by Susan Stoker
Everything was too damn complicated now, and it was seriously stressing Malcom out.
Taking a deep breath, he told himself to trust the Boss. The entire situation would be cleaned up and, in the end, he’d own half of Heritage Plastics.
“You aren’t going to win this time, bro,” Malcom said under his breath. “Not this time.”
Chapter Ten
Zoey had lost count of what day it was. They all kind of blended together now. They’d wake up in the morning, take their shoes off and air out their feet, eat some berries for breakfast, walk for a few hours, stop for a break and a snack, walk some more, Mark would find a place for them to camp for the night, she’d attempt to start a fire—with no luck—then assist with their shelter. Mark would either fish or set a snare for their dinner, they’d sit around the fire talking, then she’d fall asleep in his arms.
She was tired, dirty, and getting more and more worried by the day.
Mark said his friends would find them, and she believed him, but she was beginning to think they’d walk themselves out of whatever area they’d been dropped in before that happened.
“Hey, are you okay? How’re your feet doing?”
Zoey looked over at Mark. “They’re fine. Your armpits did a great job of keeping them warm this morning.”
He grinned, but then sobered. “I know this isn’t ideal.”
Wasn’t ideal? Was he kidding? He was close to getting back to that too-positive thing that irritated her so much. She grunted in response.
Of course he wouldn’t let her get away with that. Mark was the chattiest man she’d ever met. Weren’t SEALs supposed to be all closed-mouthed and stuff? God, what she’d give to be able to sulk in peace.
He stopped in front of her and waited for her to look up at him. “What?” she asked, a little more grumpily than she’d intended.
He studied her for a bit before saying, “I know this is hard.”
Zoey couldn’t help it. She snorted. “Mark, hard is getting up because you know you have to go to work even when you’re hungover. Hard is passing a geometry test when you haven’t studied for it. Hard is what a guy’s dick has to be before any hanky-panky can happen. What this is, isn’t hard. It’s impossible. We’re basically attempting to walk across Alaska with nothing but a knife, a flint, and a few other odds and ends.”
She hadn’t thought about her words. Had just spit them out. But of course the second she shut her mouth, what she’d said registered and she closed her eyes in embarrassment.
Mark chuckled, and she knew she blushed even harder. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to look at him right now.
But instead of resurrecting Positive Polly, he surprised her. “You’re right.”
Her eyes popped open and she stared at him. “I am?”
“Of course, Zoey. This sucks. I’d rather not be here. No one would. I have no idea how much longer we’ll have to go before we find any sign of civilization. I’ve been dreaming of a huge ice cream sundae and, believe it or not, chicken fingers. I’d give anything to be bitching about having to go to the grocery store or about the traffic in Riverton right about now.”
She waited for the inevitable upbeat pep talk to start. But when Mark didn’t say anything else, she practically gaped at him. “And?”
“And what?”
“Go on. Tell me that your friends will find us soon. That we’ll be eating that ice cream this time tomorrow. Be your usual positive self,” she told him.
He sighed. “The truth of the matter is, I’m struggling. Just like you are. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’d almost rather be in the middle of some far-flung country exchanging gunfire with the bad guys. At least then I’d know there would be an end to whatever we were doing.”
Zoey reached up and grabbed Mark’s biceps and said, “No.”
“No, what?”
“No, you can’t do this. You’re the positive one. The upbeat one. The one who’s so sure your friends will find us. As much as it annoys me, and even though I told you a few days ago that I needed you to be more real, I changed my mind. I need you to be the annoyingly positive guy right now.”
“I’m not perfect,” Mark said. “And this does suck.”
They stared at each other for a heartbeat before Zoey couldn’t help but smile.
“I have no idea what you’re smiling at,” Mark grumbled.
She took a step toward him and wrapped her arms around him and held on as tightly as she could. She was relieved when he hugged her back. How long they stood like that, she had no idea. Neither of them smelled good and she knew her hair was limp and greasy from going a week without washing it. Her clothes were dirty, as were his, and she could hear his stomach growling.
Looking up at him, she said, “We’re going to be okay.”
His lips quirked upward. “Now who’s being the positive one?” he asked.
“Hey, we can’t both be negative. And you said that we had to be positive to make it out of here.”
“True.”
Taking a risk, she reached up and palmed his face. His stubble had grown out until it was almost a full-fledged beard, and she could see how much dirt was under her fingernails, but she forged on. “One thing your dad always said to me when I was sad or depressed was,” she lowered her voice, mimicking Colin’s deep voice, “Zoey, girl…as bad as things look now, they can always be worse.”
She loved the smile that crossed Mark’s face. “That sounds like something Pop would say.”
“As we both know, things could always be worse. It could be December and there could be two feet of snow on the ground. One of us could’ve been injured in that landing if things had gone differently. We could’ve been killed outright. There are any number of things that could make our situation much worse than it is. I’m not always the most positive person, but I’ve still tried to do the best I can. I’m totally out of my element here, but you’ve made this so much better than it would’ve been. I like you, Mark. A lot. And I admire you. I did before I even really got to know you, thanks to your dad, but after a week with you out here, I see so much more than I ever would’ve imagined.”
