by Grace, Aria
51
Collin
I’m just about to dig into my second peanut butter and jelly sandwich when the lights flicker, and the power goes out. It takes a few seconds for the backup generator to kick in, but it doesn’t bode well for the kind of day I’m going to have. If it weren’t for the hot cyclist who stopped in earlier, today would be one of my shittiest days yet. Normally, I love my job. I like being in the wilderness, and I love introducing others to the great outdoors.
But today just hasn’t been my day.
My phone died overnight, so my alarm didn’t go off this morning. And because I was rushing to get to work on time, I clipped my mailbox with the back fender of my truck. If it were my personal truck, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But I was driving my work truck, which means I have to file an incident report and explain my negligence to my new boss.
I don’t think a fender ding will get me fired, but it’s embarrassing to make such a stupid mistake when I’m still so new on the job. The lights kick on with the backup generator at the same time that my radio starts crackling.
“Station 1432. Report status. Over.”
“Ranger Collin Rich at Station 1432. Power is out, but the generator is working. Over.”
“Flash floods heading your way, Station 1432. Close the park and evacuate immediately. Over.”
“Copy that.” Shit. I didn’t think this day would get much worse, but after taking a quick look at the visitor log, my stomach drops. There’s a group of five cyclists that should have been back by now, and Gunnar Tobin still hasn’t checked out. It hasn’t quite been an hour, so he might be on his way in right now, but I can’t take any chances. After logging my intention in the county database that I report into daily, I gear up for the rain, and strap on my emergency pack.
It’s not coming down hard yet, but even from a few hundred yards away, I can hear the water rushing through the normally bubbling creek below the cliff line. Scorpion Trail ends at the small footbridge behind the trailhead, so I start there and begin hiking up the trail.
The group of bikers I was worried about pedals off the bridge just as I approach it. “Good timing,” I say to the man leading the group when he stops beside me. “Mandatory evacuation due to flash flooding. Try to get off the roads as soon as possible.”
“We’re heading out now. But there was a solo rider heading up just as we began our descent. He said he’d be right behind us, but I haven’t seen him yet.”
“That’s who I’m going to find right now.” I tap the front of my cap with my finger in a friendly dismissal. “Drive safely.”
The man gives me a curt nod before slipping his helmet back on and joining his friends at the trailhead.
At least I’m only looking for one person and not six.
The wind is picking up, so I turn up my collar and zip the front of my jacket as I head into the chill.
The creek that was about three feet wide this morning is now closer to six and widening by the minute as water flows downstream. I’ve only been at this park for a few weeks, but I’ve never seen anything like this. About a hundred feet down the path, I see the cyclist I’m looking for coming toward me at top speed.
He shakes his head and doesn’t slow down at all as he passes me, pointing to a flash of red up ahead. Annoyed that he doesn’t stop, I sigh and take off after him, trying to catch up. Within seconds, I realize what he was pointing to. There’s a man in the water, clinging to a mattress that is wedged between some logs and rocks.
Waves are washing over him, but his head keeps popping up above the waves. Gunnar reaches him first, throwing his bike to the side before climbing into the frigid water.
As I’m running, I swing my backpack around to my front and disconnect the length of rope I have coiled and hanging from a carabiner. “Hold up, Gunnar,” I call out to the man. “Give me a second.”
He looks back at me like I’m crazy as he reaches for the man just as he slips underwater yet again.
My heart is racing as I watch Gunnar pull the man out of the water and throw him half over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. With practiced motions, I fasten the rope around the base of a tall boulder while keeping one eye on the men still wedged against the mattress. It’s not an ideal method for securing anyone in such a precarious situation, but I don’t have enough time to find a better spot.
This will have to do.
Tucking the rope as low underneath the back edge as I can, I say a quick prayer before walking into the water to meet Gunnar.
He is close to the edge of the rocks when a huge wave of water and debris comes rushing toward us again. I wrap the rope around my left hand two times and then lunge for him, wrapping my arms around his back just as the flood crashes into all three of us. The man in his arms flails with the onslaught of cold water on his body, and Gunnar almost stumbles. But we manage to stay upright long enough for the worst of the wave to pass.
Within a few seconds, I’m stable enough to lean forward and pull myself and Gunnar forward. He adjusts his stance and the weight he’s carrying so he can walk out of the water, practically carrying me with him as we land on the muddy rocks.
As soon as we’re out of the most immediate danger, I turn to the man in his arms. “Is he breathing?”
Gunnar lowers the man to the bank and turns his face toward us. The guy is coughing and his lips are almost white, but he’s alert and doesn’t seem to have any open wounds that we can see.
“We need to warm him up.” Gunnar’s wide palm slides from the man’s forehead, down his cheek, and to the back of his neck. “He’s freezing.”
“Let’s get him back to the ranger station.”
Praying that my phone still works, I pull it out of my pants pocket and try to turn it on. As expected, it’s dead. It’s supposed to be waterproof for at least six feet, but today continues to be a cluster of things not going right. I just hope my bad luck doesn’t extend to this man having serious injuries or dying because I can’t take care of him the way he deserves.
