Rogue frowned when he heard a terrified scream coming from the hot springs. There weren’t too many people who even knew about the springs since they were nearly ten miles from town. And those that lived there knew better than to go there this time of year.
The heat of the springs caused the snow to melt around the area, which could be very dangerous as it tended to sneak up on a hiker without warning. It only took one step to become knee deep in the stuff.
Just as Rogue had picked up his pace to see if someone was in trouble, the roar of a bear came from the same direction. Not slowing down, he pulled the rifle from the harness at his back. He hadn’t intended to hunt today, but the one thing he’d learned living in Alaska, always be prepared.
This time, when whoever was further along the small trail screamed, Rogue felt the hairs on his body stand on end. Putting on a burst of speed, he came around a bend and swore his heart was ready to burst at the sight before him.
A giant of a grizzly stood not more than thirty feet from someone in a bright blue coat completely stuck with both hands and feet in the mud. How that had happened, Rogue had no clue, although he imagined if the person had been stuck and saw the bear, he might have fallen in shock.
Not exactly smart, but neither was walking along this path at this time of year. Rogue had just checked on the area shortly after the last snowfall, warning the locals that it was quite dangerous as the added snowfall had only created more mud.
Kneeling where he was, Rogue steadied his rifle and aimed it at the giant. He really didn’t want to kill it, but Rogue wasn’t sure it would be scared off by the noise either. In normal situations, sure, but this was a very large bear, who seemed ready to attack the person in the mud, which probably was a good indication that it was hungry after a long winter.
Still, Rogue didn’t have any of his gear to carry a bear of that size back home. Aiming a short distance to the side of the bear, he pulled the trigger.
The bear halted in his forward progress toward the man stuck in the mud, but he didn’t run away. Finger on the trigger to shoot once more in hopes of it working, he was surprised when the man who was about to be eaten by the creature yelled, “Don’t shoot. I have bear spray in my backpack. Just don’t kill it, please.”
Rogue glanced at the man and let out an exasperated sigh. Firing once more, the bear did as Rogue had hoped. He turned and ran away.
Kip, on the other hand, started yelling at him. “You didn’t have to kill it. It wasn’t his fault. All you had to do was get my bear spray. That would have worked to chase him away.”
Rogue came within ten feet of Kip and stared down at him. A really, really big part of him was tempted to leave the man there in case the bear decided to come back for his meal. “In case you missed it, sweet cheeks.” Rogue pointed to where the bear had been. “He isn’t dead.”
Kip’s head whipped to where the bear had been, to find nothing but large paw prints, assuming he could see them from his position in the mud. “Oh.” Despite seeing for himself that Rogue hadn’t actually shot the bear, it was obvious the man still wasn’t happy with Rogue for firing the rifle.
“Next time, just use the bear spray,” Kip told him. “That’s what it’s for, after all.”
Rogue shook his head at the man and his bizarre ideas. “I’d prefer not to get close enough to a grizzly bear, especially of that size, to use the spray. One swat of that paw would pretty much kill anyone.”
Those pretty blue eyes widened as if Kip hadn’t thought just how close he’d have to be to the bear for the spray to work. “Oh. I guess, I didn’t... I mean no one mentioned... Just how close would I have to be to the bear for the spray to work?”
Rogue shrugged. “Honestly? I have no clue. But since you were downwind of the bear, I imagine you would have to be pretty close. Plus, because you were downwind, you would have about as much of the spray in your face as the bear, which I’m assuming would incapacitate you.”
That bit of information had Kip frowning. “Downwind?”
Rogue wasn’t quite sure what to say at that point. No way should someone like Kip be out in the woods, alone. Not that Rogue thought he was going to stop the man from doing anything that stupid again.
“Look, you need a survival course on how to stay alive in Alaska before venturing out in the woods again.” Rogue wasn’t about to sugarcoat it. “That bear would have killed you if I hadn’t been around.”
Kip opened his mouth as if he were about to refute that, but Rogue wasn’t about to get into an argument with the way too adorably, yet still obnoxiously stubborn man. Especially when all he really wanted to do was kiss his lips until Kip was speechless.
“What are you doing out here anyway?” Rogue put his rifle and backpack down as close as he could to the mud pit without risking either being sucked into the goopy mess, yet be within reach if that bear decided to come back.
Then he opened the main zipper to get out the rope he always carried with him. It wouldn’t be easy to pull Kip out of the muck considering how much of his body was already submerged. Currently his legs were almost knee deep and his arms could barely be seen. But it was the fact that his upper body was now sinking too that concerned him the most.
It was doubtful his legs would go in any further as usually these mud holes were only a couple of feet deep, but since he was on his back, Kip could easy sink far enough down to drown in it.
“I was trying to find a place to relax,” Kip snapped out.
“And you thought a dip in a mud pool would be a good way to do that,” Rogue teased in an effort to keep Kip from panicking. If he kept the man too pissed to think about the trouble he was in, they just might have a shot of getting him to safety.
