12.
Petal
She didn’t know where she was. All that was clear was that she was alone and at the mercy of whoever found her first. Her feet hurt and she was tired of running. Her outfit was ruined, her hair an absolute tangled mess. At least she hadn’t been wearing some of her favorite shoes, opting to have left them at home. Small miracles, though maybe the wolf would have choked on the heels.
She had found another set of rocks, making her way up onto them, hoping against hope they were too steep for the wolves to reach her when they came back. There was no doubt in her mind. It might be the pack, or it might be the lone hunter who had driven them off, perhaps in hopes of taking her down himself. But there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to die on this mountain, mauled to death by a beast she hadn’t realized still existed this far south.
“Petal?”
The word had barely reached her ears before she slid down the rocks and launched herself at the owner of the smooth tenor.
“Lex!” she shouted with relief as his strong arms swept her out of midair, one of them around her back, the other under her legs, holding her tight to him.
“Hi,” he said softly. “Are you all right?”
“No,” she said fearfully, looking behind him. “We need to go. Now.”
“What, why?”
“There are wolves around here, Lex. Huge ones. They tried to eat me once already, but then another wolf came in and fought them off, ‘cause he wanted to have me all to himself. I’m sure he wanted to eat me.”
Lex stumbled and started to make what sounded like choking noises for several moments. Petal slipped from his arms and pounded him on the back until he waved that he was all right.
“I’m fine,” he croaked a second later, managing to stand upright. His face was still a little red.
If the situation had been different, Petal would have sworn he’d been trying to cover up laughter. But perhaps he was just realizing how dire things really were, with the wolves and the fact that they were lost.
“I’m sorry,” she said, starting to cry, and hating herself for it. She’d managed to avoid doing that all this time, only to lose it now, when Lex finally returned.
“Sorry for what?” He pulled her tight to his chest.
“Leaving the cave. Getting us lost. Attracting the wolves. For forcing myself on you.”
Lex jerked again, but she was too busy sobbing into his shoulder to really notice.
“You didn’t do that,” he assured her. “Trust me. We’re fine. Yes, you should have stayed in the cave like I told you. But we’re not lost, and I don’t think the wolves will be a problem anymore.” There was a long pause. “And you definitely didn’t force yourself on me. I can promise you that.”
She sniffled, trying to slow her breathing so she could get it under control. “What do you mean we’re not lost?”
“Exactly what I said. We’re not lost.”
“But…”
“Petal, it’s fine,” he said, squeezing her tightly. “I’m here now, and we can head back up to the cave. Help should be here in a few hours. We’ll be back in Surrey by nightfall. This I promise.”
“Really?” Relief bubbled in her as she looked up at Lex.
“Really.”
“Oh thank goodness.” Her knees trembled slightly and he reached forward and swept her back into his arms with casual ease.
Muscles in his arms stood out, feeling like solid iron under his clothing as she marveled at his strength. She’d never really noticed just how strong he was before. But now with firsthand experience, she felt like she was truly seeing Lex for the first time. Without her “corporate executive blinders.” Petal was recognizing him as a true human being, and a pretty amazing one at that.
But her fear didn’t dissipate instantly.
“What about the wolves?”
She watched his lips quirk, curling slightly upward before he killed the look entirely. “I think we’ll be okay. Especially once we reach the cave and get back inside. They won’t come after us if they smell fire.”
“Okay.” Petal took him at his word as he guided them up the hill, seeming to know exactly where they were headed. “You’re good at finding your way up here,” she remarked after a bit, still safely ensconced in his arms.
“Thanks. I’ve been living up in these hills since I was a pup. You get used to it eventually; your brain just starts to know where to go.”
Petal thought about pushing him further. It was obvious he wasn’t telling her the entire truth, that he was holding some sort of knowledge back from her. He’d saved her, however, and if her savior wanted to keep a few secrets to himself, then who was she to judge?
“A pup? What are you, a dog?” Something came to her. “Wolves have pups too, don’t they? Are you like them? A wolf pup?” she teased.
Lex laughed. “Yeah, something like that.”
“You know, one of those wolves, the lone male who fought the others…he gave me a really weird look after he killed the first one.”
“How did you know it was a male?” His face was etched with confusion.
Petal smirked. “Uh, I looked between his legs? It was fairly obvious. I was terrified, but not blind.”
Lex stumbled, fell forward, spun, and came to an abrupt halt with his back against a boulder, Petal shaking in his arms from the sudden movement.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Maybe I should walk.”
Without waiting for permission she jumped out of his hands.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Petal was shocked to see his cheeks were red with embarrassment. It was an uneven slope. There was nothing to be ashamed about slipping on some loose rocks. What the hell had gotten into Lex anyway? Did he have a problem with the fact that male wolves had junk, and that this one’s had been rather noticeable and prominent, even to her terrified eyes?
“It’s okay. But pull yourself together! Let’s get back to the cave.”
“Right.” He stood up straight and started to walk uphill, waiting for her to come alongside him.
The rest of the walk was done in silence, but every so often she caught Lex shaking his head, as if having an argument with himself that he disagreed about. What an odd person. Still, she’d learned a lot about him, his personality, and his skills over the past two days. He was a formidable person, someone she was very glad to have met. While she wasn’t keen on getting into incidents like this one, if Petal had to do it again, she would choose Lex to be there with her.
“After you,” he said as they reached a familiar-looking spot on the hillside.
It was different without the snow, but she saw the cave opening anyway. Petal started forward, then stopped fifteen feet or so from the entrance, looking around and then down at the ground. “Is it safe?”
Lex came up alongside her, listened to her question and then nodded, proceeding ahead to check out the cave.
Moments later his voice echoed up through the opening. “All clear.”
She scurried inside, ducking low. The rock walls which had felt so threatening earlier in the day now wrapped around her like a safety blanket. Petal wanted to cry again, but she couldn’t. Not this time. She found the flat spot and laid out the blanket before stretching herself out over it, ignoring the unevenness of the floor.
Her brain was just about to announce that it was the comfiest thing she’d felt in hours, until Lex joined her, his body providing a warm and soft pillow next to her. Before she knew it, Petal was resting her head on his chest, one strong arm draped over her shoulder and down her back to hold her close, while the other reached up to gently stroke the mass of unruly hair from her face.
Petal lay still, unsure of how to react. The sudden closeness between them was not something she’d seen coming, nor had she expected it from him. After all, she was the corporate bitch that had essentially gotten him into this situation in the first place. She knew enough about his woodsman skills now to know that Lex could have probably made it back to Surrey within hours of the storm, if he hadn’t been burdened down by her.
Why would he show any interest in her? The answer was: he wasn’t. This was just a way to help her relax, to come down from the adrenaline high after her encounter with the wolves. That was what made the most sense. It was purely a calming tactic, designed to get her to fall asleep as soon as possible.
The thing was, Petal wasn’t tired at all.