seat, turns on the camera. He points it at Meghan first.
“Team Primos,” she says, “tell me which challenge you chose and why!”
The cameraman shifts his focus to us.
“Fishing,” says Beto, “because I’m really comfortable out on the water. We’ve got this.”
“Izzy,” asks Meghan, “are you as confident as your cousin?”
I smile for the camera. “Absolutely. Watch out, Chinook! We’re coming for you!”
“I’m loving the confidence!” says our interviewer with a chuckle. Her face gets serious. “You know, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re team number four right now.”
“As long as we’re not last,” I say, “there’s still a chance we can come back!”
Meghan grins at me, narrowing her eyes as she changes her voice to a conspiratorial purr. “So, tell me, Izzy…because TheAstonishing Race nation loves a little competition romance…have you met anyone special while competing on the race?”
With my smile still glued to my face, I stare at her for a second, taken aback. I haven’t been asked anything this personal during our mini-interviews yet. The questions are almost always about the race, Alaska, our teammate, or the other teams. Although we’re supposed to be ready for anything, her inquiry feels…intrusive.
“What—what do you mean?”
“It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? Have you met anyone special during filming?” she pushes, leaning toward me like we’re long-lost besties.
Has Beto said something to the production crew about me and Hunter? We swore him to secrecy. I shoot a quick glance at my cousin, but his face is blank.
I turn back to the camera and shrug. “Um…no. Not really.”
“Sure about that?” asks Meghan. “No one here making your heart pitter patter?”
“Pretty sure,” I say, stonewalling her.
“Huh,” she says, looking both disappointed and unconvinced. “Okay. Whatever you say. Good luck on the fishing challenge, Team Primos!”
She cuts the cameraman with a swipe of her hand across her neck and turns back around in her seat. I wait a beat for her to explain why she asked me what she did, but she starts chatting with the driver instead.
“What the heck was that all about?” I whisper, leaning closer to Beto.
“No clue,” he mutters, staring out the window. “Are you two being careful? It’s against the rules to hook up with someone on production. If anyone finds out, it could look like we’re getting an unfair advantage.”
“First of all, we’re not getting any advantage whatsoever. Hunter doesn’t tell me anything about the race. We don’t even talk about it when we’re together. And second of all, we know the rules. We’re being super discreet. I promise. We know what’s at stake.”
“Then she’s probably just fishing,” he says with a little shrug. “You know, looking for a story. They love to play with the ‘storylines’ when possible.”
“Mmm,” I agree. “I guess. Probably.”
We turn into the parking area near the river and run from the van onto the waiting charter boat. And with that, Meghan’s questions are whisked entirely from my mind.
***
Team Soul Sisters, who chose to fly and got a late start, couldn’t see Denali’s peak because of increasing cloud coverage throughout the afternoon. They went around the mountain again and again, trying to get a clean shot, but when a storm rolled in, their plane was grounded.
The other four teams, including ours, are all in the lobby of the Talkeetna Lodge to see them arrive, exhausted and defeated. We look on in sympathy as they’re eliminated from the race.
“They were strong contenders,” says Beto, watching the drama unfold, “so it’s good they’re going. But I’ll miss them. They were fun.”
Currently in fourth/last place, behind Teams Hot Docs, Newlyweds, and Brady, we still have a chance at the million dollars, but we need to up our game. We can’t let our guard down. We still have challenges ahead in Fairbanks, Nome and Utqia?vik, and every upcoming leg is an elimination round. We can’t make any mistakes.
“What’s your plan for tonight?” I ask him.
“Food. Drinks. Sleep. You?”
I haven’t seen Hunter since I got back to the hotel. He was assigned to the detour challenge at the Talkeetna Airport and only returned when Team Soul Sisters got back a few minutes ago. I glance at him across the lobby—at his tall body and blond head. He’s easy to spot in a bright red anorak. God, he’s hot.And all mine. My stomach flips over with sweet anticipation.
“Hunter’s room,” I murmur. “We’ll order room service.”
I’m still swooning over my super handsome summer boyfriend when Beto elbows me in the ribs. “Prima, are you sure that’s still a good idea? I mean, after the questions today?”
“They don’t know anything,” I say, brushing off his worries. “They were fishing for a story just like you said. That’s all. Besides, it’s not like when we were on the boat, and there were cameras everywhere. We’re in a different hotel every night. The production crew doesn’t have cameras in the hotel hallways. Not to mention, we’re never together. We always enter his room at different times. How would they even catch us? We’re careful. I promise.”
