Alphas in the Wild

by Ann Gimpel

  She slugged him in the arm. “Shit too. If I wasn’t worried about burning through shells, I’d stand you some target practice. As it is, I just hope you have a steady hand.”

  He glanced at her, humor dancing in the depths of his eyes. “The hand that wields the scalpel rules the world.”

  Sara burst out laughing. “Cradle. That was cradle. And rocks, not wields.”

  “Whatever. Night.” He headed for his sleeping bag.

  She was still chortling when she crawled into hers.

  Chapter Seven

  Jared woke to a gray dawn. Sometime during the last part of the night, Jake had moved next to Sara and was curled on the floor by her cot. The dog flicked an ear his way, but didn’t get up. Sara slept on her side, her head cradled on an arm, her hair spilled around her like a dark, shimmering flood.

  He took advantage of the moment to study her, enjoying the view. He wanted to cross the cabin and sink his fingers into all her glorious hair just before he kissed her, but they had work to do. He’d read everything that had come through on the radio about the alien invasion. As he read, something about the intergalactic trade agreement rang distant bells in his memory.

  The U.S. space program had unearthed about six planets with intelligent life. He’d studied some of them as an undergraduate. While items from Earth traveled to other planets with some level of regularity, the reverse didn’t seem to apply. Reading between the lines, Earth had stopped sending goods, which led to a particular planet declaring war. Even though the dispatches stopped shy of saying it, he figured the aliens needed to bond with humans to survive in Earth’s atmosphere. It was the only explanation that made sense. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of grabbing up people to merge with, when killing them would be faster and easier.

  Sara’s eyes fluttered open. “Morning. How long have you been up?” She stretched her arms over her head. The movement pushed the upper part of her breasts out of her sleeping bag. She still wore her long underwear top, but it didn’t leave much to the imagination.

  “Not long.” His resolve to be all business this morning evaporated, and he left the warmth of his bag and crossed to the cot.

  She patted the place next to her, and he perched on the cot’s wooden frame. “Did anyone ever tell you what amazing hair you have?” He wound a curl around his fingers.

  “Not lately.” Sara opened her arms. “Come here, but only for a minute. We need to get moving.”

  “I know.” He wrapped his arms around her and felt hers close behind his back. Her breath was warm against his face before he kissed her. Arousal raged through him, shocking in its intensity. He held her more tightly, enjoying the press of her breasts against his chest as he teased her mouth with his lips.

  She splayed her hands across his back, strong fingers holding on tight. He wanted to lay next to her, but if he did that, they’d both be lost, so he kept his feet on the floor. She made a small moaning sound. Her nipples felt like polished stones through the thin fabric of her shirt, and her lips clung to his while she buried her tongue in his mouth.

  His cock was bent at an uncomfortable angle, but it just grew harder and harder, perilously close to spontaneous release. He moved a hand to her breast and twirled the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He hadn’t meant to, but his hand developed a mind of its own.

  Sara pressed into him, hips writhing with wanting the same thing he wanted. She tore her mouth from his. “Please. Maybe it’s wrong and too soon and all those things, but—”

  “Sara, darling.” He swung his legs onto the bed and pressed the length of his body against hers. She tugged the unzipped sleeping bag out of the way and wrapped her legs around one of his, pressing the heat of her core against him.

  He reached down and straightened his cock. Even the brush of his hands against his ridged flesh almost made him come. He focused on her breast beneath his hands and then moved down to take her nipple in his mouth, pushing her shirt up and out of the way first. She gasped, and buried her fingers in his hair while her hips bucked hard against his thigh.

  The scent of her arousal filled him with need, sharp, urgent. He pushed a hand between her legs under her long johns, rubbing the swollen nubbin slick with her juices. He didn’t realize she’d moved her hand until it closed around his erection, warm, tight, sure. He thrust against her grip, not recognizing the feral sounds emerging from his throat as belonging to him.

