Chapter 7

Layla

The cold weather made the hike manageable, given she had little time to rest and recover through the day. Sore from her feet to the top of her head, she wondered if her hair hurt. Her body was just a bruise from top to bottom. She pushed through, not running as she would like but consistently hiking to escape the hunter. They hadn’t seen a new light and kept theirs down to a minimum and covered, allowing their night vision to take over. The large moon hadn’t reached its fullness, sticking well toward the halfway point, allowing its light and the stars to guide them. Night noises echoed around them—creatures hunting, animals hiding, and the coyotes singing to the partial moon.

She continued to use the rocks and stones to hide her prints. Alex followed well, keeping to the rear and covering each time they had to drop into the dirt or sand. They had left few trails, but neither of them could be sure he wouldn’t come this way. The best defense was ahead of them within the waiting rocky pathways, caves, and forgotten shafts. It would be a steep trail to follow and hard to pick which one they might use. The stars blazed in the Milky Way patterns only a few could see, far away from all civilization, something she usually would lean back to enjoy. Running for her life altered that idea.

Coming upon the first signs of mining shafts, she noted most had been closed as safety hazards. Alex uses a lighter to glance at the map she had been following, picking out the shortest path to the one she had chosen. It had one entrance, deep and nearly invisible to the naked eye from outside. He would set a trap, giving them time to rest and recover before help could arrive.

Making their way over the rocks and valleys, after another hour of challenging work, they made their way into the entrance. It was just wide enough for Layla to fit with ease, but Alex had to be helped in with Layla's pulls to squeeze him inside. He ripped skin and damaged a shoulder but managed to get through the small entrance and into the old tunnel. It wasn’t vast but long and spiraling into the mountain itself, smelling of rotten eggs and dust, age and decay. Something had made a nest within but had abandoned it long enough for it to stale the air. Layla cleaned the entrance, adding another layer of plants' dust and remains, covering where they had come inside. She washed the path behind her toward the area where they were setting up camp deep within. The most significant area Alex had found was barely big enough for them to lie down but sufficient for a small fire. They ate quickly, using the water to clean his wounds and then cover them with bandages.

Leaning against the wall, Alex closed his eyes, drinking the water to take down the pain killers. Layla sat next to him, nearly flush against him, given the space they had between them. She tugged up his shirt again to look at the oozing scratch over his shoulder and toward his back.

“If we were even close to civilization, I would get us to a doctor. This looks like it needs stitches.”

“I have quick sutures. It will do for now if it won’t stop bleeding. We can’t afford to have other predators sniffing us out to come to join the hunt.”

“Pretty sure we don’t want the local coyotes or Lobos to come visiting. Are you sure about this?” Layla asked, pulling out the emergency supply of sutures and flipping through the instructions on using them. She hadn’t used them before, and they appeared complicated. “How about are you sure you want me to attempt this?”

“It will be fine. It will sting briefly but close up the wound. Then dump on the antibiotic and patch it back up. Right now, I am sorry I didn’t bring booze for this jaunt,” Alex spoke, turning to give her the best angle to start the bandaging.

She began at the top, holding the skin together while using the tool that allowed the sutures to slip in and out, pulling the skin together tightly. Alex bore it well from her untrained hands, and finally, it came time for the last stitch, well-patterned and tucked. She poured the rubbing alcohol over it before he was prepared, hissing in his breath as she used the ointment over the wound before covering it with a thick new bandage and tape.

“Damn, Layla,” Alex cursed.

“I am sure you have had worse.” Layla touched an old gunshot wound that had healed. “I am pretty sure this came too close to your heart for it not to hurt like hell.”

“It did, but most of it was in a fog.”

“Want me to kiss it and make it better?” she asked lightly, leaning closer to his warmth against the cold wall.

“Sure. I am sure it will make it all better,” he replied without thought as her lips crossed over his shoulder. Shivers danced down his skin and spine, tugging at the pain from a roar to stillness. He gripped the spot he had been holding onto, which ended up being her knee, keeping him still through her nursing. He eased the grip over her knee, stroking over the place he had caught. Turning his head to meet her unusual gaze, both colors visible in the firelight, distinct and different from one another. The air shifted between them, something that might be safe away from this moment, this place, somewhere danger was not waiting to pounce. Layla pressed another kiss to his shoulder away from the damage, keeping his gaze with her. His eyes had darkened in the cave from dark blue to pools of midnight.

Alex shifted his gaze away, toward anywhere but Layla, where he wanted to look. He had to pull away from the edge he was diving over; consideration, logic—something—had to start working. Watching him turn, avoiding the shared moment, hiding from what might be, what could be, the harsh reality they were stuck in.

Screw being right, she thought, shifting her position to continue her kisses down his shoulder and to his back. She was not going to waste time on moments in fear and terror of the man hunting them. If this were her last, she would take the pleasure, peace, and joy of it. A lot was hanging on luck, and currently, her deal with chance wasn’t the strongest, but she could and would take a moment when it crossed her path. Months had gone by since she had bothered with any natural sexual encounters. Finally, someone had spurred something in her, and she wasn’t going to lose it for lack of appropriateness. Layla paused, seeing he was watching her with his dark eyes, stroking up her knee to the edge of her hip only to caress back down.

“Are you sure?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” He helped her from his side to straddle over him, pulling clothes off quick enough to get them nude by the campfire. He shifted one of the sleeping bags under them, giving them some comfort on the rocky ground. Layla couldn’t hold on to his short military hair, instead using her hands over his shoulders to remain attached to him. With her above him, he was able to pull the emergency condom he kept in his wallet for protection, even during the rush pouring through them both.

Soft touches over her nearly golden skin brought goosebumps as he began to explore her. She returned the soft touches over his body made of roughly pure muscle. She danced over scars showing where he had been in situations before and didn’t come out unwounded. She had a few herself, which he explored first with fingers before his mouth found hers. Between the kissing, he began to move his mouth over different parts of her skin. He began to explore even as she tried to hurry him forward. Finding her damp, he used his hand, fingers, everything to bring her up. Given the speed they were going at, she didn’t last long before she cried out, clinging on to him from her release. Giving her a moment to catch her breath, he dove in, filling her to the brink. Everything fit his size, more significant than expected; given his size, it went with the package. He knew he wouldn’t last long given the intensity of their union before he continued to build them up together, crashing over as she followed him into another orgasm.