Bearing the Whiteout (Ice Bear Shifters Book 2) Read online

  Delaney had always hated it when people used the word “dreamy” to describe a guy. But there was no other way to describe him quite so perfectly. Eric Caldwell was dreamy.

  Not only had she found a local tour guide to show her some good spots to shoot sunrise shots, she had found one who was pretty much the most gorgeous man alive. This trip was definitely looking up.

  A few miles away, Eric was entering his own cabin. His emotions alternated between ecstatic at the fact that he would be seeing Delaney again soon, and terrified that she had awakened his bear. She had done what no woman had been able to do since the poisoning tragedy, and the heady feeling of passion and lust overtook him in waves. Shit.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  Eric blamed Tyler for all of this. If Tyler hadn’t insisted on pushing Eric back into the dating ring, Eric would never have bothered to speak to Delaney tonight. Tyler was relentless. When Delaney had gone to the restroom, leaving the two men alone at the bar top, Tyler had argued that offering to take Delaney to see sunrise spots didn’t count as a date. Eric had asked him what the hell he thought was more romantic than the sun rising over the shimmering Arctic snow, and Tyler had backed off.

  Eric went to his fridge and grabbed a beer, even though he’d already had far too many tonight. He sat on his couch and raked his fingers through his hair. He didn’t want to think about the way his heart had pounded whenever Delaney looked at him. But he couldn’t get her gorgeous face out of his head. This was going to be an interesting week, that’s for sure. Eric sipped his beer and flipped on the television, watching old comedy reruns until he fell asleep.

  He woke up at 9 a.m., still on the couch and wearing his clothes from the night before. Delaney’s name was the first word that popped into his head. He sat up slowly, and tried to decide whether it was too early to call her. He finally decided to just go for it, and he stood and crossed the small living room to get to his phone, which was located on a corner of the kitchen counter. No one out here had cell phones. Cell towers were nonexistent up this way, so the townspeople and any visitors had to rely on landlines. This didn’t bother Eric, who had never had a cell phone. The idea of being constantly reachable anywhere you were sounded awful to him. But the lack of cell service in Glacier Point seemed to be a major complaint of many of the townspeople who had moved here from areas were mobile phones were prevalent. Eric did take a satellite phone with him when he went out ice fishing, but he only kept it use in emergencies. It was too damn expensive to use for regular old chit chat.

  Delaney answered on the third ring.

  “Hello.” Her voice was a bit croaky.

  “Hey, it’s Eric. Did I wake you?”

  “No, I’ve been up for a little while. Just haven’t had my coffee yet, so I probably sound pretty out of it.” She chuckled and Eric’s heart clenched a bit at the beautiful, musical sound of her laugh.

  “Ok, good. Sorry if it’s too early to call. I just wanted to see if you wanted to start planning out how to find some spots to take your photos.”

  “Yes, of course. Thank you so much again for doing this. You have no idea how grateful I am. You’re awesome.”

  “It’s no trouble at all,” Eric said dismissively, even though he felt his heart swelling with happiness at her praise. And then, despite the rational side of him screaming that spending any more time than necessary with her was a bad idea, he found himself inviting her to coffee.

  “If you want some coffee, there’s a café in town that’s pretty good. They have decent coffee, and a good selection of muffins. Do you want to meet there and plan out our tour of sunrise spots?”

  “I’d love that,” she said. “Just tell me where to go. And give me thirty minutes to take a quick shower and make myself look not totally scary.”

  Eric doubted she looked scary, but he decided to refrain from making comments about her appearance. He was already getting in way over his head. He gave Delaney the address of the café and then went to take a quick shower himself. He threw on some jeans and a plain black long-sleeved sweater, then bundled up against the cold and headed out to his snowmobile. He would be a few minutes early, but he figured that was better than making her wait.

