Chapter 29
Julian
“You have two options here,” I tell Aiden once we drive past the hotel’s gates. “We can either start with the best thing I have planned and work our way down, or we can start small and work our way up.”
“Up,” he says, his restless fingers already flipping through the car’s radio stations.
“Okay, then we have a mini drive ahead of us,” I announce.
He groans. Loudly.
“Oh, stop your whining. I’m the one driving”
“What exactly classifies as ‘mini’?” he asks warily.
“About thirty minutes—less if you’re good with directions,” I say. His groan deepens. “That’s not even bad, and it’ll be faster if you use the map in the glovebox.”
There’s no real chance of getting us lost when every activity I have planned for us is in the incubi’s territory, but keeping Aiden busy means he won’t piece my surprises together. Besides, an extra pair of eyes to make sure we don’t wander too far can’t hurt.
“This would be a lot easier if I could use my phone,” Aiden murmurs as he unfolds the map. “Or if you’d just tell me where we’re going?”
“We don’t need a phone for this,” I retort, slowing at a T-junction. A sign ahead shows an icon of a hiking man to the left, so I make the turn. “I’ve already marked in our routes. All you have to do is direct us along the furthest inked line.”
“At least I’m not blindfolded this time,” he mumbles, stretching his legs out and getting comfortable.
“As if you wouldn’t love that.”
He chokes on nothing, eyes blown wide as if my words assaulted him. I burst out laughing—so hard the car swerves as I clench both my stomach and the steering wheel.
“Too soon?” I tease. “I thought you enjoyed it.”
“Shut up, Julian. I can’t concentrate,” he grumbles as he fluffs the map out. There’s a tinge of red to his cheeks when I glance over. “Next right,” he adds.
Still smiling, I follow the directive, focusing on getting us to our first destination.
The drive is as short as promised. The roads are empty, signs clear, and soon we’re parked at the starting point of the valley’s hiking trails. We set off on foot, climbing one of the more challenging paths.
It’s … harder than I expected. I only chose it because of what waits at the end, but I still didn’t expect to struggle. Though I suppose our lands don’t have many peaks, and certainly none quite this steep, so the uphill climb taxes me sooner than I’d like.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Aiden asks as I stop to squint at the map again.
“Yeah. We’re almost there,” I mumble, glancing between the thin line on the paper and the barely visible trail ahead, given all the foliage.
“Now is the perfect time to use a phone,” Aiden sings as he steps ahead to climb over a fallen tree trunk. “I’m sure the map on it is more updated than that thing. And this does count as an emergency if we’re lost.”
“We’re not lost,” I dismiss as I look around. We’re not, but it doesn’t help that everything looks unnervingly similar. “Besides, I doubt there’s reception up here.”
“Only one way to know for sure,” he presses. “I know you’re against technology and all that, but a quick glance at your phone—”
“I don’t have a phone,” I cut him off as I begin walking again.
He stops dead, this time blocking the entire path with his figure.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with you?” I counter. “We’ve been mates for over a month, and you’re just now realising I don’t have a phone?”
“We’re always together,” he argues, shaking his head. “And don’t twist this on me. Why in all the realms would I think to check that you have something as basic as a phone?”
Rolling my eyes, I shoulder past the imbecile and carry on, map in hand.
We haven’t been walking that long, no more than half an hour. We’re not lost, I know that much, but I thought I would have heard it by now.
“What’s that?” Aiden asks suddenly, making me freeze. He tilts his head. “Is that water?”
Following his gaze, I turn forward again, and my ears prick as I hear it too: the distant sound of rushing water. My lips curve as I run ahead, branches whipping as I break through the last line of dense trees—
And there it is.
The map’s promised cliff and viewpoint overlooks a valley of rich shades of green and brown that shine under the sunlight.
To the left, a short waterfall breaks down into a broad river, its waters calming some by the time they flow along the path below us, where it glimmers in a combination of cerulean blue and aquamarine.
It’s beautiful.
“Woah,” Aiden murmurs as he comes to a stop at my side, dark brown eyes practically sparkling as he nears the edge and peers down. “This is nice.”
“It is,” I agree, turning to face him. “We can stay up here and appreciate the view, or …”
“Or …” Aiden echoes, lips already spreading into a smile to match mine as he watches me fold the map away.
“We can do the first thing on the list—cliff diving.”
Aiden whistles and steps back, but his gaze remains on the river waiting below. “That’s a long way down.”
