Emma
The cold is intense. It’s worse than anything I’ve ever experienced in my entire life, worse even than the latest intense no carb, no fat, no dairy, gluten-free, organic water diet all my friends are on at the moment.
It feels as if someone’s locked me in the freezer about four days ago and forgotten to get me out. My muscles shake and shiver, convulsing in protest and defense against the whipping winds and the wet, soggy snowflakes that pelt against the exposed flesh on my red cheeks.
But all of that no longer matters. My own needs pale into insignificance against those of my new charge. Here is a creature of the wild, totally defenseless and at the mercy of the elements.
Dylan’s burning eyes have left scorch marks, but heck, I’m not going to leave this fur ball behind. He’s already snuggling into me. There’s a low soft cry as his eyes are still fixed on the dead body of his mother.
Suddenly I wish I could do more for this little guy. I want to turn back time and fix things so he doesn’t lose his bear mom.
“It’s still not a good idea,” Dylan’s voice snaps me out of my reverie.
“Let me guess?” I snarl. I’ve just about had it with his all too male attitude. “You’d just leave him here to die?”
“That’s the way the world works, Emma,” Dylan grumbles. “Eat or be fucking eaten. Time you city folk get used it.”
I bite my lip. Of course I’ve seen the nature shows, and I know we live in a dog-eat-dog-eat world, but I can’t just leave this little fellow here.
“We better get back to the fucking cabin before the three of us freeze to death out here.” Dylan insists.
The minute we leave the cave and the little bear can’t see his mom anymore, his tiny sobs increase to spine-tingling howls. It nearly rips my heart in two. I’ve never heard anything so woeful in my life.
We barely speak on the way back. Dylan’s stomping off some nasty energy. I can see the snow melt where his feet land. Whatever’s eating him, I hope he’ll be in a better frame of mind when we return to the cabin.
I try and focus my energy on the little fellow in my arms. I stroke his damp fur and mumble non-coherent words at him. Occasionally, Dylan turns around with a deep, furrowed brow. The way those eyebrows are knitted together, he might hurt himself.
By the time we get close enough to the cabin for me to recognize my surroundings, the bear’s woeful cries are ripping me to shreds. Ear-piercing is the best way to describe them.
My thighs, calves, and aching back are also screaming in protest. I won’t have to work out for an entire month, maybe even year, after my extreme exertion today.
When I first made the decision to storm out of the cabin in the heat, my rush of anger aimed at Dylan, I’d regretted my decision almost instantly. But as is the way with rash decisions, by the time I came to my senses, it was too fucking late, and I was already lost in the haze of snow and wind.
I’d felt like I was going to collapse only a few steps into the heavy snow—but all of that is gone now, replaced by concerns for another being.
When my eyes zero in on the cabin, I beeline for the home stretch. And just like that, the awful noise of the creature in my arm stops. It’s as if someone’s turned the switch to off.
Wow.
Either baby bear is hurt and passed out in pain, or he’s totally exhausted. I don’t know much about animals, particularly bears, but I suspect it’s the latter.
Walking back up the steps, I use my feet to stomp most of the snow that clings to my pants and boots off to the deck below.
“We made it.” I breathe in heavy gulps of air as Dylan glares at me.
Without a word, Dylan opens the door, and I just about collapse into the cabin.
Dylan is hot on my heels, and as soon as he’s inside, he starts to peel off the first layer of clothing: his coat. Already, water’s pooling on the floorboards where we stand.
Baby bear does not open his eyes.
“How about a bed out of flannels?” I turn to Dylan to gauge his reaction. After my earlier outbursts, he might not take this too well.
His expression is difficult to read. He’s eyes are still smoldering, burning up on the inside. “Sure. Yep. Let’s do that.” Zero enthusiasm.
“Okay,” I try and force a smile to my face. Is it going to be like this all the time? Surely we should be able to break this tension between us. I mean, holy shit, we’re two adults.
I watch him bound up the stairs and come back with an armful of flannels.
Dylan positions the flannels on the floor near the fire, making a little cocoon in the middle for me to gently place the cub inside.
“That’s good,” I mumble and see Dylan crouch on the floor, fluffing up old shirts.
Carefully, I unzip my coat, but I keep a tight grip around the bear. As gently as I possibly can, I crouch down beside the makeshift bed and delicately place him in the little burrow that Dylan has created for his body.
To my relief, the bear cub remains asleep, and I take a piece of the flannel to tuck over his back to add an extra layer of warmth. Not that he probably needs it, he’s got plenty of bear fur and all…but it’s just a tender gesture to instinctively protect something living that’s more vulnerable than I am.
“Does he look hurt?” Dylan asks, and I’m suddenly acutely aware of his close presence. I feel my skin tingle, and it’s difficult to formulate a response. My throat’s parched, as if I’ve walked through a desert instead of a snowstorm.
With great effort, I shake my head. I glance at him, the huge man, so bear-like himself. He’s so fucking close I can feel his breath on my cheek.
“Good.” Dylan’s own voice sounds softer. “When he wakes, we’ll give him a thorough check-over.”
Standing back up, I nod. I barely breathe, afraid of what’ll happen next. I mean, if the past few hours is anything to go by, Dylan should storm out in the next few seconds.
But he doesn’t. We stand together, side by side, for a few seconds, watching the bear cub’s little chest rise and fall with each breath.
As the minutes tick by, the electricity between us is increasing. I think I can practically see the sparks fly between us. Time seems to have slowed right down and the moment stretches on.
“You know…” Dylan speaks first. “You have a really good heart. You’ve always loved babies and animals and…you know…things like that.” He coughs and scratches his cheek, turning a smile towards me.
“Thanks.” I bite my bottom lip. “I couldn’t just leave the poor thing behind. It would have died for sure.”
“It sure is cold out there.”
“Yes…” I whisper and notice my trembling hands. Wet still drips off my clothing. “I should really,” I start and stop.
“Let me help you.” Dylan extends his massive hand and unzips my coat.
“Thanks.” Now I’m trembling all over. I’m not sure if it’s only the cold or something else.
Our eyes meet and lock.
Words seem suddenly superfluous. Without saying anything, I begin to unbuckle his snow pants. When they drop down around his ankles, he steps out of them.
It’s only now that I notice something else. Something that makes me grin.
No fucking way.
His boxer shorts are also flannel—but they look as sexy as anything I’ve seen. My eyes feast on the muscles of steel in his thighs before resting on another part of his anatomy, a part clearly with a mind of its own.
As I’m feasting on the huge bulge in his pants, he grabs my shirt and pulls it over my head. Where his fingers brush against my naked skin, tiny electric currents pulse through me.
The heat between us radiates and swirls through the room with such forceful intensity, I’m certain one of us might explode.
With my shirt gone, he’s exposing my naked breasts. A cool chill of pleasure settles over me from the vulnerability of the moment.
My breathing becomes rapid, intensifying as he pulls off his own shirt, leaving me hungry and drooling over his carved chest and torso. His abdominal muscles are like tiny mountains on his bare, exposed flank, and with a trembling hand, I graze my fingertips over the top of them with enormous delight.
He pulls me close to him with a wild expression in his eyes, igniting a passion between us. He grabs my hips and rips off my pants as I toss them in a heap across the room with a flick of my ankle.
Before I know what’s happening, our bodies are melting together as his touch unleashes a wild animal filled with lust and desire.
All I can think of is the need to tame the wild beast across from me—and to be tamed myself.