by SM Olivier
I cut him off as one of the fish latched onto my worm. “I got one!” I cried excitedly.
“Set it.” He laughed.
“Set it?” I looked over at him inquiringly. The last time I had fished with my dad was with my Little Mermaid fishing pole, and other than catching little sunfish, I didn’t remember catching anything this large.
The fish swam off with my worm in his mouth, and I had to refrain from cursing.
Remy laughed at my crestfallen expression. “No worries. There’s plenty more to catch. Next time, when he latches onto the worm, and you feel that tug, yank up on it. That should set the fish. Let a little of the line out so he can tire himself out, then start pulling him up.”
“Now you tell me,” I muttered with mock bitterness. “Couldn’t tell me that before I caught the first fish. Were you afraid I would catch the first one? Are you intimated by your little woman showing you up?” I joked with a deadpan expression.
He growled before he kissed me possessively. “Damn right you’re my woman,” he winked at me. I stepped back, looking at him, panting, surprised by the sudden onslaught. “But…” He calmly pulled up his fishing hand. “It’s too late. I already caught the first one.”
I hadn’t even noticed that, while one of his hands had tangled in my hair to submit to his forceful kisses, his other hand had been pulling one in.
I snarled at him playfully. “You are playing so dirty, Murphy! First, you don’t tell me what I should do. Then you try to distract me from beating you. It’s game on! You may have caught the first fish, but I’ll catch the most!”
“Sounds like a challenge. If I win, you sleep with me tonight, and I don’t want to do any sleeping, at first,” he winked at me.
I was so startled by his flirtatiousness that I barked out a laugh. “And if I win?”
“Name your reward,” he said confidently.
I made a great show of thinking. “I’ll have to think about it. Can I get an IOU?” I asked impishly.
He smiled at me with a tad too much smugness. “Sure. I’ll take an IOU.”
It was game on after that. I didn’t know what our goal was, but even if we caught a little more than we could cook or eat tonight, we could always gut them and bury them in the snow. It was cold enough to keep them.
I lost two more before I finally caught one. It was tricky setting those little bastards with a hand line. Well it was for me, anyhow. Remy didn’t seem to have the same issue because he caught three by the time I caught one.
I could barely feel my face by the time we came back into the cave, and my hands and feet were numb. Troy caught five fish, I caught four, and Remy caught…seven. I knew where I was sleeping tonight, but I couldn’t even pretend to be mad. Sleeping with, or should I say no sleeping, with Remy didn’t sound like much of a punishment.
I never realized how competitive I could be until today. Only my pride was wounded. I knew I had a drive within me that drove me to excellence in everything I did. It had been there when I learned how to play the piano or the guitar. I had sat for hours just to prefect my playing. I didn’t believe I was perfect by any means, but I hadn’t got into a prestigious music school by not pushing myself, either. Even my grades had been remarkable do to the fact I had to prove myself.
Today I was determined I would have a rematch. One day Remy and I would go fishing again and I was going to win then. There was no way I was going to let him win again. Not that I technically let him win today, but I couldn’t stay out there any longer, and we had caught more than enough fish for lunch and dinner.
Drake, Jaxson, Noah, and Jace were able to find watercress, cat tails, onion grass, and wild garlic. They had also filled all our canteens while they were out. We were in high spirits as we crawled back into our cave. We transferred the fish and wild herbs like we did the wood, so we didn’t crush them or drag them along the dirt.
I immediately started shedding my outer layer of clothing as I stood beside the fire.
“How’s your feet?” Noah asked as he began removing his clothing.
“Good,” I said between chattering teeth. “I can’t feel them, but I know I don’t have any blisters.”
He stopped undressing and started to help me undress. My hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t even undo my belt buckle.
“I hope you didn’t get frost bite,” he said worriedly. He stood in front of me and clinically began to remove my clothing, his concern for me outweighed any sexual feelings.
“I hope so, too,” I tried to joke.
“Your lips are blue,” he scolded me.
