by Ashley Kay
Water. I remember now. She told me to stay put, unless I heard water. It’s easier to locate someone if they stick to a river or creek since those are easy to navigate on a map. I crane my neck and close my eyes to block out any distractions. In between all the sounds, my ears pick up moving water. Perhaps the universe doesn’t hate me so much after all.
“Yes!” I fist pump the air and tug on my backpack. Following the gurgles, I make it to a small stream running perpendicular to me, no wider than a car. Feet gliding through the grass, I crouch beside the stream and watch as little fish swim with the tiny current over the smooth rocks and in between the crevices carved out by time. Looking behind me, there’s the perfect place to start a fire, and without a doubt, I can at least do that. Hopefully, any smoke will draw someone near and keep out the predators if I have to be here all night.
While gathering sticks, one of them catches in the damn hole in my shirt and I curse the heavens for my predicament. Arranging the twigs carefully, I take ahold of the reusable flint and matchstick Savy gave me and strike it, creating a tiny flame. I gently blow on it, watching it ignite the rest of the sticks in an orange glow. Once the fire is roaring, I sit back, satisfied with my ability to at least do one thing right.
The afternoon flits lazily by and I realize how much of my time is spent running around trying to accomplish too much in twenty-four hours. So spending just a few hours sitting around doing nothing—is daunting.
I count the trees that surround me, the sheer amount staggering. I draw pictures in the dirt like some infantile caveman and eat through my entire backpack of snacks.
The sun begins its slow descent through the trees, and I really grow anxious. Being out here for a few hours is one thing, but staying the night all alone, with no tent or anything to shelter me, replaces any confidence with jitters. I pace back and forth between two trees, willing the universe to send me anything to save me. I double over at my waist. What if I die out here? There’s still so much more to say to Savy, to tell her again that I love her. I want to marry her, that much is true. I just fucking hope I make it out of here to turn that into reality.
Blowing out a breath to steady my raging nerves, I focus on what I need to do next. I know the fire needs constant tending if I have any chance of being left alone by man-eating mammals.
A snapping and cracking sound ricochets behind me, and I whip around, panic flooding my veins. If this isn’t real, then it’s the epitome of nightmares. My breaths punch out, hyperventilating in the thin air. Staggering back, I claw at nothing but open skies, my eyes wild. The ground catches my fall, pain radiating up my wrists, and I bark out at the intense ache. There’s no time to assess if I’ve twisted anything because I’m met with something I never thought I’d encounter in all my thirty years of semi-living: a mother-fucking bear.
29
SAVANNAH
Frantic, I force myself to slow down before I pass out from the overwhelming fear of something terrible happening to Preston.
My legs burn, the weight of my gear drags me down, and my stomach spasms as sweat rolls off my face, splashing onto my arms. I shakily raise one to check my GPS watch. Thank god, I’m close.
Pausing to do an inventory of my surroundings, I take a drink of water before I faint from worry. Chest heaving, I’m on alert for any sign that he’s nearby or came this way.
He’s smart, he’s got this, he’ll be fine. I repeat it over and over again, my new mantra, all but begging Mother Earth to give me a sign.
Scanning one more time before moving on, I spot it, barely noticeable among the brush—a shred of fabric. Heart pounding, I drop my pack and run over to pull it off the branch. Gold and blue flannel. This is from Preston’s shirt that he was wearing this morning. I rub the soft cloth, a smile pulling at my mouth, thinking there’s no way this is a coincidence. Someone is looking out for us.
I silently thank the heavens, stuffing the material in my pocket. Judging by how it was hanging from the branch, I can gauge the direction he went. I remind myself to thank Isaac when I get back for teaching me how to track, otherwise I’d be just as lost as Preston.
Feeling a jolt of adrenaline from the discovery, I push myself a little harder. Soon, I pass a fresh boot print and let out an excited shout. I’m on his tail.
A warm breeze tickles my cheek, and I catch the acrid scent of smoke in the air. Whipping my head skyward, a small spiral of smoke rises above the trees. Exhaling a big breath, I trek toward the charcoal clouds and laugh when I come up to a stream. I wilt with a tremendous sigh of relief. He remembered—stay by a stream or river, start a fire.
