Wild Men of Alaska 03 - Dreamweaver

have much more than cooking wine for spirits as I don’t drink much. But I can make you some tea, hot chocolate or coffee.”
    “I don’t think you need any more stimulants.” Cub blushed, making him appear boyishly adorable. “I mean, no more caffeine. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look dead on your feet. Maybe I should leave and let you get some sleep.”
    She was dead on her feet, but not willing to fall asleep. Not with what had happened yesterday. “How about some hot chocolate? I always get cold going from the heated pool to twenty below.” At least it had warmed up, gave her a little faith that spring was indeed around the corner. To be honest, she was more chilled at the stunning display of Northern Lights gyrating across the sky than leaving a heated pool. They were so luminous and alive, trekking from greens, to purples, to reds and crackling with energy. After what Tern had shared with her, she hadn’t been surprised to find her radio full of static on the way home, though a tad concerned.
    “I haven’t been sleeping well,” Gemma confessed. Afraid she would crash as soon as she got home had been one of the reasons she’d decided to ask Cub over for a drink. With the Northern Lights lit up the way they were she was apprehensive about being alone, fearing she wouldn’t be alone for long.
    A brush, like a hot breath, swept over the back of her neck.
    She’d stacked her wet hair on her head after showering at the pool. A shiver that was anything but chilling, fluttered through her body. She glanced behind her and found no one. Cub had pulled out a chair and sat at the table a good ten feet away. She swallowed hard, and added a heaping tablespoon of instant coffee to her hot chocolate.
    “You okay?” Cub asked. “You seem a little on edge. I’m not going to jump your bones.”
    He might not, but she had the feeling there was more than the two of them currently in her kitchen.
    “Just a little spooked, I guess.” She handed him a mug of hot chocolate and took a seat across from him, taking a sip from hers. “I’ve never seen the Northern lights this vibrant.”
    “You know the Native Alaskans used to fear that the stream of lights were their ancestors coming back to earth to snatch their souls.”
    Great.
    “The Scandinavians believed that when red appeared it was a sign of war,” he continued. “Even the Native Americans thought they were a conduit between worlds. Some still think that’s true. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that we learned they were solar activity. Makes you wonder who is really right? Scientists whose theories are less than two hundred years old or our ancestors.”
    “What do you believe, Cub?”
    “I like thinking there is a connection between our world and the Heavens. To think that we are totally cut off, or that our loves ones who have passed before us are completely out of reach is sad.”
    Grief flickered across his expression, and she wondered who he had lost. His grief seemed fresh as though the claws hadn’t quite let go. Cub gave the mystical display out her window another look and then settled his starry-blue eyes on her. “Enough of that. How’s the bookstore?”
    She snorted a laugh. Cub had a way of jumping subjects that she appreciated. “Lots of reading and recommending. With all the changes in the way people like their reading material, we seem to be holding our own. But that might have a lot to do with Siri’s faithful followers. How are things at Search and Rescue?”
    “Challenging.”
    There was a long silence while Cub’s blue eyes studied her. The air seemed to thicken as he set his hot chocolate down. Gemma suddenly found it hard to swallow.
    Cub stood, taking her hand, and helped her to her feet. “Now, about that kiss.”

Chapter Seven

    Gemma licked her lips. “I should make this clear. I didn’t invite you over so we could sleep together.” Oh no, why had she said that?
    “Good to know.” Cub bit back a smile. “So why did you invite me over?”
    “You make sense.” No sleep made for one stupid girl.
    “Excuse me?”
    “We like the same activities. The same people. I’ve even heard that you’ve been known to read the occasional book.”
    A dimple winked at her as he grinned. “And here I thought it was because I was so damn cute.”
    She answered his grin. “Yeah, there is that too.” Might as well take stupid a step farther. “I thought you were going to kiss me?”
    “Sure put the