“So are yours,” I quipped.
“But I can still speak without stuttering. I can still undress myself, and I’m not shaking like a leaf,” he said sarcastically.
Soon, I was standing in front of him naked. I was warring between being irritated at him and trying to understand where he was coming from. “Come on, Mr. Grumpy pants. Come play with me in the water. I’ll warm up in a few minutes.”
I could see that he was scrutinizing my hands and feet. He seemed satisfied as he nodded and removed the rest of his clothing. I took his hand and we went into the pool together. Soon, we were all frolicking in the water. We didn’t even care that our clothes were haphazardly thrown everywhere near the fire.
After our swim, we hopped out and dried off. Drake handed me one of his long-sleeved t-shirts, and I slipped that on before slipping on my underwear. I threw my hair up into a towel and joined Drake by the fire.
“Teach me master,” I jokingly smiled at him.
“Master?” he smirked at me.
“Yes ol’ wise one. You are the master of everything in the culinary world,” I teased.
“Hmm,” he had a thoughtful look on his face for a moment. “Can I be your master in the bedroom?”
I nearly choked on my surprise laugh. I never expected the words he had uttered. I looked at him appraisingly, and I could see he was being serious. “Would you like me to call you Master?” I asked as I licked my suddenly dry lips.
He cocked his head to the side. “I like to role play at times,” he admitted quietly. “I feel like it keeps things…lively. I like the idea of you in a little French maid outfit and calling me Master as I bend you over my bed and have my way with you.”
I swallowed as my eyes widened. The visual images of his words were enough to have the warmth spread to my core. I shifted uncomfortably. I was aroused. “I’ll find a French maid outfit,” I whispered thickly.
A large smile spread across his face. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” I smiled.
“I can’t wait until I can hear you call me Master. Would you get on your knees and call me Master as I gave you my-” he started to ask huskily.
“What are you guys whispering about?” Jaxson asked as he sat down beside us with a string of fish.
“Nothing,” I could barely force out of my now dry throat.
“I was just explaining to Blake about how we needed to build a smaller fire and find two forked sticks, and a long stick, to roast these fish,” Drake gave me a knowing smile before he pulled out his knife.
“I’ll find them,” I quickly got up. I needed to leave him before I dragged him off to let him have his wicked way with me.
I walked over to our pile of wood to find two forked sticks and the long sturdy stick. I had seen something like this done with a rabbit on a show once, so I had a general idea what he was looking for.
“What are you looking for?” Troy asked as he walked over to me. In just his cargo pants and flip flops.
“Forked sticks and sturdy longer sticks,” I replied. “Drake wants to build a smaller fire and roast the fish over them.”
“I’ll gather the wood for the fire,” Troy volunteered.
“Thanks,” I smiled at him.
“Your barriers are down,” Jace huskily whispered in my ear.
I jumped. For a large man, he could be like a cat on his feet. He was my jaguar.
The way he moved. The way he carried himself.
I blushed. “Sorry,” I gave him a painstaking smile.
He chuckled before he dropped a kiss on the back of my neck. “Nothing to be sorry about, but it can get…” He shifted as he glanced down at himself. “…uncomfortable at times.”
I groaned aloud. The men were determined to keep me in a constant state of arousal today.
I knelt back down next to Drake as he patiently showed us how to gut the fish to put them on the spit. I butchered my first fish. Horribly. Noah and his damn “surgeon’s hands” mastered it almost immediately. Today just wasn’t my day when it came to mastering new skills.
Troy was making two little fires for us to cook six fish. We thought it might be a little of an over kill, but again, the snow could keep our leftovers from going bad. Drake had given Remy his survival guide book and had him back out in the snow looking for the right wood for a cold smoker. He was determined not to let any of it go to waste.
Jace volunteered to clean our garments from yesterday and hang up our wet clothes. He had his phone playing some of his down loaded music, and I happily hummed and sang to the songs I recognized. I was going through music withdrawals. I missed playing music. I knew some of the other operatives had guitars, but I didn’t know them well enough to ask to borrow them.