“If you say so,” he says. “But I’ve got my eye on a silver Ferrari Spider, and I’ma be pissed if you wreck it for me.”
“A Ferrari?” This is the first I’ve heard of Beto’s plans for his winnings. “How much will that cost?”
He smirks. “Three hunny.”
“Three hundred thousand dollars?” I demand, my voice screeching a little. “Are you crazy?”
“Nah, bruh. It’s an investment.”
“Only if you never drive it,” I point out. “If you use it, it’ll depreciate. Are you planning to drive it?”“Of course!” he says, looking at me like I’m crazy. “I’ma get the ladies with my sweet wheels, yo!”
“So…it’s an investment in your sex life?” I ask. “Oh my god, Beto! Use your head! You could buy yourself a house with that money. Go to college. Invest in your retirement—”
“Invest in my—I’m nineteen, yo! I don’t need no retirement!” he cries, screwing up his face at me. “You know what, cuz? You worry about your half mil, and I’ll worry about mine, okay?”
How our DNA can be so close and our sensibilities so different is something I may never understand, but I promised not to pick at him, and I’m not going back on my word.
“Fair enough,” I say. “You spend yours however you want. I’ll do the same.”
“And don’t get caught with him,” says Beto, eyeing Hunter with annoyance.
“I won’t!” I insist. “Stop worrying.”
I watch my cousin stalk over to the bar to buy the ladies on Team Soul Sisters a round of farewell drinks, and decide to run upstairs for a quick shower before Hunter joins me. From across the lobby, he catches my eyes and tracks my short walk to the elevator with a hot look.
As I step into the elevator, Hunter’s coworker, Kit, enters behind me, waiting for the doors to close before turning to me.
“Hi, Isabella,” she says.
“Hey,” I answer.
“You and your cousin are doing well.”
“Thanks,” I say. “We’re having fun.”
She looks like she wants to say something else. “Hey, um…”
The elevator stops, and the doors open. Two older ladies in workout gear step inside and stand in front of us. Kit moves to the back of the small box, standing beside me.
“Be careful,” she murmurs.
“Huh?” I dart my eyes to her, but she stares straight ahead.
“There are rumors that you’re hooking up with someone.”
“What rumors? Who said that?”
Kit places her index finger over her lips, but I’m not sure why. The ladies in front of us are carrying on their own conversation and aren’t paying us any attention.
“Just a friendly word of warning,” she says. “Be careful.”
The elevator dings again, and Kit steps out onto the fifth floor without giving me a second glance.
The ladies in front of me get off at the sixth floor, and I get off on the seventh. As I walk to the room I’m sharing with Hunter, I look behind me, but there’s no one there. I walk to the far end of the hallway, looking in recessed doorways and in the nook where there’s an ice machine, but there’s no one there either.
You’re being paranoid!
When I get back to Hunter’s room, he’s approaching from the elevator. I slip my keycard into the slot and step into the room with him right behind me.
“Hey, baby,” he says as soon as the door clicks shut. His hands land on my waist, and he pulls me close. I lean into him, smelling the cold Alaskan air that lingers on his coat. “I missed you today. Where were you coming from just now?”
“Just making sure no one’s watching us.”
“Watching us?” he asks, leaning away to look at my face. He grins at me like I’m joking, but his smile quickly fades. “Who’d be watching us?”
“It’s probably nothing, but Meghan interviewed me earlier and asked if I had a love connection on the race, and then Kit just followed me into the elevator and warned me to be careful…I guess there are rumors I’m hooking up with someone.”
“Anyone I know?” he asks with a wicked grin.
I hit him playfully on the chest, then unzip his parka, watching as his strong shoulders shrug it to the floor.
“You’re not worried, are you?” he asks.
“I don’t want to lose a million dollars,” I tell him. “Beto would never forgive me.”
His face darkens. “You want to keep our distance for the next eight days?”
Fuck no.
“No,” I say, my fingers unbuttoning his shirt.
“Sure?” he asks.
“I’m sure,” I say. “It’s probably nothing.” I slip my hands under his T-shirt, sliding them up, over the taut muscles of his abdomen and chest. “And I don’t want any distance from you, Hunter. Not even a little.”
And that’s a damn good thing, since we spend the next ten hours under his covers, as close as humanly possible.