Wild Men of Alaska 02 - Moosed-Up

that he’d cut into fourths and met his stare. “You are sooo not my type,” she blurted out, before taking a bite.
    Well, he could have done without knowing this. “What is your type?”
    “I don’t know.” She dropped her sandwich and buried her hands in her hair. “I thought I did, but all the men I’ve loved have turned out to be gay.”
    Did she love him? Had that been a slip?
    “You are not gay,” she continued. Though this wasn’t a question, it sounded tentative as though she wasn’t convinced.
    “Damn right I’m not gay.” He was willing to prove it over and over again until she had no doubt in her soul. Skeletons were rattling in her closet, and usually this was the time he stood up and made his excuses, instead he nudged opened the door. “Tell me about them.”
    She did. He learned all about Davis, the douche bag, and Jeremy, the man who had really hurt her, the one she still mourned. He reached out and held her hand until she ran out of words. He wanted to hold her but was afraid she’d stop talking if he made any sudden movements. So he just held her hand like they were high school sweethearts.
    When she finished, she met his eyes and gave him a slight smile. “Sorry about that, guess I had some feelings bottled up.”
    “Explains why you needed a change of scenery.” Something he’d been wondering about. But would she stay?
    “What’s going on here, Lynx?” She released his hand and slumped back in her chair. “What we did in there—” she gestured toward the bedroom “—I’ve never experienced that before. I don’t know you well enough to have lost myself like that. Who are you? What are you?”
    “I’m just a man, Eva.”
    “I don’t buy it. Clarify what happened earlier with BW.”
    He let out a deep breath. She’d been honest with him, but he couldn’t return the favor. To do so would ruin another chance at a relationship. He shrugged and didn’t meet her eyes. “Maybe he was finished mowing your front yard and decided it was time to move on.” He hated lying to her, but wasn’t willing to risk losing her so soon. Then again he wasn’t really lying, just not telling the full truth. It still wasn’t the best foot to start a relationship on. He was torn, and it must have shown in his face.
    “That wasn’t how it looked to me.”
    “How did it look?”
    “As though you were talking to him. He acted as if he ‘liked’ you. Even in captivity Moose aren’t ‘friendly’.”
    He held his breath. He couldn’t go there with her, not yet. She wouldn’t understand, and if he came clean now, she’d walk away just like the others had.
    Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. Then she came to some sort of decision. “Want a cup of coffee?”
    His heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t throwing him out. Coffee meant caffeine, talking and sharing and staying up all night. “I’d love one.”
    Eva stood and entered the kitchen, motioning for him to stay seated. “Instead of coffee, how about a bottle of wine?”
    A bottle?
    “Okay.” He watched her work, gathering glasses, wine from the refrigerator, and a corkscrew. She seemed comfortable in the kitchen, which shouldn’t be a turn on in this day and age. He completely believed in equal rights and a woman’s choice to do what she wanted, whether it was a doctor, trooper, or cook. He came from a very strong matriarchal family, with his grandmother and mother calling the shots, and if there were any decisions left to be made, his three sisters eagerly took charge. He’d spent most of his time growing up getting out of the way. But if any of them needed him, he was there and could protect and defend better than any grizzly bear.
    Eva popped the cork from the bottle and poured two glasses of red wine, handing him one, and then setting her glass and the bottle on the table.
    She sat, crossed her legs, the hem of her robe riding up higher on her bare thighs. “So, what now?”
    He tore his gaze away from all her creamy flesh, and adjusted himself. Oh man. This wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, things were getting harder and harder the longer he sat across from her, catching her scent that was more prevalent to him now that he’d tasted her, and seeing all that soft skin and knowing how it felt to sink into her. She probably didn’t want to know what he’d like to do now.
    He gathered a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “I’d like to keep seeing you.”
    She took a long sip of wine. “Does that mean