The smoke is roughly a mile away and with the position of the sun, we still have a few hours left before nightfall to set up camp.
Trekking over fallen timbers and mud from the recent rains makes for a solid workout. Panting and sweating, I’m sure I’m a mess, but Preston won’t care. He loves me in all my forms. I can’t wait to see him so I can lay a big fat kiss on him before teasing him mercilessly about getting lost.
I’m so proud of him, taking what he’s learned from me and the others and applying it to a real-world situation. We deserve Mae’s pie on that merit alone.
The tree-line breaks out to a small clearing near the stream. It’s obvious he’s been here or is close by. There’s a fire, a small one, the charred logs barely glowing—a big cause for concern.
Where is he?
Alarm bells shriek violently in my body when there’s nothing except scattered items and a limp pack near the waning fire. Fear slams into my body, setting my adrenaline on high alert.
My ears register the sound before my eyes do. A low snarling, feral and menacing, raises all the hair on my body and my breath stalls in my throat. Slowly, I turn around on my heels and my heart tumbles from my chest. Preston’s back is to a tree, a small knife clutched tightly in his hands, the whites of his eyes stark against the rivers of sweat trailing down his face.
Following his petrified gaze, I land on a massive brown bear about fifteen yards away from him. The predator’s thick hackles raise, increasing its already monstrous size, and its dirty nose sniffs out the competition. Self-preservation pleads with me to run, but the beast has trapped the man I love in its murderous gaze and instinct kicks in.
Like a lioness protecting her pride, defending someone who’s part of me becomes a priority. Adrenaline glides down my muscles, and every movement honed from years of practice is graceful and specific. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing.
Crouching down low to the ground, my eyes never leave the animal as I slide my bow quietly and quickly from my pack. Nocking an arrow, I steadily stand up, control my breathing, and aim. The world falls away, and a rhythmic pulsing in my blood calms the urge to bolt. My senses heighten to encompass this myopic moment in time where I either succeed or fail. Zeroing in on the bear’s expansive chest, I release the arrow on a harsh exhale.
A thud followed by a grunt, the bear rears up on its hind legs allowing me to fire off another arrow and it joins the other, deep in the chest cavity. Pawing at the impaled shafts, the bear lunges forward, smacking the dirt, driving the arrows in further, blood streaming out of the sides of impact. A few heavy, wet breaths escape its frothy mouth, and after what seems like a hundred years, the creature goes still, its massive head lolling to the side.
Closing my eyes, I fall to my knees, lurching forward to the ground. The adrenaline dump forces me to retch onto the forest floor and claw into the dirt, choking on foul bile. I’m not aware of Preston’s arms around me until I’m being lifted and crushed into a hard chest. I can’t stop the tears. They flow out with no reservation and soak through the front of his shirt. Still sobbing uncontrollably, I latch onto him, my body rejecting all the energy I held inside. Preston’s arms are tight around me, a shaky hand on my head and shudders racking his own body in waves.
“Shh, shh, it’s ok, I got you, baby, I got you. I won’t let go,” his murmurs flow into my hair, breaking through my shock. M
y cries subside and I tighten my hold on his shirt, inhaling his welcoming scent of citrus and sweat, relishing in the safety of his embrace. Lifting my head from his hands, I look up at his face. His eyelashes are wet from tears and his blue eyes are devastatingly electric. A smile turns up one corner of his mouth and his dimple deepens.
“Artemis. You just killed a bear for me.” He pushes my hair back behind my ear tenderly.
Laughing, I grab his hand and hold it to my face. He kisses me slowly and softly, like I was close to breaking—the brush of his lips bringing my heart rate back down.
I tear away to exclaim, “Wait! How did you know that was my nickname during my archery competitions?”
Preston smirks. “I didn’t, but it suits you. I thought I died and the beautiful Greek goddess of the wild animals came to escort me to heaven with her golden bow and arrow.”
