Winded, Elias lay back with a frustrated sigh. “Could you uh…could you help me with this?” He lifted the shirt as far as he could manage. “Can’t quite get it up.”
“I’d beg to differ.” Leo’s hand flew to her mouth, cutting off a laugh.
Meanwhile, half the blood in Elias’s body flooded his cheeks while the other half returned to the subject of her mirth. Unconsciously, his eyes raked their way up and down her newly clothed body.
Looking awkward, she cleared her throat. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“No. No, it was called for.” He smiled and watched her. Her skin was a radiant umber in the sunlight, her eyes on him so warm he forgot, for a shell-shocked second or two, how much danger they were in. “Absolutely called for,” he repeated roughly, ensnared by the sight of her top teeth biting into her lush lower lip.
Bo came up and nudged him with the top of her head, snapping him out of Leo’s spell and reminding him that distractions like this were lethal.
Her eyes narrowed at him. “You’re flirting and you can’t even stand up.”
“Wasn’t flirting,” he mumbled.
“Right.” She rolled her eyes at his efforts to get up. “Stop that. You’ll hurt yourself. First…” She grabbed the canteen, then sat behind him and helped him get into a leaning position, right in the V of her legs. “Water.”
She put the canteen to his lips and dammit, he tried grabbing the stupid thing, but he would’ve lost it if she hadn’t also been holding on. “Body’s not working yet.”
“Okay.” She leaned, dug around in his damp coat pockets, and pulled out a couple of protein bars. “Eat.”
He ate the first in two large bites and scarfed down the second bar.
“All right.” She scooted away, taking her heat with her. “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”
He grunted and tried to put the shirt on again. Though every cell of his being understood the urgent need to get up and out of the bag, he couldn’t do it, could barely turn onto his side and watch her head into the sparse pine cover.
He gave up and shut his eyes.
He’d almost died back there. Twice. Hadn’t even felt the damn gunshot wound, with all the adrenaline pouring through him. But between that and the shock of the water, he’d be dead if she hadn’t gotten him to safety.
With his eyes closed, he listened for signs of pursuit—not that he’d hear with the noise the ice was currently making.
They had to move. If he couldn’t, she’d have to go without him.
With a deep inhale, he pushed up to sitting and worked the shirt over his head.
He shoved the sleeping bag aside and took a second to examine the long, ugly gash the bullet had put in his hide. He’d need to disinfect that and bandage it before taking off. Another nudge of the covers revealed his penis, only half-hard now that she’d gone.
“Leastyou’redoing okay.” He shook his head, disgusted at himself.
“Who?”
Quickly, he covered up again. “Shit, you move quietly.”
She smiled vaguely and eyed the tight thermal stretched across his chest. “You got it on.”
“Yeah.” He lifted his chin. “Think you could, uh, grab me something for the bottom half?”
She got him his things and busied herself putting his pack back together while he struggled into pants.
“Where’s your bag?”
“My bag?” She spun in a circle. “Oh, crap.”
“Not much in it. See our boots there. Your coat.” He lifted his chin toward his bag. “Mine. With my pack, we’ll be okay.”
“Thanks to your overpreparedness.”
