Page 29 of Forced By the Bratva

“I’m only fetching wood to light the fire to keep us warm—it’s not like I want to leave you here all by yourself.”

“Still,” Jenna insisted, tightening her grip around my arm. “I’ll go with you to gather wood. What if you get lost? I’ll be here all by myself!”

Jenna and I gathered a few sticks and twigs together. At first, finding dry wood was difficult; we had to check under the big trees, where the rain could not reach the ground. It took a while, but we returned to our seating spot together. I gathered the sticks together and pulled a lighter from my pocket.

I struck the flint, but the wood wouldn’t catch; after a few tries, we decided to look around and gather dry leaves. Once we arranged them in between the sticks, I tried again, with more success.

Smoke filled the air, and Jenna began to cough roughly. Her eyes were red and filled with tears. I started blinking uncontrollably as well.

“My eyes hurt,” Jenna complained.

She stood and walked away from the fire, out of the smoke, where she began to rub her eyes. I chuckled a bit mockingly. I was also in pain, but I wasn’t about to show it.

Jenna later found something to fan the fire until it started bringing out flames. The smoke didn’t stop entirely but eased a bit as the flames took hold. We gathered some damp sticks around the fire to dry them out so we could use them next.

Jenna and I walked back to the tree and sat there. She was still blinking uncontrollably. We remained silent for a long moment.

“What if we don’t find our way back?” Jenna asked after a while. She seemed shaken, and her eyes were beginning to water again—this time, not from the smoke, but because of her fear of getting lost.

We saw lightning in the sky, and after a few seconds, a rumble of thunder followed. Jenna flinched as she grabbed my shirt and drew closer to me. I looked up to the sky and back at Jenna, trembling in my arms.

It started to drizzle, and Jenna’s shaking intensified. Luckily, the fire had grown relatively large, so it would be difficult for the rain to douse it completely.

However, the smoke had now been joined by steam from the wetness of the woods. I hoped that the fire wouldn’t go out quickly since it was the only thing that kept us warm.

Jenna was shivering violently. She flinched whenever there was lightning and grabbed me more tightly whenever it thundered.

“Are you scared of thunder?” I asked Jenna.

It was apparent already; I didn’t know why I’d even asked her that. I pulled her close to my chest and wrapped my arms securely around her.

“Don’t be scared, okay?” I spoke calmly into her ears. “My men would find us once it’s morning. We are not lost at all.”

Jenna breathed in sharply and exhaled heavily. Repeating this helped her calm down a bit. I placed my hand on her head and gently curled her hair backward.

We heard another rumble of thunder, and again, Jenna jumped. Her hands shook as they grabbed my shirt even more tightly.

“Jenna,” I whispered her name softly.

She didn’t respond. She just kept panting heavily. She began to sob, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. I tightened my grip around her to make her feel more secure.

“You don’t have to be scared, Jenna,” I told her. “If you’re scared of the lightning, then close your eyes. Ignore the thunder and focus on my heartbeat.”

Her breathing slowly began to settle. She was no longer panting, and her trembling subsided. After a while, Jenna seemed normal again, although I could still hear her heartbeat slightly.

“I feel secure in your arms, Feliks,” Jenna whispered.

The statement made my head swell, and a slight smile appeared on my face. The smile slowly disappeared and was replaced by a neutral look as I stared into space and thought about the statement for a while.

It was cute that Jenna said she felt secure in my arms, but it was also worrisome. I didn’t want to appear too soft, and her statement insinuated that. I decided to change the topic immediately.

“Guess who ended up clinging to me once she got scared,” I teased her, chuckling.

Jenna lifted her head and gave me a knowing smile. Of course, I wasn’t fooling her. She could already tell why I decided to tease her and what I was trying to achieve.

She hugged me again, swallowing. I looked down at Jenna and combed her hair with my fingers. Her eyes fell shut, and I admired how beautiful she was.

“Jenna,” I called softly and tapped her gently.

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