Free Stranded but not Alone (Midnight Moanings Collection) by Cora Blu Page A

stroke her nostrils along with the bitter scent of her fear.
    At the base of the tree, Simone’s heart pumped like a racehorse’s as she added Seth’s bag to her own over her shoulder. He hoisted her up into the tree. Under her clothes, her body was slick with perspiration.
    She grabbed a handful of his sweater as he swung a leg up. Just as he pulled himself into the tree, loud barks and snarls poured from the woods.
    “Go,” he urged, motioning for her to climb again. “Go higher. Hurry.” The wolves charged his leg just as he got it up on the lowest branch. Their musky wild scent rose in the trees. Simone scurried up higher.
    “That’s good, Sim.”
    She yelped as she sat on the branch.
    “You okay?” he asked. His voice moved over her a blanket of concern.
    She shook her head. “I’m okay sat on a broken branch. My butt hurts.”
    “Are you bleeding?” His concern moved her.
    “Doubt it. With Levis and a hard butt, I’ll mostly likely have a bruise later.” The wolves yipped below the tree. “Get up here higher. They can jump, you know.”
    “You’re one brave woman, Sim. You know that?” He moved up two branches.
    “When given the choice of being up a tree with a Russian bear or on the ground with a pack of wolves, I pick the bear.”
    “Bears eat too,” he teased, his voice graveled and rushed. He peered up at her through the dark night.
    “My bear hungry?” she joked, peering down to the forest floor realizing how personal that sounded.
    “You got a steak in that Ziploc for your bear?” His tone a touch more serious and she drew in a breath when his fingers ran up her pant leg and squeezed her calf.
    She swallowed twice to find her voice. “Ha-ha. I have two granola bars. If you’re nice I’ll share.”
    “I like the way you share.”
    “Food, Seth, I meant the food.” Simone shook her head thinking of their kiss earlier. He would eat her alive in bed. It was in the way he teased her—he was a bear.
    A soft night breeze moved through the trees and helped her hide the chill he sent through her body as he continued caressing her calf. “The wind is starting to pick-up. I hope they leave soon.” She blew into her hand, letting the heat bounce back on her face. “You never said if you wanted the granola bar.”
    “Save it. They’ll smell it and never leave.”
    “Right. So how do we avoid the dogs once we’re down?”
    “They’re wolves.”
    “Excuse me, Grizzly Adams, wolves.”
    “You won’t like it.”
    She angled her body around looking over their surroundings and shaking her head. “Anything’s better than this branch poking me in the behind.” Her foot tapped his shoulder. “What’s your idea, my darling Russian bear?” she joked.
    He rubbed her booted foot on his shoulder. “If you’re going to use that phrase, say it right— liebling .”
    His tone was warmer than she thought it should be. That one word and heat poured up her body as if she were hanging upside down and someone dripped warm honey over her bare skin.
    Stay focused. “ Liebling ,” she repeated. “That’s pretty. What does it mean?”
    “German for darling, dear, loved one, or any number of affectionate statements. It’s as close to Russian as I believe you will come.”
    She was going to catch fire with him around. Her panties were moist as it was.
    “Do you have a liebling back in London, Seth?”
    “Why?” His tone turned to ice.
    “You don’t wanna talk about it, fine.”
    He wiped off the toe of her boot. “Sim, I’m sorry. No, I don’t have one.”
    She moved up a branch.
    “Don’t let me push you away.”
    “It’s okay, Seth. I have a tendency to get too close to people too soon.”
    “Sim, you asked if I had a liebling .” His grip on her ankle stopped her. She would swear his fingers trembled. What Pandora’s Box had she asked him to open?
    “Seth, don’t worry about it. You’re not obligated to entertain me. I can sit here and enjoy the funky, musty aroma of the