He didn’t respond, so she went on. “I see a man who loves his friends enough to know without a doubt that they’ll be there for him. A man who has regrets and freely admits them. A man who can also admit when he’s wrong, and who has an immense amount of knowledge about keeping himself safe and alive. You haven’t complained about me not being able to do my share of the work, and you’ve been patient with me as I try to fumble through things that you could easily do in seconds. I can be the positive one for a while, but if you fall into your head and I can’t pull you out, we’re gonna die out here.”
That brought a small smile to his face. “We aren’t going to die,” he said firmly.
“Good. Because there’s an amazing ice cream shop in Anchorage I want to take you to when we get back there,” she told him.
A genuine smile lit up his face. “Deal.”
“Yeah?”
“Yup. And there’s a to-die-for place in Riverton, California, that serves the best chicken wings you’ve ever tasted. I want to take you there.”
Things were getting serious, but Zoey didn’t care. “Okay.”
“Okay. And even though we’re both tired, we have to go a little farther today. You good?”
“Are you good?” she countered.
“Yeah. Your pep talk helped.” He grinned. “And you’re right, this isn’t hard. I’m happy to show you hard after we’re rescued, and we’ve showered, eaten, and probably slept.”
Closing her eyes, Zoey shook her head. “How did I know you weren’t going to let that go?”
He chuckled. “Because you know me.”
And Zoey was surprised to realize he was right. She did know him. They’d spent a lot of time talking, and she’d gained a lot of insight into his personality and what made him tick. Just as he had her.
“Whatever, Navy Boy.” It was a lame comeback, but
she couldn’t exactly say what she was thinking. That he could show her his kind of “hard” anytime he wanted.
“Come on,” he said with a small smile. He took her hand in his and brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back before squeezing her fingers. “Time to get back on the road.”
“Road?” she asked sarcastically.
“Road, forest path, bushwhacking through the undergrowth…same thing.”
She couldn’t help it, she laughed.
Four hours later, Zoey wasn’t laughing anymore. She was tired and ready to stop for the day. She wasn’t paying attention and ran right into Mark’s back for what seemed like the hundredth time, after he’d stopped suddenly.
Looking up, she gasped at what she saw. It was reminiscent of the huge lake that had blocked their path. Directly in front of them was a deep, fast-running, wide stream, a tributary shooting off of the lake they’d been walking around for days. They’d either have to cross the rushing water here, or follow it for who knew how long to find an easier way across. Their other option was to turn around and go back the way they’d came. Which wasn’t something she wanted to do.
“Shit,” she mumbled.
Mark didn’t say anything, instead wrapped his arm around her as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder and stared at the obstacle in front of them.
“What now?” she asked softly.
“We cross it,” Mark said matter-of-factly.
Zoey looked up at him in disbelief. “How?”
“Very carefully,” was Mark’s not-so-helpful response.
“Smartass,” she told him. “Got any ideas?”
Mark surveyed their surroundings. Zoey let him think, not interrupting him as he problem-solved. He walked the immediate area, poking at some of the fallen logs nearby.
Zoey just watched, observing as he calculated what they’d need to get across the water. The sun was out today, thank goodness. She was about as sick of rain as she could get. It drizzled just about every night, and they’d almost been caught in a downpour a time or two. Mark had said time and time again that the last thing they needed was to be soaking wet. It was already chilly out, and cold material against their skin would weaken and possibly kill them faster than anything else.
Mark finally came back by her side and sighed. She didn’t like the sound of that.
“So?” she asked. “Are we turning around after all?”
“No. I’m pretty sure this’ll work. I’ll need your help though.”
“Of course,” Zoey said.
“There’s a fallen tree about thirty feet into the tree line that I think will work. It looks like it’ll be long enough to get across the water. If we can drag it here and get it up on its end, we can push it over and it should span the stream. Then we can walk or scoot across it to get to the other side.”
Zoey looked at him as if he had a horn growing out of his head. “Are you kidding?”
“No.”
He looked at her without a trace of the humor and silliness she’d come to enjoy over the last week. She turned her head and saw the end of the log he was probably talking about. It was big; there was no way they could drag that thing to the water, never mind pull it upright and drop it over the stream.
“You do know that I’m not a guy, right? That I’m way weaker than you?”
“I’m well aware that you’re not a guy…thank God. I’ve got a plan, and I’ll do most of the work. But I know with your help, we can do this. Since the ground is wet, I think the mud will actually help us out in this situation. The log’ll just slide right over the ground.”
Zoey knew he was sugarcoating the situation, but didn’t call him on it. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
Instead of answering, Mark startled her by reaching out and pulling her into his arms. She went eagerly, not willing to pass up the chance to be close to him. The more time they spent together, the more she liked him. He wasn’t perfect, that was obvious after their morning talk, but he seemed to be perfect for her.
Which was scary as hell.