  * * *

  Delaney walked into the small coffee shop and spotted Eric sitting in the corner. He was holding a huge, steaming mug, and picking at pieces of the napkin that sat in front of him. Delaney was about ten minutes late, which wasn’t exactly the first impression she wanted to give him of what hanging out with her would be like. But it had been surprisingly hard to decide what to wear. She had changed outfits three times, which was impressive considering she only had about six outfits with her on this trip. She had finally settled on a dark gray v-neck sweater over her best pair of skinny jeans. She had even wished she had makeup to put on, but she hadn’t brought any with her. She tried to pack light, and toting along a bag of makeup to a town on the outskirts of Alaskan civilization had seemed a bit frivolous.

  Eric looked up and spotted her, giving her a quick wave and motioning her over. She waved back and gave him a big smile as she approached the table.

  “Hey, sorry I’m late,” she said. She didn’t bother trying to make an excuse. She couldn’t come up with a good one that didn’t make her sound like either a vain girl who spent too much time getting ready, or a clueless girl who had trouble finding the only coffee shop in town.

  “No worries,” Eric said, and flashed her a huge smile. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and the stubble on his chin had increased a little. The effect made him look even more masculine than he had the night before. As she admired his stubbly face, he stood to head to the counter. “Let me grab you some coffee. Do you like it black, or with anything in it?”

  “Just black,” Delaney said.

  “Nice. Low maintenance. I like it,” Eric said.

  Delaney just shrugged. She wasn’t sure that a girl who had tried on half her wardrobe before a simple coffee shop meeting could be considered low maintenance, but she said nothing. At least “half her wardrobe” was only three outfits.

  “Anything else?” Eric asked. When Delaney shook her head no, he went off to get her coffee. She watched him walk away, admiring how strong his back and arms looked in his well-fitted sweater. His ass wasn’t too bad looking either, and Delaney was happy to see that her evaluation of his appearance as “gorgeous” the night before hadn’t been just an illusion of her alcohol clouded mind.

  When he came back to the table and set down a steaming mug in front of her, Delaney immediately took a long sip of the black liquid. It was strong, and good. Just what Delaney needed. She felt the hot liquid warming her body from the inside out as Eric started asking about her work.

  “So, do you just want sunrise pictures? Or anything else?”

  “I’m trying to get a wide variety of shots of life in the Arctic. I’ve been traveling around northern Alaska for a few weeks, and I already have quite a few photos that I’m happy with, but somehow I haven’t quite been able to find the perfect sunrise picture. Or sunset, I guess. It doesn’t really matter which. I just like the idea of the warm, fiery hues of sunrise or sunset interacting with stark, cold white of the ice and snow.”

  “So is this what you do for a living? Travel around and take pictures?”

  Delaney nodded, and Eric seemed impressed.

  “Wow, he said. “Sounds like a pretty cool gig.”

  Delaney toyed with the handle of her coffee mug. “It’s definitely a cool gig. I’ve had the chance to see some pretty amazing places all over the world. But sometimes I get tired of always moving around and not having a real home. I’m starting to wonder if I just need to pick my favorite place and stay in one spot for a while. I guess the problem with that plan would be picking a favorite place. I’ve loved pretty much every single location I’ve photographed over the last several years.”

  Delaney looked up at Eric and felt a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze. Maybe she shouldn’t be sharing such personal i
nformation with him, but she was starved for conversation. Almost every person she had met in the last few weeks had been politely aloof at best, and downright unfriendly at worst. Delaney decided to deflect the conversation back to Eric for a bit.

  “What about you? What do you do?” she asked.

  A shadow passed over his violet eyes. “Um, I’m an ice fisherman. But it’s kind of just a hobby. I thought about doing ice fishing excursions for tourists to turn it into a business of sorts, but the ice fishing season doesn’t coincide very well with the tourist season. By the time the tourists arrive, the ice has melted away.”

  Eric’s voice trailed off and he stared down at his coffee mug. Delaney had hit some sort of nerve, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. She stared down at her own coffee mug, trying to think of something to say to change the subject or break the tension that suddenly filled the air. But Eric spoke first.

