Chapter Eight
Isa could hardly believe her eyes, but there was definitely a wooden structure concealed along the tree line at the far end of the valley. She was racing toward it before she’d even realized what she was doing.
Nate was right on her heels.
The closer they got, though, the more she realized “house” might have been an overstatement. The cabin wasn’t much bigger than a shed, and it had the look of an abandoned building, but it was man-made, and maybe…
She reached the door before Nate, stopping short at the rusted silver padlock securing it. Gasping for breath after her sprint, she knocked anyway. “Hello? Is anyone home? We need help.”
“I think it’s an old hunting shack,” Nate said.
“Is it hunting season?” Her heart refused to give up on the idea of rescue.
“Don’t think so. It doesn’t look like anyone’s here in any case.” He jiggled the padlock, testing its strength.
Tears sprang into her eyes. For a few moments there, she’d thought they were safe. Reality was like a hundred-pound weight dropped on her shoulders. “Dammit.”
“This is still good news,” Nate said. “There may be a path leading out of here that connects with one of the bigger hiking trails, and anyway, I think the situation justifies us breaking in.”
She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips. “Breaking in?”
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a while. I’ll leave my number, and if the owner comes around, he or she can call me, and I’ll repay them for whatever we use. Deal?”
She nodded. Whatever was inside the hunting shack was more than they had now, and if there was food… “Please let there be food.”
“We can hope.” Nate walked a few steps away and picked up a rock the size of his fist. He slammed it against the spot where the padlock met the door, and the whole thing splintered. The door sagged open.
“Oh my God.” She stared inside, heart in her throat.
“Let’s see what we’ve got.” Nate led the way inside.
The shack was indeed just that…a shack. It was one room inside. A twin-sized bed was set in the corner on a rusted metal bedframe. Across from it was some kind of wood stove, with a couple of cabinets above it. She hardly dared hope…
Nate tugged open the first cabinet. It contained a pot, a tea kettle, and a few odd utensils. “That’s just a tease,” he muttered.
The next cabinet was the mother lode, though. Several cans were stacked inside. “Food!”
“Hallelujah.” Nate spun them around to read the labels. “Raviolis, SpaghettiOs, baked beans.” His eyebrows raised. “Spam.”
“Spam?” She giggled. “Right now, that actually sounds delicious.”
“Agreed.” He shot her a dazzling smile as he picked up the can of Spam.
Her stomach gurgled in anticipation. “I’ve never been more thankful for meat in a can.”
He popped the top and snagged two forks from the first cabinet, then handed the can to her. “Ladies first.”
She inhaled the meaty aroma, and her mouth literally watered. She plunged her fork into it and pulled out a big chunk. It was salty and squishy and… “I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“That might be the hunger talking.” Nate winked as he grabbed a big bite. “Nope,” he said around a mouthful of Spam. “This is my new favorite food.”
They sat in the middle of the abandoned shack and devoured the entire can of Spam. When they’d finished, she leaned back, gazing longingly at the bed in the corner. She was so tired, and it looked so soft. “Think the owner would mind…?”
“I think a nap is definitely in order, but first we should lay our stuff out in the sun to dry,” Nate stood and set the empty Spam can and forks on a shelf near the stove.
“Right.” That made total sense, except she was so tired, she wasn’t sure how she was even going to get off the floor. She spotted a towel on a shelf near the bed. It was folded as if it were clean, and she wasn’t going to give herself the option to consider otherwise, because she had to get out of these wet clothes…now. “Give me a minute head start, okay?”
She struggled to her feet, grabbed the towel and her backpack, and headed outside. She walked to the stream and stripped down, not even caring if Nate peeked from the window. God, it felt good to be out of those cold, wet clothes. Her fingers and toes were shriveled like prunes, her skin cold and clammy to the touch. Several large blisters had formed on the bottoms of her feet from sliding around in wet socks.
She splashed some fresh water on herself, then wrapped the towel firmly around her. She rinsed her bra and panties and spread all her clothes on a large rock nearby. Walking gingerly now that she was barefoot, she made her way back toward the cabin, passing Nate on his way out.
His gaze dropped to the towel, then snapped back to her face. She flushed, tripping over her own feet as she hurried up the steps. The bed was made with red plaid sheets and a couple of worn blankets thrown over it. Nothing had ever looked so inviting.
Still wearing the towel, she slid into it, rolling toward the wall to make room for Nate. He came back inside a few minutes later, buck naked, and dear God, his body was perfection. All those muscles, and his dick…
“Ready for that nap?” He climbed in beside her.