After a few of the fish were gutted, Drake started stuffing them with the wild onions and garlic.
“How could you tell that they were edible?” I asked as I picked a couple up.
Drake smiled at me. “In the wild, the onions and garlic look like grass, but if you look at them, you can notice a greenish blue color to them. Then when you pick them, you notice they’re not flat like grass is, and when you smell them,” he paused and held one out to me. “They smell like their supposed to.”
“Onions,” I smiled as I examined it closer.
“And?” he asked expectantly holding our another one.
“Garlic!” I exclaimed.
“You nailed it,” he kissed my cheek. He leaned back on his haunches. “Does anyone mind if I dig through your MREs and grab your salt and pepper packets?” he called out so even Remy could hear him from where he was coming back in with the wood Drake requested.
Everyone agreed quickly. We all were eagerly awaiting to taste the fresh fish.
“I never used mine yesterday, so they are in my front pocket,” Remy said as he took off his outer layer of clothing and laid the wood out near the large fire to dry.
“Me too. I put mine in my side pocket,” I jumped up. “I’ll help you grab them.”
“You just don’t want to butcher anymore fish,” Noah called out knowingly.
“True story,” I laughed. “I’ll try again, but for now I think it’s safer if I walk away.”
“I think it’s safer for the fish too,” Jaxson snickered.
“Ha ha ha,” I tried to give him an annoyed looked but failed miserably. He was speaking the truth.
I went over to the pool and washed my hands of fish guts and wiped my hands off on a towel that was hanging out to dry. Drake followed me, and together, we went through all the trash and MREs to grab the salt and pepper packets. I used one of my empty packages to load the packets in, so I didn’t drop any. I also grabbed my dried cranberries, crackers, and jalapeno cheddar spread.
I had burnt a lot of calories wading through the snow today, and I was starving. I didn’t think I could wait for the fish. Drake snapped his fingers and ran back over to his pack and came back over with a pack of dried cranberries and an energy bar.
“Are you eating those cranberries?” he asked eyeing them in my hand.
I shrugged. “Probably not. Do you want them?”
He smiled. “I was thinking we can stuff them in the fish for additional flavor.”
“Great idea!” I enthused.
“If this turns out well, I’ll make sure to add this to Remy’s menu and credited it to you,” he winked at me.
We went back over to our cooking fires and I sat down cross-legged to try my crackers with the jalapeno cheese. I took a tentative bite and nodded. It wasn’t bad.
“Try this,” I held a piece of my cracker and cheese to Jaxson, since he had a love for spicy food. “It has a bit of a bite.” I explained to him.
He took a bite, purposely licking my fingers as I withdrew my hands. “Mm, delicious,” he smiled wickedly.
I laughed. “I shouldn’t have even shared my food with you, since you were being mean to me.” I said acerbically.
“Whatever, you still love me.” He smiled at me.
“Maybe, maybe not,” I teased as I continued eating my snack.
I was getting ready to help Drake stuff the fish when I heard a gasp from behind me.
I turned around, shocked to see Micah, Sierra, and Adams behind me.
“What’s going on?” Jace asked as he advanced forward with his hands on his hips staring intently at Adams.
Adams was crying. Sierra looked pissed. Micah had a sheepish look on his face.
“She jumped me,” Micah looked embarrassed. “I didn’t know she was going to grab my arm.”
“It’s my friend that’s hurt,” Adams cried out, but anger lurked in her eyes. “I had the right to come too.”
Sierra turned with her hands on her hips. “You had no right!” She pointed a finger at Adams. Then she turned back to us. “One of the guys decided to head out today with a group, despite the fact that Terrance told him not to. One of the guys fell and broke his leg bad. His bone is protruding out of his skin. We called for help, but a helicopter can’t land where we are, with the low visibility. The medics will have to hike in. He needs help now. Even if they could, the medical staff isn’t equipped to help him out currently. Will sent Micah to get Blake and Noah because we’re afraid to move him. Will wasn’t sure if you guys could do anything, but he had to try. He told Micah not to tell us your location, though.”
