flicking up, always drawing her attention no matter the situation. Unfortunately, the timing was all wrong. She had just stepped with her other foot, halfway across the deep stream. The distraction saw her stepping a little too wide.
Her foot slipped, losing traction and skimming the side of the log, taking her body with her.
“Oh cra—”
She experienced a moment of weightlessness before water slapped her. A blast of cold stabbed her body, so extreme it pushed the air out of her lungs. It felt like needles, pricking her skin. Stinging her face. Thrashing, she cried out, teeth chattering already, flailing for the shore. Mike was there, holding out his hand, alarm etched all over his face.
“Why is it so c-cold?” she asked through clenched teeth as she clawed her way up the bank. “So, s-so c-cold.”
“Snowmelt feeds the streams in the hills and mountains around here. C’mon, we have to get you up the bank and out of those clothes as fast as possible.” He hoisted her out of the water.
Her limbs trembled from the agonizing chill, like knives flaying her flesh and scraping against her bones. It felt like her stomach shriveled up and her heart was seized in a snowman’s hand.
“We have to prevent you from getting hypothermia,” Mike said in a low, steady voice born from years of reacting quickly and confidently to extreme and terrifying circumstances.
This was only her first extreme and terrifying circumstance. She wasn’t nearly as calm.
“Mikey, I’m fu-freezing. Freezing. Oh my God, it’s so c-cold!”
“Hypothermia reduces your core temperature,” Mike said calmly, leading them toward a clearing. “Your vital organs start shutting down, and before you know it, you’re tired, lethargic, you can’t think straight, and you’re making mistakes. You fall flat on your face, pass out, and never wake up.”
“Fa-fascinating,” Sara managed, her body shaking so badly she felt like she was having a seizure.
They stumbled up the bank, Mike taking a fast look around before standing her beside a tree. “Get yourself out of those wet clothes. I have an extra fleece and you can have my pants. I have boxers on, so those’ll be fine until later tonight. I’ll get a fire going and we’ll put your clothes over it to get them dry. Hopefully, by the time the sun goes down, we should be back to basics.”
“God, you’re good at this,” she muttered, her teeth chattering.
Knives stabbed her limbs as she painfully moved her body, trying to get out of her soaked clothes. Mike didn’t waste time helping. With practiced, economic movements, he gathered grasses and small twigs into one neat pile. Beside that, he started another pile for larger logs and branches, unhurriedly scouting the area for fuel for a fire, but always with momentum. That done, and as Sara was shakily removing her pants, he was in front of her, helping her pull down the drenched jeans and whisking them away to a tree branch.
She stood in just her panties for one full second, clutching her arms around her middle. She didn’t care if a whole parade of nuns happened by, she was happier in her bare skin than in those icy clothes.
“Here you go,” Mike said, removing his sweater and undershirt. He only glanced at her bare breasts once before ripping his eyes away and homing in on her face. “Use this sweater. It already has my body heat. I’ll use my spare.”
Those perfectly sculpted pecs made an appearance, leading down into that delicious six-pack. “You’re so h-hot,” she managed, closing her eyes against the searing cold. “You could have any gi-girl you wa-want. Oh my G-God, I hate the c-cold.”
“I only want one, and so far, she’s given me a run for my money.”
“I would make a joke, but I’m t-too cold,” she whined, slipping into his deliciously warm shirt before letting him help her into the even warmer sweater. “Ooooh, this feels so g-good.”
“I know, baby. We’ll get you warm in a jiff.”
Again without hurrying, but doing it faster than most people could in the same situation, he unbuckled his belt and stripped out of his pants, his black boxer briefs now the only thing he was wearing. Clearly he wasn’t worried about nudity.
He’d probably been in worse situations than this way more often than she had.
“I’m swa—swimming in your clothes.” She smiled through numb lips.
“Better than swimming in that stream. Okay, here we go.” His palms worked up and down her arms, rubbing more heat into her limbs. “Let’s just be thankful it’s not