Their situation was certainly unusual. And she knew it had cemented her feelings for him. She was pretty sure he liked her back, but the big question was, did he like her as an old friend he was enjoying getting to know again, or as a man likes a woman? She had no idea.
He pulled back, and she did the same, looking into his eyes. She couldn’t read what she saw there.
“Have I told you lately how glad I am that it’s you who’s out here with me?”
Zoey nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good. Because I am.”
“Me too. I mean, I think it’s obvious that I wouldn’t have gotten far if you hadn’t been with me.”
Mark shook his head. “No way. You would’ve figured out how to survive. I have no doubt about that.”
Zoey knew he was wrong, but she didn’t say anything. His gaze roamed up to her hair, and she winced, knowing it was a disaster. He smiled and reached up to pluck a pine needle out of her brunette locks. In return, she surreptitiously grabbed a pine needle off his shoulder, then pretended to pull it out of the facial hair that had grown over the last week on his cheeks.
He grinned and took her hand in his. He held their clasped hands together between them. His fingers brushed against the curve of one of her breasts, and she felt her nipple pucker in response. Both cursing and thanking the layers of clothes she was wearing, Zoey simply stared up at him.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Mark dropped his head toward hers. Zoey didn’t close her eyes until the last second. His lips brushed against hers lightly, as if testing things out, making sure she wasn’t going to pull away.
No way in hell was she going to do anything to rebuff him. She’d wanted to kiss him since she’d first seen him in the halls of Juneau High School over a decade ago. Of course her fantasies were much different than reality, but it didn’t matter.
She tightened her fingers around his and clutched at his side with her other hand, going up on tiptoes to try to get closer. She felt him smiling as his lips touched hers again, but she didn’t care that she was amusing him. She was kissing Mark Wright.
Holy shit.
And kissing they were. After the first tentative brush of his lips, any restraint he might’ve practiced was gone. His head slanted, his free hand came up and speared into her hair, holding her to him, and he devoured her.
The kiss was intense and passionate and almost a little desperate. Zoey moaned in her throat and he pulled her even closer. Their tongues dueled and their teeth clashed in their passion. Neither seemed to notice or care.
All Zoey could think about was getting closer. She pressed herself against him and felt his erection. He was hard, and Zoey wanted to see him up close and personal almost more than she wanted a hot shower and clean clothes.
How long they kissed, Zoey had no idea, but eventually she needed to breathe, more than little inhalations through her nose, and she reluctantly pulled back. Mark immediately let her go, but kept his hand on the back of her head and her hand in his. They were practically plastered together from hips to chest, and Zoey had to crane her head back to look him in the eyes.
She prayed he wouldn’t say anything that would ruin this moment for her. Practically holding her breath, she waited for him to speak.
His eyes roamed over her face, then her hair, then back to her lips. Zoey licked them unconsciously, and his fingers on both hands tightened. She felt surrounded by Mark. As if he would literally slay dragons for her. She prayed this wouldn’t make things awkward between them. That he didn’t regret kissing her. She silently begged him to say something. Anything.
“I’ve wanted to do that for days,” he said after a minute, and Zoey practically sagged in relief at his words.
“Me too,” she whispered.
He smiled down at her. “You intrigue me, Zoey Knight. I want to continue to get to know you. I want to take you out to the fanciest restaurant and to the diviest dive. I want to introduce you to my friends and sit on the
deck at Gumby’s house and watch you laugh and play with Ace and Piper’s kids on the beach. I want to know what foods you like and hate. For the first time in my life, I feel as if a day should go by, and I haven’t talked to you, seen you, that I’ll be missing out. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before. Ever.”
With every word out of his mouth, Zoey melted further. “It’s probably because of the situation,” she said softly. She didn’t want to believe that, but she had to be honest with herself and him.
He shook his head. “No. That’s not it. Zo, I spend my life in situations like this. Life and death. Intense. Not knowing what’s around the next corner. We’ve rescued a lot of women, and not one has touched me like you. Maybe it’s the connection we already have because we knew each other before. Maybe it’s because I know you loved my pop as much as I did. I don’t know. But I can’t just walk away when we’re rescued. One day, one week, or one month from now. I want to see where this goes when we’re back in the real world.”
Zoey couldn’t say anything else. She was so floored and overcome with feelings for Mark, her throat seemed to close up. She wanted that. More than anything. It seemed like a dream come true.
After a moment, Mark frowned, and she felt his hold on her loosen as he prepared to step away. “If you don’t feel the same, that’s okay. I just wanted you to know.”
Zoey frantically shook her head. She threw herself against him, knowing he’d catch her, which he did. “I want that too,” she told him quickly. “I was just in shock. I liked you when I was a teenager, and I admired you simply from the things your dad told me. But now that I’ve gotten to know you, really know you, I realize what I thought I knew about you was only the beginning. You’re so much more. You’re not just the military hero or the high school hunk I’d built up in my mind. You’re real. You get upset and worried and your stomach growls just like mine when you’re hungry. And as much as I want to be rescued, I also dread it because that means going back to my boring life. I dread not seeing you every day. I want nothing more than to see where this goes too.”