AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shiver at the thought, my tongue darting out to skim my tingling lips and chase the lingering taste of Tucker's kiss.
And I can't wait to be burned alive.
Chapter 4
Tucker
Shadows stretch long across the alpine valley as we finally reach our remote campsite for the night. The jagged peaks soar all around us, capped in gleaming crowns of ice and snow that blaze like struck matches in the fading sunset. A glacial river carves a winding path through the lush meadow, its turquoise waters shimmering in the dusky light.
"This is extraordinary," Rhylee breathes beside me. A faint blush stains her cheeks from the vigorous hike, but her lips curve in an awed smile.
I grunt in grudging agreement, scanning the pristine landscape with a critical eye. It’s an ideal basecamp—sheltered from the wind by a thick pine overhang, close to fresh water, and far enough off the beaten trail to avoid any surprise encounters.
Still, I can't quite shake the restless tension thrumming through me, muscles coiled tight as a whipcord after our heated moment at the creek. Every nerve in my body is hyper-attuned to Rhylee’s proximity, to each subtle shift and sway of those lush curves so dangerously close.
My jaw ticks as flashes of our kiss rush back in vivid bursts—the scorching crush of her softness against me, the sweet taste of her parted lips, the way her nails bit into my back like she was trying to crawl inside my very skin.
Christ, I nearly took her right there on that rickety bridge with the rapids roaring all around. Just pinned that tempting little body beneath mine and buried myself to the hilt in her sweet heat.
I swallow hard, fighting back the surge of raw, insatiable need. This hunger clawing at my insides is unlike anything I've ever experienced before—primal in its ferocity, yet edged with an aching tenderness that's damn near terrifying. It's more than just an itch to rut and scratch and fuck her until we both pass out in a sweaty, tangled heap of spent flesh. More than just the usual mindless lust for a tight, willing body to slake myself in for a night before moving on.
No, there's a part of me that wants to lay claim to this woman.
A part that wants to map every delectable inch of those curves with my hands and mouth until I know her as intimately as the mountains and valleys that make up my own flesh and bones.
The realization hits me like a mule's kick to the chest, stealing my breath. I've always prided myself on my self-sufficiency, my ability to survive entirely alone out here without needing a damn soul. But now... now I find myself gripped by the unshakable compulsion to keep Rhylee close, to shelter and protect her from the savage wilderness around us.
To make her mine in every sense of the word.
"Hey, over here! I think I've found the perfect spot!"
Her voice jolts me back to the present. Rhylee stands a few yards off, waving me over to a grassy clearing nestled beneath the overhang of a gnarled pine, its low boughs providing shelter from the elements.
I nod brusquely, forcing my feet to propel me toward her as I wrestle my riotous thoughts back under control. Now isn't the time to indulge in those dangerous cravings. Not while I've still got a job to keep us both safe and focused.
"Yeah, this will work," I grunt, dropping my heavy pack with a muffled thud before turning to survey our surroundings again. "Let's get a fire going and camp set up before full dark hits."
Rhylee nods, immediately shrugging out of her own pack and rummaging through the gear with a studious frown. I turn and busy myself gathering tinder and kindling, the familiar motions helping to settle my mind.
But the illusion is shattered by a piercing scream that slices through the tranquil valley, raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I whirl back toward the source, hand instinctively dropping to the hunting blade sheathed at my hip as I scan the treeline for any sign of danger.
"Was that...?" Rhylee breathes, her eyes going wide with a mixture of awe and apprehension.
"Yeah, one of your mountain lions," I murmur, my own eyes narrowed as I strain to pick up any movement in the fading light. "Probably spotted us from its den up in the rocks and is issuing a warning call."
"So we're close then? To their territory?"
I grunt in affirmation, finally relaxing my grip on the knife hilt when no further sounds or threats present themselves.
Rhylee's face splits into a radiant grin, her previous unease forgotten. "That's incredible! We must be right in the heart of a prime habitat for study."
"Easy there, Doc," I caution as she starts rummaging more urgently through her gear, no doubt searching for her scientific tools and recording devices. "Don't you go wandering off to go poke at the big cats just yet."
She shoots me a mildly chastising look, but her smile remains firmly in place. "That's not how field research works. We have protocols and procedures to ensure the utmost safety around potentially dangerous specimens."
I arch a brow at that, unable to resist needling her a bit. "So you ain't just gonna go skipping off into those woods, all starry-eyed and humming a Disney ditty to befriend the ferocious predators?"
Rhylee flushes slightly but her chin juts out in that adorably stubborn tilt I'm growing all too familiar with. "I am fully aware of the risks this environment presents, thank you very much."