“Mm-hmm.” As much as she wanted to appreciate the naked man beside her, her eyes just wouldn’t stay open.
Nate tucked her in against him. The bed was so soft, and warm, and dry. For the first time in days, she felt truly relaxed and comfortable, and she was asleep before she’d even realized what was happening. When she woke, the sun cast an orange glow through the window, and whoa, she felt like a whole new woman.
That was the best sleep she’d had in days. The cabin might not have spelled rescue, but it was still a much-needed respite from reality. Nate’s arm was around her, his hand resting on her belly with only the thin towel separating him from her naked body. The towel had come undone while she slept, freeing her breasts. She didn’t care. She trusted Nate.
And she wanted him.
A restless ache grew between her thighs as she remembered that he was naked. He stirred behind her, and she wasn’t the only one getting aroused, if the wood poking into her back was any indication. Feeling reckless and alive, she spun in his arms. The towel fell away, and her naked body landed against his.
“Well, hello.” Nate’s voice was low and gruff, his cock impossibly hard against her belly.
“Hi,” she said, feeling suddenly shy because hello, they were both naked, but while she’d certainly never found herself naked in bed with a man she’d known for only four days before, this was different. She and Nate had gone through so much together. The bond between them went much deeper than physical attraction. They’d survived a hell of a lot, and they weren’t safe yet.
“You’re beautiful, Isabel Delgado,” he murmured, his hand sliding down to palm her ass.
She felt beautiful beneath his gaze, despite the fact that she was bruised, battered, wore no makeup, and hadn’t shaved in days. “You’re not half-bad yourself.”
“Damn nice way to wake up.” He leaned in and kissed her.
The kiss started out innocently enough, but the moment his tongue swept into her mouth, she was a goner. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensation of his tongue sliding against hers, his hands on her bare skin, and the desire building inside her. She clenched her thighs together as the restless ache inside her began to throb.
“I don’t know if I could ever get enough of you,” he murmured as he nibbled at a sensitive spot below her ear.
“I want you, Nate.”
“You’ve got me, sweetheart.” He slid his hand between her legs, groaning as he touched her. “You’re so wet for me.”
“Yes. Oh—” The sensation of his rough fingers against her sensitive flesh was almost too much. She gasped, pressing her hips against him.
“Feel how hard you make me.” He thrust his iron shaft against her belly, and the ache between her legs increased tenfold. He kept stroking, grinding his cock against her belly as his fingers worked their magic, and she was too far gone to do anything but writhe against him, her hips bucking as he drove her right over the edge.
“Nate,” she moaned.
“Come for me, Isa.” He held her close, his hips pressing against hers as waves of blissful release rolled through her.
“Oh…wow.” She went limp in his arms, still tingling with aftershocks. “You do that really well.”
He gave her a long look through eyes hooded with desire. “I was just getting warmed up.”
“Is that so?” She gripped his cock in her good hand, pumping her fist up and down his shaft. In some ways, it was a relief that they couldn’t think about sex. It let her lose herself in this moment without worrying about how far to let things go. And she was really going to enjoy getting him off like he’d just done for her.
Nate drew her in for another kiss. “I have a small confession to make.”
“Oh?” She kept her hand on him, thrilled by the way his cock pulsed beneath her grip and hoping his confession wasn’t going to ruin this moment.
“There are two condoms in my bag.”
“Oh.” Her fingers tightened around him. Oh.
“I just thought you should know, but the decision is yours. I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t fucking love to make love to you, but if this is as far as you want to take it, I’m totally fine with that too.”
Indecision whirled inside her until her head spun. “I’m not…I’m not sure.”
“Then we’ll stop here. Whatever happens between us in this bed, you’ve got to be one hundred and ten percent sure about it.”
“I’m not one hundred and ten percent sure about anything that’s happened since I got on your airplane,” she whispered, her heart in her throat. Because on one level, she wanted to make love to Nate more than she wanted her next breath. But she’d been with only two men in her whole life, and she’d been dating both of them for months before she let them take her to bed. She’d thought they were special, but in just four days, Nate had become incredibly special too.
“That makes two of us.” His arms tightened around her. “But I’m sure you would have caught my eye no matter where or how we met, Isa.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yes.”
“There’s one other thing I’m sure of,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” He looked into her eyes, scorching her with his gaze.
“I want you to come in my hand.”
His cock jerked beneath her fingers. “Fuck, yes.”