Kip scowled up at him and tried to pull his arm free, only to fail. There was an exasperated sigh that told Rogue two things. His distraction was working, but Kip was also too tired to be much help.
“After this weekend, I needed to find my center again,” Kip said.
“Oh,” Rogue teased as he tied the rope to a stout tree about twenty feet from Kip. ““Don’t you have mud baths at the spa for this sort of thing? Or did you decide coming face to face with the Alaskan wildlife the way you wanted to go? Did you want me to leave so you can, what did you call it, ‘find your center?’ Whatever that means.”
“First of all, this is not like my mud baths. My mud is clean,” Kip said indignantly.
Rogue burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. He’d never heard anything that ridiculous in his life. “Seriously? You have ‘clean’ mud? Exactly how is that even possible? Its mud. It’s made of dirt, just like the stuff you happen to be stuck in at the moment.”
Rogue kept up the banter to distract Kip as he tried to figure out exactly how to get the man out when he didn’t have use of hands. It would do them no good if Rogue also got stuck in the mud, which meant, he’d have to find a way to hook the rope around some part of Kip’s body, which would have been easier if the man weren’t nearly lying on his back.
There were only two parts of him that were sticking up. His neck and head, which since Rogue didn’t think choking the man to death was a good idea, that option was out. Or his knees, mostly. That would be a whole lot harder to get the rope around. He really needed another pair of hands so he could go into the mud, tie the rope around Kip, while the other person helped to haul them out.
Since that wasn’t going to happen as it would take anyone from town too long to get to them, plus there was no cell service all the way out there, he knew he was going to have to put them both at risk by going into the mud himself. Not ideal, but also the only way.
“First of all, most of my mud is made from seaweed or volcanic ash. There are some from sediment, like the Alaskan mud, but all of it has been purified, making it clean, unlike...” Kip grimaced as he once more tried to pull an arm free with no results. “This muck. Is there a reason you’re not getting me out of here?” Kip finally asked as he began to realize he was sinking further.
Rogue tied a second rope, thank God he was always extra prepared, around another sturdy tree, then around his waist. No way was this going to be easy. “Because I’m trying not to get us both stuck,” Rogue told him as he stepped closer to the edge of the mud field.
He looked right into the frightened dark blue eyes and said, “You are to do everything I say, got it? If I fall into that pit, we’re both stuck. I am bringing a rope to tie around you so that I can drag you out, but I need you to promise not to try and grab me if one of your hands gets free.”
Kip nodded, his eyes huge on his face as he was beginning to understand just how precarious his position was. “Just please get me out of here,” he whispered.
“What?” Rogue teased, trying to keep his tone as light as possible. A freaked out Kip wasn’t going to help in the end. He’d rather have the man annoyed, pissed, or laughing.
His stomach did a little flip at that last option. Why it mattered if he heard Kip laugh or not, Rogue wasn’t sure, but he was hoping it would happen. “You’re not having any luck finding your center?” he asked
Kip shot him an annoyed look as Rogue stepped into the mud. The first two steps weren’t deep at all, barely covering the bottoms of his boots. By the fifth step, it was creeping up to his ankles, making it a challenge to keep moving. But Rogue refused to stop until he reached Kip’s side.
He could see the fear mixed with relief in Kip’s eyes as he watched Rogue work. First, he braced his feet, hoping it would stabilize him for the next part. Then he leaned down over Kip. With both hands he reached for his shoulders.
“Remember,” Rogue warned him. “Don’t reach out for me.”
Kip nodded quickly with a silent plea in those pretty blues. Rogue prayed he’d be able to do this, for there was no way he was going to let Kip die.
Yanking the man up quickly with as much strength as he had, Rogue nearly shouted with joy when he managed to pull Kip up just far enough that his upper arms were now free. Knowing it wouldn’t last long, he wrapped the rope around Kip’s chest, the rope just barely able to get between the mud and Kip’s armpits.
Taking a chance, Rogue was able to get the rope around a second time. The suction was so strong Rogue had to fight to keep his hand from getting pulled down into it. Flinging the gunk off that was clinging to his hand, he quickly tied the rope, securing it to Kip’s upper body.
“I have to pull myself free first,” Rogue told him. “Then, when I’m on solid ground again, I’ll be able to pull you out of here, okay?”
There was a healthy dose of doubt in those eyes that Rogue wished he could erase. Why he cared so much about this man when they’d done nothing but bicker, he couldn’t imagine, but Rogue did. What was even more strange, he loved their bickering. It was almost like foreplay. No. It was a lot like foreplay because each time they did it, Rogue found himself hard with thoughts of shutting Kip up with a kiss before sinking deep into his sweet body.
Mentally slapping himself to get back on topic, he said, “I promise you, I will get you out of here.”
Then he did the one thing he’d been wanting to do since the moment he met Kip, he kissed those sweet lips. It was brief, but damn, was it the best kiss of his life.