Page 47 of Wild in the Woods
They stared at each other. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. “You want to quit the course?”
She nodded. “That’s right. I’d like to go back. This whole thing isn’t for me.”
“Lulu—”
“Look,” she snapped. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t. You said I can tap out anytime and you’d arrange safe transport back. So, let’s do that.”
He had said that, and he wouldn’t back out of his word. She’d leave if he took her back… and that would be his way out of this whole mate thing. She’d go back to Chicago and his body would settle down and forget about her. His bear would go back to being a mostly docile roommate and life would go on.
There. He had a solution. So why did it feel wrong?
“Okay. We’ll go back.”
“Thank you.”
Lulu rubbed her arms with her hands. The air was cool, but it felt colder now. Anxiety and expectation twisted in his guts, begging him to fix this somehow. To do something. But why? She didn’t want to stay, and he wasn’t going to force her. He’d take her back to her vehicle, wave goodbye, and go home to his dog and his comfortable bed.
Alone.
They disassembled the tent and shook as much moisture off it as they could before Fox folded it up and put it in his pack. He showed her where rainwater had collected in crevices in the rocks, and they took turns using the filter straw to drink. She shivered despite her long sleeve shirt and jacket. Knowing the landscape well here, he decided to divert to a spot up the crest where he could make a fire and they could warm up.
“We need to get warm, eat, and then we’ll head back.”
Nodding, she followed him silently. Her quietness worried him. The light inside her had died and he didn’t know why or what to do about it. Why had she changed her mind? She’d taken control yesterday during a hard situation and used the meager skills she’d already learned, and she’d done it without hesitation. She had what it took to push herself through this course. But something had gotten under her skin.
Getting up the crest took some doing thanks to the slippery earth and wet grass. Their pants were soaked by the time they reached the top and went into the forest. Lulu stuck close to him, something he realized he liked, while he stayed on high alert. The woods were silent save for the chorus of morning birds. They walked about an hour to a clearing at the base of a rocky outcrop. A small waterfall trickled down from the rise above and trailed into a wide stream that flooded several small pools.
“Want to warm up?”
He dropped his pack on a stretch of grass and flowers near the pools.
“Where?”
He gestured to the water. “This section of the water is heated from a geothermal vein in the ground. The water is more lukewarm than hot, but it’ll still feel good.”
Her eyes lit with interest. “How deep is the water?”
“Not very. Deep enough to sit in.”
Contemplating, Lulu looked at the water with trepidation. But then she nodded, surprising him when he’d fully expected her to say no.
“I’ll have a fire going to keep you warm after you get out. Go. I’m right here.”
He expected some debate or a million questions about how she should go about it, but she surprised him again by getting out of her boots and socks and taking off her jacket. He spied the blisters on her heels, just as he suspected would happen. Lulu picked her way to the closest pool and stared into it before finally dipping in a foot.
“It’s tepid,” she said. “Feels good.”
He turned his back to give her privacy. “Get out of those wet pants. Toss them over to me and get in the water.”
A minute later, her pants landed with a slosh at his feet. Resisting the urge to turn around, he groaned when her shirt came at him next. He made a fire while constantly assessing the air for any threats and babied the flames until he had a roaring fire kicking out some impressive heat. The water rippled as she moved.
“Are you coming in?”
“When you’re done. Here, I’m tossing you a foil blanket to wrap up in when you get out. Your clothes will take a while to dry.”
“Why don’t you come in now, Fox? I’ve already seen you naked twice. What’s one more time before I head home?”
Her voice was light again, almost back to normal but laced with a seductive thickness that went right to his crotch. Damn Jett. Why did he have to be right about what was happening between them?
