“I would kill for a cup of coffee,” she whispered between clicking teeth.
“You and me both.” I stacked the wood and grabbed the kindling kit out of my backpack. It took three attempts, but when the first ember caught, I knew in that instant that everything would be okay.
I continued to build the fire and as I did, Destiny scooted closer to the forming heat. Her stiff posture started to relax.
“You were a Boy Scout, weren’t you?”
“A wannabe pyro,” I teased. “I’ve been stranded enough in these woods to learn real fast how to survive. You want to be impressed? Let’s hope I don’t have to build you a snow cave.”
A smile lifted her lips, and the lines of her face eased as she stared into the crackling flames. “I don’t know how you do it. I’m obviously not a nature girl, even though I’ve been in some sticky places before.”
“It’s just geography. Learning to survive is a skill that, once mastered, will serve you well, regardless if it’s in the woods, on the streets of New York, or even in one of those haunted houses looking for ghosts. You deal with whatever comes up.”
I unloaded the extra blanket I’d packed and laid it out, using our backpacks as pillows. “We’re going to have to get comfortable lying on a blanket on the stone floor.”
“I’ve slept in worse places,” she said as if trying to lighten the mood.
“And if we sleep together and share our body heat with the extra blanket you’ve got wrapped around your shoulders, then we’ll be all right.”
“Ranger, does that line work on all women or just the women you get stranded with in snowstorms?”
My lips twitched. “I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me in the morning.”
She lay down with me, spread the blanket over both of us, and snuggled into my side as if we’d been lovers all our lives. I held her close and kissed her temple as if it were a natural thing to do.
Her gaze softened as she leaned into me and pressed her lips against mine. I stilled under her caress, giving her a minute to realize her mistake and pull back. She didn’t.
I cupped her cheek, running my hands into her hair, and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. I swallowed her soft moan. There was no denying the heat that sizzled between us. Want and desire instantly turned me hard.
She pulled back and stared into my eyes. Heat flared in the green depths. Her chest heaved up and down, matching my need. “You’re a one-and-done type guy, right?”
I nodded and swallowed back my retort. “A bed would be more suitable than a cave in the middle of nowhere.”
I gave her an out. A chance to agree and simmer down her desire, even if mine was at the point of boiling over.
“It’s just geography.” She slid her hand down my chest as she kissed me again.