“Is it working?” Gunnar lifts the guy up against his chest, and the man wraps his arms around Gunnar’s neck, but his eyes are locked on mine.
“Uh, no. I’ll call for an ambulance as soon as we get inside. That’s our first priority right now.”
Gunnar starts walking back toward the bridge, completely bypassing his bike as he goes.
I take a second to repack my bag and grab the bike with one hand as I follow behind the man. Normally, I would cross through the creek to get to the other side faster, but the water is just too high and flowing too fast right now to be safe. That means we have to go all the way to the bridge and cross over it, losing at least a few minutes of time that I’m not sure this man can spare.
“We need to hurry,” I say to Gunnar with my eyes trained on the man who now appears to be unconscious.
Gunnar takes off in a fast jog along the uneven rocks as I continue to run behind them.
It only takes a few minutes to get back into the warm office. I lead them into the nurse’s station, and Gunnar reclines the young man on the examination table. Gunnar puts his fingertips to the man’s neck, looking for a pulse. “He’s turning blue.”
“Take off his clothes.” I grab a solar blanket out of the cabinet and set it next to Gunnar. “I’ll be right back.”
Gunnar is already pulling off the man’s boots when I step out to the front desk to call for help. Power has been restored, but the phone lines are busy, and I can’t get a call out. Worried that we don’t have much time to save this young man, I try my radio. “Ranger Station 1432 calling for immediate paramedic evac. Hiker found hypothermic. Does anybody copy?”
“Copy that, 1432. We can have a rig out to you in thirty minutes.”
“He doesn’t have thirty minutes. He’s unresponsive and turning blue.”
“The road is blocked by a mudslide. We’ll have to come in on the fire access road. Thirty minutes is the soonest we can get there, and that’s assuming no other
roads are blocked. Use your training, Ranger, and do what you can.”
“Affirmative.” I toss the receiver on the ground and run back into the nurse’s station. Gunnar has the blanket tucked around with a man, but he doesn’t look any better than he did a few minutes ago.
Gunnar pulls his fleece sweatshirt over his head and kicks off his riding shoes. “He needs body heat.”
52
Gunnar
The weight of Collin’s stare is heavy as I get undressed. Despite being in wet clothes too, my adrenaline is still high, and my body is warmed up from running with this man in my arms. I don’t feel any shame or regret as I step out of my boxers and climb onto the narrow examination table, hovering directly over the unconscious man I just pulled from the creek.
With most of my body weight on my knees and elbows, I’m able to cover almost his entire body without crushing him. The slight man can’t weigh more than a hundred and fifty pounds, and my two-hundred-and-twenty-pound frame easily provides the skin-to-skin contact that might save his life.
Based purely on his size, I have to assume the man is an omega. A very cute omega with blond hair matted across his forehead and blue eyes that match the color of his lips from when he watched me wade into the current to save him. I lower my forehead to his and blow my warm breath across his face. The last thing I ate was a banana, so I hope my breath isn’t too bad as I close my eyes and do everything I can to keep him alive.
“I think that’s helping.” Collin slowly tucks the solar blanket around my thighs so our heat doesn’t escape. “He’s starting to get some color.”
Turning my face so my cheek is on the man’s forehead, I look at Collin. His brown eyes are practically pleading with me to keep this kid alive. “He’ll be okay.”
He holds my gaze a moment longer before shaking out of the trance he seems to be in. “Yeah, you’re doing gr-gr-great.”
I smile, about to make a Tony the Tiger reference from the old cereal commercials, then I notice Collin is shivering too. “Shit, Ranger. You need to get into some dry clothes. You’re almost as blue as he was.”
“What?” Collin looks down at his soaked clothes and seems to realize his own perilous state. “Oh, yeah. I guess.”
His fingers are shaking, and he can’t grip the zipper of his jacket to get it open. I should have realized he’s going into shock sooner. He managed to keep his shit together long enough to get his charges to safety, but now that we’re warming up, his body is beginning to shut down.
“Fuck, Collin.” I slide off the table and roll the man slightly in both directions, so he’s wrapped in the foil blanket like he’s a burrito, then rush to Collin’s side and start to tear his clothes off him. He’s still standing, but his eyes aren’t focused, and his lips are quivering in an unhealthy rhythm.
As soon as he’s as naked as I am, I press him to my body and walk with him to the cabinets to find another solar blanket. There’s a stack of them in the first drawer I open, so I shake one open with one hand and throw it around Collin’s back. Once his backside is fully covered from head to toe, I back into the corner of the room and hold Collin’s body against mine, desperately trying to warm him up too.
His body is shaking roughly against me, but he’s still standing on his own and his breath against my neck is warm and moist. After tucking the blanket behind my shoulders so it doesn’t fall to the ground, I slide my arms up and down Collin’s back, trying to disperse my heat across his cold torso as quickly as possible.
Within minutes, his limp arms close around my back and his skin finally feels warm.
With my palms on his hips, I steady his body as I pull back to look at him. “Feeling better?”
The rosy color in his cheeks makes me smile as Collin nods to me. “Yes, thank you.”
As if we both have the same thought at the same time, we turn to check on the omega on the table. His blue eyes are open and staring right at us in an almost hungry way.
