Silas

I hear her scream, and in an instant I grab my backpack, and I’m running down the path toward her.

I never should have let her leave my line of sight.

On the trail, I see a ten foot tall grizzly bear approaching her. Everly is terrified, and with reason, her hand is clamped over her mouth. When she sees me, her terror reaches my core.

Using my hands, I indicate that she should raise her arms over her head, and I walk slowly, not wanting to give the bear a chance to charge me, either.

Reaching into the side pocket of my bag, I grab the repellent spray. Ready to use it, I approach the bear from the side, leaving plenty of space between him and me. He’s so close to my woman, and I won’t let him attack her.

He’s so focused on Everly that he doesn’t register that I’m nearing him until I have my finger pressed down on the nozzle, spraying him.

“Run.” I reach for her arm, pulling her up as the bear growls. Time will only be on our side for seconds.

Propelling ourselves up the path, we get on the ATV in moments. We’re barreling down the mountain before the bear can retaliate.

Everly clings to my back, her body tight against mine. I drive as fast as I can manage. She sobs into my shirt, holding on so tight. Fuck, I never want her to let go.

I feel the sting of tears at my own eyes, knowing how badly the whole encounter could have gone, how lucky we were to get out so fast, to get out alive.

When I pull back onto my property, stopping in my own driveway, I turn off the engine and pull Everly in my arms. Carrying her into the cabin, I set her on the bed.

She’s hysterical, crying harder than I’ve ever seen anyone cry. Reaching my arms around her shoulders, I hold her close, hating to see her so terrified.

“Silas, I thought I was going to die.”

I’ve had a handful of encounters with bears myself, and it’s always ended well, but I know the surge of adrenaline that comes with seeing a beast face to face

“Shh, it’s okay, girl,” I tell her, kissing her forehead.

“I don’t know how you live here, if there are bears so close.”

“Of course there are bears. It’s the woods, Everly.”

“I know,” she says, sniffling, her breath ragged and rocky. “But it’s so scary. I could never feel safe here. What if—what if the bear had attacked me? Or worse, what if he’d attacked you? I’d be stuck there, watching you die, all alone. Silas, I can’t take care of you if there’s a crisis, an emergency. What if—”

“Baby, there are always what-ifs. But nothing happened.” I try to soothe her worry, but damn, it’s not working.

“Nothing terrible happened today,” she says. “But next time it could. Silas, I can’t fly a plane or work the damn radio.”

Part of me hears her worry and feels shitty; the other part holds a sliver of hope as I listen to her cry. She’s saying words that sound like she doesn’t want to leave me.

It’s about motherfucking time she comes around. No way in hell am I letting her go. And now it sounds like she doesn’t want to let me go, either.

“You can learn how to work a radio, Everly. I can teach you to shoot a gun.”

“And what about children?” she cries, pulling out of my arms. “Pretend I stayed, and we had a baby…. Silas, there are no doctors here. Who would deliver our children? How would it even work? There are no schools this far out.”

I run my hands over her face. “I don’t have all the answers, but people do it. They’ve been doing it since the beginning of time.”

“I thought the biggest issue about living here would be the isolation. But that’s not it, Silas,” she says, shaking her head aggressively, as new information dawns on her all at once. “The real issue about being here in the woods with you isn’t the fact that we’re here all alone; it’s the fact that it’s dangerous.”

“I’ll protect you,” I tell her, fiercely.

“We both know you can’t always be there for me. And I know I can’t protect you.”

“We can protect each other. It’s a partnership.”

“I don’t know, Silas. It feels like so much pressure. I don’t want to mess up and lose you.”

My jaw is tense as I watch this gorgeous woman think this through.

“Sounds an awful lot like you want to stay.”

“With you?” she asks, wiping her tears. “If that was the only factor, then yes. I’m falling for you, so hard. And I know you’re falling for me … and that’s just icing on the cake considering we’re already married.”

“But?”

“But it isn’t the only thing to think about. That bear could have killed me.”

“There are a million ways to die, Everly,” I tell her.

“But Silas,” she whispers, pressing her hand to my heart. “There are also a million ways to live.”

* * *

Later, we lie in bed, and I hold Everly in my arms. She’s finally starting to calm down, but the bear encounter rocked her world. I can’t help but pull her closer, not wanting anything bad to happen to her under my watch.

“I don’t want to leave, Silas,” she whispers, her hands holding mine at her waist. “But I’m scared to stay.”

I kiss her neck, wanting to erase all her fears, but not knowing how to do that. Even if I got her a gun and taught her how to shoot, that won’t eliminate some of her concerns. She’s right about delivering babies out here, raising kids in the woods. I never thought that far out when I moved here. I only wanted to take my money and leave the bullshit behind.

But as my cock presses against Everly, growing just from the nearness of her warm body, I can see how her being here changes everything.

She pulls down her panties and reaches behind her, taking hold of my cock.

“You’re the only thing that makes sense right now, Silas,” she murmurs. “You alone.”

She strokes me, and I guide myself into her opening. She spreads her legs, letting me take her as she’s cradled in my arms. I thrust into her, softly, and her slick pussy welcomes my hardness.

“Girl, you are speaking my mind.” My hands take hold of her round tits, squeezing them as I take her deeper, her ass grinding against me as I do.

I lower a hand to her bare pussy, circling her soft folds as I pound into her from behind.

“Oh, just like that, Silas,” she moans, her body arching as I hit her deeply, her pussy pouring her sweet juice over my hand as my cock fills her. I take her harder, realizing that this is the only way to release our pent-up adrenaline from earlier.

We come, both of us breathless as we rock in unison.

We come, neither of us knowing where we go from here.