His chest rumbles with laughter, and I can’t help but join in. Our bodies shake with joy and soon our laughs turn into maniacal cackling from the harrowing experience. Birds scatter in a plume of feathers and we both slide to the ground, me tucked into his side.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Preston asks after we come down from our high. He’s lazily stroking my arms, hair raising at his touch.
“Yeah, I’m ok, just worn out. Are you ok? I’m pretty sure I would have peed my pants if I almost got ate by a bear.”
Preston looks down at his pants and then back up at me. “Nope, no piss. I obviously had it all under control over there. By the way, how did you find me? How did you even know I was lost?”
Craning my neck, I meet his expectant face. “Grey called me over the radio and gave me some rough coordinates, so I followed them.” I finger the hole in his shirt. “I also found the scrap of shirt you snagged on a branch and figured out which way you went. I saw the smoke from your fire and knew I found you.” I shrug my shoulders as his arms tighten around me.
“Damn, my girlfriend is a badass.”
“Girlfriend?” I tease, because I’m more than just another warm body to him, but I can’t help it. I want to hear him say it again, especially since today could’ve had a different outcome.
“Fuck yes, girlfriend. Since I didn’t get mauled to death by a bear, I plan on making you more than that someday.”
Turning in his arms, I bring mine up over his shoulders and tangle my hands in his hair. I can’t stop staring deeply into his eyes, and time becomes irrelevant. Leaning in, I kiss him with every ounce of love I have, every shred of passion I possess, and every promise I intend to keep. After breaking apart—dazed—a thought suddenly occurs to me. “How did you get lost in the first place?”
He puffs out a breath. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“I was thinking about you and wanted to do something for you. I was trying to find the perfect stick to whittle and got turned around.”
I stifle a giggle with my hand, but it’s no use. “Whittling? How the heck did you get into whittling?” Images of Preston concentrating on creating some warped figure out of wood sent me into another fit of laughter.
Picking up a blade of grass, he tosses it at me. “Your bestie. He sent me on yet another stupid errand. This time it was with Duncan, and apparently, he has a crazy obsession with wood working—specifically whittling. When I dozed off during his monologue on the perfect strategies, he hit me over the head with a wooden snake.” He rubs at his head, as if remembering the bludgeoning he endured.
“Did you eventually find the perfect stick?” I ask in between snickers.
“I have the perfect stick for you on me at all times, baby.” He wags his eyebrows, a slimy grin on his face, and I slap his bicep.
“Nice to see you haven’t lost your pervish ways, cowboy.”
“Never,” he growls, palming my ass. My groin pulses in response and if we don’t move soon, I’m liable to get down and dirty on the ground.
“Come on, Casanova, we need to set up camp before the sun goes down.”
Groaning, he stands and tugs me up with him, encircling me with his arms. “I don’t want to let you go. I really thought no one would find me and I’d die out here alone.”
“I would have scoured this entire forest to find you. You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.”
After smacking my butt, he walks backward toward the fire, his eyes crinkling. “Hurry, let’s get that tent set up. I’ve thought of a few ways to thank you for saving my life.”
30
PRESTON
My mind reels after narrowly escaping death. My girl swooped in like an avenger and killed a bear that was primed to attack me. What kind of alternate universe am I living in? It has lost me in thought, because Savy startles me when she places her hand on my forearm.
“Hey, are you ok?” Her eyes squint in concern. Dirt smudges her cheek, and I wipe it away with my thumb.
“Still processing how you killed that thing and if you didn’t, I’d be bear chow by now.”
Wrinkling up her cute little nose, she makes a face. “We need to set up camp away from it or we might instead become wolf meat overnight.”
“That sounds so much better,” I say, sarcasm hanging off my smile.
We move to a place further down by the stream, away from the bear's carcass. Savy radios Greyson to inform him she found me and had to kill the animal in self-defense. He says he’ll let DNR know so they can process it in the morning. She gives him our coordinates so he can meet us here tomorrow and help us get back to a group to finish up the retreat. I’m not finishing it without her, so I’m refusing to be in anyone’s group except hers.
Erecting the tent is a fun event—if you call mixing up the poles and it caving in two times before we got it upright—fun. Savy laughs the whole time and I have to follow suit, otherwise I’d be agitated by my lack of camping knowledge and execution.
