I stumble through the cold, my arms wound tight around my body, my boots lost in the snow...My heart races still despite being away from my campsite. I need help but I can't seem to find the road let alone the ranger station.
As I'm tripping through the trees I can see lights up ahead. My heart lifts, the ranger station finally! I pick up my speed forcing my frozen limb to keep moving, I can't fall now that I'm so close.
The closer I get the more my hope fades, as I break the treeline I find that the light isn't the ranger station at all...Just a campfire and a little tent. I shake my head and trudge forward, fire at least means warmth even if it's, not a building.
My knees give near the fire but I don't care as I hold my blue-tinged fingers up to the flames. The heat puts pins and needles in my skin, and my bones feel like cracking ice but once I'm warm it will be better.
I jump as a tree branch snaps not far away, I turn in the dark finding him across from me like he had been up in the tree line.
He frowns "Where the hell did you come from?"
I lift my hands in a small surrender "I don't know, I got turned around in the snow... I really needed to find the ranger station."
He scowls "That's nearly a mile in the other direction."
I feel like crying as he confirms my earlier fear of being hopelessly lost, what would have happened if they weren't here? Hypothermia that's what would have happened...
I mentally kick myself and nod "I was afraid of that, can I please get a ride to the station?"
He shakes his head "The visibility is shit out, we are more likely to crash into a tree than find the station...go back to your camp."
I shake my head slowly "I can't, you see the wind picked up really bad and snapped a tree...It came crashing down on my tent...That's why I needed help."
He crouches by the fire turning the logs with a stick, after a few minutes he nods "You can stay here, our tent is small but it's better than dieing in the cold."
I nod slowly and he sighs "Let's get you in bed girly...you will warm up inside."
He is at my side in two steps and his arm wraps around me dragging me from the ground where I had fallen.
He unzips the tent for me and nudges me forward, I duck under the flap and inside out of the cold. He follows zipping the door quickly, a light clicks on and he nods "Stand up, let's get those wet clothes off you."
My eyes go wide with shock as my arms tug closer to my body protectively, he chuckles a deep rich sound "You can still get hyperthermia if you don't get the wet clothes off, wet clothes will steal the heat out of your body faster than you think."
He steps closer his rough calloused fingers dragging my arms away from my body, sliding up under my shirt easily. I look away from him, 100% knowing he is right but still hating that I'm in this situation.
He pulls my shirt and sports bra both off in one motion tossing them aside near the door. My arms instantly come back to cover my chest, trying and failing to hide my large bust from his view.
I faintly see a smile playing at his lips as his hands start untieing my sweatpants, I squeeze my eyes shut and kick off my boots resigning myself to doing what's best for me at this moment. He kneels dragging the hem of my pants as he goes, I hear a catch in his breath but I'm not sure if it's the cold or the lack of panties that got him.
He helps me get my pants off my ankles before he whispers "Get in the pallet and cover-up."
As I turn I realize someone else in here, how did I not see them before? I frown "Whos that?"
He shakes his head "My brother, don't worry about him."
I lay down next to the brother pulling the blanket up to my chin, "What's your name?"
He pauses with his hand on the light "Landon, and my brother is Danny...and you?"
I smile as he switches out the light "Mandy."
I feel him lay down desperately wanting to gravitate toward his body heat just so I can stop shivering...He whispers lowly "It's best if we cuddle together for warmth at least till you warm up..."
I nod in the dark but realize he can't see that so I whisper "Okay."
I jump when his hand finds me under the covers but the heat that radiates out from there is delightful. We slowly wiggle closer together till every inch of my cold body is against him... It's not till I'm comfortable that I realize sometime between the light going out and now he lost his clothes.
He nuzzles his face into my neck sending chills down my spine, I shake it off and hope that the shivering is enough to cover it up. I try to close my eyes but the howling wind and distant cracks and crashes of weak trees keep me from actually falling asleep.
The other man in the tent rolls over suddenly, one of his hands feeling around in the space between us...His fingers brush my thigh like that was what he was looking for, I can't tell if he is sleeping or not but he suddenly slides as close as possible wedging his hand between my legs just south of no man's land leaving me bug-eyed and shocked.
I wiggle in Landon's grip trying to distance myself from Danny but it does me no good.