  Because they were so new, he didn’t know exactly what she needed, so he experimented with how he touched her, alternating rolling her clit between his fingers with rubbing it in hard little circles. Her breath came fast, and color splotched across her face. He pushed two fingers inside her, while still pressing on her nubbin with his palm, wanting to feel when she came. Concentrating on her pleasure helped keep his in check.

  Her pussy dissolved around his hand in a flood of liquid heat. He kept on rubbing until the spasms of her release slowed. When he finally let go of her breast and raised his gaze to her face, she gifted him with a lazy smile.

  “Your turn.” She slithered around and licked the head of his cock, while still pumping the shaft with her hand.

  Jared gave himself up to sensation. Between her mouth and tongue swirling around the tip of his cock and her hands on the shaft, his balls tightened against his body. Semen boiled out so hard, the jets were almost painful. She licked and sucked until he was dry and then curled against his belly, fingers stroking his legs, stomach, and deflating cock.

  “That was lovely, but we should get moving,” she said and let go of him, moving back up his body until they were face to face.

  “Taskmaster.” He kissed her. Tasting himself on her tongue made him swell again.

  She wriggled away. “Someone needs to be. I know how this goes. We’re like kids with a new toy, and we could stay here and fuck each other senseless for days.” A solemn expression crossed her face. “Given what we’re facing, that’s not a good idea.”

  “You’re right.” He tucked hair behind one of her ears. “Before we move into today, I want to say a couple things.” Jared hurried on before he lost his nerve. “I love what we just did together. I don’t make love often. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a woman in my life—or in my bed.”

  A pleased look crossed her face. “Even if you’re just saying that—”

  “I’m not,” he broke in. “What would the percentage be? You may not like some of what you hear from me, but what I say is the truth. Win, lose, or draw.”

  “Haven’t heard that expression for a long time. It’s the same for me. It’s been a long time since I made love. Now let’s get moving. If we’re going to track whoever stole my tent, they’ve had a hell of a head start.”

  He kissed her one more time, and rolled to his feet. A peek in the stove told him enough coals remained to start a new fire, so he shaved wood off a block with a small axe and fed them into the stove until they kindled.

  Sara moved past him, fully dressed, and opened the door. “Be right back,” she said.

  Jared grinned at her. “Coffee and energy bars okay for breakfast?”

  “Better than okay, since we need to turn Jake loose tracking.”

  The dog woofed softly on hearing his name and followed Sara out the door.

  Jared tossed bigger pieces of wood into the stove and then got dressed. The warm glow in his belly from the wonder of Sara in his arms pulsed brightly. The feel of her beneath his fingers when she came made him hard again, and he rolled his eyes. He hadn’t been this horny in years. Maybe part of it was their situation, but a much bigger part was Sara. It wouldn’t take much for him to fall head over heels down the well in love.

  * * * *

  Sara tossed back the remains of her coffee and threw things into her empty backpack. A first aid kit, extra clothes, a water bottle, and snacks. They’d had a quick bite. Oatmeal along with energy bars, and hadn’t been able to keep their eyes—or hands—off one another. Happiness surged. Jared was different from other
men in her life. Sure of himself, not put off by her independence. Maybe, just maybe if they got out of this in one piece, something solid could grow between them.

  “I can carry some stuff.” Jared walked to her side. “My pack is mostly empty.”

  “It’s all good. I don’t have much. Compared with an overnight bag, this is nothing. Let’s take a better look at where my tent was before we leave. We should be able to determine which direction they came from and where they headed.”

  “Regardless.” He opened the door for her. “We should be able to get your tent back.”

  Jake nosed past him and trotted to Sara’s side, tail pluming, breath steamy in the chill air of early morning.

  She stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to him. “Oh, I don’t care about the tent. It’s regulation Park Service. There are two more just like it in the cellar, and another two or three back at McClure—if we ever go back there. I’m much more interested in other survivors.”

  “My thoughts, exactly.”

  She walked around the cabin and hunkered to get a closer look at the ground. “They came from the south, and not on the beaten track off the Muir Trail, either. Look there.” She extended a hand.

