Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
Rory
“That’s paper birch, commonly referred to as white birch,” Wyatt pointed out. With the slight redness to his cheeks from the breeze and the excited light in his eyes, he was hotter than ever. God, I could watch him for hours, how his lips moved, and the confident, loping way he walked.
Maybe I was a little obsessed, but who could blame me? Wyatt Anderson was a total fox, and I could barely believe we were on a date together. That he could even put that out into the universe with everything against us.
“You didn’t tell me I’d be getting a free informational tree tour with the hike,” I teased as we walked along the trail.
It was an easy one with beautiful views, from the barren fields to the thick wooded areas with scraggly trees—which Wyatt seemed enamored with.
“You’d figure with how much you love wood that you’d have realized you were bi way earlier. ”
A laugh burst out of him, the sound so raw and gorgeous I wanted to bottle it and keep it for myself. “I’ve been working with wood for so long that I’ve got long-winded opinions on most lumber types.”
“Working with wood, eh?” I waggled my brows. “Based on the way you fucked me, I’m not surprised.”
“You’re begging for a spanking,” he said, the grin lighting his dark eyes. Goddamn, he was so stunning it was unfair.
“Do you think that’s a deterrent?” I asked, pointing back. “Look at this ass. It was made to be spanked.”
“Ngh.” Wyatt bit his knuckles. “You’re so goddamn tempting.”
“Too bad we’re out here on a hike instead of your bed,” I teased back. “You could have your filthy way with me right now.”
“Who says I still can’t?” he asked, even though we were walking right in the middle of the trail that sliced through a stretch of fields with zero cover. I might be impulsive, but I wasn’t dumb.
“The fact that we’re both too pretty for jail,” I responded, even though the idea of rolling around with him just about anywhere was high in my fantasy fodder.
“Have you had relationships before?” Wyatt asked. The topic came out of nowhere, slamming into me like whiplash.
My mouth dried, and the easy comfort evaporated as the chill from outside started to permeate through my skin. “Nope, not a one.” Was this what would scare Wyatt off? When he realized how much of a mess I was?
“Any reason?”
Great. The truth bubbled on my tongue, but I hated admitting those words out loud. As if they made them more real.
Except, then Wyatt slipped his hand into mine and squeezed.
And somehow the simple motion coaxed them right from me.
“There was a guy back in high school, Dan Masterson—total bad-boy stud a few grades above me, and I was smitten.” A shudder rippled through me.
I hadn’t spoken about this in years. Even my siblings barely knew—for good reason.
“He was my first kiss, and I thought for sure he’d be the one for me.
Planned out our whole future in my head.
But I was…well, whether I was just a curiosity or he was deep in the closet, I’ll never know.
He acted like nothing ever happened and spent his last two years there making my life hell. ”
My throat thickened, and Wyatt squeezed my hand again. Even though we continued moving forward, I was suspended in time.
“Outed me, spread rumors, jostled me around,” I muttered. “Could’ve been way worse, though. Wasn’t like anyone beat the shit out of me.”
“You come from a big family, right?” he asked. “Why didn’t any of them step in?”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “They would’ve, if I’d let them. I was so damn ashamed that I hid what was going on. Played it all off. Easy to believe when you’re impulsive and a loudmouth.”
Wyatt stopped midstride and let go of my hand.
A second later, his arms were wrapping around me, and I found myself crushed against his chest. The steadiness of his arms made my heart ache.
The memories throbbed in the back of my mind, the pulse of them as vivid as if I was still that young and dumb and starry-eyed.
Yet, Wyatt wasn’t Dan.
Hell, he was unlike anyone I’d ever met before.
“Yet even that asshole couldn’t dim your brightness,” Wyatt murmured.
Heat stung my eyes. “You mean loudness.”
“Nah, baby,” he continued, the term causing heat to suffuse my whole body. “You’re so damn radiant. You’ve got this presence that’s impossible to look away from, just so full of life. It’s no wonder you were the one to catch my attention.”
Oh god. Emotions rushed through me at an embarrassing force, a dam I couldn’t keep at bay. A few tears slipped past, and I swallowed hard, trying to stop the flow with all my might. The way Wyatt spoke of me—it was how I’d wanted to be viewed for so damn long.
Not the fuckup, the loudmouth, the guy who was always too much.
But as someone worthy of being loved.
Yet I’d never let anyone close enough to even try. Not until him.
I tilted my head up, and he closed the space between us with ease. This kiss was born out of a desperate hunger inside me, one that roared out of control. I wanted to be consumed by it, by him, letting the flames lick me up until I burned and burned and burned.
He kissed me until I forgot where I was, forgot the cold, forgot what had even upset me in the first place.
Wyatt’s warmth and steadiness filled in the empty places, the cracks and imperfections until I felt whole.
His tongue slipped into my mouth as he lapped at me, devouring me.
His hand wrapped around my nape with the firmness I craved, and in a few simple motions, he owned me.
The ache behind my eyes abated, and my soul grew lighter as he clutched me like I belonged to him just as much.
When we finally broke for air, he stared down at me with a tenderness that peeled back my layers until I was bare before him. I loved and hated the feeling at the same time.
“I think we need to bust out the rum,” I commented, my voice a little shaky.
“I could use it,” he said, pulling away to reach behind him and unzip his backpack. He wrestled out a whole-ass thermos.
A laugh escaped me. “You weren’t fucking around, were you?”
“Come on, let’s get somewhere comfortable,” he said, passing me the thermos as he took the lead again.
