DEAN'S POV

"Dean! Come on friend, let's talk about this." A deep baritone yelled out from a distance.

I lay crouched on the wet forest floor trying to calm my breathing and gather my surroundings. Survival training was a bitch, like why would I need to learn how to survive in the forest with nothing but a pocket knife. I was hungry, cold and wet, I hadn't slept properly in days and I was pretty sure I had a couple of cracked ribs from fighting off one of the bad guys the night before.

"All you need to do is light the distress beacon in your pocket and we can call it quits." Another gruff voice yelled getting closer.

Yeah, not happening, I thought to myself as I assessed my options.

I knew that I needed to get out of the forest if I was going to live. The men Alberto had hired to help with survival training were taking their roles very seriously but then again so was I. I needed to make River proud of me and that meant surviving this grueling ordeal.

I heard leaves crunch under a pair of military issue boots a couple of meters away meaning I needed to keep moving but I couldn't. I had hurt my leg an hour ago while fighting one of the men and after knocking him out, since I couldn't as well kill him, I had realized that he had cut me. I was losing blood, coupled with fatigue, dehydration and starvation meant I did not have long. Only two men were left from the half dozen Alberto had released to go after me and they were the deadliest. They had been tracking me for days and I was always one step ahead of them until now.

"How's that wound? You need medical help and we have that, just surrender." Number one yelled.

I was definitely going to surrender. The only way I was leaving the forest was either in a body bag or after taking them out and I was leaning towards the latter. The body bag was not literal since they were using none lethal weapons but at the same time losing would suck.

I looked up ahead and saw a tree whose branches offered me enough coverage for me to think over my next plan. I stayed low like Alberto had taught me, plus how the movies showed me and crawled on my bely to the tree. I went around it and found a way to hoist myself up until I was well hidden by its branches. Once I knew I was safe, for the moment at least I took a moment to breath and think about my next move.

You see in the movies where a boxer is defeated in a match, or a kid is bullied at school and an expert takes them under their wing to help them train and its only for like half an hour in the movie, well that's very misleading. It was not as easy or as aesthetically pleasing as the movies made it out to be. I was tired, my body hurt in places I didn't think possible and I only got four hours of sleep every night and even then I could not rest easy because I kept getting attacked in the middle of the night. Like what I was going through at the moment. Alberto and Evan had kidnapped me from the mansion and dropped me off in the middle of the forest three days ago.

"Best of luck brother." Evan grinned at me as he handed me a pocket knife.

"Remember what I taught you and you will be fine. Only use this when you take all of them out or you want to surrender. I'm rooting for you." Alberto replied giving me a tiny button like device.

They shoved me out of the van and sped out leaving me stranded in the middle of the forest. That had been three days ago. I had been sleeping in trees, drinking water from tree barks and taking out men armed with stunt guns and tasers. It was pretty badass, like living my own Rambo movie but I was tired and needed it all to end.

At the beginning of meeting them I really liked Demi, Evan and Alberto but after having them torture me for weeks, the sight of them made me shudder with fear. River was exempted from my hate because she was the love of my life, my wife and the reason I was torturing myself in the first place. If River ever asked for proof of my love, then this would be it, no doubt about that.

On the plus side I was getting ripped, like my body was getting so fit which I did not have a problem with but that was just about it. The rest was a scam and I was tired. I desperately needed sleep and an ice bath but I was in the middle of the forest with two heavily armed men to take out so that would have to wait.

"Dean, come out, come out wherever you are." Number two yelled his voice closer than ever.

I pushed a couple of twigs aside and peeped to seem them walking right under the tree I was perched on. They knew I was close because they had been tracking my heavy footsteps emphasized by my injury and the blood trail. I was running out of time and blood so I needed to act fast.

"He's here, lets keep searching." Number one said his stun gun forward.

"Now or never Dean." I whispered kissing my wedding ring.

I retrieved my pocket knife and waited until they were directly under me to pounce. I landed on one of them knocking him to the ground kicking his gun out of his reach. I tucked and rolled reaching for his taser and immediately used it to tase his friend before he had a moment to react.

"Any last words?" I asked hovering over the one I had knocked down.

I did not give him a chance to reply as I tased him as well knocking him out. Knowing I was safe I fell to my knees and retrieved a water bottle from one of them. I drained it before retrieving the distress beacon from my pocket and pressing it. Knowing I had won, I allowed my body to relax as I slowly faded off hoping they would find me before I lost too much blood.

"Dean." A soft voice whispered stirring me from my dreamless sleep.

Warm hands caressed my face and I blinked my eyes open to meet those of my beautiful wife staring down at me.

"Hi." She whispered kissing me softly.

"Hi." I replied lifting my dirty hand to her face.

Oh, what a contrast. Dark vs light. Clean vs dirty.

"Where are we?" I asked realizing I was not on the forest floor anymore.

"In a helicopter, on the way home." She replied and that's when I registered the noise I was hearing were the blades rotating above us.

I sat up, clutching my pounding head in my arms to find Alberto smirking at me.

