Chapter 12: When Flames Ignite

A large gust of wind shook the tent, waking Garin. His head pounded but at least he wasn’t freezing anymore. In fact, he was incredibly warm and suddenly aware of the soft body pressed against his. He opened his eyes, thinking that it had been a dream.

Her red curls were tousled all over the place, draping over her shoulders and his arm, which was very much asleep underneath her head. He realized he had been holding his breath, afraid to wake her. Her breathing was slow and steady, she still slept.

Without waking her, he pulled his arm from underneath her head and rubbed it vigorously, trying to get some feeling back into it. Glancing down at her sleeping face, he figured the pins and needles were worth it. He swept his hand across her face, brushing away a stray curl.

Yellow eyes snapped open and stared at him. He drew his hand back quickly as if he had been stung.

“Sorry,” he murmured, embarrassed. Her face was also flushed as she struggled out of the sleeping bag. He found her mussed, sleepy look incredibly endearing…and attractive. He looked away, worried that she could read his thoughts.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, her voice hoarse. He shrugged and winced; his headache remembered.

“Warm, but awful” he admitted.

“Better than dead,” she mentioned and dug a bottle of aspirin from her backpack and tossed it to him. “There are clothes in there too. I’ll get a fire started.”

“You’ve thought of everything. Are you usually rescuing missing hikers?” he asked, popping two of the white pills into his mouth. She threw him a water bottle and laughed.

“No, you’re my first one. I just packed everything that I thought that I would want to have had I been missing,” she replied with a shrug and left the tent. He peered into the backpack she left. He found an old pair of black sweatpants and a huge mustard yellow sweatshirt with Young Entrepreneur scrawled across the front. He really hoped these weren’t an ex-boyfriend’s, or current. His thoughts turned dark thinking about the man he saw her with.

Then again, she had spent the night curled up next to him so maybe it wasn’t all that serious. After pulling on the clothes, he followed her. He was surprised to see that the sun was setting, nearly gone below the horizon. Willow was crouched a few feet away, a small fire burning at her feet.

“What can’t you do?” he asked, standing across the fire from her, his eyes appraising her beautiful face. He thought he saw her blush in the firelight.

“I used to go camping a lot when I was younger. My grandparents thought it was important that I knew how to survive on my own,” she replied simply. She stood her arms crosses and he couldn’t help but stare. She was the most captivating woman he had ever known much less seen. Her hair was unruly, the flames turning it an even more vivid red. The flames reflected in her yellow eyes, turning them a deep orange.

She looked wild. Feral. He suddenly wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone. He gulped his desire down and looked away. She shot a glance at him, her own thoughts tumbling down a similarly dangerous path.

“Hungry?” she asked, desperate to distract herself. He nodded. She pulled out two packs of foil-wrapped food and shoved them into the coals. “They should be ready in a few minutes,”

“What is it?” he asked, fascinated. He had never spent much time out in the woods. He couldn’t even remember his family ever going camping.

“Potatoes, peppers, and leftover steak. It was the first thing in the fridge I saw, so,” she replied with a laugh.

They ate in silence, sitting on Willow’s raincoat draped over an upturned log. The clouds had cleared, and the stars were just beginning to appear in the sky, Garin watched as her eyes traveled the sky until they landed on the moon climbing the sky, nearly full. It seemed to make her tense.

“I never said thank you, by the way,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

“What? Oh, yeah. It was no big deal,” she replied offhandedly and started into the flames.

“Yes, it was. No one else bothered to look for me. I could have died but you found me.” She was blushing feverishly.

“It was Mr. Schwartz who told me you were missing. He knew…guessed, that I would be able to find you,” she said softly.

“How’s that?” his breath froze in his chest. They had never before broached the topic of their families.

“I’m good at tracking. Old family talent,” she said in a rush. He let out his breath. Good, he wasn’t ready to go into that territory. This was the first real conversation they had ever had.

“So, what else are you good at, aside from coffee and tracking?” he asked after a minute, his eyes grazing over her face which was close enough to touch.

“Hmm, I’ve never really thought about it. I enjoy reading, research, learning but good at? Who knows,” she glanced towards him, her eyes a deep yellow in the shadows. Garin was thrown by her humility. Most people reveled in the opportunity to talk about themselves. She seemed to loathe it.

“What about you?” she ventured her eyes luminous.

“Pretty much the same actually. I’m an assistant professor at Mountain View University and I am going for my Ph.D. in North American Literature,”

“Oh, so a huge nerd,” she said, a smile toying at the edges of her lips. He laughed loudly.

“Yeah, you could say that” he nudged her gently with his elbow. He hadn’t felt this free and open with another person, ever. Willow was able to disarm him without even trying. She grinned at him shyly and tucked a mass of her hair behind her ear. A few strands fell loose.

Without realizing what he was doing, he pushed the hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her jaw. He felt sparks of electricity race down his fingers into his hand. Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. Her scent seemed to grow stronger, it’s spicy aroma intoxicating.

He leaned down, no longer caring what happened later, tomorrow, the next day. He just wanted to kiss her, the hell with the consequences. His lips barely brushed hers when a piercing howl ripped through the night. She jerked back as if she had been shot.

His hand fell to his lap and Willow shot him an apologizing glance.

“We should probably get some sleep. The hike back will take a few hours tomorrow,” she said and stood.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m exhausted anyway,” he said, disappointed.

“Nearly dying will do that to you,” she said and banked the fire, the embers glowing lightly in the darkness.

He followed her into the tent and an awkward silence descended as they lay close enough to touch, the sparks between them tangible.