The Pleasures of Winter by Evie Hunter

rebel song, but she couldn’t be sure.
    The journey was endless. Even with Jack beside her to help, several times Abbie stumbled over large roots hidden in the undergrowth. Her clothes were glued to her body and her hair to her head. What she wouldn’t give for a shower. A nice, long, hot shower. Hell, even a cold one would do.
    ‘Snake!’ Zeke’s shout dragged her out of her fantasy.
    ‘Where?’ Jack shouted.
    Her gaze followed the direction of Zeke’s pointing finger. Oh dear lord. She swallowed hard. She had seen them in the reptile enclosure in the zoo, but never a real one, and never one that big.
    Jack and Kevin set off in pursuit. She hadn’t thought that snakes could move that fast, but within seconds the men had disappeared into the foliage and all she could hear were their shouts.
    ‘I can’t do this any more.’ Zeke took a seat on a log. ‘The heat, the terrible food. No communications. How do people live like this?’
    Beneath his perma-tan, his skin looked ashen. Maybe he really was ill? Abbie placed her hand on his forehead. He was hot, like everyone else, but he didn’t feel feverish.
    Zeke placed his hand on her wrist. ‘You know, Abbie, maybe when this is over we can meet up and –’
    It took a moment for the penny to drop. She hadn’t imagined it earlier: Zeke was coming on to her and he meant it. When she slapped his hand away, he wasn’t a bit perturbed. He smiled as if it were an everyday occurrence to paw someone thirty years his junior. Abbie stepped back. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake. What is wrong with you?’
    The green curtain of leaves parted and Jack and Kevin reappeared, both wearing matching expressions of triumph. ‘How much do you love me?’ asked Jack.
    ‘Would you believe me if I said not a bit?’
    He grinned at her. ‘Suit yourself, but you better cosy up to me and Kev, because we have just caught dinner.’
    Her stomach did a somersault. ‘A snake. We’re having a snake for dinner?’
    ‘No, not a snake, Abbie,’ Kevin said. ‘A roasted snake. Trust me, it tastes just like chicken.’
    The triumph of the returning hunters was marred by the sound of Zeke puking.
    They pressed on for two more painful hours. Even with sensible boots that were well broken in, the soles of her feet felt as if they were on fire.
    ‘OK, let’s call it a night,’ Jack said at last.
    They were the sweetest words in the English language. Kevin organized the hammocks while Jack busied himself making a fire. ‘Fetch me some leaves, Abbie. The long ones.’
    She went off to get the leaves while he butchered the snake. Only when she was a few feet from the clearing did she realize that he had sent her away deliberately. Jack was protecting her? Hollywood had a soft streak?
    The thought pleased her.
    ‘Abbie, what the hell is keeping you?’ he roared.
    So much for his soft side. She hurried back to camp.
    They had dug a small fire pit and the snake was now cut into rough chunks. Even Zeke had gotten over his upset stomach and was eying the meat with interest. ‘Like chicken, you said?’
    ‘Chicken,’ Kevin repeated.
    They watched as Jack parcelled the meat up in the damp leaves and placed it on a makeshift spit over the fire. It smelled wonderful and, despite her disgust, Abbie’s mouth watered. They’d had nothing to eat all day but bugs and sour berries. This was a feast.
    ‘I’ll go bury the rest,’ Kevin offered. ‘We don’t want to attract predators,’ he said by way of explanation.
    Predators. She hadn’t thought of that. They were in a jungle and the only thing that stood between her and the dangerous environment was Jack and Kevin.
    As if he could read her thoughts, Jack winked at her. ‘Don’t worry, babe, I’ll take care of you.’
    ‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ she muttered.
    She dreaded the night to come, not sure how she would react to all that rampant masculinity pressed up against her for a second night. But she had barely eaten half her portion of