I matched his stride with ease as we headed farther down the trail to where it opened onto the forest. We’d gotten a late start, and already the darker clouds sat upon the horizon, the gilt trails streaking across it.
Reds suffused the woods with the setting sun, but I loved hiking a little more like this, an extra thrill with the encroaching night.
I clutched the thermos tight and soaked in the sight of his ass flexing ahead of me, his broad shoulders perfect to climb. God, I wanted him to take me here and now, just fuck me under this sweeping horizon.
When we stepped under the bough of the trees, the shadows increased tenfold. The darkness bestowed a hush on the area that mingled with the winter’s chill. Skeletal branches crawled toward the sky, and the surrounding forest floor formed a bed of brittle fallen leaves.
“This way,” Wyatt said, tilting his head.
He led us toward a small bench on the side of the trail, surrounded by tall, looming paper birches, like the ones he’d pointed out earlier.
He plunked down on the bench, and I stole the spot beside him.
With a few quick movements, the thermos was open, and I took the first sip of rum.
The sweetness hit me first, followed by the slight burn, and I savored the warmth, like a balm against the increasing chill of the oncoming night.
“Pass it over,” Wyatt said. “I earned this drink. Came out to Susie tonight.”
I blinked. “Wait, what?”
He tilted the thermos back and took a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion. God, this close, the scent of the rum mingled with the crisp air and the cedar that always lingered around him. I wanted to roll around in it.
“Yeah, she called earlier. She’s already moved on—found a great guy she’s dating named Zack. And even though I didn’t mention our mutual connection, I told her I was bi.” He skimmed his hands through his hair, those callused, scarred fingers so damn hot. I wanted to put them in my mouth.
“How did that go?” I asked, surprised he’d even made that step. I was used to the runaround, the guys who thought dipping their toes in was hot for a spell but wouldn’t own up to anything.
He shrugged. “I mean, Harper’s bi. We’ve always been supportive, and Susie understood too.”
“Yeah, but it’s different dating some nameless guy,” I said, not sure why I was blurting this out. “What happens if you tell your family it’s me?”
Wyatt let out a heart-weary sigh that tugged at my own. “Susie won’t care who it is as long as I’m happy. As for Harps—well, I hope she’ll be understanding.”
“Does that mean…” I asked, my mouth drying. He couldn’t possibly mean he intended on telling her?
Wyatt looked at me. “What about me doesn’t spell serious? And if that scares you, then you better run now.”
“What, out in these woods?” I teased, unable to help myself. “I’ll trip and fall, and you’ll just have to pin me down and fuck me until I agree.”
Wyatt arched his brow. “You know, if you want something, you can ask.”
A shiver raced through me. “Ease me in, won’t you? I’ve been riding the avoidance train since I was a kid. Far easier to crack a self-deprecating joke than ask for things. Pah.”
Wyatt’s laugh echoed through the clearing.
He wrapped an arm around me, and I snuggled into all that damn heat—to combat the chill, obviously.
I stole the thermos from him again and took another sip.
I didn’t do this with guys, the whole “sit under the night sky” thing.
Hell, I’d rather gargle with cat hair and vinegar daily than talk about feelings.
Yet with Wyatt, the prickling discomfort didn’t slam in as violently. And he let me evade when I needed to without chasing, without pushing. Simply waiting, with all the steadiness of the surrounding trees.
“Since you’re a tree lover, what’s your favorite?” I asked. My emotions were too surface level right now, too close to brimming over.
“For lumber or generalized appreciation?” he asked. “For lumber, cherry wood. The sturdiness combined with the unique color have always appealed.”
“And generalized?” I asked, invested even though I didn’t know shit about trees. Just watching the movement of his mouth, the soft incandescent look in his eyes when he talked about something he was passionate about—he was the most transfixing creature I’d ever encountered.
“Have you ever heard of the kauri tree?” he asked. I shook my head. “They grow primarily in New Zealand, and they’re some of the largest trees in the world with long, long lifespans. They look like ancient sentinels in a forest, and I’ve always wanted to go see them myself.”
“Let’s go,” I said, tipping back another swig of rum. At this point, the warmth was flooding through my chest to my extremities, a slow, enjoyable tingle. “We’ll schedule it, hop on a plane, and go.”
Wyatt shook his head. “That simple, is it?”
I leaned in and pressed a kiss against his neck, the simple intimacy sending a thrill through me. “Well, yeah.”
“Where’ve you been all my life?” he asked, shaking his head.
His praise filtered through me, the way he viewed me so differently than how I saw myself. I’d grown so used to always being the one cracking jokes, deflecting any emotions, that the mask had been easier, simpler in a way, even if it chafed.
Yet Wyatt peeled it away every time.
“Well, I’m here now,” I said, my voice coming out raspy. God, he was irresistible, and if he didn’t get inside me this second, I was going to do something embarrassing like cry. “And I’m ready to ask.”
“Oh yeah?” Wyatt asked, staring at me with an intensity that almost bowled me over. “For what?”
I swallowed hard. “Take me here. I want you to fuck me hard against these trees, where anyone could find us.”
“Got a bit of an exhibitionist streak?” he asked, his smile growing, a predatory, sensual thing. His fingers trailed down my neck until he squeezed my nape in a possessive move. An audible gasp escaped me.
“I’ll take that cock wherever and whenever,” I said, heat rushing through me. The grip on my nape made the blood rush right to my dick.
“Lucky for you, I came prepared.”
Best words ever.