We light a fire and boil some water for the packaged meals she thankfully had in her pack. I don’t tell her I ate all the snacks from mine, but judging by the sheer amount of wrappers melting in the fire, she’s clued in. I was bored and thought death was on the horizon—sue me.
The sun is setting, cooling down the air significantly. Wrapping a small blanket around the both of us, we sit huddled close to the fire. The flames jump up and lick the sky, popping and crackling in the still forest.
I pull her closer to me, her warm body fitting perfectly into my side. I lay my head on top of her head, smelling her strawberry scented hair. “I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again, Montana,” I whisper.
Squeezing my waist, she snuggles closer. “When I saw that bear stalking you, I felt the same way, and if I couldn’t get it down fast enough, I’d never have forgiven myself. I almost left my bow with Evelyn and Franky, but she reminded me to take it. I’ll have to thank her when we get back.”
“I had a knife, but I’m not sure how well I could have fought off something of that size.”
“There’s no doubt you would’ve fought well. I’m just glad I don’t have to think about the alternative. It would have crushed me.”
I warm hearing her say I how much I mean to her. After years of pushing people away, it feels good to put my trust in someone again. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing her how important she is to me.
Standing up, I pull her toward to the tent and lead us in. It’s cozy, meant for one person, but we’re going to make it work for us. Two rolled sleeping bags are on the ground, and I take them both, zipping them together to make one big one.
I glance over at Savy—she’s smirking at me, hands on her hips. “What? This is genius at work here.”
“Oh, I know, Einstein, you just assume I want to share.” Tongue in cheek, her eyes sparkle.
“So that’s how it’s going to be? You wanna sleep outside?” I joke and unzip the sleeping bags, but her hand on mine stops me.
“Of course, I want to share. You just beat me to it.” She shrugs, turning to close up the tent. Facing me, she slowl
y lifts her shirt up over her head, her nipples pebbling through her bra, and my dick twitches. He knows where this is heading.
“Ready to cash in your IOU?” She flings her shirt over to the corner and shimmies out of the rest of her clothes, standing completely naked and beautiful in front of me.
Stroking my chin, I pause for a second before leaping forward to drag her down with me into the gigantic sleeping bag. Laughing, I nuzzle into her neck, inhaling the scent of home on her. “I don’t have any money. Will my body do?”
“Preston Alexander Lee, you’re crazy.”
“Crazy about you.”
“Likewise. Your body will do just fine. Now, take off your damn clothes.”
“Have I mentioned I love your feisty attitude?”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice to get naked. Stripping down, I shiver and quickly hop back into the sleeping bag, her warmth seeping into me instantly.
I gather her close, her back to my chest. My hands stroke lazily up and down her arms, kissing her neck, feeling her pulse race. I bite her earlobe and she gasps, backing her perky ass into me. Groaning, I slide my hard length up and down her toned ass.
“You’re going to kill me, you feel so fucking amazing.”
She reaches behind her and grips my hard cock in her hand tightly, her thumb swirling over the tip, spreading the bead of moisture around. Biting her shoulder, I shudder under her touch.
Flipping her to lie beside me, I lean down, drawing a taut nipple into my mouth, sucking greedily while I pinch and roll the other one with my fingers. She moans, arching her back, bringing me closer. Snaking my hand down, I slide my fingers through her slick folds, feeling her heat. Rubbing her clit, I can feel her legs shaking in anticipation and my erection bobs in response.
“Shit. Preston, please, I need you inside me. I need to feel you everywhere.” She tugs at my arms, nails digging in, the feeling making me harder, spurring me into action. I pull her on top of me, taking her mouth as I angle myself into her entrance. In one push, I’m deep inside her, stealing her gasp with my lips. Her tongue slashes at mine as she rocks her hips back and forth. One hand over her ass, the other on her hips, I lift her up and slam her down, driving in deeper, grinding my pelvic bone into her sensitive clit. She rakes her nails down my chest and I growl, enjoying the sensation of her claiming me, riding me fast and hard.