  “Do you want to go ice fishing?” he asked, his voice hopeful and nervous at the same time.

  Delaney looked up and her face brightened. “I would love to. I’ve never been, but I think I would enjoy the experience. And I might be able to get some good pictures to add to my Alaska portfolio. That is, if you don’t mind my taking some. You don’t have to be in them if you don’t want to. It could just be pictures of the fish or equipment or things like that. Whatever you’re comfortable with.” Delaney forced herself to stop talking before her rambling got even worse. But Eric seemed pleased by her suggestion. His lips turned up in an adorable smile that set Delaney’s heart to racing. She momentarily wondered what those lips would feel like on her lips, then forced herself to push the thought away. She wasn’t going to make things awkward with Eric and ruin his offer of being her tour guide.

  “You should take all the photos you want,” Eric said. “In fact, if you want to, we can go on a two or three day trip. I have a big ice fishing shelter that runs on solar electricity. It’s heated, and has two beds. You can cook and everything in there. If you really want some good sunrise or sunset shots, spending the night out on the ice is probably the best way to get them.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’d love to! That would be amazing!” Delaney said, and Eric gave her a huge grin.

  “I think you’re going to love being out there for a night or two. It’s so peaceful and quiet. And when the first rays of sun break over the ice in the morning—wow. Just wow. It feels like another world.” Eric’s face beamed with excitement, and Delaney felt her own face lighting up with anticipation. She could hardly wait to see the sunrise he was describing in person.

  Eric quizzed Delaney on what kinds of warm weather apparel she had. Seeming satisfied that she would be well prepared, he told her he would pick her up around 8 a.m. the next day.

  “Do I need to bring anything? Some food or something?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of food and water and things like that. Just bring your warmest clothes, and whatever camera equipment you need.”

  Delaney nodded, and she thanked him again as they finished their coffee and stood to leave the café. He rewarded her with another smile, and she felt her stomach fill with butterflies. She could hardly believe her luck. She was going on an adventure with a gorgeous, Alaskan hunk. This trip was quickly making its way into her favorite trips of all time.

  It crossed her mind that maybe agreeing to spend the night in the middle of nowhere with a man she barely knew had not been the smartest idea. But she pushed the thought away. After years of traveling and meeting all sorts of people from all walks of life, Delaney had developed a pretty good knack for reading people. And Eric Caldwell was one of the good ones.

  There was something extra special about him. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he was different from anyone she’d met before. Different in a good way.

  Delaney couldn’t wait to learn more about Eric Caldwell.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, Eric pulled up in front of Delaney’s cabin with a small trailer attached to his snowmobile. He hopped off the vehicle and opened the trailer for Delaney to store her duffel bag of clothes and camera equipment in the back. After locking everything down securely, he climbed back on the snowmobile and waited for Delaney to jump on behind him.

  “Ready?” he shouted over the whirring of the engine.

  “Ready!” she yelled back, wrapping her arms around Eric’s waist. She savored the feeling of being pressed up against him, wondering if he was enjoying it as well.

  For thirty minutes, he drove through unmarked, icy terrain. Delaney had no idea where they were, or where exactly they were going as they drove further and further away from civilization. She hoped she had been correct in believing that Eric was a nice, decent guy, and not a serial murderer. If he wanted to engage in some foul play, there would be no one around to stop him, and Delaney’s body would never be found.

  She shook off the morbid thoughts and mentally chastised herself for thinking up such gruesome scenarios. She focused instead on the raw beauty of the landscape as it sped by. The bright, white snow blanketing the dark green of the pine trees made a marvelous contrast. The pine trees started out tall and mighty, and gradually lessened in height the further away they got from town. Eventually, even the tiny, shrub-like trees disappeared, and Eric and Delaney broke out of the forest into a magnificent expanse of flat, white snow and ice. Even with tinted sun goggles on, the light was blinding. Delaney did not see any trail markings or landmarks of any kind. She had no idea how Eric knew where he was going, but he seemed confident as he zoomed over the frozen landscape.

