Our Chance – Kennedy L. Mitchell #3
Knowing he was worse off than me, I draped one over the unmoving animal and gently tucked the edges under him to ward off the cold that I knew was seeping through the thin layer of rubber that protected the thick concrete foundation beneath.
Blowing out a controlled breath to keep the threatening tears at bay, I eyed the few logs stacked beside the stove.
That was great, but how in the hell would I even get a fire going without a fire starter or lighter?
Shaking my head, the room spinning with the small move, I dug out another set of blankets and set them aside to see what other goodies awaited me at the bottom.
Hot tears leaked down my frozen cheeks at finding a box of fire starter blocks and, right beside it, a basic Bic pocket lighter.
“Thank you, baby Jesus,” I muttered as I snatched both and held them against my chest. “We just might survive this, Casper.” When he didn’t move at his name, my dry lips tugged down in a frown. “Okay, get the fire going, Amy. You need to warm up him and yourself.”
Was I talking to myself?
Yes, yes, I was.
Another sign of hypothermia? Probably not, considering I did it even when I could feel my fingers and toes.
The pain of gripping the logs with my numb, stiff hands had me gritting my teeth and then almost sobbing at the many failed attempts of lighting a single flame because my damn digits couldn’t work the lighter.
Knowing it was keep trying or potentially freeze to death, I finally got the lighter working.
Handling it like it was a delicate flower, I held it to the fire starter.
The first crackle of the flames catching had me swallowing down a sob of relief.
Damn, I wanted—no, needed, the guys.
I was scared.
Terrified, really.
Without a satellite phone, radio, or cell phone in the middle of the storm, I was stuck until someone came to save me or the storm died down enough for me to make my way back down the mountain on foot. Since the snowmobile died, I was trapped in my current predicament.
With the flames growing inside the stove, I shut and latched the stove door to keep the pups safe from any escaping embers.
My joints creaked and popped as I stood with a groan to start the exhausting process of stripping out of my damp clothes.
My gear was good, but it hadn’t had time to dry out earlier before the boss came asking if someone wanted an extra assignment.
After hearing it was an animal, it was an easy yes for me, plus the money was good.
After only a few years of working my ass off, I was so close to finally having enough in savings to pursue my dream.
Alaska.
I loved the snow and outdoors—was slightly obsessed, if you asked some people—which was all Alaska offered.
I needed enough to move there and not be homeless until I found work.
However, as the dollar amount in my account grew, so did my feelings and attachments to the two men who I knew I’d desperately and almost painfully miss, almost like now.
I wanted them with me for too many reasons to narrow down.
Rubbing at my sternum to ease the building ache missing them created, I hung up my coat on a random nail to let it dry out as the small shed warmed.
The frozen laces of both boots were almost as tough to untie as the lighter was earlier, as my fingers were still slightly numb.
My face pinched as I slid one stiff boot off my equally stiff foot followed by the other.
With my teeth pressed into my lower lip, I stared at my damp socks, knowing this was now the worst-case scenario.
“Damnit,” I muttered under my breath. Swallowing down a whimper, I pulled off one icy sock and then the other, tossing both over the lip of a tub to dry.
Not bothering to remove my thick pants, still needing their insulation to keep me warm until the fire grew, I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around my lower half before doing the same with the other around my upper half.
Wiggling along the floor to be closer to the stove, I lay beside Casper and stared into the flames dancing behind the metal door.
Not knowing how long we’d be here and wanting to conserve the battery, I clicked off my headlamp, dousing the shed in darkness except for the dim glow from the few flames flickering behind the thick cast iron door.
“Not sure how you’ll do it, but I know you’ll find me,” I whispered into the dark. “Find me, Brandon. Find me before it’s too late.”
For my toes, at least.
I would survive this.
Probably.
Maybe.
Fuck.
brANDON
“Her satellite phone last pinged here.” Which wasn’t that far from where we found the nearly snow-covered, broken-down snowmobile.
I shoved the tracking device into a cargo pocket of my thick, waterproof pants and pulled my phone free.
Teeth gripping the end of my glove, I ripped it off and tapped the screen, swiping to get to the right app.
