Page 14 of Don't Make Me Fall
Instead, I’m freezing my ass off inside a one-man tent on the top of a mountain in Montana. We extinguished the fire over an hour ago, when it was clear neither of us could stay awake to watch it. At least, IthoughtI was too tired.
Now, I’m just wide the fuck awake and frozen to the bone inside this borrowed sleeping bag that smells too much like the man who loaned it to me.
I’m still pissed at Hudson—which is why he’s wrapped in a sleeping bagoutsidesaid tent. Let him fight off the mountain lion should it come lurking.
But really, if I’m being honest, I’m mostly mad at myself.
I’m mad that I was ever naïve enough to fall for a man like Tyler Duncan.
While Hudson hiked back down to the truck earlier to retrieve his overnight pack, I opted to stay at the summit. I yearned to watch the sunset in peace. I was so caught up in the beauty of it that I forgot to snap a single picture. It was everything I needed it to be. In that moment, I felt hope that everything would turn out all right.
Then my phone pinged with the sound reserved for Tyler’s emails, shattering the blissful moment, and I stupidly checked it.
The jerk had the audacity to ask if I’d helpplan the wedding.
I lost it.
In a flash of rage, I chucked my phone over the side of the mountain.
What a fucking mess.
I’ma fucking mess.
A tear rolls down my cheek, then another.
Another full body shiver reminds me that I opted for the thinner sleeping bag since I had the cover of the tent to ward off the worst of the chill.
“Hudson?” I whisper shout as I push away the tears with the back of my hand. “Hudson, you awake?”
“Cold, sweetheart?” The way he calls mesweetheartsounds like an insult. I still don’t understand why he’s so pissed about the Tyler thing. He doesn’t know anything about the situation. Hell, he hardly knowsme. But earlier, when he asked about him, there was a blaze of furry in those intensely dark eyes. As though he wanted to ring Tyler’s neck.
What should’ve startled me turned me on more than I want to admit.
“I know you’re cold too.”
“I’ve slept in worse conditions.”
Considering he and Reid served in the Special Forces together, I have no reason to doubt his statement. In fact, it only makes me more curious about him. “Will you tell me about it?”
“About what?”
“Your time in the military.”
“You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”
“Fine,” I relent.
“Who’s Tyler?” he repeats his earlier question, and though I can’t see his eyes from inside the tent, his tone hints at the same jealousy I witnessed earlier. Or perhaps, it’s…protectiveness. The thought makes me shiver yet again, but this time, I’m warmer for it.
“Move your ass into the tent, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
There’s a lot of shuffling outside, then the zipper’s on the door is yanked down. Hudson hovers in the doorway, a shit-eating grin on his face I can only see because of the flashlight he holds against his chest. “If you want my body heat, sweetheart, you don’t have to beg.”
“Shut up.”
“Not a chance.”
I pretend to be irritated, but secretly, I’m thrilled.
