Chapter 3 - Lyla

I watch as Russell gives another curt nod, then turns and stomps back out to the main room of the tiny cabin, effectively ending our conversation. For a gruff, solitary mountain man, he sure seems easily flustered by my teasing.

Glancing around the sad excuse for a bedroom once more, I can't help but shake my head in amused disbelief. When I imagined potentially having to spend the night in the woods, this cramped little setup was not what I pictured—not even close.

Still, I know I shouldn't criticize it. Rickety bed or not, Russell is doing me a huge favor by putting me up here instead of leaving me stranded outside after dark. I would've been toast trying to find my way back on the trail at night.

With a resigned sigh, I shrug off my daypack and let it thump to the floor, wincing as the vibrations rattle the bare bedframe. Yeah...this might be an interesting night's sleep.

I pad back out to the main living area to find Russell fussing with the old wood-burning stove, trying to get a fire going. He glances up as I approach, his eyes narrowing instantly in that permanent scowl.

"I thought I told you to get settled in," he grunts without preamble.

I hold up my hands in a placating gesture.

"I am, I am. Just thought you might need some help getting that fire started."

He pauses, studying me for a long moment as if sizing me up. Finally, he jerks his chin towards the pile of kindling.

"You know how to do things like that? Make fires and all?"

"What, just because I'm a girl, do you assume I don't?" I arch one brow challengingly. When he doesn't respond, I snort and crouch down next to the stove opening. "Watch and learn."

I can feel his gaze burning into the back of my head as I deftly arrange the logs and tinder. Within minutes, I've got a merry little blaze crackling away, already starting to warm the drafty cabin.

"There, was that so hard?" I straighten up and brush off my hands, grinning smugly. "Maybe next time, don't underestimate the power of a woman who grew up going camping every summer."

Russell watches the dancing flames for a long moment before his lips quirk ever so slightly.

"Well, I'll be damned."

I bask in my small victory over Russell's doubting scowl. There's just something satisfying about proving the gruff loner wrong, even about something as simple as building a fire.

"So," I prod, unable to resist rubbing it in a little more. "Any other outdoorsy skills you want to question me on? I'm a regular female Bear Grylls, you know."

He shoots me a dark look, clearly not appreciating my cockiness.

"Don't get too full of yourself, missy. Fire-making is kid's stuff compared to really surviving out here."

I laugh lightly at his grumbled retort, "Is that so? And I suppose you're just a verifiable wilderness expert, then?"

Instead of rising to my teasing bait, Russell simply grunts and turns his attention back to stoking the growing flames. But I can see the tips of his ears pinking in a way that makes me grin triumphantly—got him flustered again.

"Or maybe," I continue, "you just got lucky stumbling upon this little hideaway and have been winging it as a mountain man ever since."

That gets his head whipping back around, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You don't know the first thing about me, girl."

I hold up my hands in mock surrender, not even a little bit cowed by his gruff tone.

"You're right, you're right. I'm just making assumptions. My bad. Why don't you enlighten me then if you're so skilled?"

Russell stares me down for one long, tense moment. Then, surprising me, he rises fluidly to his feet and crosses the room in two strides. Before I can react, he's grabbing my arm and hauling me towards the cabin's exit.

"Hey! What're you -"

"Quiet," he growls, cutting off my protest as he drags me outside. "If you want me to 'enlighten' you about living out here so badly, I'll do you one better."

I stumble after him, letting him pull me along despite my confusion. What is this guy up to? One second, he's grumpily avoiding my teasing jabs, and the next, he's manhandling me outside.

Whatever it is, despite the slight tinge of wariness, I can't deny the thrill of excited curiosity fizzing through me. If he thinks he can show off and make me eat my words about being an amateur woodsman, I can't wait to be proven wrong.

Russell drags me out into the inky darkness surrounding his remote little cabin, the only illumination coming from the dim glow of the moon peeking through the trees. I have to squint to make out his harsh features in the low light.

"Okay, Russ," I say, unable to keep the challenge out of my voice. "What big lesson are you about to impart on this 'clueless girl'?"

His jaw tightens at my mocking use of air quotes, but he doesn't rise to the bait this time. Instead, he points towards a dense thicket off to our left.

"You see that brush over there?"

I peer in the direction he's indicating, straining my eyes, "Um...yeah? What about it?"

"Tell me what else you notice in there."

I huff out an exasperated breath, my patience already waning.

"It's just a bunch of scraggly bushes and plants! What, are you going to teach me plant identification or something?"

The look he shoots me is pure gruff frustration. Apparently, my smart mouth is really trying his last nerve.

"Just shut up and look closer, would you?"

Rolling my eyes, I squint harder at the innocent-looking shrubbery. That's when I finally see it - a flicker of movement from within the tangled branches. Something...alive?

"Oh!" My eyes go wide as a burst of adrenaline hits my system. "There's...there's something in there!"

"Congratulations, you've discovered the first rule of survival." Russell's tone is drier than the desert air around us. "Be aware of your surroundings at all times. You never know what could be lurking nearby."

I can't tear my gaze away from the thicket, nerves making my heart pound.

"What is that in there? Please tell me it's not a bear or mountain lion or something!"

Instead of answering, Russell simply watches me with an enigmatic look on his shadowed face.

"Well?" I hiss at him urgently. "A little hint would be nice here!"

He snorts softly, finally giving the barest hint of a smirk.

"Relax, it's probably just a raccoon or possum. Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid."

"Nothing too exciting?" I shoot him a skeptical look as the fear ebbs away, replaced by anger. "You couldn't have told me that from the start instead of letting me freak out?"

He shrugs those broad shoulders, the movement making the corded muscles of his arms flex distractingly in the dim light.

"Where would be the fun in that?"

I huff out, trying not to let my gaze linger too obviously on the impressive physique barely contained in his flannel shirt. Up close like this, I can't help but notice just how powerfully built Russell truly is - like some heroic mythical man sprung to life.

Giving myself a mental shake, I force my wandering eyes back up to his infuriatingly smug face.

"You're kind of a jerk, you know that?"

Instead of rising to my insult, Russell chuckles lowly - an unexpectedly rich, gravelly sound that sends a shiver down my spine and directly into my panties.

"Maybe so," he allows, stepping in closer so I have to tilt my head back to hold his piercing stare. “But out here, being a little bit of a jerk is the key to staying alive. You've got to be tough, vigilant, and can't let your guard down for even a second."

His intense gaze bores into me as if trying to impart some deeper meaning beyond his literal words. I swallow hard, abruptly aware of every steady exhale fanning across my face and of the overwhelming male presence looming in my personal space.

"I...yeah, I get it," I mumble, unable to muster up my usual feistiness in the face of Russell's sheer intensity. "Always be on my toes out here in the wilderness. Got it."

He holds my stare for one charged beat longer before finally leaning back, the slightest of smirks playing around his lips.

"Then consider that your first lesson, girl. You still have much to learn if you want to make it out here."

The spark of challenge in his eyes makes it clear he's issuing me a delicious sort of dare that has me shivering for an entirely different reason this time. Well then...game on.