  “So maybe they’re keeping clear of the trail.”

  “Could be. You did.”

  “True. Caught me dead to rights.” He strode to a few stones and bent to examine them.

  “What’d you find?” She joined him.

  He fingered darker places on the granite. “Blood. It might belong to an animal, but my bet is one of our nightly visitors is hurt.” He straightened. “Do you have a paramedic pack in the cabin?”

  Sara frowned, thinking. “Maybe. If we do, it’d be in the cellar. Why do we need one? I have a first aid kit. I’m an EMT, and my kit usually has everything I’m comfortable using.”

  “Because the paramedic packs have a lot more in them. If someone is injured, I might need things beyond two-by-two squares and bandage tape.”

  “I thought you didn’t treat people.”

  “I don’t. Not anymore, but there was a time when I did.” He mock slugged her in the arm. “It’s kind of like with the gun. You never truly forget.”

  “Here.” She held out a key. “We never did lock up. It’s the same one that opens the cellar.”

  He dropped his pack near her with an easy grace and sprinted back around the building. She watched the play of his muscles as he moved, and her belly clenched with sudden fierce need. What they’d done an hour before barely whetted her appetite. She wanted the cock she’d held in her hand. Wanted it buried deep in her body. He had a wonderful penis. Long and thick and proud, springing from a mat of tawny hair. She’d loved how he felt in her mouth, and the untamed noises when he came, pumping salty, tangy semen into her mouth.

  She wriggled, her pussy awash in moisture again.

  “Got it.” He rounded the corner of the cabin, a red and white bag clasped in one hand. He gave her the key and dropped the medical supplies into his pack. That done, he swung the pack onto his back and buckled it into place.

  Sara dropped a hand to Jake’s shoulder and said, “Track.”

  The big dog moved at an easy pace. He knew from all his training he needed to wait for his human team. Outrunning them didn’t serve any purpose. He kept his nose low to the ground, lifting it from time to time to scent the air as well as the ground. Sara had done this with him many, many times, and she trusted him implicitly.

  “They may have come from the south,” Jared said, “but they’re moving northwest now.”

  “Keep your eyes open for more blood.”

  “Good idea. Ashamed I didn’t think of it.” He paused. “Maybe because I’d rather look at you.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere.” She flashed a grin. “Wish the dog could talk.”

  “What would he be able to tell us?”

  “Lots of things. How cold the trail is. About how long since they walked this way. How many there were. What sex.” She tugged her GPS out of its belt holster and set it to backtrack.

  “Smart. It’ll make getting back easier.”

  Sara shrugged. “The ground is mostly soft enough, we could follow our tracks. I’m just being lazy.” They walked in a companionable silence for a while, moving ever deeper into difficult terrain dotted with large talus blocks and tangles of manzanita and willow bushes.

  Jared lifted his head, squinting at the cloud cover. “It’s cold enough to snow again. If it does, tracking our route using footprints could get challenging. Never mind we’ve been boulder hopping these past few minutes.”

  “You noticed.” She grinned. “This is child’s play compared with Glacier Divide.”

  He made a noise between a snort and a grunt. “Yeah. Almost bit off more than I could chew up there. The last part required a heaping dose of confidence on my part.”

  “And a few leaps from your legs as well?” she inquired archly.

  “Yeah, that too.”

  Jake ran ahead. He barked once and stopped, his ears pricked forward, clearly waiting for her. She squatted next to him and asked, “Is this it?” Another quick, short woof.

  “What—?” Jared began, but she waved him to silence and straightened, still next to her dog.

  “Sara Holcomb.” She raised her voice. “U.S. Park Service. Do you require assistance?”

  Silence met her words, so she repeated them. Still nothing.

  “Dr. Jared Donovan,” he called. “Someone is injured. I’ve seen the blood. I can help.” He turned to Sara and lowered his voice. “Why’d Jake stop tracking? He could’ve led us right to where they are.”