"You did good, just like I knew you would." He congratulated me.

"I could have died you know, one of them cut me." I replied showing him my now bandaged leg.

"You wouldn't have, we were keeping track of you the whole time through thermal imaging." He replied showing me his tablet.

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" I asked.

"No but it put her at ease." Alberto replied pointing at River.

"I never would have allowed them to do that to you without assurance that you were okay. You did good babe." River praised with a smile.

"Thanks. I wanted to make you proud." I replied.

"You did." She grinned leaning in to kiss my cheek.

It felt really good to have survived that and knowing that I had made River proud of me made my victory all the more worth it.

"Let's get you home. You need food and sleep then back to training. You'll be doing Surveillance training with Evan." Alberto informed me.

I sighed brushing my hand over my face at the thought of what was coming. All four friends had taken an active role in teaching me what I needed to know in preparation for my test. River was my weapons guru, anything from guns to knives she was my girl and actually a pretty good teacher.

Alberto taught me hand to hand combat, mixed martial arts he called it, plus he dealt with all the field training.

Evan was kind of a nerd though the man could hold his own when it came to battle so he taught me surveillance and reconnaissance . It was pretty boring but I did enjoy sitting around and getting to relax while spying on people.

Demi was my history teacher and by that I meant she taught me everything I needed to know about the Andersons from the moment the business began. I knew more about the Andersons than I did about my own family. She also taught me finances, hostage negotiation skills and a couple of social interactive skills when there was no need to go all guns blazing. Sometimes all that was needed was a long talk accompanied with some booze to solve issues instead of fighting and losing lives on both sides.

Never in my life had I imagined it coming to this but River had changed my life from the moment I met her and this was all part of the package.

Warning signs going off all over the helicopter alerted us of an emergency.

"What's going on?" River asked looking panicked.

"Engine failure." Alberto replied getting up.

"I cant catch a break." I cried out when the plane started spinning out of control.

"We need to evacuate." Alberto yelled over the loud rotator blades.

"Evacuate? This is not a building, we are in a helicopter." I retorted.

"Well, I was going to teach you how to jump off a plane next week, might as well do it now." Alberto replied tossing a parachute at me.

"What the heck am I supposed to do with this?" I asked.

"Put it on, unless you want to crash into the ocean." He replied handing one to River and grabbing one for himself as well.

The helicopter was out of control at this point, spinning off as if it was ready to fall out of the sky at any moment.

"Put this on." Alberto said handing us earpieces.

I took it from him and put it in my ear as if it would save me from a fifty-thousand-foot fall.

"You've done this before?" I asked River who looked calmer than she should have been.

"Yes, but only for fun. It will be okay. Just do what we do." She replied smiling at me.

How in the heck was she smiling when we were about to plummet to our deaths!

"We need to jump off now if we are going to land safely." Alberto informed us opening the helicopter doors." Aim is to land at the compound. Dean, just do as we do and you'll be fine."

It was either jump off a helicopter with a parachute I didn't know how to use or wait for it to crash and die.

"Okay." I nodded surrendering to my fate.

"I love you." River yelled kissing me quickly before jumping out.

I was supposed to go next but I hesitated looking at all that vast nothingness down below.

"Dean you need to jump." Alberto shouted at me.

"I know." I yelled back as if it wasn't already obvious.

"We don't have all day." Alberto exclaimed and before I could brace myself the motherfucker kicked me out of the plane.

A gust of cold air blasted against my face as I spun out of control. I could see the ground coming up fast but all I could do was panic and frail around.

"Dean calm down, give into the wind." River's calm voice came through the earpiece startling me a bit.

I looked around to find her soaring in the air effortlessly.

"Not that easy." I screamed feeling like I was about to die.

"Yes, it is, just give in and you'll see." She replied.

Might as well do it and not make my wife a widow. Instead of trying to save myself by grasping on air, I let myself go and closed my eyes letting the wind guide my direction.

"Yes, just like that." River laughed and I opened my eyes to see that I was floating just as calmly as she was.

It was kind of fun now that I wasn't about to crash land anymore but I wasn't on the ground just yet so there was no time to celebrate.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"As soon as we hit five thousand feet off the ground, you will pull the handle under your parachute on your right side and let gravity handle the rest." Alberto replied and I looked to my right to see him floating next to me.

"How do I know when we get to a thousand feet?" I retorted.

"I'll let you know smartass." He replied.

"Don't get smart with me. You are not the one about to splatter all your insides on the ground." I screamed.

"Now Dean, now." Alberto instructed and I knew it was show time.

I watched River do it just to be sure I wouldn't fail before repeating exactly what she had done. I tugged at the handle and the parachute ejected from the pack. Its pull dragged me back up and I railed around for a moment before I found my balance. I had never used a parachute before so it was hard navigating it but I did my best and gave into the win letting it direct my direction.

I was freaked out at first but once it stabilized I started having fun. I had a 360 degree view of the whole world under me.. It was kind of awesome.

"Having fun?" River asked.