“He only showed me. I didn’t tell anyone,” Micah said fervently.
“It’s okay, Micah, you’re not to blame,” Sierra insisted. “I needed to go with Micah to amplify him, and she jumped on before he left. We told her she wasn’t allowed to come.”
“I don’t see what the big deal was,” Adams rolled her eyes. Her tears magically gone as she looked around our cave in interest. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked at all of us in very little clothing. “This looks cozy,” she said disdainfully as she advanced towards or fire.
“Let’s get dressed,” I told Noah as I stood up.
“In the future,” Jace said coldly. “I will appreciate it if you respected our team. All of our team, including the people with you right now.”
Adams snorted. “Respect is earned, and I don’t see what the big deal is.”
I was unable to hear Jace’s response as I quickly went behind our wool blankets to dress in privacy with Noah. I pulled on my dry socks, a bra, and a sweatshirt.
How cold is it where you are? I asked Sierra telepathically.
She came around the corner. “Cold,” she admitted quietly. “Terrance kept telling the team lead that we needed to stop and find a proper shelter yesterday. He knew it was going to snow soon. The lead was determined to catch up with you guys. He thought Terrance was just trying to help you all out. When the snow started coming down, we found an outcropping of rocks to shelter us for the most part, but the fire kept going out. All the wood was wet. Terrance, Dawn, Marcel, Jemmy, Rachel, Sam, Gavin, and I were packed in one tent. We were all bundled up under our sleeping bags together. Terrance heard a commotion this morning and the team lead was heading out again. Terrance told him it wasn’t a promising idea. He ignored him and a group of them, including Adams headed out. Four of them came back a little while ago, but we don’t know where the others are. He has about six guys with him. Everyone else jumped ship and started listening to Terrance. Terrance has made camp better since the lead left. We pulled our resources together and Terrance and Sam were able to use their gifts
to protect us better from the elements.”
As she talked, I layered my clothing for warmth. “That’s what we feared would happen,” Noah admitted quietly. “We feared they wouldn’t utilize you guys correctly.”
I frowned. “If you guys want, maybe we can finish this together. Micah can transport you guys back here with us.”
Sierra shook her head. “You know Terrance. He won’t abandon them, even if they’re jackasses. Although,” she smirked. “I wouldn’t mind a dip in the pool. Is that steam I see.”
I laughed as we walked out from behind our makeshift curtain. “It is. It’s a hot spring. We kind of got lucky.”
Sierra giggled. “I agree, and you guys went fishing?”
“We did,” Noah nodded. “How are you guys on food?”
She shrugged. “Not bad. We took eight MREs each. We are rationing what we eat.”
“More than we did,” I informed her. “That’s why we went fishing just in case.”
I saw Troy and Jace was standing over Adams as she sat on a rock. From her mutinous expression, I had a feeling they made her sit. I imagined she came here to spy on us and figure out our location. Micah was sitting next to Remy as he quietly explained what he was doing. It looked like he was assembling a tripod for the fish to smoke.
“Are we ready?” I asked as I grimaced. My boots were still wet, and I hated the idea of putting them back on. I hated wet shoes. I hated wet socks more.
“Yes, let’s do this,” Noah nodded as he looked over at Adams, distrust in his eyes.
Micah reluctantly got up. “Can I ask Pops to come back here when we’re done?”
I frowned, hating to disappoint him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mic. We’re not sure how much longer we’ll be out here, and you’re not really dressed for it,” I pointed to his jeans, sneakers, stocking cap, and coat.
Micah frowned. “I’m used to the cold. I’ll be alright.”
“Next time,” Remy promised him. “When we get the chance, we’ll all go camping. We’ll bring the right stuff to build a smoker and you can help me.”