Letting out a feral scream, I run.
I don’t think, I don’t pick anything up, I just run.
I reach the camp in absolute hysterics, slamming straight into Lake who catches me, his big arms going around me as I stammer out what I heard.
“Calm down, Willa. Breathe.”
“Something out there, I heard it, growl ...”
“It’s okay, Rhett will go and check it out. Where are your clothes?”
It’s only then that I realize I’m stark naked.
I shove Lake away and then see the entire group staring at me as they sit around the campfire. We might not have a lot of light, but it’s enough for them to see I’m standing there with absolutely nothing on. I slam my hands over my fanny, because it’s all I can do. My cheeks burn, even in the cold, and Lake steps in front of me again, shrugging his jacket off.
“Put this on.”
I can hear the laughter in his voice.
He thinks this is funny.
I’m terrified, absolutely terrified.
“You think this is funny,” I yell, shoving his hand and the jacket away.
“It’s a bit fuckin’ funny.”
“I’m terrified, you fucking jerk.”
My voice cracks, and there is no way I’m letting him hear that.
I turn, tears burning under my eyelids as I rush back to my shelter, still naked. I fall down to the ground, scurrying about to try and find something to cover myself.
“Hey, I’m sorry.”
Lake’s voice comes from behind me, but I don’t look at him. I’m embarrassed and angry and scared. I have never feared something that intensely in all my life. I consider myself pretty tough, but when it comes to wild animals I can’t see, I don’t cope very well. If there was something there, and it had hurt me ...
I clench my eyes shut.
“Willa,” Lake says, reaching out, his fingers skimming my back.
I turn, slapping his hand away. “No.”
“Come on, you’re naked and cold. I can hear your teeth chattering, take my jacket.”
“Go to hell,” I grit out, and he’s right, my teeth are chattering.
I clamp my jaw shut as tightly as I can, because I refuse to show any more weakness. I already look pathetic enough.
“Come here.”
“No,” I bark.
“Willa, come here.”
He reaches for me and hauls me across my pathetic attempt at a bed. I can’t fight him when I’m on my knees, so I fall straight into him, my naked chest slamming against his. I put my hands on his biceps to stop myself from completely falling. I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think of him when I realize just how close we are.
His hot breath tickles my lips.
I gasp, unintentionally, and the air around us stills.
I swallow the lump forming in my throat as my rage changes to ... lust.
My entire body trembles—from the cold, and a little arousal—and when his hand skims down my naked back, I forget why I was mad at him only a few seconds ago.
He leans forward, and I feel the moment his lips skim over mine. His mouth is warm and I’m cold, so it’s like a god damned comfort I never knew I needed.
“You’re freezing,” he murmurs.
“Shut up and finish what you started.”
If I could see his grin right now.
He presses his lips against mine, and oh, joy explodes inside of me. The kind of pleasure and passion I have missed so bad. I whimper against him, spreading my legs so I can straddle him. I’m naked, but I don’t care, and I know for certain he doesn’t either. I can feel the bulge rising beneath his jeans as I push myself closer, sliding my hands up his arms and to the back of his neck where I find his thick, gorgeous hair.
I tug softly, not enough to pull his mouth from mine but enough to make him release a small growl.
Then we deepen the kiss, tongues and mouths colliding in an explosion that makes everything inside of me come to life. His hands roam my naked body and our mouths dance until we’re both panting, both desperate.
“Yo.”
Rhett’s voice comes from just outside the shelter.
“You in there, Lake?”
“Fuck,” Lake growls, pulling his lips from mine. “Yeah, she doesn’t have clothes. You got them?”
“Just tossed them on the ground. Don’t know what was out there, but whatever it was it wasn’t small. Tracks leading away indicate it could have been a mountain lion of some sort. Her screaming must have scared it off.”
A mountain lion.
That lump comes back into my throat.
“Thanks, I’ll take it from here,” Lake murmurs.
He slowly releases me, and I scramble off his lap. My mind is spinning at the thought of a damned mountain lion being the thing that I nearly came head to head with. I shudder and Lake reaches for my clothes, giving them to me. I get dressed just in time. Fallon peeks her head into the shelter and gives us both a suspicious look.