“I’ll see if her phone says anything different. ”
“Does Amy know you track her every movement via that 360 app?” I shot Carl an unamused look out of the corner of my eye, making him bark a laugh. “Didn’t think so. I bet she’ll turn your balls into Christmas ornaments when she finds out.”
I raised a single shoulder. “If it saves her life, then she can have them and decorate them however the fuck she wants. At this point, they’re hers anyway,” I grumbled at the end. “Looks like it last pinged about a mile that way.”
Carl squinted in the direction I was pointing to keep the pelting snow out of his eyes. His barked laugh had me turning to see what he found so damn funny in a moment like this.
“Smart and beautiful.” I waited for him to explain for half a second before shoving his shoulder, ready to beat it out of him.
“Seems like she’s headed toward one of the safety shelters that’s still standing after the avalanche last season.
We talked about it at the start of rescue season, remember? ”
I nodded. “Thank fuck the state hires that shit out. If it were up to our dumbass boss, there would be no shelters remaining.” After securing my glove back over all five stiff fingers, I started in the correct direction, with Carl keeping up with my long strides.
Knowing the snowmobile was a piece of shit and unreliable, we packed snow shoes to help us cover more terrain faster, which meant getting to Amy sooner rather than later.
My stomach sank, thinking about her out in the awful storm, unprotected and freezing to death.
The image those thoughts conjured had me picking up the pace.
“I’m honestly shocked you’re still here,” Carl said after a minute, slightly out of breath from our quick clip. “I figured you’d be long gone, having started your own company doing this same shit, but better. I’d like to think I’d be your first hire.”
“I’m not leaving her here to deal with this fucked-up place alone.
” Or you , I wanted to add. Damnit, what was this fucker doing to me?
He could take care of himself. He’d proven that time and time again in various rescue missions we’d done together, but the asshole had made me care about him and want to protect him as much as I did Amy.
Carl scoffed. “She’d follow you.” He paused for a second.
“Well, as long as it was somewhere with snow.” The awe in his tone had me cutting my gaze his way, finding a dopy smile pulling at his lips.
“Her face when she sees the first snow, or the second snow, or fuck, any snow, makes everything in the world feel right, you know?”
I did know.
The woman was special in too many ways to count, which was why we needed to hurry the fuck up and find her. Save her. Then spank her plump, round ass for going out into this dangerous situation alone.
“I swear, when I get my hands on her,” I hissed, dipping my head to protect my face from a gust of biting wind, “she won’t be able to sit for a fucking week.”
“Oh, I like where this is going,” Carl encouraged. “Please keep going. I love walking through the snow with a fucking hard-on. The chafe feels so nice.”
Unable to stop, a barked laugh escaped. He paused, making me do the same.
“Tell me,” he ordered, heat flaring in his hazel eyes.
“Tell you what?” I knew damn well what he wanted, but I wasn’t sure I could say it all out loud.
“Fine, be a dick in the mud.”
“Pretty sure it’s a stick in the mud,” I grumbled, fighting a grin despite my frozen cheeks and dry, cracking lips.
“You’re just proving my point even more. I’ll tell you what I want to do to her for putting herself in danger. How’s that? Then if you would like to take part in share time?—”
“For fuck’s sake, get on with it already.” My tone said I was annoyed, but in reality, my interest was piqued. I was curious and slightly turned on, which really sucked, considering the situation. At least the desire now pumping through my veins helped heat me from the inside out.
“Spoiler alert: I have a denial kink. Just setting that up now before I continue. My form of punishment would get her on all fours, naked as the day she was born, with just the head of my cock squeezed inside her tight cunt and two fingers buried in her ass while I spank her perfect butt over and over, only stopping when she’s about to come.
Then I’d pull out completely and wait before starting all over again.
This is all with you watching, obviously, while you’re jacking off, knowing your dick will replace my fingers in the next round. ”
Well, fuck me.
“Punishment for her, fun for me, and tiptoeing into a new kink, maybe for all of us. Voyeurism. Unless that is something you’ve dabbled in in the past.” I shook my head, still unable to get actual words out with the way my painfully hard cock pushed against my tight boxer briefs.
“Well, good, then. We can all take part in the new fun.”