It is, but he sounds thrilled by the prospect, which is exactly what I was banking on. Aiden’s always been a live-on-the-edge type of guy, so I knew he’d love this.
The only thing I didn’t expect was for me to be just as excited.
“Nothing dangerous,” I say as I curl my trembling fingers under my shirt hem and tug it off. “The hotel encourages it.”
“Do they encourage stripping before jumping in, too?” he asks as he watches me strip.
“Well, yes,” I snort. “Believe it or not, they’re big advocates for skinny-dipping.”
He cackles as he shakes his head, reaching for his own clothes.
Plans aside, I’m not usually a fan of things like this, but Aiden’s excitement is oddly contagious, like his spontaneity. Now here I am, stripping down to my boxers, and itching to jump off a cliff.
It’s official. Aiden Calderon has corrupted me.
“Together?” he asks as he hurries to tug off his cargos.
“Nope,” I call, jogging back as far as I can. My stomach drops, but I ignore it and break into a run. “I’ll see you at the bottom.”
I catch a glimpse of Aiden’s mouth hitting the ground as I flip him off and launch myself off the cliff’s edge.
Air tunnels past me, pushing against me, but not strong enough to keep me from falling as I soar down. I howl as I manage a single flip before I dive straight into the icy water.
The chill ripples over me, waking every nerve as if I’ve been sleeping this whole time, and a wave of adrenaline follows, buoying me up as I kick for the surface.
The sound of the roaring, crashing waters greets me as I gasp for air, a smile already on my face as I look up in search of my mate. Aiden’s peering over the edge with a grin to match my own, and my heart rages in my chest for him.
“You coming?!” I shout.
Laughter is all I get before he disappears, and I take that as the warning it appears to be. I manage to paddle back a few feet before a loud warrior cry echoes through the valley, and then, there he is, jumping off a cliff with a smile so big it might tear his face in half.
He lands in a cannonball that drenches me and the nearby rocks, and disappears beneath the surface. Laughing, I wipe at my face, waiting for him to reappear, and he does, but in the most Aiden way possible.
I yelp when my body is hoisted out of the water as he appears below me. I go reeling back, and his laughter is the last thing I hear before the water swallows me whole, but Aiden’s grip on me remains throughout.
As I surface again, he’s pressed right against me and curling my leg around him tightly so that I’m forced to wrap both around his waist.
“That was fucking amazing!” he says with that smile of his, the one that’s so bright it challenges the sun.
“It was fun,” I agree, chuckling as I take in the pure delight in his eyes. That’s what I wanted—throughout this trip and after, I want that look in his eyes, all the time.
“Just fun?” he retorts. “It was amazing, Jewels.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Aiden kisses the tip of my nose, making me giggle before I shove away from him. He treads water nearby, watching me. “Never thought I’d see the day when Julian Heil jumped off a cliff in his boxers.”
“Yeah, well.” I grin at him. “You make me do crazy things.”
Aiden looks at me with something warm, and my poor lungs try their very best to keep up.
“You can go again,” I say, clearing my throat. “One more time, and then we’ve got to keep moving for part two.”
“Can’t we stay here a little longer?” he asks as his smile fades a little.
I lift my wrist to check my watch, but he swats water my way to cover it. I frown at him.
“It’s more fun if everything is not planned down to the exact second, Julian.”
Is it? I found it fun when things went according to schedule, but this isn’t about me. I did this all for Aiden, to make this time special, and if he wants to take his time, then I could be late.
Good Goddess. I shudder, but nod, and his smile reappears in full force. He swims forward to plant a wet kiss on my cheek, starts swimming towards the plunge pool at top speed.
I’m not in the mood to chase him or get barraged by water, so instead I stretch myself out until I’m floating on my back and I let my eyelids fall shut.
The current pulls me along and I let it. I let it take my thoughts and worries too as I float dazedly.
This isn’t so bad. The sun on my skin, Aiden treading around out there somewhere, and nobody here but us.
It isn’t bad. In fact, it’s kind of amazing.
“Thank you.” Kiss.
“Thank you.” Kiss.
“Thank you.” Kiss.
“Thank youuuuuuuuu,” Aiden extends this one extra-long before kissing me for all I’m worth.
“Uhmm,” I hum against his lips.
Satisfied, he pulls back and finally faces the young girl who watches us with obvious amusement. “I’m ready,” he says, marching towards her so she can hook up his harness.
“Have fun,” I encourage, even though my fingers already itch to pull him back.