“We’ll change them just in case,” I said.
We shared a brief look and quickly glanced away. No need to discuss sleeping arrangements yet. That may not even be necessary. The adrenaline was quickly crashing, and the exhaustion from this very long day was setting in as the image of bikini-clad Bee wrapped in my arms under all those blankets dominated my thoughts.
“Come here,” I said to Bee, even as my voice came out rougher than intended.
She hefted herself off the bed to come over without a single complaint. Her features were neutral and hard to read, if not slightly skeptical. I turned Bee in a slow circle to examine every inch of her. I held her face in my hands and peered over her. Her cheeks and nose were bright red. Bits of her hair stuck out in wild directions or were plastered to her face. There was a small cut on her chin, and the skin around it was already bruising slightly.
“What happened here?” I asked with a frown.
“The ladder jumped out at me.”
I huffed an unsmiling laugh.
“I’ll clean it after I get the room warmed up. Anything else hurting?” I asked. I soothed and petted her, unable to keep my hands off her. I rubbed up and down her arms, brushing away any excess moisture still clinging to her. Whatever this feeling was that had come over me, it wasn’t familiar. I just knew that I had to keep her safe. The urge to protect her, care for her wounds, and get her warm was deep and instinctual.
“Wait? Did I die? This would make sense,” she mumbled.
“Take off those bags, and let me look at your feet.”
“It’s so hot when you talk dirty to me.” She shucked off the bags, almost falling over in the process as her eyes moved over the small one-room cabin. “It ain’t much, but it sure is beautiful. Oh my God, the bathroom. Bye!” She ran off as soon as the bags and shoes were off, to the small door in the corner of the cabin.“Ah! The toilet seat is freezing,” she yelled. “I’m remembering the kid fromChristmas Storyand am terrified my butt cheeks will get stuck … nope, I’m good. Phew.”
“I’ll get the fire started,” I called back, chuckling as she overshared. Maybe with anybody else it would feel like TMI, but with Bee, every unfiltered thought was like a yummy bit of candy, snatched up and to be savored.
It was still very cold in the cabin, but it was small, and it wouldn’t be long until the space warmed up. I radioed to Azi and let him know we made it safe. He said he would tell Benny Jr., which was good because if I talked to my boss, I wasn’t sure what I’d say to him. Nothing suitable for keeping my job at this point.
A minute later, she sauntered out with a sigh. “It wasn’t what I expected, but I’m so glad we’re here. Since you’re taking care of the fire, I’ll put the food away.” She dumped out the contents of her bag on the small table in the corner. “Okay, done.”
I laughed, and the swelling emotion in my chest had doubled at her return. She sauntered around in those ridiculous clothes, peeking through drawers and the single closet.
“Listen, I’m not trying to scare you,” Bee started.
I stilled from where the jumping flames started to sting my frozen hands to look at her.
“But I’m ninety percent sure I saw a guinea pig from the little window in the bathroom.”
I sucked in a breath. “All the way up here?” I headed to the small kitchen area and rifled through the drawers to see what other supplies were there.
“Yeah, but it didn’t look like the ones in town. It had a harder edge. Like it’dseenthings.” I turned to her as she stared into the distance, letting her eyes go unfocused. “They’ve already formed gangs. What if some have gone completely feral and off-grid?” she asked, horror widening her dark eyes.
“They’d be like the backwoods branch of the ones in town,” I riffed back.
“We find them sitting on their tiny porches, plucking at a banjo … collecting tourists.”
“Mm-hmm,” I did my best impression of Billy Bob inSling Blade.
“AH!” she yelped and shuddered. “You’re too good at that.”
I laughed and slid open another drawer to find a sealed bottle of lube and a box of condoms. I slammed it shut and cleared my throat. “Do me a favor and pull up that chair in front of the fire,” I said as I kept searching.
“Sure. Are you looking for something?”
“Yep. And I just found it.” I grabbed a towel from a small pantry and walked to Bee.
“Sit down,” I instructed.
She looked up at me and held my gaze. I thought for sure she was going to argue. Instead, her cheeks went pink, and she obeyed. Why was she suddenly so good at listening when the first part of the evening had been nothing but trouble?
It was a powerful, heady feeling, this commanding her.
