Chapter Five
Nate
The giant half-chicken man walking ahead of me had to be a figment of my imagination.
I was most likely still sitting in that same spot under the fir tree with my brain playing tricks on me to soften the blow of dying.
I appreciated the gesture. Not that I had a great time freezing my balls off, but hypothermia probably wasn’t the worst way to go.
Especially if it involved someone like him.
The sight of his ass in those sturdy pants, two firm globes moving under the cute little tail, was more than a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.
Does the Grim Reaper look like this to everyone? A hot giant chicken guy with an ass I want to bury my face in?
If I had to describe the perfect ass, it’d be his.
I was so damn cold I didn’t give a single shit that I’d imagined him.
Maybe, if we found a safe place before I died, I could give it a shot.
It would’ve really sucked if I died without ever getting my ass eaten or eating someone else’s.
Maybe I’d get some more of that ball rubbing I dreamed about before Vee woke me up.
“You keeping up, frat boy?”
“Ye-yes.” I shivered and tried to ignore him calling me that. My brain had little capacity left to spare for any non-essential thoughts. Between musings about his butt and the cold creeping up my legs, he could call me anything he wanted.
If it makes him happy...
The chicken dude was strange and nothing about it made any sense at all, but I trusted him…somehow. The feeling was amplified when he stopped in his tracks and unzipped his camo jacket.
What? Right here? No way, man.
My dick had retreated into my body. That’s how fucking freezing it was, but ugh…
My mouth fell open when he next unzipped the high neck of a fuzzy black sweater and took that off, too.
Sweet Baby Jesus.
The sight of his pecs made me momentarily forget about his ass. They were almost as large as my head, and my family had called me ‘Big-head Nate’ for my entire childhood. I’d always joked with Dad that I considered suing them for it.
Fuck.
A single tear froze on my cheek and I tried for a few deep, steadying breaths. In, three, four, hold, out, five, six. But it didn’t work. If anything, the memory of my teammates—even grumpy-ass Nik—upset me even more.
Life always got in the way, and I kept in touch way less than I meant to, but that didn’t mean I didn’t give a fuck. I loved my family.
How would they react to me dying? It was too late, of course, but I regretted not having called my mom in over a week. I’d been too busy training. It would have been nice to hear her voice one last time, to have the chance to say goodbye…
The idea that I would never have my mom’s pecan pie again made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. No more family holidays where Dad took me to his favourite bar to brag in front of his friends.
He always called me Nathaniel in front of them, not Nate, and insisted on wearing my jersey.
Hot tears filled my eyes, but I managed to keep them from falling down my freezing cheeks. “Here. Put this on.”
I’d have felt better about myself if I had hesitated even for a heartbeat before wrenching it over my thin jacket.
Or if I wasn’t still drooling over this guy’s chest, and not in a ‘Hey, bro, give me your workout plan’ way.
I wanted to rest my head on his pecs. I bet they made for an extremely comfy pillow.
Oh, fucking hell.
His sweater was so blissfully warm that something way too close to a groan escaped my lips.
It sounded like I’d sunk my cock into a particularly tight hole, not as if I’d simply put on another guy’s sweater.
It fit me well considering the guy it belonged to was at least half a foot taller than me, and a tempting scent clung to it.
Don’t be a creep and sniff chicken man’s sweater, Nate!
He huffed as he zipped up his jacket over the massive chest again. “Better?”
“Yeah, thanks, man. Won’t you be cold now, though?”
He looked at me for a second, then motioned for me to follow.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. It’s not far, and I’d hate having to explain to my boss why you froze on my watch.”
“Your boss?” I asked, my spirits perking up now that I wasn’t in any immediate danger of passing out from the cold. Maybe I wasn’t dying after all.
“I work as a forest ranger,” he said but didn’t elaborate.
The shaking had finally stopped, and my hands felt like hands again. Good. I kinda need those for my job. I had them tucked into the long sleeves, so I had a bit more brainpower to check out my guide some more.
There was no way my dick was getting any action tonight, not with how hammered I was, and the surprise of finding Vee in my dumbass trap.