  After several more minutes, a small, hut-like structure came into view. Eric steered the snowmobile in its direction, and pulled to a stop in front of it. The hut was a dark brown color, and had a small chimney extending from its roof. It looked almost like a miniature version of a cabin.

  “Here we are,” Eric said as he climbed off of the snowmobile, then extended a hand to help Delaney down. “Home sweet home for the next few days.”

  “It’s so cute. It looks like a miniature house.”

  Eric laughed. “Well, that’s essentially what it is. Have a look inside while I start unloading the trailer.”

  Eric tossed Delaney a key ring. “It’s the small, brass-colored key.”

  Delaney found the key and stepped inside. The place was small, but cozy. Two small beds were bunked one over the other on the far end of the trailer. A small door led to a single toilet, and a sink. There was a stove, a microwave, and small, plank-like table with a bench that would seat two. Cupboards lined the perimeter of the roof, providing storage space. Best of all was the heater. It was running, and the small hut felt nice and toasty.

  Eric squeezed in behind Delaney, carrying a few bags of supplies.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “It’s pretty awesome. Lots of creature comforts. Do you leave the heater on all the time, though? How is it already warm in here?”

  “No, I don’t know if you noticed but there’s a satellite dish on the roof. We can actually get satellite internet and television out here. Or, you know, more frivolous stuff like make an emergency satellite call if there’s trouble,” Eric said, laughing at his own bad joke. “But anyways, the heater is hooked up to a satellite receiver, and I can actually turn it on or off from my internet connection at my cabin back in town. It’s really nice to arrive here and have the cabin be warm and ready to go.”

  “I’d have to agree with that. It feels so good in here after that windy ride across the frozen tundra.”

  “Well, don’t get too comfortable, yet. We have a big day ahead of us after I finish pulling the supplies out of the trailer,” Eric said, then disappeared back outside to finish unloading everything.

  Delaney stepped back out as well, taking in the view. As far as she could see toward the north, there was only a blanket of white. In the distance behind her, and to the sides, she could make out the dark line where the pine forest began. The view directly to h
er side wasn’t too bad, either. She felt a little thrill go through her as she watched Eric pulling some sturdy metal boxes out of the trailer. His tall, muscular frame made quick work of the job, and soon he was closing the trailer and locking it down. Delaney told herself to stop staring, but she couldn’t turn her eyes away. He was such a man’s man. Strong, and full of life.

  He looked up and caught her staring. “What?” he asked.

  “Uh, nothing. Just, you know, thinking it was a little unfair for me to sit here and let you be the one to unload everything,” Delaney said, quickly trying to deflect attention away from the real reason she couldn’t stop watching him. He smiled and shook his head.

  “Don’t worry. I’m about to put you to work. Carry this, and this. Your camera stuff is packed in it. And follow me,” Eric said. He handed her a huge backpack and a small metal box. Delaney shrugged the backpack on. The straps were a little snug against her large parka, but she managed to make it work. She grabbed the box and scurried off after Eric, who was already heading north on the ice, lugging along a huge backpack and box of his own.”

  “Where are we going,” she asked, slightly breathless as she caught up to him.

  “To the sea ice. I know it’s hard to tell right now, because everything looks the same under several feet of snow, but the shelter is on dry land. That way it doesn’t have to be moved in the summer. We’ll go out to the ice, and I can make a hole with my hand auger.”

  “What’s an auger?”

  “It’s basically a large metal tool that looks like a giant screw, I can use it bore through the ice. Then we’ll fish through the hole. You can take pictures of the whole process, if you want.”

  “How will you know when we’ve reached the sea ice?”

  Eric gave her a funny sideways glance. “I can smell it.”