The sound of the grill sizzling and the smell of something delicious wafting under my nose wakes me. I stretch in bed, throwing my arms wide over my head and try to figure out what he’s cooking. I can’t place the aroma, my tummy wants it to be a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, but my brain knows better.

Is it weird that I want to spring out of bed and run to him? That I already miss looking at his chiseled, scruffy jaw and his intense stare, even though I just woke?

I feel like a lovesick puppy dog. Probably typical of how a girl acts toward the first guy that’s ever made her cum. Yet, the thought doesn’t settle with me. In my gut, I know this feeling runs deeper than that. It isn’t about sex. It isn’t about him saving me, or even for him caring for me. All those things are the building blocks of the great man he is. They’re all just individual parts that attract me to the greater whole.

I manage to climb out of bed without ever making any noise, so that he doesn’t turn around. Progress! Although my ankle is still sore, it’s not nearly as brutal a pain as it was yesterday. For a moment, I even consider trying to walk out on it, but think better of pushing myself too far, too fast and hop over to the chair.

“Bout time you got up,” he looks up from the fillet of fish he’s frying. “You’d think something must have worn you out for you to sleep in so late,” he teases me and gives me a wink.

I can’t help the heat that billows out over my cheeks. It seems stupid to get embarrassed when less than twenty-four hours ago he was kissing my entire naked body. I guess I’m still not used to being so exposed. So vulnerable.

But I’m willing to get used to it.

“Smells so good,” I nod at the food and sit near him. “I thought you had oatmeal for breakfast though? I didn’t sleep in that late did I? Is it already lunch?” I run my hands through my hair like a makeshift brush and tilt my head.

“Nope, you didn’t miss breaky,” he grabs a towel and pulls the hot pan from the woodstove. “This is what’s on the menu. I figure since I’m going to need to move deeper in the forest and I’ll have to get used to fending for myself for all my meals. As far as I know, there’s no elves named Snap, Crackle and Pop who are going to deliver me boxes of Rice Krispies out there, so fish for breakfast is probably something I should get used to.” He chuckles and I laugh.

“Fair enough,” I take a plate of still sizzling fish that he’s handing out to me and a fork. I can’t wait to tell him about my ankle, how it’s already feeling so much better, but my growling stomach puts my priorities in order and I take a mouthful.

“Wow! This is so good,” I tell him around a cheek full of food.” Chomping it quickly, I take another bite.

“Everything tastes better out here, I find. I don’t know if it’s just being outside so much, or that I don’t have stuff to snack on all day, but it seems like my taste buds have come alive since I’ve started living like this,” he swirls his fork around the room.

I breathe in the fresh June air. Even from inside, I can smell the faint aroma of flowers and new growth in the woods. It’s like having a luxury rustic resort all to myself. Complete with a waterfall for a shower and a rugged, muscular guide to keep me safe.

I let myself imagine what his body must look like naked. How his broad chest looks without a shirt clinging to him. I bite my lip involuntarily and feel my heart speed up as my gaze travels further down, trying to peel his pants off in my mind.

“How long until you move out of here?” I focus my attention back on his face and try to keep it there.

Cole finishes swallowing the last bite of his fish and rests his plate on his knee, “Well, as soon as your ankle is good enough to make the trek, I’ll get you back into town and then I’ll be heading straight out. It’s only a matter of time until your boss or more people like him come to find me. I don’t want to be waiting here like a sitting duck, you know?” He wipes the glistening butter from his lips with the back of his hand and stands up to get more fish from the pan.

The food he made that had just tasted so vibrant turns to sawdust on my tongue. I don’t even want to finish the last couple of bites. The idea of him taking me back to Whitehorse and leaving my life forever makes my heart twist up in my chest like it’s clenched inside a tight fist.

I look down at my ankle and decide to keep my news about it healing to myself.

I know he’s right about being in danger here, but I’m in no rush to walk out of Cole’s life. This is the first time I’ve felt truly alive in my twenty-two years. I know it’s greedy, but I can’t bring myself to march out of here and never look back. I’m a girl who always does the right thing, but God help me, I just can’t this time.