Hotshots (Wildfires Book 1) (14 page)

The caves would provide at least a little bit of shelter; they just needed to reach them. Jez was doing great, but she was a pilot, and even though they trained with the team, their endurance wasn’t normally tested. She was going to be sore after this hike.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the faint ridge of the rocks, dubbed Rabbit Ears a long time ago, came into sight. He had laughed when he first learned the name of the formation, it was obvious they looked like ears, and he had joked whoever named them had not had much of an imagination. Still, the two jutting rocks were unmistakably a welcome sight right now.

“Come on, guys, the smoke is getting thicker, just another little bit and we can break,” Nix said softly.

Their responses came in two grunts and one soft sigh. Apparently this was good, because the four of them began to walk slightly quicker, not so they would pant and draw in more air, but just enough to let Nix know they were all tired and needed to stop.

Finally they reached the rocks and Trystan grunted. “I know, a cave.”

They silently followed him as he climbed a little and then moved along the ridge of rocks until they found a small cubbyhole. He pointed down. “Should fit all of us, well as long as no critters have made a home in there.”

Jez looked at him with a disgusted look and Nix almost laughed aloud. Good to know she still needed them a little. Gray pushed his friend aside and growled. He took off his pack, grabbed his flashlight and laid the bag on the ground near the entrance to the cave, then bent over and went in with his flashlight. “I will check.”

Trystan grinned and winked at Jez. “He knows I don’t like little four legged creatures too much.”

She giggled and Nix relaxed, it was tense, they were hot, sweaty, and smoke filled the air around them and still Jez could laugh. It was good.

“Clear,” Gray called from inside the cave and then Nix held out his hand and waited for Jez to go in first.

The cave was small, but it did give them all room to sit and also space to move around a little. They had only one moment of panic when Trystan had begun cussing when he sat down. Everyone had tensed and waited as the man moved and shifted until he pulled out a small skeleton of an animal out from under him.

“Damn it,” Trystan grumbled.

The others laughed and then Nix pulled out the radio and turned it on. They had been conserving the battery since they would need it over the night to make sure the fire didn’t catch them off guard. Being in a cave was great protection but if the fire flashed over them, the oxygen would be sucked out of the small place and they could all die.

“This is Nix, we made it to Rabbit Ears, staying here until the morning, and then we will head down—over,” Nix said.

There was a crackle and finally Gibs answered, “Got it—over.”

He put the radio down and then turned to the others and said, “What do we have for supplies?”

They pulled their stuff out of their pockets where they were stored. When they were done, there was a pile of dried fruit packs, nuts, power bars, and water.

“Looks like we are going to have a feast.” Nix laughed and the others followed.

“Best second date ever,” Jez said and pumped her hand in the air.

“Shit,” Trystan teased. “Expectations are that low? Come on, baby, I am pretty sure this is better than having Bubba and a six pack while gator hunting.”

Jez put a hand to her lips like she was trying to think and then she said, “Yeah, that would be a much better second date, sorry, guys, you need to get a beer gut and overalls for me to go out with you again.”

“Done, sweet thing,” Gray drawled and wiggled his eyebrows.

They ate in silence, only the sound of the radio in the background. They were all listening because even though no one said it, the winds had shifted and since they were in the smoke line, the fire was headed toward them. They needed to find out how close though.

It was about an hour after they ate, and had arranged themselves so they were all lying down comfortably, when Nix heard it.

“Gibs?” a woman said over the radio.

“Yeah, girly,” Gibs replied.

“Fire line on the north has broke, it is on the move, and you need to send some more men out to make another line. The winds have grounded the planes as well, you will have no air support until they die down, which could be tomorrow or the next day if the forecast is right,” the woman said and they all stiffened.

Nix sat up and looked at the men, silently communicating something before turning and crawling to the opening of the cave. He disappeared only to reappear quickly.

“Smoke is getting thicker,” he said grimly. “We are blocked by the rock for now, but if it gets much closer we are going to have to find somewhere else to go. Take shifts and watch.”

They all nodded and Jez leaned forward. “Here,” she said and pulled out the cloths she had intended to use to wash up with tonight and handed them out. They were damp, and could be used over their mouths to filter the smoke a little. The men nodded and Nix held up a bottle of water and said.

“This is used for the towels only.”

They nodded and then Nix said, “I will take first shift, we rotate every two hours.”

“I will take next,” Jez said and waited for them to protest. But none of them did, instead they began to pull out the tools they would need just in case they had to move quickly.

Jez moaned and turned once again trying to get comfortable. She was hot, sweaty, and completely exhausted. Damn it, the fire was getting closer but still far enough away they didn’t have to move yet. They planned to be up at the crack of dawn and make their way down. Then they were going to help get this bitch under control. All night they listened to the scanner. They did not have control of it at all. The winds and the dry underbrush fueled the fire and it was becoming larger every hour. Not good since Steamboat sat in a valley surrounded by forest.

Regardless, they needed to get down the mountain and help. Jez and the others had been restless all night and they all knew why, they didn’t like not being in the thick of things. With a sigh, she turned over once again, pressed herself against Nix with Gray at her back, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Her men were running their hands over her body. Her skin heated as they amped up the temperature. Trystan had one breast in his hands, molding it into a conical shape and sucking her nipple with such suction that it became swollen and sensitive, yet he continued to lash his tongue on the tip without letting up. Gray had her other nipple and he was twisting it and pulling it straight up from her body, as he kissed her in such a carnal mouth fuck that she struggled to breathe through her nose.

