"I only have enough food to last us a few hours. I've got the tablets to clean the water, but if the fire changes direction again and we have to head farther north—"
"Then that's what we'll do," Zach said firmly. "We'll figure it out, Lucky. You made me a promise, remember?"
"What promise?" I asked.
"You said I could play the army hero. I intend to hold you to that promise." I could hear the smile in Zach's voice. It was so unexpected that I found myself shifting so I could rest my head on my folded hands and look him in the eye while still keeping myself plastered across his upper body. His eyes, though exhausted and pained, also held a certain mischievousness to them.
"Deal," I said. He hadn't spoken any magic words that automatically fixed everything, but knowing he was right there with me and that we would figure this out together was exactly what I’d needed to hear.
"Tag will figure out where we went," Zach said. "It might take him a little time, especially if he and the team are doing more rescues as the fire spreads, but he's going to figure it out. We just need to hang on until then. This rain will hopefully put a dent in the fire spreading, but if we do have to head farther up the pass, we’ll figure out how to make it happen. We’re getting off this mountain, Lucky."
The tightness in my chest eased considerably after that, but it moved to a whole new part of my body as Zach continued to caress my face. I sent silent warnings to my cock not to react because that was the absolute last thing I needed, but Zach seemed oblivious to what his touch was doing. I knew it wouldn't be long before Zach did feel the results of his gentle caresses, though.
"I should go check—" I began to say as I tried to pull away from Zach, but he shocked me into silence when he suddenly shifted our bodies so he was lying on top of me. We were both still wearing our underwear, but we might as well have been naked because I could feel the heat of his dick through the thin fabric. I was panting as if I’d just finished running a marathon. Zach hovered over me, his eyes dark with some unnamed emotion. I instinctively put my hands on his sides, but that was the only move I made. Zach hung over me with one hand resting against my throat. His thumb moved up along my jawline, then over my cheek. I no longer cared that my erection was impossible to hide. All I wanted was for Zach to lean down and take what was his.
What had always been his.
And always would be.
His stare was dark and intense but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I didn't even want to consider looking away. I wanted him to know exactly where I stood and that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I felt like my body was already changing to accommodate his, but it was met only with frustration when Zach levered off of me and then lay down by my side. "Sleep," he said softly. "I’ll stay awake for a while so you don't need to worry about me hurting you."
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I knew he'd never hurt me, but my heart kept me from voicing the words because it knew different. Zach had the ability to hurt me without even trying. He could crush me with just one word or slay me with a look. Just like he could own me with a kiss or a touch.
Despite all my fears of what would happen if help didn't come, lying in Zach's arms made it easy to fall asleep. I tried to set an internal clock to go off so I could check Zach's wound, but the next time my tired eyes opened, it was because Zach was gently shaking me. Sunlight filtered into the warming hut and the howling wind had died down. "Lucky, sweetheart, wake up. They're here. They found us."
"What?" I asked groggily as I tried to burrow deeper into Zach's body. His skin was finally warm instead of cool, but not overly so, which meant he hadn't spiked a fever. It was that fact that had me opening my eyes. I sat up and immediately began searching out Zach's wound. I sighed in relief because there was no new blood staining the bandage.
"Thank god," I said softly. I turned to see Zach watching me with what I could only classify as a hungry look. I'd sat up so quickly that the mylar blanket had slipped off my body, giving Zach a full view of my nakedness. There was no hiding the desire in his eyes. The need to claim him was so fierce in that moment that I found myself leaning over him. His only choice was to lie flat or use his arms to continue to brace himself.