  “Because we’re close,” she murmured back. “He’s trained not to run right into people, so he won’t scare them, and maybe get himself shot if someone’s the least bit trigger happy.”

  “Guess you’re not the only gunslinger in the park.”

  She snorted. “You’d be surprised what rules people break.”

  “I know you’re here,” she called again. “My dog tracked you. I’m human. I won’t hurt you.”

  Jared moved closer to her and spoke near her ear. “What do we do if they don’t show themselves?”

  Sara blew out a tightly held breath. “They will. I know how scared I was up in the Muir Hut, and I don’t scare easy. I’m guessing this is just a couple of backpackers who got stuck—kind of like you did.”

  “Not exactly.” A slightly built man with dirty blond dreadlocks sidled from the cover of a nearby grove of trees. Nondescript clothing was torn and smeared with dirt.

  Jake, who’d been standing at attention, stiffened further. Hackles rose along his spine, and he growled softly.

  “How many are with you?” Sara narrowed her eyes. Just because she’d only identified two sets of prints didn’t mean anything.

  “A few,” the man said evasively.

  “You’ll have to say more than that.” Jared took a step forward. “We offered to help you, despite the fact you stole Federal property.”

  “Hush.” Sara shushed him and focused on the stranger. “I’m guessing you needed shelter.”

  “We did. Still do, actually, since that was only a two-man tent.”

  His words registered. “So there are more than two of you, and you came into the backcountry without shelter this late in the year.” Sara stated it as fact, because she was almost certain it was true.

  “Yes, there are more than two of us. And yes, we didn’t bring what we’d need. This wasn’t exactly a planned expedition. We were lucky to escape with our hides intact.” A corner of the man’s mouth twisted wryly, and his blue eyes held a haunted edge.

  “Who are you, exactly?” Jared asked. “We know what you’re running from, but how’d you end up here?”

  “It’s all right, Kevin.” A plump, redhead joined the man. Her clothing was as dirty as his, and she wore an ancient pair of tennis shoes. One arm was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage.

  “What happened to your arm?” J
ared trotted to the woman’s side.

  Sara winced. As gun shy as these people were, he probably should’ve waited before moving closer, but she understood he wanted to help.

  The woman leaned into Kevin and gazed at Jared through worried-looking green eyes. “You must be the one who said you were an MD.”

  “That’s right.” Jared nodded. “What happened to your arm?” he repeated.

  “A big rock fell on it getting in here. It’s broken, and the bone’s poking out. Hurts like a bitch if I move it wrong.”

  Jared slipped his pack off his shoulders and rooted around, coming up with the paramedic supplies he’d had the foresight to bring. He stood next to the woman. “Do I have your permission to look at your arm and fix it if I can?”

  She nodded, clearly miserable. “I’m probably a goner, anyway. I’m sure I have an infection from the compound fracture, and we didn’t have any antibiotics.” Shrugging, she winced. “Even if we did, this is way bigger than something like penicillin could address.”

  “Are you a doctor too?” Jared asked. Reaching out, he began unwinding the bandage. After a muted yelp, the woman quieted, but strain showed in lines around her eyes and the tense set of her shoulders.

  “No. An electrical engineer with a biomedical background. My name is Christine.”

  Jared pulled a syringe from the bag and filled it from a bottle Sara couldn’t see clearly. “Okay, Christine. I’m going to give you an injection of something to deaden the pain, so I can work on your arm.”

  “Fine.” She nodded tersely. “Do it.”

  Sara turned away from Jared. He clearly didn’t need anything from her. Facing Kevin, she asked “Who are you? How many in your party, and how’d you end up out here? Do you have enough food?”

  “Lot of questions,” Kevin countered.

  “Yeah, and so far you haven’t even ponied up one answer. I’m as close to the law as you’ll find out here, and I need to know more about you.”

  He drew his blond brows together and seemed to come to a conclusion. Turning, he whistled a high clear note, followed by two short bursts. People walked into the clearing from several directions.