Page 14 of Burly and Rugged

I keep walking, exhaling slowly as I scan the ground, looking for footsteps other than my own. Where is the fork in the path? I should be back at the fork by now. How did I get evenmorelost? I see a fallen log ahead of me. I slow and think. Did I pass thatbefore? Maybe? Everything looks the same right now. I should have marked my way as I came down this path.

I stop walking. I’m not getting anywhere except more and more lost, and the sun is going down. Should I try to make a camp? I have an MRE in my pack and a little bit of water. Enough water to boil for the food and enough to drink? I’m not sure.

A tight breath pushes through my chest. I should use the whistle.

But I don’t want to. I want to figure it out myself. I want to walk back into camp with the same confidence I had when I started this challenge, not as someone who had to be rescued.

Isn’t part of being smart knowing when to ask for help?

I get the whistle out of my pack and blow in sharp bursts until I’m out of breath. Sliding my pack off my shoulders, I find a dry spot by a tree and sit down to wait.

My breath catches at the sharp snap of a branch. Are there bears out here? I turn my head toward the sound, heart pounding against my ribs, as I brace for an encounter with a wild animal I have no chance against. The dim light makes it harder to see, shadows stretching long across the uneven ground, the trees shifting in the breeze.

A figure steps between the trees, and my breath rushes out in a single, uneven exhale, relief crashing into me so hard my knees nearly give out.

Cody. He came for me.

His gaze locks onto mine. Even in the low light, I see the relief on his face.

“Lindy.” His voice is low and steady.

Cody steps closer, and even though the air is cold, a heat surges through me.

I swallow hard. So much emotion races through me that I feel on the verge of sobbing. “You came for me. You found me.”

His gaze doesn’t waver. “I’ll always find you.”

CHAPTER 8

CODY

Thank you!” Lindy exclaims, jumping up, walking over to me, and pulling me into a tight bear hug.

I wrap my arms around her, holding her and reassuring her she’s safe. When I finally heard her whistle, I ran along the trails to get to her, knee be damned.

Now that she’s in my arms? I never want to let her go.

When I realized Lindy had to be lost, my mind went into overdrive. I’d expected her to take some time—but not to get lost. I left a clear trail, but if she got turned around and then in a bunch of shadows... A knot formed in my chest when the sun dipped lower, and I knew I had to find my girl.

“So…not my best survival moment,” she finally says, her voice wavering. She pulls back from our hug, and her pupils are blown wide. The way she’s looking at me—it’s not fear.

It’s desire.

Fuck. I’ve wanted her since I first saw her at The Lodge, but I’ve been fighting those feelings because she hired me.

“Cody,” she whispers, her voice trembling.

Fuck it.

I’m done fighting.

I pull her to me. My hands find her hips first, fingers gripping the soft curve of her waist, pulling her against me in one decisive gesture. She gasps, but she doesn’t pull away.

Then my mouth is crashing against hers, swallowing the soft sound she makes, a mixture of surprise and an erotic sigh I could become addicted to.

Her hands clutch at my jacket, urging me closer. I slide one hand up her spine, curling my fingers into her hair, tilting her head back so I can take a deeper taste of her luscious mouth.

And fuck—she tastesgood.

---