Fire: Chapter Five

After a short while, the warmth from the fireplace and the cozy blanket began to calm Shannon's shivering, and she started to feel a little better.
And unless it was her imagination, the frozen side of beef that she'd been cuddled up to felt a little warmer too. She nuzzled her face into Michael's neck, and noted that his pulse seemed stronger. Absentmindedly, she stroked his back. His skin was perfect; smooth and lightly muscled. He still felt cold, but not as frigid as before. All of a sudden, he started awake.

"Hey, it's okay," Shannon soothed gently. He started to shiver violently.
 
"C-c-c-c-c-cold" he stammered.

"I know, honey, I'm sorry," Shannon murmured. "Hold onto me, take my body heat - just keep holding me, Michael."

"F-f-f-f-fucking f-f-f-f-freezing" he stuttered in response, his teeth chattering together like castanets. He wrapped his arms tightly around Shannon, and she held him as he shivered his way back to the land of the living.

Finally, the shivering subsided, and Shannon's patient fell into an exhausted sleep. The checklist in Shannon's mind seemed to run on autopilot: skin warm to the touch, no longer shivering; pulse strong, breathing regular; fingers and toes pink and warm. Michael was going to be alright. She nestled back into his arms with a contented sigh. Something in the back of her mind told her she shouldn't be doing this; she should be getting dressed and drying his underclothes, putting the kettle on for hot tea... but she was tired - so tired... the sound of Michael's deep, even breathing was making her sleepy...

Shannon woke with a start. What...? Where...?

"Ssssh..." A warm, male hand gently stroking her hair reminded her of where she was and all that had happened. "You're naked," the amused male voice murmured in her ear.

"Um...yeah, I'm sorry...I had to..."

"Don't be sorry. I'm naked too."

Shannon began to detach herself from the skin-to-skin embrace. "Oh no you don't," said the voice. She was locked in his arms.

"Michael, I'm sorry, I...."

"Stop saying sorry. I'm not sorry."

Shannon struggled to look up, to see his face. He loosed his grip just enough, and she looked into a pair of beautiful brown eyes. They twinkled with mischief. "I think it's only fair," he continued, "seeing as you know my name, that I should know yours - seeing as how we're naked and all?"

Shannon squirmed with embarrassment. "Of course, sorry....um, sorry! Shannon, my name is Shannon..." It was her turn to stammer. Michael grinned like a schoolboy, and it lit up his face. His dark hair was tousled around his face and neck, and she wondered why she had never noticed how handsome he was. of course, she was slightly preoccupied at the time...

"Shannon...like the river," he said softly. "You saved my life, Shannon-like-the-river..." His hands travelled up her back and into the nape of her neck, his fingers sliding into her hair which was almost completely dry now.

"I..." she managed.

"Mmmm...ssshhh..." Without thinking, she reached up and stroked the ruffled edges of his hair, which was soft and silky under her fingers. Her own dark brown eyes gazed into his. I shouldn't be doing this, she thought - he's my patient, I was only doing what had to be done - but the thought was lost in the devastating softness of his lips as all at once his mouth was on hers, kissing her so deeply that all rational thought was spun away, far out into space, as she opened her mouth under his and clung to his shoulders, allowing him to lay her down onto her back, warm inside the cozy blanket, in front of the crackling fire, sheltered from the cold world outside.