The sweet man tried not to laugh, but he wound up sputtering and snorting. The spittle flying from his lips sprayed my face.
"Oh crap," he said, wiping my face with the hem of his shirt. "Mara, I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to laugh. I know you were scared by that bird, but it was just a hummer. He must've thought you're cute and came in for a closer look."
He smiled when he said that and tapped my chin.
"I'm the one who needs to apologize," I said. "Don't know why I keep freaking out. I mean, I've never seen a bird like that one before, but that's no excuse."
"You don't need to apologize. I get that all this nature stuff is new for you."
"What was that bird? I've never heard of a hummer. Is that some bizarre species of bomber birds only found in Oregon?"
"No, it's a hummingbird." He pushed my hair off my shoulders and combed his fingers through it, cleaning the sand out. "Hummers like to dive bomb people, but they're not dangerous. That one looked like a black-chinned hummingbird. You can tell by its black head and purple throat."
"I didn't get a good look at it." Because I'd been too busy screaming and hurling my body at him. When I remembered where my face had wound up... Oh God, it was humiliating. "I swear I'm not usually this much of a disaster."
"Everybody has a little accident now and then." He patted my arm. "Maybe you've had more than your fair share in one day, but don't be embarrassed."
"Hard not to be." I frisked my hands over myself to get rid of the rest of the sand. "At best, I'm a total klutz."
"You should've seen me last summer when a porcupine chased me. Nowthatwas humiliating."
Ollie really was the sweetest man on earth.
"Ready for more birdwatching?" he asked. "Or would you rather go back to a nice, bird-free house?"
"Let's keep going. I'm okay, I promise."
I picked up the binoculars, which I'd managed to send flying so they landed a good fifteen feet away, and scanned the vicinity again.
"Look over there," Ollie said, pointing toward shore ahead of us. "See that bird with a rust-colored head and neck?"
I swerved the binoculars over there. The long-legged bird was wading in the shallow waters along the lake shore, lifting its skinny legs high with each step. The black and white wings made a striking contract to its rusty neck and head, and the bird had the longest, slenderest beak I'd ever seen. Not that I'd seen much more than pigeons until today.
"What is that?" I asked. "It's so pretty and so weird at the same time."
"It's an American avocet." He moved behind me, his body brushing against my backside, and placed his hands over mine on the binoculars, guiding me to shift it toward the trees. "If you look real close, you can see a golden-crowned kinglet."
Ollie lowered his hands but stayed close behind me, the heat and scent of him surrounding me.
I adjusted the focus on the binoculars and spotted a small, plump bird with a bright yellow head that was rimmed in black. Its wings had yellow and gray on them. "How did you see that without the binoculars? It's so little."
"Yeah, but I saw the kinglet flying toward that tree. The yellow crown is hard to miss."
He had bent his head to speak to me, his mouth so close to my ear that his breaths tickled my skin when he spoke.
I wanted to kiss him again.
Damn, what was wrong with me? He hadn't wanted to kiss me earlier, so I really shouldn't try it again now. But maybe he'd meant what he said before, when he told me he didn't want to take advantage of me when I was upset.
God, I loved having him so close, his body almost touching mine. I didn't know if he used aftershave or cologne, but he smelled incredible. I couldn't resist turning my head to look at him. With his cheek no more than an inch from my face, I got an up-close look at those beautiful eyes. The sun wasn't glaring on his glasses, so I had a clear view of them. I'd never seen irises that color before, a golden amber shade that seemed to glow in the sunshine.
"Ollie?" I said.
He turned his head toward me, and our lips brushed. It was the faintest touch, but that's all it took to make my lips tingle and my breaths shorten. We gazed into each other's eyes for several seconds while the most intimate parts of me awakened, growing warm and slick. I'd been attracted to men at first sight, but never in my life had I become so lustful that the thought of kissing a man got me this aroused.
Ollie cleared his throat and stepped back, checking his watch. "Oh shit. I have to get back to the guest house. We've got new people coming any minute." He met my gaze again, his tongue darting out to moisten his lips. "Sorry to cut this short."
"Don't worry. You can always show me more of the wildlife another time."