Page 19 of Stuck with My Bossy Protector

Fear flashes through her eyes, but she nods in agreement, swallowing hard. “I don’t want to be out here any longer than we have to be. Can’t we just keep going?”

I put her hands to my lips and blow on them. “We won’t keep going if you fall over. We need a fire to thaw you out. Then we’ll move. It’ll take thirty to forty minutes at most. We don’t have a choice.”

She nods. “Okay.”

We set to work, collecting the dry branches from the undergrowth of the trees. I find a spot directly under an old fur that is devoid of snow. I collect some pine needles, shoving them in my pockets. I clear a space, arranging the kindling. My hands shake as I work, the worry chilling me just as thoroughly as the cold gnawing at my bones.

“Here,” I instruct, guiding her under the tree. There’s barely enough space for one of us, let alone both, but she’s clearly in danger of hypothermia. It should shield her from the worst of the wind. I pull out the matches from my bag and quickly light the fire. It takes a few minutes to build it up and generate some real heat. She takes off her gloves and holds out her hands.

The fire flickers, casting a warm glow on her face and highlighting the worry in her eyes. But as the heat starts to work its way into her body, I can see some relief. She tucks her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, holding herself tight to conserve warmth.

I go back to scrounging for what I can and manage to find a couple of larger branches that the snow hasn’t completely soaked. I use my knife to whittle away the damp outer layers and add them to our little fire. The flames rise higher, making the small space under the tree feel even smaller but warmer. I can see the color returning to her cheeks. She bends her fingers, making fists and straightening them again.

“Get closer,” she offers.

“I’m good.”

“No, you aren’t.”

I squeeze into the small space, our bodies pressing together. I unzip my coat and pull her against me. She turns, her face nuzzling against my neck. Shivers run down my spine, but it has nothing to do with the cold. I rub my hand up and down her arm, doing what I can to get her circulation going. Even after just a few minutes close to the fire, I can feel my body warming up.

“How are your fingers?”

“Better.”

I pull off one of my gloves and reach for her hands. They are still icy. I hold them in mine before sliding them under my shirt and pressing them against my chest. Her hands are colder than shit and make me wince, but body heat is a quick way to warm her up.

She looks up at me, her eyes searching my face for a moment, and then, to my surprise, she relaxes. She rests her head against my shoulder and relaxes into me again, her breath hitching in both pain and relief. I can feel the chill beginning to ebb away from her body. The tenderness of the moment is interrupted when my stomach gives a loud groan, echoing around us. It breaks the tension, and we both laugh.

“I’m hungry too,” she says. “I think my stomach is too cold to growl.”

“We’ll stay here for fifteen minutes, and then we need to move.”

“Okay.”

As we sit huddled together, the situation doesn’t feel so ominous.

“I never thought I’d be grateful for a tree,” she murmurs into my neck.

“Neither did I,” I reply.

Her hand moves a couple of inches across my chest, touching a new patch of warm skin. I’m not thinking about the cold. I’m thinking about her touching me. I’m thinking about what it would be like to have her hands on me in a very different environment. I push the thoughts away. This is not the time to get lustful. Then again, if I’m going to die in the next few hours, sex with a beautiful woman does seem like a good way to go out.

We sit quietly, listening to the wind picking up again. As cozy as we are, I know we have to get up and start moving. This little hidey-hole is not going to keep us warm and safe overnight. The fire is going out, and we have no more branches.

“I hate to say it, but we need to go,” I sigh.

She groans. “I am so warm and cozy. I almost fell asleep.”

“I know. Hopefully, in another couple of hours, we’ll be in your friend’s cabin eating a hot meal and sitting in front of a crackling fire.”

“That sounds like heaven.”

“I know. Ready?”

She pushes herself away from my chest, taking a deep breath before nodding. “Ready.”

We stand in unison, brushing off the pine needles. We both put on our gloves and kick snow over the dwindling fire. The wind hits us as we leave the sanctuary of the trees, but I try to hold on to the warmth from the blaze. With a parting glance at our temporary refuge, we head further into the frigid wilderness.

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