Each man hooked her knees under his arm and held her knee close to her breasts, while Nix pulled the lips of her cunt wide and sent his tongue deep inside of her pussy. His teeth nipped at the wet slit he discovered and she felt his moan as it vibrated through her pink flesh. Two fingers slid inside of her grasping entrance and yet another finger began joining the two. She pushed up onto the fingers as Nix twisted and used his thick digits to fuck her. She gasped and continued to assist his deep penetration and whimpered when his thumbs pushed the sides of her clit and pinched the small muscle between them.

She was being stretched to the max yet wanted more. Gray’s mouth refused to give up her lips no matter what she did and she tried nipping at his tongue to get him to loosen her mouth long enough to scream out in pleasure when the orgasm violently crashed over her. She began shoving her hips up harder and harder until she felt Nix add his pinky finger tucked in with the others and they continued to give her what she begged for without words. The fingers slid easily back and forth as deeply as they could up to the knuckle. The heat hadn’t gotten better, it had intensified, and she ground her pussy on the hand that offered her such pleasure.

The men at her breast and mouth began kissing each other while continuing to torment her nipples, pinching and twisting them. At times, they pulled a nipple up from her body, and squeezed the nubbin harder. Watching them distracted her from the slight pain that only made her feelings of need double. It was sexy and she wanted to add her own mouth to their open mouthed kiss. She slid a hand between both men’s knees and slid her fingers slowly up and down the cracks of their asses. Her finger teased each small wrinkled opening, she felt the men above her shudder, two cock heads were suddenly within the reach of her lips, and she gave each a lick. She alternated licks and sucks on the heads of their cocks.

The added pressure at the opening of her pussy made her raise her hips even higher and she felt Nix’s entire hand slide through and inside of her cunt. It was too much, yet she continued to move with the wrist covered in hair began to slide back and forth inside of her pussy. The hand splayed his fingers and explored her vagina at will as she screamed in ecstasy. Her mouth and cheeks of her face felt the throb of the two cocks squirting cum over her lips and tongue. There was too much liquid for her to swallow and she was so thirsty, only swallowing the liquid could quench her thirst.

“Jez,” she heard someone say and she refused to open her eyes, she liked the dream too much, damn it.

“Jez,” another voice said and she moaned and turned slowly. She hurt, everywhere. How was that possible when she felt so good a minute ago? “Come on, honey, open your eyes, we gotta get moving.”

Finally, it penetrated and she sucked in a breath and instantly began coughing, smoke, a lot of it, filled her lungs.
Shit
. Her eyes flew open and she looked around in the soft light of the cave. Obviously, the sun was up, but a thin layer of haze hung in the air, it was smoke from the fire.

“How close is it?” she asked gruffly and struggled to sit up.

“About a mile away,” Nix said and ran a hand over her hair. She was hot, shit, she needed a shower and to brush her teeth, they felt gross.

“Okay, give me a minute and I will be ready,” she mumbled and struggled to stand. Sleeping in the smoke-filled room had made her dizzy. She stood and swayed back and forth while Nix and Trystan held an arm. “Shit,” she muttered and both men whispered encouraging words.

“Steady,” Trystan said.

“Yeah,” Jez said and then pulled away. “I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“Carbon monoxide is beginning to rise,” Gray said from the entrance to the cave. He was holding a small detector they used to determine, heat, carbon monoxide, and other levels of toxins in the air during a fire.

“As soon as we are out in the air, you need to put your towel over your mouth. It is too thick out there, and we need to move quickly,” Nix said and held out a wet towel to her. She nodded but didn’t say anything—the smoke was intense.

The men pulled their towels out, wrapped them around their neck, and tied it in the back making it look like they were wearing a kerchief. She grinned and did the same thing. When she was young, the neighbor boys used to use washcloths like these for the same thing. Her mother would be pissed every single time she found one of her clean washcloths in the dirt after she had been playing with them.

They exited the cave and her eyes began to water, yeah the fire was closer, and the smoke was thick. This was not going to be fun without their helmets and masks. Usually a firefighter would have oxygen and a mask, in addition to a helmet and a jacket to protect them from the fire and the elements. Going three miles straight downhill through the smoke was going to be a challenge. Jez hoped they reached The Shack before the fire cut them off.

“Come on,” Nix said and looked around as they pulled their packs on their backs. “We need to make time, the fire is going to move between us and the way out if we aren’t careful.”

“Did you call into Gibs yet?” Trystan asked and Nix held up the scanner.

“Yep,” they will be on the lookout, radio is turned on and ready to use if we need it. One of the teams laid a line down last night below. We just need to get there.”

The others nodded and Jez motioned with her head to start walking. Nix went first with Trystan at his side, and Gray stayed with her. There were several large rock ridges to get by and some would have to be crawled over. It made her pant more and they had to stop and put more water on their towels. It was a process they got used to. The smoke was thicker in some areas and she could see the white towels had already turned black on the guys where their mouths were sucking in clean air.