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Sweetheart. Had he really called her sweetheart?
That woke her up, as did the fact that he was trying to straighten up without dumping her onto the ground.
“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed that she’d plastered herself all over him like that. “I was…half asleep.”
“It’s okay, but we really need to hit the trail. There’s another spot I know, about a mile hike from here. It’s more sheltered, and we can actually start a fire there. Doesn’t that sound good?”
He was talking to her as if she was a child, which, she decided, was justified. “I’m good. You don’t have to bribe me with campfires. I’m up. Let’s go.”
With one strong hand, he helped her to her feet. She blinked around at the forest, which had gotten much darker while she’d been asleep. At least the wind had died down. The gale had transformed into a fitful breeze. But Galen was right; it was colder. She shivered and hugged her arms around herself.
Galen noticed, and took off his thick wool jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“I can’t take this.”
“I run hot. As soon as we get moving I’ll be roasting. Take it. It’s fine.”
She pulled it on, and immediately felt warmer.
“Ready?”
Galen was watching her closely, a hand on her shoulder, and suddenly she was so grateful to him that she wanted to cry. There was nothing like walking through a literal storm with a person to bring you closer together. She felt as if she’d known Galen forever.
Impulsively, she lifted herself onto tiptoes and brushed a kiss onto his cheek. It wasn’t quite the kiss she’d been picturing, but even so, the contact gave her a shiver of pleasure. Her lips tingled, and she ran her tongue across them.
“What was that for!” Equal parts surprised and pleased, judging from his expression, he put a hand to his cheek.
“Everything,” she said simply. “For keeping me alive, letting me snooze. Helping me with Rosalind.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Do you want me to take the kiss back? I can take it back.” This time she nibbled the same spot on his cheek, as if taking a bite out of his skin.
“Is that how you take back a kiss?” Bemused, he touched his cheek again.
“Doesn’t everyone know that? Or did I just make that up?”
With a soft snort, he shook his head. “You’re…you’re cute.” He moved his gaze away from her, as if he couldn’t quite meet her eyes while he was complimenting her. “Very…adorable. But you didn’t need to take it back.”
“I don’t think I did, technically. Should we go?”
“Yes. Yes.” He shook himself back to attention and handed her a headlamp. “This has a sensor, so all you have to do is wave your hand in front of it and it’ll turn on. Or off.”
She slipped the headlamp over her hat and aimed the beam at the ground. “Is it safe to hike in the dark?”
“These give a lot of light. We’ll be fine. It’s such a stormy night that I don’t think we have to worry about wildlife. They dislike bad weather as much as we do.”
She wished he hadn’t mentioned wildlife, because as they headed down the trail, all she could think about was bears lurking behind every tree.
“Galen?” she called after a few minutes.
“Yeah?”
“Can we walk together? Like closer together?”
He paused and swung his beam back toward her. “What’s wrong?”
“Bears. Darkness.”
