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The weight of Kip’s slim form in his arms shouldn’t have felt as good as it did. Rogue wasn’t under any illusion that their differences would magically resolve.
He was a hunter. It wasn’t just a job to him it was who he was. Not that he necessarily enjoyed killing, but he was born to be in the woods. To teach others to respect what they have killed. But most importantly to be grateful for everything the earth provides.
Kip, while he appreciated the earth too, did so in a completely different way. One that was at direct odds with Rogue. Although, even then they might have found a way to get past their disparities, but Kip made it obvious he wasn’t about to accept Rogue.
It had taken Rogue years to come to terms with who he was. Not just the hunter aspect, that hadn’t really been a problem for him since he lived in Alaska, where a huge part of the population did the same. But the fact that he had been the only gay man in a town that, albeit had been dying, but also refused to have anything to do with him because of it.
Still, he’d been impressed with how well Kip had handled all that had happened to him. Anyone else would have probably passed out, which only would have made it more difficult for Rogue as he would have had to pull out dead weight.
Kip’s body shook hard, nearly causing Rogue to drop him. Back to the reality of their situation, not that he’d ever taken his mind completely off the task at hand, for that would get them killed, he weighed his options as he trudged back to town. Darkness had fallen in Alaska. Not a good time to be out, especially when it was still winter.
Spring might be upon them, but once the sun fell, so did the temperatures. The mud had soaked through all of Kip’s clothing. Rogue would have given him his coat since it hadn’t been doused by the mud, but Kip’s agonizing scream when Rogue tried to move his arms to take off the man’s soaked coat made him decide it was best to leave him be.
Now Rogue wished he’d at least covered Kip’s body with it before lifting him into his arms. It wouldn’t have been a great solution, but it was better than what was happening now. Kip’s teeth were clattering so hard, Rogue feared he’d break one.
Pulling him tighter to his chest, Rogue knew he needed to get Kip inside as soon as possible. Altering his path to take the one to his cabin, Rogue hoped Kip wouldn’t hate him for bringing him there, but it was nearly a mile closer than Kip’s house. Plus, he had no idea if anyone would be home to let him in.
Anook, Axom, and Cass were working their butts off to have everything ready for next weekend’s travel reviewers. They might have already gotten bookings starting the weekend they officially opened and all the way through summer, but those could easily be cancelled if the reviews weren’t good. Plus, they still needed to bring in winter guests too, which they were hoping would happen once the travel writers wrote their stories of all there was to do in Mystic Pines, even when it was snowing and cold as fuck.
Not that it was that bad, especially since it would be the last weekend in March, but to those in the lower forty-eight, it would seem that way. For all their sakes, Rogue was hoping the reviews would be in their favor. He even had several travel writers who’d booked a hunt with him.
It was why he’d been out in the woods when he’d heard Kip scream. He’d been on his way back from scouting an area north of the resort. The last thing he needed was to take the writers on a hunt and not find anything. Whether they could kill the bear was entirely on them, but finding it, was all on Rogue.
He was going to head out once again early next week to scout a few more areas that some of the local hunters had claimed were prime areas.
“C-c-co-co-cold,” Kip muttered as he tucked his face into the crook of Rogue’s neck.
“I know,” Rogue told him, worried he wouldn’t be able to get Kip inside soon enough. “We’re almost there, sweet cheeks.”
If only that would be enough. But Rogue was all too aware of some of the repercussions hypothermia could entail. It would be a process to get Kip warm without causing his heart to stop.
Rogue would take him to the hospital if it weren’t an hour away. One of the major pitfalls of living in a dying town. He should talk to Anook about finding a doctor willing to move to Mystic Pines. Alaska was a harsh place on a good day.
It was one of those places where a minor injury could quickly become deadly without medical care. If it were just the residents, like always, they learned basic first aid and for the most part, hoped everything would be fine. But with guests staying at the resort, that wasn’t exactly a wise plan.
Relief flooded him as he saw the lights from his cabin shine through the trees. He always kept the outside lights on when he was gone in case he came back in the dark. This was a perfect example as to why that was a good idea. “I can see home, sweet cheeks. I need you to hold on a few more minutes.”
That freezing cold nose pressed against his neck. He could feel Kip inhale deeply. “Hmmm, you smell good.”