"Yes, it's the landing I'm worried about."I replied.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." She replied as if it was that easy.

The compound was coming into view fast. I watched River and Alberto land effortlessly while I knew my landing would not be as graceful as theirs. When I missed the backyard and training grounds I knew I was fucked. I landed in the pool, the cold water engulfing me completely. I nearly drowned because the parachute covered the pool and I was still attached to it but I managed to detangle myself and swim to the surface. River and Alberto were right there waiting for me with worried looks on their faces but relaxed as soon as they saw me.

I pulled myself out and lay at the edge of the pool breathing heavily.

"Not bad for your first time, how do you feel?" Alberto asked.

I was about to reply when I heard helicopter blades coming closer. I sat up and watched the same helicopter I had jumped out of land a few feet from us.

"Engine failure huh?" I gritted out turning to the two cousins.

"Doing is learning." Alberto grinned at me.

River shrugged looking at me sheepishly batting her eyelashes at me.

"I'm done." I huffed walking away from them and storming into the house.

I walked directly into the kitchen, grabbed a bucket, filled it with ice before making my way up the stairs back to a bedroom I hadn't been in in days due to some stupid exercise. I stripped off all my wet clothes and shoes feeling as if my muscles were on fire with each movement. I filled the tub, added the ice before lowering myself into the freezing water. My whole body went numb exactly how I wanted it giving my muscles a moment to relax.

A couple of minutes later, I heard soft footsteps in the bedroom that belonged to none other than my wife. She entered the bathroom a second later looking relieved to see me in the tub. Where else would I have gone to?

"Your angry?" River asked as if it wasn't already obvious by the pissed off look on my face.

"I did not know about the parachute jump until we were in the helicopter. I'm sorry but you would have been perfectly safe if you did not manage it on you own." River assured me stepping closer.

"I don't think so, I did not see anyone laying out safety nets to catch me." I retorted.

"I would have caught you, if you didn't succeed in pulling your chute out." River replied.

I gave her an exasperated look as if she expected me to believe all that bullshit.

River walked up to me and knelt next to the tub. "When we began, I told you that I had your back always and I still do."

"Didn't seem that way when you let me jump out of a helicopter with no experience." I scoffed.

"I would not have let you get hurt; I love you too much. You are all I have Dean." River whispered moving closer as if intending to kiss me but I moved my face away just in time.

I was angry that she had risked my life like that. She may have had the whole plan in her head but I did not and that scared me. I thought I was going to die there for a long moment.

River looked hurt when I evaded her kiss but I was hurting more. She had to know that. I slid lower into the tub completely submerging myself into the ice-cold water. I expected River to leave but I was surprised when a minute later she got into the tub with me.

"What are you doing?" I asked resurfacing to find her naked on the opposite side of the tub.

"Apologizing." She replied before straddling me.

River knew I had never once been able to resist her charm. Refusing a kiss was one thing but completely ignoring her naked was a whole different thing.

"River." I groaned when she reached in between us to grab me.

Th water was so cold I didn't know if I could get it up, but one touch from River had me hardening in her grip.

"Shh let me take care of you." She whispered lowering herself onto my hard cock in one swift move.

We both moaned as our bodies joined in the most carnal, intimate way. Unable to resist her anymore, I pulled River closer and kissed her hard, our mouths clashing against each other in a fervent kiss. I gripped her hips and started slamming from under her driving us both wild. Water slushed from the tub onto the floor as I fucked River relentlessly.

"Fuck, yes." River moaned in my ear as I pounded into her without holding back.

I'd never been so rough with her before but I was frustrated and since she would not leave me alone, I had to let out some of that pent up energy.

"You close?" I asked when I felt her squeeze up around me.

"Yes." She nodded gripping onto my shoulders tighter, her nails digging into me.

I slammed into her twice more and bit her neck to drive her over the edge. River came with a scream her walls clamping around my cock like a warm wet glove triggering my own orgasm. I came inside her pouring all I had into her womb.

I lay back on the tub and pulled River with me holding her close.

"Feeling better?" She asked nuzzling her face into my neck.

"Yes. Did I hurt you?" I asked caressing her cold skin.

"No, I'm okay. I've never seen that side of you before." She replied lifting her face off my neck to look at me.

"I know, I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Don't be. It's okay. I loved it." She reassured me.

"Me too." I replied kissing her.

"We need to get out of the tub." I said when I felt her start to shiver.

River nodded and got out of the tub, holding her hand out for me. I took it and let her help me out of the tub.

"Thank you, I needed that. I needed you." I whispered pulling her into my arms.

"You're welcome. I always have your back, remember that." She replied.

"I know." I smiled kissing her.

We dried off and got dressed in some warm clothes. Claudia had delivered us some food while we were in the bathroom, that was waiting for us when we emerged. Hopefully she did not hear more than she needed to.

After we ate, River and I talked about my three days in the forest before she let me sleep. I had training with Evan in a couple of hours and I needed to be well rested for that. We were going to be spying on the Mexicans as we planned on how to get revenge after their attack on us. It was going to be fun.