40. Carina
FORTY
CARINA
The fire crackles and pops as we move our bodies in a perfect rhythm, chasing a simultaneous orgasm. “Carina,” Henrik growls, and my heart soars.
I missed being intimate with him while we were on the Brina.
We understood the boundaries and were careful to follow them.
But it was tough to be so close to the person I love most and have him be off-limits.
The thing I missed most was our connection.
And it’s so much more than the physical.
It’s even better than anything I ever imagined.
What we have is out of this world. The way he touches me makes me feel precious and treasured.
His words make me feel beautiful and smart.
He gives me unwavering support and encouragement.
He recognizes who I am and loves me, despite my flaws.
But even considering all that, the best thing about him is he gives all of himself to me.
After round two, I head to the bathroom to clean up. When I’m done, I return to our love nest and pull Henrik’s shirt on. His woodsy scent envelopes me, and I release a happy sigh.
“I love seeing you in my clothes,” he says as he tugs me down to him. Laughing, I land in his lap, noting he put his boxer briefs back on. “You want to sleep here tonight or move to the bed?”
I consider his question while stroking his beard. “Why don’t we stay here? It feels like camping.”
Reaching over me, he grabs some pillows to arrange. “I need to put another few logs on the fire and then get another blanket from the closet. Is there anything else you might need?”
Shaking my head no, I smile and lie back on the pillows.
The next morning, I wake up to noises coming from the kitchen. I stretch after I sit up. Henrik’s shirt is on the floor a few feet away. After it was removed at two this morning, it never made its way back on. I grab it and tug it over my head before getting up.
Henrik is standing in the kitchen, his back to me. I hug him from behind, wrapping my arms around his warm, sexy body. “Morning,” I say before kissing his smooth skin.
He turns in my arms, then leans down to give me a kiss. “Good morning, gorgeous. Ready for our day of fishing? Mia and Eirik will be here in about thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes? Good thing we’re just fishing, or I’d be upset you didn’t give me enough time to get ready.”
He laughs. “I think you’re beautiful, and the fish don’t care. In fact, they’d probably prefer you stinky than freshly showered.”
Stepping back, I put my hands on my hips. “Are you saying I’m stinky?”
“No, you smell like mine.” Gah, that’s sexy. His possessive tone causes a shiver to race down my spine and my nipples to pebble. Henrik notices, and his blue eyes darken. I struggle to hear what he says when he grumbles something under his breath.
“Huh? What did you say?”
He frowns. “There’s not enough time for me to have my way with you in the shower, because Mia and Eirik will be here soon.”
Laughing, I pat his chest. “You’re insatiable.”
He shrugs. “I can’t help it. You’re irresistible, and I’m making up for the last two months.”
Popping up onto my toes, I bring my lips to his. “Tonight, I’m all yours. But right now, I need to take a shower so I don’t smell like sex around your little sister and best friend.”
After a quick shower, we’re both dressed and ready just moments before Eirik arrives. Only steps into Henrik’s house, he pauses, makes a face, and asks, “Did you have a fire?”
Henrik strokes his beard. “Yeah, man. With it being rainy the last few days, we lit one last night. It was nice. Why?”
Eirik harrumphs. “I hate to tell you this, but I think you used rotten wood.”
“Why would you say that?” Henrik asks.
Eirik’s mouth falls open in disbelief. “Don’t you smell it?” Henrik shakes his head. “It’s something else in the air besides the smell of fire. It’s earthy. Kind of like a musky smell. I don’t know. I can’t place it.”
My hand flies to my mouth, trying to hold back a laugh. I pretend to cough to cover it. Both Eirik and Henrik look at me strangely. My cheeks heat, and I’m sure they’re red behind my hand. Just then Mia walks in, smiling widely. “Hi, everyone. Ready to go fishing?”
“I am,” I croak, as I race over to her for a big hug.
Clueing into the awkwardness in the room, she quietly asks, “What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” I whisper before threading my arm through hers. “Who’s driving?” I ask in a louder voice.
Henrik clears his throat. “I invited everyone, so I am.”
After loading all the gear into his truck, we drove to Buskin River. We dress in our chest-high waders. For safety, both guys grab a can of bear spray. In the early fall months, you have to be bear aware. Brown bears and their cubs are frequent visitors to the River.
I take the pole Henrik hands me and wade into the water.
Giving myself plenty of space, I ready my line for my first cast. Although it’s been a few years since I’ve fished, it’s easy to fall back into the steady rhythm of casting and reeling.
With nothing but my rod to concentrate on, I wait for the familiar pull of a fish taking my bait.
Other than the bubbling river noises, it’s completely silent. But that doesn’t last long.
