“I know it’s hard, Tanner, but try to open your eyes. I promise no one stole them.” The voice sounded giggly.
“What the hell is so funny about my stolen eyeballs?” I demanded, trying with all my might to open my eyes. As fruitless as the attempt might have been, I felt my lids flutter. Christ, they felt like they were weighed down with stones. I took a breath and tried again. My eyes opened. “I’m not blind. Oh, Jesus, Satan didn’t steal my eyes. I’m in deep shit now.” I was in a semi-dark room with a strange man. Heat blasted the back of my head.
“Tanner, you’re not in hell, and I’m not Satan.” A handsome man with dark eyes and hair said.
“My bear.” My pounding heart rate slowed as my fear melted away. Okay, maybe I wasn’t in hell, but where was I, and who the fuck was the hottie?
The strange man startled when I called him ‘my bear.’ He knew he was a bear. Christ, his chest was so broad I could use him as a surfboard. If I surfed. “I’m delirious. You’re furry.” I rested my hand against his arm. His crinkly hair tickled my fingertips.
The large man nodded. “Yes, you are. It’s thanks to the fever.” He set a large hand against my face and frowned but made no mention of how furry he was.
“Who are you?” What I really wanted was to demand he put his hands back on me. For some bizarre reason, they felt like they belonged there.
“Kodi Grimes. I work for New Hampshire Fish and Game. A call went out about a missing hiker, and I was the one who found you.”
I grimaced. I had a shadowy memory of a rushing river with large boulders. My eyes met Kodi’s. I was more confused than ever. “It’s so damn hot in here.” I fought against the blanket wrapped tightly around me, finally managing to free my arms.
“Do you remember anything about today?” His voice was gentle as he smoothed the blanket around my waist.
Taking a deep breath, I searched my mind. “My frat brothers and I are staying at the Presidential.”
Kodi’s left eyebrow shot up. “Aren’t you a little old to be a frat boy?”
“Did you just call me old?” I shook my head, and instantly regretted it. “Annual reunion. We do this every year.”
Kodi nibbled his lower lip as if he were trying hard not to laugh. “I take it this is the first year things went horribly wrong?”
“The bear started it all,” I blurted out, suddenly remembering. Kodi stiffened, but I didn’t pay him any attention. I was just so thrilled I had part of my memory back. “Last night, at the hotel bar, Cabot hooked up with a bear.”
“Say what?” Kodi looked confused and concerned for my welfare.
“My best friend, Cabot French, is into big guys. Really big guys, like you.” I noticed Kodi had gone from looking concerned to blushing. How was it possible for such a big man to blush? “The bear was at the jukebox playing ‘Almost Paradise’ when Cabot approached him. They had a few drinks and left together half an hour later. The rest of us stayed at the bar eating wings and drinking beer.”
“The rest of you?” Kodi seemed a bit more relaxed in his questioning of me.
“Yeah, Archer and Wells. We were all electrical engineering majors. They drank too much last night, and with Cabot off with Mr. Big Dick, I decided to go out for a walk alone.” Sitting here now, half-naked and sore all over, it dawned on me how lucky I was to be alive.
Kodi’s face ran the gamut of emotions from shock over the big dick to horror when I mentioned walking alone.
“Okay, so let me get this straight, egghead by day and intrepid vacation hiker? The next thing you’re going to tell me is that you didn’t check the weather.” He didn’t look pleased with his assessment of me.
“I didn’t.” I hated admitting my stupidity to the man who’d risked his life to save me. How many other cops and game wardens had taken the call to help me?
“Why are the smart ones always so stupid?” Kodi asked aloud.
“I told the front desk clerk where I was going.” Christ did that excuse sound pitiful. My story was nothing short of the opening scene of one of those survival movies.
“The front desk clerk?” Kodi leveled a withering gaze my way. “You mean the clerk who left the hotel an hour after you went on rumspringa?”
My mouth dropped open. “When I thought to text the guys, I had no cell service. No one knew where I was,” I said aloud, mostly to myself. My stupidity knew no bounds.
“That’s right, Poindexter. No one knew where you were. Your frantic friends called 911 and mobilized every cop and member of EMS in the Mount Washington Valley. Unfortunately, I’ve got worse news.”
“Are you going to kill me and eat my liver?” I couldn’t think of anything worse than the fate that awaited me when I got back to the hotel and my friends lit into me for hiking alone. Being as lost-prone as I was, it was a miracle I’d managed to stay on the trail.
Kodi crossed his arms over his chest. “No. Not going to eat you, but you do deserve a spanking.” He looked me over like he was a hungry bear, and I was a spawning salmon. “I don’t have cell service either. So, there’s no way for me to let anyone know I’ve found you.”
“Well, shit.” I’d really fucked things up. “What about getting me to a hospital or back to the hotel?”
“We’re due to get three feet of snow before this is over. It’s safer here. Until the storm ends, anyway.” Kodi climbed back to his feet, showing his body off to its full advantage.
My mouth went dry. Holy shit! Kodi looked like he was at least six and a half feet tall. His muscles bunched under his tee, while springy dark hair popped over the collar.
“You hungry?” Kodi asked casually.
I nodded, knowing that if I tried to speak, I would sound like a total idiot. Making matters worse was the way his ass swayed as he was walking away from me. My dick agreed. I felt it wake up and join the party. Thankfully, I had a heavy blanket pooled at my waist. I’d be safe for now.
A few minutes later, Kodi set plates piled high with sandwiches and chips on the table. They were joined by bottles of water and fruit cups. I snickered.
“Something funny, Poindexter?” Kodi turned to me with his hands fisted on his hips.
If I could move, I’d be on my knees in an instant. I totally understood why Cabot had left with his bear last night. Bear? A hazy memory niggled at the back of my mind. Why was my mind stuck on a bear?
“You gonna eat, or sit there staring off into the fire all night?” Kodi asked, breaking me out of my head.
I startled and turned to Kodi, who was grinning at me. “I just remembered something else.” I went to push the blanket off my lap when I noticed I was naked under it. “I guess I’ll keep the blanket.”
The lighthearted look in Kodi’s eyes darkened. I couldn’t help thinking he was remembering what it had been like to strip my clothes off. “Did you look your fill?” Shit! If I’d misread the look on his face, or if his eyes looked darker thanks to a trick of the firelight, I was fucked. He was a big man, and it wouldn’t take much for him to squash me like a bug.
“Not nearly enough.” Kodi winked at me. “If you’re feeling shy, I’ve got a robe you can wear. All of my sweats would swim on you.” Kodi looked as if he wouldn’t mind that one bit. He grabbed a black robe from the newel post at the foot of the stairs and sent it my way. “I’ll even turn around.”