Chapter 3: In a land of permafrost, love grows deep roots

Although his visit had been short, Uncle Ray's absence left an emptiness in Julia's heart. But in only two days Ben's friends would be coming for a hunting trip, so she busied herself making the cabin ready for their latest guests. Ben laughed to see her cleaning and baking biscuits and cookies.

"You're going to make me look bad," he teased her once. "Normally when they come they're lucky to get a blanket and a bottle of beer from me."

Friday evening the thunder of engines rumbled through the dusky silence, stopping in front of Ben's cabin. Hearing rowdy laughter, the couple put the last of the supper dishes onto the kitchen table and went outside to welcome their friends.

Alrek, Isaiah, and Jim had all driven in on their ATV's, each pulling a small trailer that would carry home their spoils should the hunt be successful. Boots thumping noisily, loudly joking, they climbed the steps leading to the cabin.

As promised, they hauled in a final load of winter supplies for the couple. Alrek's parcel included a rather generously-sized bag of marijuana. "You never know when you'll next make it into town once snow flies," he reasoned with a huge smirk and a wink.

Ben grinned, and Julia kissed Alrek on his lightly stubbled cheek in thanks. The friends settled in, and Julia placed before them bowls of steaming vegetable stew with chunks of smoked moose meat.

"Think of it as good luck for the hunt," she told them. The fragrant stew was delicious, and went well with the case of home-brewed beer Jim brought.

"I have to say, Ben," Jim remarked, taking a swig, "Julia's really spruced up the place nicely. You always were missing a woman's touch, if you don't mind me saying."

"Yes, she's made a big difference, alright," he agreed, his fingers playing with Julia's hair. She leaned more closely against him as he added to himself, in more ways than you can imagine.

"Speaking of women," Isaiah said, cocking his head toward their blond friend. "Alrek strikes again. A new gal, she raises sledding dogs, moved into town shortly after you two left, and he didn't waste any time welcoming her to the neighborhood." They all laughed as Alrek's cheeks flushed.

"But get this," Isaiah continued, reaching for another cookie. "I think she's got him star struck. He hasn't been making his usual rounds since she came into town."

They laughed again, heartily, and then Julia turned to Alrek, who was blushing furiously in spite of himself. "What's her name?" she asked.

"Katy," he replied, smiling at Julia. The two women actually reminded him of each other; that was what attracted Alrek to the newcomer in the first place. Katy was a little taller than Julia, a little fuller-figured, and instead of wavy and long, her hair was short and straight. But their features had a similar cast and they both shared an openness and enthusiasm for life that he found irresistible.

"And you should see her, Ben," Jim laughed. "She looks like she could be Julia's long-lost sister."

Ben's head jerked a bit at this piece of knowledge. "You don't say?" he replied, stealing a glimpse at Alrek, whose face was starting to turn pink again.

"It's eerie," Isaiah confirmed, his dark eyes twinkling. "What are the chances that two raven-haired beauties would arrive in Eagle Eye within months of the other?"

"Well, I for one would love to meet her," Julia broke in.

She could see plainly that this discussion was making Alrek a little uncomfortable. To be honest, she was extremely flattered to hear that he was so drawn to a woman who reminded others of herself; the thought of it caused a twinge to flash through her groin.

Ben sensed Alrek's discomfort as well and, like Julia, he found it exciting that his best friend was so taken by a woman who reminded him of her. Not that anyone can compare to the original, Ben thought with satisfaction. He picked up the bag of pot. "Let's say I go get the pipe, and you all can fill us in on what else has been happening since our last visit."

Ben and his friends were leaving just before dawn and meant to retire early, but they ended up visiting and joking till after midnight. They finally settled with their bed rolls on the floor in front of the woodstove, Jim's snoring confirming their slumber.

Julia and Ben had made love before dinner because they knew their friends would be coming shortly and they wouldn't have another chance to be alone for a few days. But as they lay together in bed, spooning, Julia felt his cock growing hard against her back.

She smiled and turned around to face him, reaching down to touch him as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Mmm, I'm going to miss you, and this," she said softly, her fingers running lightly down his shaft, dipping the tip of her tongue in his ear.

Ben groaned softly and brought his hands up to cup her firm breasts. He brought her nipples to attention with his callused fingertips while she sighed in pleasure, leaning into his hands.

Quietly, still under the blankets, they quickly slipped out of their clothes. Ben drew Julia closely to him as they lay on their sides facing each other, bodies touching from chest to thigh. Julia bent her upper leg and used it to stroke Ben's calf with her foot in time with her fingers on his cock. She could feel the heat of his organ as it jerked around between her fingers.

He was so hard he felt thicker than usual. Instinctively he pushed her head downward slightly, wordlessly conveying his request. Julia's eyes glinted at him naughtily before her head disappeared under the blankets as he waited impatiently.

Ben grunted at the shock of her warm mouth engulfing his cock. Even knowing that it was coming never quite prepared him for the sensation. God, she knew his body so well, he thought, stiffening as a jolt of pleasure shot through his limbs.

Need to stay quiet, Ben reminded himself, his ears straining to ensure their guests only a few feet away on the floor were still asleep. He heard the sounds of their regular breathing, accented by Jim's sawing snores, and relaxed a little, allowing himself to enjoy the feel of Julia working his cock.

Julia inhaled deeply, drawing in his male scent. She loved his smell so much; she wished she could envelop herself in it. After lovingly tracing every curve and surface of his cock with her tongue, her attention focused on exploring his balls with her mouth. As his body tightened, she reveled at the power her touch held over him and glided one hand smoothly to his muscular ass while sliding his length deeply into her mouth.

She felt the muscles in his abdomen quaking as she stroked his cock in and out between her lips. When he began to thrust against her slightly she knew he was ready to come.

Ben stifled a low moan as he emptied into Julia's mouth. Her lips held him gently until his cock stopped twitching, and then Ben felt her supple body slide up along his until the top of her head breached the covers.

They kissed and he tasted himself on her lips, bringing a low groan of fresh arousal from his. With a half-lidded, dirty smile, Ben ducked under the covers, kissing and stroking his way down her body. Julia's thighs quivered in anticipation as she felt his caressing fingers circling ever closer to the damp hair between her legs.

She was barely able to suppress a moan upon feeling his tongue grazing her lips, so she grabbed the edge of a blanket and stuffed it in her mouth. I need to be more careful, there are other people, sleeping ... Julia's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she felt two fingers entering her and a tongue scraping her sensitive clitoris.

Clenching the blanket in her fists she bit down hard on the cloth in her mouth. Then a flash appeared in her mind as she imagined what would happen if the men on the floor suddenly awoke, and Julia began to buck violently against her tormentor as her body expressed what her lips could not. Wrapping her legs tightly around the back of Ben's head she rode the wave until it passed.

Ben worked his way back up Julia's body very slowly, licking her, stroking her, smelling her. By the time his head broke the surface he was hard again and she was breathing heavily. They kissed, mingling their tastes in their mouths. They both groaned softly, their lips and tongues locked together.

Alrek stirred in his bedroll, semi-conscious, shifting his legs to relieve the pressure on his stiff cock. He had been having this incredibly erotic dream where he was fucking Katy ... or was it Julia?

He couldn't be sure ... But she was moaning and writhing wildly as he was driving into her, and her fingertips pulled at his hair as he was eating her and she was sighing for him, and she was whispering his name in his ear, her hair caressing his face as he devoured her throat and stroked his hands over every inch of her silky flesh, and she tasted, and smelled delicious...

Alrek's hearing shifted, and he began to realize that something was unfolding well beyond his dream. He took a deep but measured inhalation of breath. No mistaking it, the smell of sex. He knew it well, reveled in it. It always made his lovers twitter with delighted arousal at the way he almost fetishized their scent. Now he could smell the sweet perfume of Julia.

He slowly opened his eyes and carefully turned his head toward the muffled groans in the corner of the room.

Alrek saw Julia's bare back, her black hair splayed in a wild tangle about her shoulders. He followed the line from her shoulders, under her arms and down her back as it curved in toward her waist before flaring out to her rounded hips.

He glimpsed the top of her smooth buttocks and the enticing split between them. Her head hung back loosely as she pumped herself up and down on Ben's cock, her body held up only by his hands cupping her breasts.

Alrek's eyes grew wide, and he quickly reached between his legs for his own tortured organ, imagining that it was he under her magnificent body as she milked that cock. The blankets covering him rustled as he stroked himself with increasing urgency, watching them reaching their peak.

And just before the three of them came together, Alrek saw out of the corner of his eyes that Jim and Isaiah were also awake, enjoying the show, their own hands down the front of their pants.

The men rose before dawn, a bit groggy from lack of sleep, but soon alert with the excitement of the hunt before them.

Julia made a big batch of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, with biscuits and cranberry jelly. The men ate heartily and were generous in their compliments to her cooking. Ben went over the map he had drawn her of the area in which they would be hunting as well as their probable path, reminding her that they would be gone between one and four days.

Too soon it was time for them to leave. They only had a limited number of days before the hunting season ended; besides, the sooner they set out, the sooner they would return. Ben kissed Julia and held her tightly for a moment before following his friends out the door to their waiting vehicles.

"Be careful! And good luck!" Julia called, and with a wave and the roar of engines they disappeared amongst the trees as the sky grew pink.

Julia spent the first lazy day at home, smoking pot and working on her book. She'd hardly spent any time on the manuscript since she'd met Ben, she thought guiltily. So, despite the fact she hated being apart from him, his absence created the perfect opportunity to write.

Her mind drifted to her conversation with her publisher, when she pitched him the idea of a "modern 'Walden' from a woman's point of view" after she'd finally persuaded her uncle to let her stay at his remote Alaska cabin.

Stephen was incredulous that she would undertake such a stunt but he eventually relented, intrigued by her idea. "Better you than me," he had said, "but don't even think I'll be stopping by to check on your progress." Stephen was partial to tropical climates, likening places such as Alaska as "home for masochists". Nevertheless, the two of them had developed a successful working relationship over the years, and he trusted her instincts.

Julia smiled at the memory, wondering how Stephen was doing, as she realized that this was the first time she'd even thought of him in three months. He seemed a world away; her old life in Seattle was a world away.

Old life?

After working on the same paragraph over and over, she finally wadded the paper and threw it into the woodstove. She watched it flash as it caught flame and turned to ash, and thought about her intentions in writing this book.

Things had changed, she had to admit, and it was more than the slight shift in venue. Though she was loath to admit it, Julia had come up here with a certain idealized naïveté of this place, colored by pleasant childhood memories. And she was extremely lucky; Uncle Ray indulged her fantasy by going very much out of his way to ensure she would be safe.

Julia had thought that by camping and backpacking and taking survival training and all of her other research that she was coming fully prepared. But she remembered how taken aback she was to see the size of that woodpile behind her uncle's cabin, and the moment of fear she experienced when it finally sunk in what it was going to take just to get through the winter, and she blushed with shame.

And then she met Ben.

Ben. The epitome of a mountain man, except, this wasn't the mountains. Well, okay, the consummate outdoorsman, homesteader, back-to-the-lander ... Julia grinned at her crude attempts to label him. There was so much more to him than that, though, and no single word could describe him adequately; if anything, words felt like a cage boxing in a man who lived his life so freely.

She missed him. They hadn't been apart for more than a day since the day they'd met, and her heart ached with his absence. Picking up her pen and a fresh sheet of paper she wrote of the man with whom she had fallen in love.

On the second day Julia hiked to Uncle Ray's cabin. She spent it getting the place ready for the winter, thoroughly cleaning the inside and closing the shutters. After that she finished chopping the rest of the wood that needed to be split so it could be stacked to cure properly.

She didn't have to do it; Uncle Ray would come next year with even more wood waiting for him than he left for her already, but that wasn't the point. If she just left it, the wood might rot over the winter; that seemed to be a waste. She wanted to honor the efforts her uncle had put into making sure she'd be safe here. Plus, it would be hard work, and maybe help keep her mind off how much she was missing Ben.

Ben. Julia felt a surge flash through her body in memory of him, his eyes, his lips, his touch. He was the most extraordinary man she'd ever met; every day with him had been an adventure. He was her lover, her teacher, her best friend. God, I miss him.

The twilight was growing as she slipped through the trees back to Ben's cabin. Julia had forced herself to work all day, not even stopping to eat, feeling she had to finish her task because she knew Ben would have done so if he had been in her place.

She ate hungrily, a quick meal of jerky, biscuits and salmonberries. Then she plodded out into the brisk night air and sank into the hot spring, easing her aching body.

On the third day Julia awoke, feeling like every muscle in her body had been beaten. She'd always prided herself on her physical condition, but now she was humbled by the aching that reached into her bones. Forcing herself to drink a bitter cup of willow bark tea, she returned to the hot spring for another soak.

I hope they get back today, she thought to herself, as she felt the natural analgesic begin to take effect. Well, they will be cold and exhausted when they arrive, so I should make preparations for their return.

Julia spent the day cooking and baking and doing chores. She made six loaves of bread and three pies—a blueberry and two apple—and she made a huge kettleful of bean soup, flavored with cabbage, onions and carrots, all from their combined gardens.

She hauled water from the river, filling the indoor holding tank, and then she did laundry and hung it on the line to dry. Julia cleaned the large metal tub and filled it with fresh water for the men to use for washing when they returned.

Maybe he'll come back tonight, Julia thought wistfully as she ate soup, bread, and pie for dinner. She sat on the porch, smoked a joint, and waited in the growing dusk.

She woke with a start, her skin prickly with cold. It was dark outside and she groped her way inside, grateful for the warmth of the feather bed and woolen blankets.

Julia arose on the fourth day disappointed to find the cabin still empty aside from herself. As she removed the cold but dry clothes on the line, she shivered in the morning air. Every surface outside was fuzzy with glittering frost. The land was achingly beautiful and the air exceptionally fresh and clean. But the shift in the temperature worried her, and she pleaded inside, hoping to will Ben to come home.

The cold grew as the day passed and Julia tried to busy herself with her manuscript again. But she found herself staring into an empty page more than pen touched paper and finally gave up. She got dressed, putting on the warm woolen underclothes that her uncle had brought her, and went for a walk to his cabin.

The day passed excruciatingly slowly until at last it was time for dinner. The soup was bubbling on the stove when she heard a buzz in the distance.

Julia dashed outside in excitement, wooden spoon dripping, still in her hand. She could hear the sound coming closer. Four engines. They're back!

She ran toward the approaching sound with all of her might, the door of the cabin wide open, light spilling out. Ben had barely stood up from his ATV when she leapt up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, causing him to stagger back momentarily.

Julia smothered him with kisses, though he was dirty and his clothing streaked with ground-in dirt and dried blood. Ben wrapped his arms tightly around her back and kissed her with enthusiasm.

"Uh, guys, you've got soup in your hair," they heard Alrek say, and pulling back Julia shrieked with laughter to find she still held the soup spoon in her hand.

The hunt was successful. They had butchered the carcass out in the field, cutting it into pieces so that they could manage to haul it in their trailers. Julia beamed with pride when she learned that it was Ben's kill.

The men were filthy and stank, their beards scruffy and their eyes red with fatigue. They washed the grime from their hands and faces and each wolfed down several helpings of the hot soup with bread, finishing the meal with a wide wedge of pie.

It was getting late, and Julia urged them to stay the night. But all of them said they needed to get the meat back home and they missed their own beds.

"There's a shift in the weather," Jim told her. "Noticed it this morning. Wouldn't be surprised if it snows by tomorrow. Seems a little early yet for it to stick, but I'd rather be home if it does."

So Julia hugged and kissed them all good bye, congratulating them on their success and thanking them for bringing Ben home safely to her. And with that the men disembarked, their engines fading into the darkness.

The couple quickly hung the meat in the cache—they would smoke some of it later—and parked Ben's vehicle in the shed.

Ben wearily kicked off his boots and peeled off his filthy clothes. Julia came up behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, nibbling the skin on his back. He smiled and turned around to face her.

"Julia, I stink," he protested, holding her away from him, "and I've got dirt and blood all over me. I can't imagine that's pleasant for you."

She kissed his chest then nuzzled his underarm. "I like the way you stink."

Ben laughed and picked her up off the ground. "Woman, I have missed you so much," he said, kissing her deeply.

"Not as much as I've missed you."

Julia warmed the wash tub water with boiling water from the stove, and she insisted on washing Ben herself. They stood outside while she splashed warm basins full of water over his tired body. Next she wet his hair and washed it, massaging his scalp with her fingertips. She rinsed his hair before scrubbing his body clean with a soapy washcloth. Finally she rinsed him gently, the basins of cooling water caressing his skin.

"Oh Julia," Ben sighed in contentment, "that's what I call a welcome."

She was drying him with a towel. "That's only a preview," she teased, noticing his cock was sticking straight out despite the cold.

"Come on, help me with this tub," Ben said, "so I can thank you properly."

They lugged the tub away from the cabin and drained it, then quickly rinsed it clean in the river. Shivering, they ran back to the cabin, each holding one end of the tub. Ben was still naked from his bath and although Julia was dressed, her clothing was wet and sticking to her from bathing her lover. Dumping the empty tub on the porch they rushed inside, slamming the door behind them.

They were glowing from the cold and their giddiness of being together again. Immediately Ben started stripping the wet clothing from Julia's skin. He picked her up and carried her to the bed as they kissed along the way. After laying her gently on top of the blankets he kneeled between her legs. He kissed the inside of both thighs, his nerves tingling as his lips caressed her familiar smoothness. God he'd missed her!

Ben breathed deeply of her arousal and groaned. "Julia, you smell so good." He drew her puffy lips gently into his mouth, marveling at their softness, before parting them with his tongue and tasting the slick liquid that squeezed out from between them.

Every cell in her body was aflame, and she jumped at the feel of his touch again. "Oh Ben, I've missed you so much," she cried out, the orgasm blazing through her.

Julia nudged Ben up and over on his back, and she covered his body with tortuous kisses as she inched her way to his groin. He raised his hips in sweet agony as she licked and sucked his shuddering cock, releasing his pent-up semen down her throat.

The immediate crisis over, their lovemaking grew more languorous, and they stroked their hands and fingers, legs and feet all over each other's body. She loved the muscular hardness of him, and he loved the curving softness of her, and they pressed their bodies into each other, trying to merge.

Rolling Julia onto her back, Ben parted her legs and entered her slowly, easing his way into her pussy until she moaned. Once he had filled her, he began grinding his hips into hers.

Reaching down to her clitoris, he asked, "You know how we made love the night before we left?"

"Yes," Julia panted, finding it difficult to hold a conversation with his fingers on her clit and his cock filling her cunt. That was some of the best sex they'd had. The added danger of other people sleeping in the same room fueled the thrill for them both.

"Would it bother you to know that we had an audience?" he revealed, rolling her clitoris gently between fingers wet with her juices.

A shudder rocked through Julia's body. Oh, God, they woke up? She wasn't sure whether she was horrified or aroused.

"They told you?" Julia asked incredulously as he thrust into her slowly but deeply.

"We're men," Ben responded matter-of-factly, pausing to run his tongue from her collarbone to her earlobe. "A bunch of guys out hunting usually means there are only so many topics of discussion." She groaned in response. "Well, Alrek said he awoke from a sex dream with a hard-on and could smell the sex in the room."

"Ohhh!" Julia moaned, grasping his buttocks with both hands and pulling him into her. Ben's strokes became harder and faster, and with his free hand he held her face so that he could look in her eyes.

"They saw you on top of me, fucking me dry. And they all jerked off, wishing they were me," he continued, his eyes dark with lust.

"Oh God, Ben, no," she cried out, both in arousal and embarrassment.

"Oh yes," he confirmed, a nasty smile curling on his lips. "And I think I like that idea, you turning on a room full of men, knowing I'm the only one fucking your hot, tight pussy."

Ben was torturing her, bringing her to the brink of coming over and over, pulling back just before she crested. He was enjoying this; he wanted Julia to scream, loudly, when she came.

"Does that turn you on, baby? Do you like that you made four men in one room come at once?"

"Oh GOD yes! That is so fucking hot!" she screamed, pulling his head roughly to her and shoving her tongue in his mouth.

Ben rolled them as they kissed, until Julia was lying on top of him. He broke their kiss and urged, his voice deep with arousal, "Then fuck me, baby. Fuck me. Grind that wet cunt on my cock and show them what you've got!"

"That is so fucking dirty," she cried, "so fucking hot. All those fuckers fucking themselves..." Her cunt was on fire as she rubbed herself furiously against his thick shaft.

"For you, baby," Ben added, squeezing her breasts. "Fucking themselves for you." He felt the eruption rumbling, boiling at the base of his groin.

Julia's pussy began to pulsate with her orgasm, the sensation powerfully radiating out through her body. "Yes! Oh YES!" she screamed, feeling powerful, all woman.

"Fuck!" Ben bellowed as, shuddering, he shot his come deep into her cunt.

Julia remained where she was, grinding herself slowly on his cock until she had another orgasm. Then she bent forward to his face, careful to keep him inside her.

They kissed, their tongues deep in each other's mouth. Ben rolled them over until Julia was on her back again. He stroked her face, moving a strand of hair from her eyes, and gently kissed both eyelids.

"Julia, I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too, Ben," she replied, staring into his dilated eyes. "I love you so much."

When they woke that morning the air was freezing cold. Ben told Julia to stay in bed while he built up the fire. "I better bring more wood in from the lean to," he told her, kissing her on the forehead.

Julia waited for only a few more minutes before slipping out of bed and, shivering, quickly getting dressed. She silently thanked Uncle Ray for the soft woolen long johns and socks she wore.

The woodbox by the stove was heaping now, and a pile of wood stood by the door as well. "Feels like we're going to get snow today," Ben commented, kissing Julia. The cold clung to his clothes like a fog. "It's a good thing we got home when we did."

Julia was pouring the cornmeal batter into the pan. "Yes it is," she agreed, leaning against him for reassurance. She shivered again, this time from the thought of him being out there in the cold rather than the chill of the air in the cabin.

Ben ran his fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck before kissing her shoulder. "I've been in much worse," he said, sensing the source of her worry. "Nevertheless, it's very satisfying to have fresh meat in the cache as well as a beautiful woman in my home."

After breakfast they dressed warmly, and in the fresh cold they gathered green woodchips for the smoker. Then they lifted a large piece of the carcass off its hook, taking it inside to cut the meat into strips and season it before smoking. They talked and joked as they worked, delighting to be in each other's company again.

When the couple had two large pans heaping with strips of meat they strung it on strings and carried it out to the smoker. Returning to the cabin they put a hunk of the moose meat into the cast-iron Dutch oven, added water, seasoned it with spices, and put it in the oven to roast all day. They would add vegetables to the pot after lunch, and by dinner time they would have a delicious tender pot roast.

Julia soaked Ben's hunting clothes in cold water to remove the stains before washing them using her little hand-cranked washing machine. Forced to wash them twice because they were so soiled, they eventually came out fresh and clean. She bundled herself well against the cold to hang his clothes out to dry.

Ben cleaned his guns at the kitchen table while she did the laundry, admiring her washing machine. "That's a lot easier on the hands than a washing board; I think my clothes are cleaner now than they've been in sixteen years."

He admitted once to Julia that laundry was a necessary evil he would typically put off as long as possible. He joked that he would wait until his clothes were stiff enough to walk away from him before he washed them.

Julia enjoyed the clean smell of line-dried laundry, so she happily took over the task, letting him be responsible for chopping wood. Ben enjoyed splitting wood; he found it strangely relaxing, and he was good at it. Since Julia found it to be a personal exercise in frustration, they agreed that he would be the primary woodchopper.

Snow was beginning to fall when Julia went outside to retrieve the clothing, frozen dry and stiff on the line. Ben had finished cutting up the vegetables and was adding them to the Dutch oven when she returned, her cheeks pink from the cold.