“I got one!” Mia excitedly shouts.
Next to her, Eirik quickly reels in his line and readies himself to help. Stepping closer to her, his voice drops as he asks, “You got this?”
Remaining focused on bringing her fish in, the only sign she’s annoyed is the tone in her voice when she barks out, “Eirik, you should know better than anyone that this is not the first fish I’ve caught. You tagged along on nearly every family fishing adventure we had.”
“I know, Amelia,” he grits out. Even though we’re in nature and the air is fresh and clean, it feels thick, like quicksand. “Stubborn ass,” he mutters under his breath as he moves away.
I wince, recognizing the mistake he’s made, but I don’t think Eirik does.
Mia is a teacher, and as such, has the superpower of impeccable hearing.
I hold my breath, waiting for something to happen, turning to gauge Henrik’s reaction.
He just smiles and shrugs. I narrow my eyes in suspicion, because the man clearly knows something I don’t.
I’m merely an innocent bystander at this point.
Mia’s head whips around. The glare she’s directed at Eirik would singe Satan himself. “Did you just call me a stubborn ass?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. So? I was trying to be nice by offering help. But like usual, you’re being a stubborn ass.” He frowns, then hollers to Henrik. “You got your sister?” Once he gets the nod from Henrik, he moves farther downriver.
Mia struggles to bring the fish in. Henrik grumbles and hands me his pole before moving to her. “You got it?” he whispers. She shakes her head no. Henrik takes the pole and battles the fish. With the way it’s fighting, it must be a silver salmon.
“Mia, grab my net. This feels like a big one, and I don’t want it to break the line,” Henrik says.
As Henrik continues to fight the fish, I’m enamored with the flex of his muscles.
“Can I do anything?” I call out. Henrik shakes his head, and I grab my iPhone from my bibs and take some pictures.
They’re picturesque. With the leaves changing from green to gold, it’s a kaleidoscope of colors.
The smell of damp leaves, pine trees, and the fragrance of low-bush cranberries fills the air. Hello, fall.
When they finally land the fish, I notice two things. One, Eirik has moved even farther down the river, and two, Mia is wearing an enormous smile.
After an hour of not catching anything, Mia and I head toward the river’s edge where the day’s catch sits unattended in a bucket. Just after sitting down, Mia turns to me. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah. It sounds like someone’s stumbling over the rocks.
” Assuming it’s another fisherman, I turn to say hello.
But standing less than a hundred feet away is a grizzly bear with cubs.
Even as babies, they’re huge, easily a hundred pounds.
With my heart pounding, I calmly grab Mia and pull her to her feet.
Then slowly, I back us away, never losing sight of the mama bear.
When we pass Henrik, he looks at us strangely. “Where are you two headed, and who is watching our fish?” Mia shrugs because she still hasn’t seen the bears.
“They are,” I announce as I continue to move farther away from the intruders.
“Who are they?” he asks as he turns around. “Holy shit.”
When she hears her brother curse, Mia turns around to see the bears approaching our fish-filled five-gallon bucket.
Still giving them space, Mia talks to the bear in a soothing voice. “Hi, Mommy Bear. Aren’t you gorgeous? You have the most beautiful cubs. We’ll admire you all from over here. We stay here, you stay there. Deal?”
“Amelia, what are you doing?” Eirik questions on approach.
Mia stops, her body goes tense, and she frowns. “I thought it was obvious. I was trying to tell the mommy bear we aren’t a threat to her or her cubs.”
Eirik rolls his eyes and groans. “Seriously. You can’t reason with a bear. They’re wild animals. You just have to try not to aggravate them and stay out of their way.”
I’m sure Mia’s blood pressure rises as high as her pitch. “I know, Eirik. We sat through the same bear-aware presentation by Fish and Game every year in elementary school.” All they do is bicker.
“Hey, look,” Henrik says before they can start verbally sparing.
Collectively, we all turn and look up the river where we’d been fishing.
The momma bear leads her cubs right past our bucket, paying it no mind.
The cubs play as they walk along. In the shallow water, they wrestle while their mom fishes.
Occasionally, she huffs at them and they stop playing and watch her.
Eventually, they join her in fishing. Although they’ve only been fishing for months, they’re already skilled.
While they’re distracted by their meal, we sneak toward our bucket of fish. Eirik grabs it, and we all power walk back to Henrik’s truck. Removing and storing our gear is chaotic as we watch over our shoulders to see if momma bear reappears.
When we get to Henrik’s house, Eirik volunteers to clean and vacuum seal the fish. My shoulders are tight, expecting Mia to be stubborn and fight him on that, but she surprises me when she doesn’t say a word. I mean, that makes sense. I wouldn’t want to clean fish either.