Chapter 3
Chapter Three
A piercing scream which echoed off the rocky walls of the gorge told him she had and he watched as the tiny dot of yellow that was her helmet moved closer to him, Helaine clinging to the straps for dear life. She did have her eyes open, at least by the time she reached the platform where he waited.
Latham caught her, swinging her in a big circle and hugging her.
“I’m so proud of you. That’s my girl.” In his exuberance he gave her a smacking kiss, which startled both of them and then to cover his confusion he focused on undoing her buckles while she wrestled with the helmet.
Helaine staggered out of the platform area and sank to the grass with her back against the flimsy wall.
“I need a drink,” she said. “There better be feelgoods at the bungalow.”
“Mindy said the place was fully stocked for a week’s stay,” he reminded her as he sent her gear back across on the other line. “You should probably have water or a nutrient drink before we finish the hike.”
“Good idea.” She took the container he dug out of his backpack and guzzled half the contents before wiping her lips and fixing him with a serious look.
“Tell me the truth—what else are we going to come across before we get to the cove? I know you know, because none of this has come as a surprise to you so far.”
“I read up on the Corleon Cove ‘experience’ back at the hotel while you finished packing,” he said. “I like to be prepared.”
“And I like to wing it but I’m thinking this trip might have cured me of that tendency.” Her tone was wry and he was relieved she seemed to be in good spirits. “Answer my question, please.”
“There’s a cliff. But we’ll be descending, not climbing and it’s not a high difficulty level at all. No ropes needed or anything. A steep incline to navigate but nothing you can’t handle. I can link us together using climbing straps I have in my bag and you’ll be fine.”
“And then the bungalow and the beach?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. “I guess I can manage one more of the items on my antibucket list, which would be rock climbing.”
“Antibucket?” He suppressed a laugh.
“You know, the list of things you’ll absolutely, positively never be caught doing in this lifetime. It’s the opposite of those lists of stuff a person wants to do, needs to do, before they die.”
He held out his hand. “We should head out. If you sit too long you’ll stiffen up. How are the boots? Any sore spots?”
She took his hand and he felt a tingle when her fingers folded over his.
This woman had the power to do things to him if he’d let her.
Oh, not in the sense of a long term relationship, certainly not fated mates or permanent, but his body was definitely paying attention to her proximity and her scent.
He admired her for getting through the trials of the day so far and keeping herself upbeat.
They hiked along a well marked trail for about an hour and came out of the forest onto a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Latham declared a rest break and they sat together gazing off into the horizon, admiring the shimmering waters and the bright blue sky.
“It’s peaceful,” she said. “Worth all the stuff I had to do to get here.”
He had to admit he was feeling better than he usually did, moodwise.
The day’s activities had been things he enjoyed, he’d helped her to enjoy them or at least surmount the challenges and the vista they were contemplating together was the reward.
“I suppose we should make our way down to the cove and find our bungalow.”
He got up and helped her to her feet, adjusting her backpack to sit more smoothly across her back. “Let me check out this cliff we have to descend.”
She came to the edge of the cliff with him, leaning dangerously far over to catch a glimpse of the cove below. Latham caught her arm before she would have gone toppling over and yanked her back to safety. Helaine gave a gasp and clung to his arm for a moment.
“You okay?” he asked.
“A little shook but ready to descend this hill,” she said.
“Stay back from the edge while I see what’s what.
” He waited for her to take two giant steps back, a mischievous smile on her face and then he proceeded to examine the descent ahead of them.
He was puzzled by his reaction to Helaine.
At home in the park where he was a ranger, he had to work hard to ignore his annoyance and frustration with clueless tourists.
He was used to the military environment where orders were obeyed without question and the people he worked with understood how the world worked.
Helaine was certainly no outdoorswoman, much less a soldier, but his overwhelming instinct with her was protectiveness, to keep her safe.
Nothing she did or said caused him to be irritated with her and he was grateful she’d arranged this excursion for his benefit.
He was relieved to report to her about the cliff. “It’s steep but doable. The resort management has installed handrails in fact, so we should be good. You ready?”
“Can we still be linked?” she asked, biting her lip. “I’d have more confidence if I knew you could keep me from falling. I’m kinda clumsy in these boots.”
“Sure, no problem.” He took a few minutes to link the spare straps he had in his pack and to loop the resulting makeshift harness around her waist, making sure it would hold if she did take a tumble.
The descent took half an hour, moving slowly and getting solid footholds.
Helaine was prone to slipping and he was glad he’d insisted she get boots.
She couldn’t have done this in any other type of shoe, much less her pretty heeled sandals from the day before.
Finally they stood on the pristine white sands of the beach, a few yards away from the curving row of bungalows.
Each unit was set on sturdy stilts over the aquamarine water with thatched roofs and enough room to sit outside and enjoy the fresh sea breeze if the occupants so desired.
There was a small cluster of people at the far end of the beach and Latham felt eyes watching as he and Helaine trudged to their assigned bungalow, number ten.
A flight of wooden steps led up to the walkway connecting all the huts and Helaine made her way laboriously.
He wished he’d taken her backpack to carry for her but it was too late.
She opened the door with the key card Mindy had given them and stepped inside with an exclamation of delight. “Oh, it’s so cozy.”
Latham followed her, finding their accommodation was one large room, with a small enclosed bathroom in the far corner. There was a stasis keeper and a small heating unit, and a tiny table perfect for two. “There’s only one bed,” he said in surprise. “I can sleep on the floor,” he added hastily.
“Mindy forgot to tell us this tiny but significant detail,” Helaine said as she dropped her backpack carelessly on the wooden floor and rushed to flop onto the mattress.
“Oh this is so nice and firm. We’re going to sleep great tonight.
” Raising herself onto her elbows, she said, “Of course you’re not sleeping on the floor.
We’re adults, we can share—it’s definitely big enough.
I can construct a line of pillows down the middle if you’re worried about your virtue. ”
He liked the idea of sharing the bed he had to admit “Lost that a long time ago, sweetheart. