beautiful, too,” she finished, blushing.
“I can’t shake the feeling I know you from somewhere.”
“Me, neither. Maybe we knew each other in a past life,” she said, grinning.
“You believe in reincarnation?” He looked askance at her, relaxing slightly as he saw the mischief sparkling in her eyes. “You’re not serious?”
She shrugged. “Maybe a little. I’ve always had vivid dreams of other times and places, I know there has to be a reason.”
“Everyone always thinks they were a king or a queen,” he said as gently as he could. “I think it’s a bunch of nonsense, but who am I to say? You never know. If that’s what you choose to believe, that’s your business.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion.” She smiled, letting him know she hadn’t taken offense. “I’m not entirely sure about it myself. But I like that you aren’t afraid to say what you think.”
He wanted to tell her there were many things he liked about her, but held his tongue. No sense in alarming her.
Once the second downrigger had been baited and lowered, he went back to his seat.
“Now what?”
“Now we wait.” He remained standing, knowing he’d have to move fast if a fish took the bait.
Instead of staying in her seat, she followed him, standing so close their legs touched. “Are you married?”
His pulse kicked up a notch. “No. You?”
“No.” She took a deep breath, licked her lips and leaned closer. “I’ve dreamed about you. I couldn’t tell you earlier, because I didn’t want to freak you out.”
Gideon didn’t know how to respond to that, though his heartbeat accelerated.
She touched his arm. “Um, do you mind if I try something?”
He had to swallow at the immediate rush of carnal images her question provoked. “What?”
“This.” Bending close, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.
Chapter Two
Memphis Ayers was shocked by her actions. She normally wasn’t the slightest bit impulsive. Yet she’d just kissed a total stranger because of her dreams.
When she’d won the all-expense-paid fishing trip at work for having top sales in the second quarter, she’d been thrilled. Even though she hadn’t tried fishing since her father died, she’d always loved the sport.
And she’d never fished for salmon. So, here she was in beautiful Campbell River, British Columbia, with a fishing guide who not only looked like a Viking come to life, but the man she’d seen in her dreams for years. She’d had numerous nocturnal visits to a place of ice and snow, and seen tall, broad-shouldered men who seemed larger than life, with their pets, large dogs or wolves, running at their side. This man had been there, looking much the same, and she’d known they’d been lovers then.
His reaction to her confirmed this.
Memphis knew in her gut that it was entirely possible they’d known each other and loved each other before. So in a split second, she’d done something completely and utterly out of character, something crazy, insane and a little bit wanton.
She’d kissed the man. To her surprise, he’d kissed her back. And then some.
After the initial shocking blaze of heat, the situation reversed. Though she’d been the instigator, he took control. His mouth claimed hers, hard and searching, hungry and sensual, making her head spin and her blood sing.
When they finally broke apart, both were breathless, staring at each other. With that kiss still singing in her veins, she touched her mouth, her hand trembling.
The kiss had been both familiar and arousing. Beloved and awakening, as if she’d been waiting her entire life.
Maybe she had.
“I’m…,” she began, about to apologize.
All of a sudden, one of the fishing poles bent double, the line singing as it played out. Gideon leaped forward, grabbed it and jerked hard.
“Fish on!” he shouted. Immediately, the other boats started their engines, pulled anchor and began to move away.
“Here.” He handed her the pole. “The hook’s set. Feels like a big one. Start reeling. Keep the line even, but play him a little.”
Heart thundering, she placed her feet wide apart to brace herself and did as he asked. She’d never had a fish pull as strongly as this. “He must be huge.”
Gideon moved into place behind her, standing close enough that their bodies touched. “Keep reeling,” he ordered. “More, more. Steady now.”
With a flash of silver, the salmon came out of the water, maybe fifty feet away. It splashed back down, sending a foamy spray into the air.
“He’s making a run for it.” Gideon spoke close to her ear. “Reel, reel. Don’t let the line go loose.”
Reeling furiously, pulse hammering in her ears, she thrilled to both the sensation of Gideon touching her and the adrenaline rush of battling the wily salmon.
“He’s getting close.” Gideon stepped around her, grabbing a huge fishing net. “See him there? Don’t let him go under the boat.”
Still reeling, she tried to comply.
“Get ready. Steady, steady, now!” With a swift motion, he swung the net into the water and scooped up a giant, silver-scaled fish. “We got him!”
Thrashing on the floor of the boat, the wild salmon was beautiful. Spots of rainbow colors decorated his silver-and-gray skin. His mouth worked furiously as he fought to break free.
Despite herself, Memphis felt sorry for the majestic fish. Part of her wanted to instruct Gideon to release him, even though he was far beyond the size required to set free.
But she’d traveled to Painter’s Lodge to catch salmon. They would package it and send it home with her. She’d keep her catch.
“How big is it?” she asked, out of breath.
Gideon shot her a glance, a congratulatory grin on his face. “I’d guess twenty-five pounds or more. We’ll know for sure when we get back to the lodge and weigh him.”
She wanted to jump up and down with excitement. Worse, she wanted to kiss Gideon again. Adrenaline only fueled her intense attraction to him.
“You might want to look away now,” he told her gently. “I’ve got to kill it so it doesn’t suffer.”
“Why now?” Though she’d known the fish would have to die, she felt unprepared. “When I went deep-sea fishing, they just put the fish on ice.”
Shaking his head, he lifted a mallet. “It’s more humane this way, trust me. If I don’t kill it now, it will slowly suffocate.”
Nodding, she blinked back foolish tears. She’d fished her entire life, but never before against such a noble adversary.
Gideon put her catch into his built-in cooler and closed the lid with a snap. “Do you want to fish some more?” he asked quietly. “We can move to another spot and let the others have a chance here.”
She could get lost in the way he looked at her. Dumbstruck, she nodded.
He hit the switch to bring up the anchor and then started the boat. A spray of cold water made her shiver.
“Sorry,” he said.
“What’s the water temperature this time of year?”
“About 12 Celsius. That’s 53 or 54 Fahrenheit.”
“Too