“How you doing over there?”
The boy’s breath hitches, and he shakes his head as he realizes he’s been caught staring. “Good. Um, yeah, better. Thank you.”
“No trouble.” I give Collin a slight squeeze. “I haven’t been naked with two men at once in a while.”
The boy’s eyes get wide, and Collin’s cock pokes my thigh, reminding me that maybe now isn’t the right time for joking.
“Are you okay on your own now?” I ask Collin.
He releases my back and steps away, leaving a foot of space between us. The cold air stings as much as the distance seems to. “Yeah, thanks.”
Collin quickly wraps the blanket around his front, hiding his half-hard dick and leaving me naked against the wall. I’ve never been the shy type, but I instinctively reach for my balls, shielding my growing erection with my arm while I pull out another solar blanket and wrap it around myself.
The air in the room suddenly feels stuffy as we all watch each other in awkward silence. After a few minutes, I pull the stool near the computer over to the exam table and have a seat. “So, kid, what’s your name?”
Collin slowly slides the visitor chair to my side and drops into it with a sigh, obviously glad to rest for a minute. An ordeal like that is exhausting, and I want nothing more than to curl up in my bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Although, having these guys pressed against my naked body wasn’t a bad reward for my workout this morning.
“Sean Davis,” the boy says quietly. “I’m sorry for being so stupid.” His voice cracks and he screws his eyes shut, obviously holding back the emotion he’s feeling over everything that happened…and could have happened.
“Hey, there.” Collin brushes the stray hairs off Sean’s forehead and smooths them down with his fingers. “Don’t be upset. We’re all okay.” He glances at me and winks. “Good thing Gunnar over here has a lot of hot air to warm up the both of us.”
I take his cue and try to lighten the heavy mood. “I was hoping for a swim anyway. And like I said before, sharing body heat with a couple cute guys has never been a hardship for me.”
Sean’s lids droop and his lips part as his eyes focus on my mouth. “Yeah?”
I swallow hard, hoping my cock doesn’t poke out the opening of the blanket before our help arrives or I might not be able to stop myself from putting those plump lips to work. “Yeah.”
“I’m Ranger Collin Rich.” Collin clears his throat and turns toward the open door. “And I think I just heard a car pull up. I’ll go check.”
53
Sean
I’m dead.
It’s the only explanation.
There’s no possible way this is happening in real life.
Being stripped naked—on a narrow table with a gorgeous alpha pressing his body against me to keep me warm—was mind-blowing enough. But seeing two naked alphas pressed together in the corner, looking like they’re about to devour each other, is too much.
This can’t be happening.
The door opens, and two paramedics rush through. They come to me first, stopping at my side with a bag of equipment. When they assess that I’m not critical, one man moves over to the taller alpha in the room.
Gunnar. That’s what the ranger said. And he looks like a Gunnar with light brown hair and eyes that look like emeralds. The female paramedic pokes and prods, asking ridiculous questions about my birthdate and what day of the week it is. I answer her on autopilot while keeping my eyes glued to the men who saved me. They’re talking to the male first responder, but the way they keep looking at me has my cock growing and my belly tingling.
When the sheet below me is released from the foam pad I’m lying on and I almost roll off the table, my focus is finally pulled away from the guys. That’s when the reality of my situation hits me. This really is happening. “What are you doing?” I ask the man as he walks back to me and slides to me onto a rolling gurney. “Where are you taking me?”
“We’re just going to take you to County Hospital for an evaluation. If eve
rything checks out, they won’t keep you long.”
“No, I can’t.” I turn to the men who saved me once, begging them to save me again. “Please don’t let them take me.”
“Why not?” Collin steps to my side and reaches for my outstretched hand. “They just want to make sure you’re okay. We don’t know how long you were in that water, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
The other alpha is quickly at my other side, resting his strong palm on my shoulder before sliding it up my neck and turning me to face him. When his fingers smooth down the hair matted across my forehead, my eyes close and I let out a deep sigh. “You’ll be fine, Sean. It’s just a precaution.”
“I’ll drive myself.” I turn to the paramedic, hoping to convince him I’m trustworthy. “I swear, I’ll go to the nurse on campus, but I don’t have regular insurance to cover a hospital stay. My medical plan only covers the campus clinic.”
The medic wraps the blood pressure cuff around my arm then tucks the solar blanket around me again to keep me warm. “County takes all patients. Don’t worry about payment.”
I let out a deep breath, knowing I’m not going to win this argument. “Fine. But what about my stuff?” Then I remember the whole reason for my stupid adventure this morning, and my heart starts racing again. “My camera! Where’s my camera?” I look around the room, praying to see it waiting for me, but it’s nowhere around.
Gunnar and Collin look at each other with the same desperation on their faces that I’m feeling. Collin gives my hand an apologetic squeeze. “We didn’t see a camera, Sean. I’m sorry.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I guess a career in photography wasn’t meant to be. I should be grateful I’m alive, but it doesn’t make me feel much better about failing out of the one class I truly love. The gurney I’m strapped to starts moving and my eyes instinctively open up, searching out the two men who saved me.