Page 33 of Falling for the Recluse

“Dr. Stark.” His name snaps out of me.

He turns, his expression shuttered. “I didn’t want or expect you to leave sooner than necessary. But now you have to go.”

“I don’thaveto do anything.” I come to a halt, my heart jackhammering. “It’s a storm, not the apocalypse. I’ll tell them to go back to Hamilton station. I know it will be inconvenient, but they’ll understand it was a miscommunication. I can wait out the storm here with you. If I can’t leave on my actual departure date, then I’ll just wait until it’s safe to travel again.”

It sounds like such a reasonable plan that the tension in my chest eases. Then a shaft of sunlight spears through the windows, illuminating Gavin’s face. Shadows carve his cheekbones, and his eyes are glacier-cold.

I take a step back. Dread uncurls inside me. The warm, possessive man I love is gone, retreated behind the shield of the Ice Prick.

He’s protected himself with that shield for so many years, but I thought I’d broken through it, melted it, shattered it into oblivion. I hadn’t once imagined he’d ever use it against me.

“Josie, you have to go.” His hands flex at his sides, and I can feel the walls closing around him. “It’s more than aninconvenienceif you stay. You’re bound by contract to follow the PRG’s directives, which include the duration of your work and travel. You can’t cause problems for the institution providing your funding. Youwon’t.”

Though part of me registers the truth of his words, surely the situation isn’tthatdire.

“Gavin, asking for an extension of my trip isn’t going to damage the rest of my career,” I retort. “I’m not the first student to have travel issues because of bad weather.”

“You’re not going to argue with the senior scientists who have entrusted this internship to you,” he snaps. “You’re not going to waste people’s time and money by being stubborn. You’re going to pack your stuff, get on the boat, and go back to the continent. You have reports to write, papers and lectures to deliver, and data to analyze. You need to put together that elementary school action kit you were telling me about, the one with the coloring book and the stickers listing what kids can do to help penguins. Not to mention, you have classes and homework. You’re going back.”

I stare at him, my breath choppy. Realization hits me with the force of a blow. This isn’t just about the PRG and my internship. This is about…us.

I grab the wooden post of a shelf and shake my head. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No.”

“You don’t have a fucking choice.” He stalks toward me. “One week is nothing.Nothing.Yeah, we had a great time together, but a few hot fucks don’t mean we’re going to live happily ever after here among the penguins. I have my life, and you have yours. Maybe we’ll see each other again one day. Maybe we won’t. If we do, I’d be happy to give you another ride, but until then, you need to get the fuck back to the Northern Hemisphere and move on.”

Tears sting my eyes. I blink them away and shake my head. “I know what you’re doing. You think it’ll be easier to push me away now rather than later. News flash—it won’t work. I love you, and I’m pretty sure you love me too.”

“News flash.” His mouth tightens, and a muscle pulses in his cheek. “I don’t love you.”

ChapterSeventeen

JOSIE

The flat,cold phrase spears me like a blade.

I drag a breath into my aching lungs as memories of the past three weeks fly through my mind. Anger bubbles up, hot and painful.

“Stop lying to yourself.” Without thinking, I stalk over and slap him hard across the face. The impact barely moves him, but he takes a step back.

“And don’t you dare lie to me,” I order sharply, unable to control the surge of fury. “Don’t demean me by claiming our relationship was nothing but a few hot fucks when you and I both know it was so much more than that. You really want me to leave today and forget about you? Tomove on? Fine. I’m out of here. Give me a call if you’re ever in the States, and maybe I’ll spread my legs for you again. Unless, of course, I’m too busy getting fucked by another man, in which case you’ll just be shit out of luck.”

His icy exterior shatters. Rage flares. He lunges toward me in a blur, his eyes blazing. Before I can move, he grabs me and hauls me against him.

His mouth crashes down on mine so hard my head snaps back. At the same time, the heat only he can ignite explodes through me like a firestorm.

“Goddammit, Josie.” He grabs a fistful of my hair, his teeth scraping my bottom lip. “If another man gets within twenty feet of you, I will lose my fucking mind. Rip him apart. I would lock you up in a tower if I could. Because no matter where you are, you’remine.”

Dizziness washes over me. I drive my hands into his hair, everything inside me aching and yearning for him. He pushes my lips apart and plunges his tongue into my mouth. The air fires up with lust and urgency.

In seconds, we’re pulling at each other’s parkas and yanking them off. I kick off my boots and shove my hands under his shirt, desperate for his warm, bare skin. Since we haven’t been out in the field, neither of us has on layers, but every stitch of clothing feels like an obstacle.

He pushes me up against the wall, his kiss devouring me. Everything about him—his touch, his scent, his powerful body—submerges me in sensation. My knees weaken, my core swelling with need. With a growl, he pushes my shirt up over my breasts and covers them with his big hands, stroking and squeezing.

“Mine,” he hisses, his eyes glinting with feral need. “Say it.”

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