We’d reached the point where the trail opened up to a wide but shallow clearing that overlooked the edge of a cliff. Lake Huron spread out into the distance in front of us, glittering in the sun.
At the bottom of the cliff a small cove glimmered on the beach below, the water a lighter blue than the lake. A few hundred feet away from us, the creek she’d been photographing earlier trickled over the edge of the cliff, cascading in a waterfall down to the cove.
“It’s magnificent.” The look of joy that crossed her face made a warm, gooey sensation expand in my chest.
We both slid off our backpacks, an unspoken agreement that we were going to spend some time here. We took in the view, appreciating the glory of the surrounding nature. The silence between us was comfortable. Natural. Made me crave more time around her.
I’d hiked this trail and taken in this view hundreds of times before my accident, and a few times since. But being here with her and seeing it through new eyes was an experience I never would’ve imagined I’d enjoy. While she marveled at the view of the lake and the cove, I used the time to admire her. The excitement sparkling in her eyes. The slight part between her pink lips. The way she bounced ever so slightly on the balls of her feet, like she itched to run down to the base of the cliff.
After a few more moments, I dared to share the thoughts rattling around in my head. “Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”
She turned and looked at me, her face full of surprise.
I glanced away, embarrassed. “I read a John Muir biography a couple of months ago. That quote stuck with me.”
“PBS and biographies. Aren’t you full of surprises?”
Normally I squirmed under other people’s inspection, but with her I reveled in it.
“It’s a wonderful sentiment.” She looked back over the water. “Do you come here often?”
“Not as often as I used to.”
She gave me a thoughtful look. “Are you single, Drew?”
The question lit a fire inside me. The intrigue in her eyes… Jesus. How the hell I misinterpreted that glittering inspection this morning in the garage was beyond me now. I let myself enjoy the direction this conversation was headed. “Completely unattached,” I said.
The corner of her mouth twisted up, and I wanted to know more than anything what her lips tasted like.
“There’s something I have to ask you,” she said.
A stone sank in my gut. It was going to be the same thing that always happened. She was going to want to talk about the accident and how I lost my leg. And then she would look at me like everyone else in this town did. My previous excitement flittered away.
“What’s the deal with the way your house is decorated? I mean, for an unattached, single guy your age—”
My body developed a mind of its own. In a flash, I had her expensive-looking camera in my hand and gently deposited it on the ground before crushing my lips to hers.
The muffled sound of surprise she made at first had me worried I’d overstepped, but as I started to pull back the noise melted into a pleased groan and she gripped my neck, keeping me in place. Her lips parted, granting me invitation, and I greedily thrust my tongue inside her mouth.
Our hands were everywhere. Mine in her hair. At her waist. Skimming up under the front of her shirt to her ribs. Hers clawing at my shoulders. My biceps. Up and down the front of my chest. The turned-on whimpering noises bubbling up out of her were driving me insane.
I reached down to the back of her thighs, and she instinctively jumped into my grasp, wrapping her legs around my waist. Carrying her a few paces away from the cliff’s edge, I pinned her against a tree as the storm between us continued to build.
Her lips were every bit as firm, and plump, and soft as I’d imagined. Her skin was warm and smooth, with a trail of goose bumps raised in the wake of my fingertips. I felt drunk with her scent permeating my brain.
Her hands snaked between us and made quick work of my belt. At the same time, my hands slid their way up the front of her shirt and were busy bringing both of her nipples to a peak.
Her fingers made contact with my aching cock at the same moment a loud throat clearing came from behind us. Turning my body to shield her from whoever had joined us in the clearing, I pulled my hands off her magnificent breasts, shoved my cock back into my jeans, and hastily zipped up my fly. All while muttering curses under my breath.
She let out an exasperated laugh as I slid her down my body, her feet making contact with the forest floor again. She dipped her forehead to my chest while she straightened her clothes and then looked up at me with a grin and rolled her eyes. The intimate gesture, as if we’d been caught in public displays of indecency together a million times before, did something to my chest I couldn’t wrap my head around in the moment.
“You good?” I asked her.
“I was. And then I wasn’t anymore.” She giggled.
I looked over my shoulder to find Old Man Turner picking his jaw up off the trail. He cleared his throat again, this time more out of embarrassment rather than announcing his presence.
“Hey there, Drew…little lady.” He nodded at her. “Sorry to interrupt. I was out enjoying the nice sunny afternoon.”