***
Nate was certain he’d never felt anything as wonderful as Isa’s hand working his cock. That little twist she gave at the top had him seeing stars each time. He slid a hand between her legs, feeling how aroused she was again from getting him off. He stroked her, matching the rhythm of her hand on his cock, letting their hips bump together on each thrust, and it was almost, almost as good as being inside her.
“Nate,” she whispered. “That’s so good.”
“I know it is, sweetheart.”
She tilted her hips so that the head of his cock rubbed against her clit with each thrust. Then she threw her head back, moaning with pleasure. Her wetness slicked his length.
“Even better,” he gritted, struggling to keep himself in check, because if this was the only time he had with Isa, he wanted to make every moment last. They groped and stroked as the shack filled with the sounds of their pleasure—her gasps, his groans, and the rhythmic bump and grind of their bodies.
“Oh God, Nate…yes!” She convulsed around his fingers, and his cock pulsed in rhythm with her release, his need fueled by her pleasure. Her fist tightened around him.
One hard, fast stroke of her hand. Two. And he came in a hot spurt against her belly. He groaned as the orgasm slammed through him, clutching her against him. They lay like that for a long time, panting. He was grinning like a fool. So was she.
“That was amazing,” she said finally.
“Sure was.” He reached for the towel she’d worn to bed, now twisted beneath them, and wiped them off.
Isa stared up at him, all mussed and glowing with pleasure, so goddamn gorgeous she took his breath away. He leaned in and kissed her, slow and deep.
“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” he murmured against her lips, “but I’m awfully damn glad for today.”
“Me too.”
Fatigue crashed over him, and the urge to sleep with Isa in his arms was almost overwhelming. But, like it or not, this was not a romantic getaway. “As much as I’d like to lie here in bed with you all afternoon, there are a few things we really need to get done.”
“We’re staying here, right?”
“I think it would be foolish not to,” he said. “In fact, as long as that wildfire keeps its distance, I think we should stay here until search and rescue finds us.”
“I love that plan. This is seriously the best news since we crashed.” She leaned in to give him another kiss, grinning from ear to ear.
He kissed her back, then climbed out of bed before he got distracted from the tasks at hand. First off, he walked outside to check on their clothes. His khaki shorts had dried, so he pulled those on, leaving everything else to keep baking in the sun.
His next priority was to get a fire going in the wood stove. He and Isa were going to be warm and comfortable tonight, and they could even send up smoke signals if and when search and rescue caught up to them. He found a small amount of dry firewood underneath the shack. Hopefully there were matches inside. As he climbed the front steps, he passed Isa on her way out, again wearing the towel tucked between her breasts. His dick stirred at the memory of what they’d done in bed with that towel.
Inside, he found a box containing three matches. Not much to work with, but he was determined to make a fire. Failure was not an option. He arranged a few larger pieces of wood inside the stove, then added as much dry kindling as he could find, even using the box from their granola bars as tinder.
He lit the first match, touching it to the kindling. A flame burst to life in the paper and wood shavings he’d gathered. Yes.
But less than a minute later, it had gone out. “Dammit.”
Using his pocket knife, he cut a piece of fabric off the blanket on the bed and added it to the kindling pile. He lit the second match and held his breath. After a minute or so, the fabric caught fire, sending flames curling up and around the nearest log. He nursed the flames with more bits of bark and fabric until at last the log began to burn.
Nate felt like Superman. He’d started a fire! Tonight, they would be able to enjoy a warm, comfortable night’s sleep and even a hot meal.
He walked outside to tell Isa.
She emerged from the woods behind the shack, wearing nothing but the towel and her sneakers, a pensive expression on her face. “I can’t find a path.”
“No?” He’d hoped that the hunter or hunters who used this place might have tramped down a path to get here.
She shook her head. “I followed a few spots that I thought might be a path, but there was nothing definitive, nothing I’d feel comfortable following. I also made an SOS sign over there near the stream.”
“Did you put wildflowers in this one too?” he asked with a smile.
“Of course I did.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I want them to be able to see it.”
“You know, I was getting discouraged this morning, but now I feel more sure than ever that we’re going to get of this mess.”
She gave him a sweet smile. “Me too.”
“Even if the fire catches back up to us and we have to move on, we’ll have had a rest and some real food, and we’ll bring as many supplies as we can with us when we leave.”
“Definitely.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “But there’s one supply I don’t want to bring with us.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” He wrapped his arms around her to kiss her back.
“The condoms,” she said, “because I want to use them with you here tonight.”