You know that feeling you get when you’re pulled from a deep sleep, but you’re not sure what woke you? Well that’s crawling all over my skin right now. My ears are prickling, straining hard to hear something out of the ordinary. My eyes take a second to adjust to the darkness in the living room. Outside I can hear the wind whipping more snow against the side of the cabin. I took the couch so Caitlin could get a good night’s sleep in the bed.

Caitlin!

My eyes focus and I jump back a little when I see she’s standing over me in her nightgown. She looks down at me, her eyes hooded and her lips curled into a sexy little half smile.

“What’s going on?” I sit up, confused.

She doesn’t answer me. She just sways slightly, like she’s in a trance. Then, before I can stand up or grab her hand, she’s on me.

Holy fuck, she doesn’t waste any time! Her full lips press into mine and she throws her arms over my shoulders and presses against me tight. I’m only in my underwear, so when she grinds against me, the thin fabric of her panties rubbing against my boxer briefs doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.

My cock grows thick and I kiss her deeply. Since I laid eyes on her, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I had no idea she felt this way about me.

“Hey, are you sure you’re feeling good enough for this?” I break our kiss and run my hand up under her gown, laying it flat on her back.

Her skin is like fire! I pull my fingers back and yank my hand out from under her clothes. Immediately I lift her off me and scoot back, putting space between us. I hold the back of my hand against her cheek and then gently across her forehead, there’s no doubt about it, she’s got a fever.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I give her a small shake, but she doesn’t answer. She still has that same half-lidded stare.

Shit.

“Ace? Get up man!” I call out, panic rising in my throat. I thought we were out of the woods, so to speak, with Caitlin and her injuries. The last thing she needs is to be getting really sick. We’re still so far away from any planes making their way out here. “Ace! Get your ass up!” I bellow and I hear him thud across his bedroom floor and the door groan as he opens it.

“What’s up?” He yawns.

“I need help with Caitlin, she’s really hot.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve got eyes, man. Just keep your dick in your pants and you don’t have to worry about it. Good night.” He turns back toward the blackness of his room and starts to shut the door.

“Ace! Get over here. She’s got a fever, like a really high one. Her skin is burning up, we’ve got to do something.”

“What? She’s out here with you? Wait, did you say fever?” The groggy, molasses quality of his voice finally shakes off and his senses seem to sharpen. “Oh, uh, okay, what do you need me to do?” He pads out across the floor to the side of the sofa.

“Help me get her into the bath, we’ve got to get her cooled off,” I instruct him.

Ace leans over Caitlin and lifts her up over his shoulder, fireman style and wordlessly takes her into the bathroom. I hop up and grab some pants, zipping them up over my shrinking erection and wince as I realize she’s not even gonna remember this tomorrow.

I push the thought away. Ace is right, if I just keep my cock in my pants, I don’t have to worry about it. I join them in the bathroom and quickly fill the tub with tepid water while Ace waits, holding Caitlin safe. Once it begins to fill up, I help him lower her into the water, her nightgown and all.

She groans, but doesn’t seem to snap out of her daze. Under the light in the bathroom, it’s easy to see that her half-opened eyes aren’t really seeing anything. She might look awake, but she’s not.

Her pajamas slick down tight to her skin, leaving absolutely nothing to modesty. Her nipples pebble under the nightgown as the fabric clings to her. I look up at Ace and see that he’s noticed the same thing. We both give each other a look and then focus on the rest of the task at hand. Ace moves over and supports Caitlin’s head so her face doesn’t roll into the water. I shut off the taps and grab a face cloth.

Dipping it in the lukewarm water, I hand it off to Ace. “Here, use this to cool down her face,” I tell him.

He gently dabs the cool cloth over her cheeks and forehead, being especially careful around the diminishing bump on her head.

In the meantime, I check her circulation. It looks good. Her breathing is fine. I kneel next to the tub, close to Ace and hold her wrist in my hand, checking her pulse. Nothing is wrong there either.

“Problems?” Ace raises an eyebrow at me.

“No. I’m not sure why she’s got the fever.” I shake my head. “I’ll have to check her scrapes when we change her gown. Make sure nothing is infected.” I stand up and move back, giving Ace some more space.

“Well, she’s feeling a lot cooler now, so that’s good, right?” He lies his hand over her forehead to test her temperature.

“Yeah, that’s what we want.” I frown down at her. I hate that she’s suffering and there’s so little we can do. I travel the curves of her body, from her hip to her head and get lost in the beautiful brown explosion of wisps that her hair is making in the tub. The way the strands slowly twist and twirl under the water is almost hypnotic.

“You gonna get her something to change into?” Ace brings me back to reality and the fact that there’s still more to do.

“Yeah, I’ll see what I can find in her bag.” I head out the door and head to my room.

I flick on my light and yank her small suitcase up onto the bed. She doesn’t have any more clothes in here besides socks and underwear, and those don’t help any. I could go get the clothes I washed for her, but I doubt they’re the most comfortable to sleep in. My gaze lands on my dresser and I shuffle over to it, pulling out the second drawer.

This will do.

Plucking a large T-shirt from the pile, I bump the drawer shut with my hip and go back to the bathroom.

“I’ve got something she can wear, I figure a shirt is more comfy than…” I stop and stare at Ace. He’s holding Caitlin at an arm’s distance, his face is twisted with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he murmurs, blushing furiously. “She just, I dunno man, she…”

“Kissed you too?” I fill in the blanks.

“Too? You mean she was kissing you out there?” He jerks his head toward the living room.

“Yeah, she woke me up that way, I didn’t know she was feverish though,” I start explaining.

“No, that wouldn’t have been my first thought either,” Ace grins. “Okay, well, we probably should just keep the kissing thing to ourselves. She’s already gonna get all freaked out about being changed again. No need to embarrass her too.” Ace’s tone is uncharacteristically compassionate. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s falling for this girl.

“You’re right.” I nod curtly. “Okay, can you avert your eyes but hold her steady while I get this wet gown off her? I’ve gotta check her cuts and get her changed.” I wave the T-shirt in my hand like a flag.

“You got it.” Ace gets a good grip on Caitlin, who looks more like she’s actually sleeping now, and stares at the door as I strip her down. I don’t even glance at any part of her except the bandages. After patting her down with a towel, I take a peek under the tape, but see no signs of infection. That’s all I needed to know. Within seconds, I’ve got her in one of my T-shirts. It’s hard not to notice how it hangs on her like a dress.

“Back to bed?” Ace asks.

“Yep.”

We carry her back to my bed wordlessly, but we don’t need to speak to have a conversation. Our eyes meet and I can see the same worry flickering in his gaze that I feel twisting up in my gut. We’re both nervous, concerned, hell, we’re fucking scared. Scared that she’s about to take a turn for the worse. Scared that she’s going to die.