I mean I wouldn’t have really minded hooking up with him. His gleaming feathers and powerful body turned me on, and he had totally been hitting on me earlier. I spotted a cabin after a few more minutes. It was a cute place with a gentle glow coming from a window overlooking the night.
As we got closer, I couldn’t believe how big the cabin actually was. The front of the wooden house had a big porch with a couple of steps leading up to it.
“This is your place?” I couldn’t believe it, but he nodded.
“Yeah, it’s too late and too cold to turn back now. You can stay here till morning, and then I’ll drop you off wherever you need to go, alright?”
He grabbed a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the green door. It led to a cosy open living area with a surprisingly nice kitchen for a wooden house in the middle of a German forest.
As soon as he flicked on a couple more lamps, I caught sight of a comfy couch by a fireplace and the massive windows.
I bet it had a splendid view of the woods during the day, but all I could see was our shadows and the pitch black darkness beyond the glass.
There were three doors that led to other rooms.
“Nice place,” I blurted without thinking.
“Thank you.” Vee half-smiled and took off his jacket and hung it on a hook by the door.
I gave him another once-over. He was way bigger than most guys on our team, probably even taller than Bo, and he was massive. His heavily corded muscles popped out of that functional shirt.
Who knew forest rangers looked like this? This dude looked more like a spec ops soldier.
I remembered a cartoon character from my childhood.
The guy had been a park ranger, and he didn’t have much muscle but a bit of a belly in his green uniform.
He shared that with Vee, who, upon closer inspection, had a cute little paunch, too.
I didn’t care. I worked my butt off to stay in shape.
It would be nice to have someone soft to cuddle with.
Shit, Nate. Stop it!
I really shouldn’t have gotten so wasted. It wasn’t my thing to size people up based on their fuckability, or even pay attention to that in a guy who just saved my ass.
He can pound it if he wants, my inner voice added, and I hoped he wasn’t psychic or I’d end up as chicken feed, and not the kind my body fancied.
Vee bent down to the faintly glowing embers, adding more wood. Watching him fan the fire and having it going strong in no time was weirdly hot?
I sighed when the warmth washed over me.
“Better?” he asked again, pushing up to his full height.
“Loads better, yeah. I didn’t realise how cold I was.”
“You don’t until it’s too late. That was dangerous. You were lucky I found you.”
I’d say so, yes.
“How did you find me?”
“Well, I was making my usual rounds. We have had poachers in the last few weeks, and I saw a light in the distance. I thought you were one of them. We’re trying to catch them in the act, you know?”
“How are you so sure I’m not one of them?” I asked before I could stop myself.
What the fuck is wrong with you, Nate? Chicken man thinking you’re a poacher is the last thing you want!
Vee snorted and started ticking off his reasons on his chunky fingers. It was only now that I noticed he had four instead of five on each hand.
“Well, one thing is, you weren’t trying to hide and just left the light on.
You were asleep. Everything about you screamed ‘American tourist.’ And I’ve never seen a poacher in such a flimsy outfit.
Never seen one so attractive, either,” he added as an afterthought.
His beak snapped shut. He gave his mohawk a quick stroke and let out a sigh, looking adorably flustered.
So, he thinks I’m attractive? I made sure to keep that smug little smile off my face.
“What are they poaching?” I asked instead.
“Mushrooms.” There was something he wasn’t saying, but I didn’t press the matter. I didn’t give a fuck, either. It was Bo who was into mushrooms, not me.
But good God, he’s really gorgeous.
Without thinking, I walked over to him. He stood like a statue, eyes willing me to stop. I couldn’t. Unbidden, I raised my hand and ran my fingers over the glossy feathers at his neck. I couldn’t believe I’d actually consider fucking him, but he totally did it for me.
“What are you doing?” Vee’s voice picked up more gravel as he ruffled his plumage a little. Not to dislodge my hand, I thought, but to make himself even prettier. He was a cock trying to impress his flock.
Holy shit, I’m impressed.
“No idea.” It was true. I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I just wanted him naked so I could explore every inch of him.
“Take this off.” My eyes stayed glued to his cushy pecs as I tugged on his shirt.