Knowing that was a lie since he’d been out in the woods for the past two days and then had dug Kip out of the muck, Rogue worried Kip might be becoming delusional. Putting on a burst of speed, he nearly tripped when he felt Kip lick his neck as if it were a tasty treat.
As concerned as he was about hypothermia setting in, Rogue’s cock seemed more interested in getting Kip into bed. Or better yet, burying itself in the man’s tight body. Doing his best to shut those thoughts down, Rogue pushed into his cabin and took Kip straight into the bathroom.
He knew better than to stick Kip in a hot bath, but he still needed to get his clothes off and at least rinse the mud off his body. It would go a long way to getting him warm again.
Laying Kip on the shower bench he’d built shortly after buying the house from Anook, Rogue pulled out his knife and cut Kip’s clothes off. There was little chance of them ever coming clean with all the mud that was now frozen onto the material, nor did Rogue think they were worth saving considering the agony it would put Kip through to try and take them off the right way.
Once he was stripped naked, Rogue turned on the shower, aiming the head away from Kip until it warmed up a bit. Good thing he’d designed the bathroom as big as he did, or this would have been a lot harder.
Rogue loved his shower. The house was originally a three bedroom, two bathroom house. After tearing down the wall between the tiny master bathroom and one of the bedrooms, he redesigned it. He’d used half of the other bedroom to enlarge the bathroom and put in a large shower with four shower heads with a bench for him to sit and soak up the clean water after being out in the woods for days on end. He might love the wilderness, but he also loved feeling clean.
The other half of the bedroom had been used to build another closet. It had been wishful thinking on his part that one day he’d meet someone to fill it. Wasn’t it just his luck that the first guy he’d been interested in was someone who couldn’t stand him?
While he waited for the water to reach a lukewarm temperature, Rogue went to the passthrough fireplace he’d installed in the redesign. It was between the bathroom and the master bedroom, providing warmth to the two rooms simultaneously.
Once the fire was lit, he went back into the shower and put his hand under the water. Satisfied it was only lukewarm, he took the removable nozzle and gently sprayed Kip down. It was torture having to wash the man from head to toe and not caress that amazing body. When Kip was reasonably clean, Rogue stripped his own clothes off and rinsed off as quickly as he could.
Kip still had a long way to go before he was out of the woods, but Rogue wasn’t about to pick the man up when still dirty himself. Once done, he grabbed a towel from the heated rack and started the arduous process of drying Kip off.
His unruly dick quickly filled, but it wasn’t as if Rogue could do much about it. Everything about Kip turned him the hell on. From his thin frame that would easily allow Rogue to manhandle him in bed, to his dark hair and lush kissable lips, Kip was like a fantasy come to life. If only the man was more accepting of him, maybe they could have had a shot.
Shaking his head at that stupid thought, Rogue grabbed the second towel from the rack and placed if over Kip’s torso. Then he pulled out another towel from the linen closet and dried himself off. With the house cold since he hadn’t been there in a couple of days, Rogue carried Kip into his bedroom and placed him on the bed. Then he pulled the comforter over his torso in hopes of retaining the warmth from the towel.
It would be a long, slow process before he could put Kip completely under the covers. Warming the extremities needed to wait or it would be a greater risk of Kip suffering a heart attack.
Long lashes fluttered to reveal deep blue eyes. Kip smiled as his gaze went down Rogue’s still naked body. “I can’t wait to feel that cock inside of me,” he murmured as he reached a hand out to take hold of Rogue’s dick.
He would like to say it was only shock that kept him from pushing Kip’s hand away, but Rogue tried never to lie to himself. The fact was, he wanted Kip, badly.
The wince on Kip’s face as he attempted to stroke Rogue was like being dunked in a frozen lake. Whether he wanted Kip or not, Rogue wasn’t about to do anything about it when Kip had no idea what was going on. If in the morning Kip still wanted him, Rogue would gladly take him up on the offer, but for tonight, he was keeping his hands to himself.
Rogue sighed as he took Kip’s hand from his hard length. Then he went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms. Once he had them on, he went back to a now sleeping Kip, who had somehow managed to wrap his hand around his own cock instead.
Yep. This was going to be a very long night.
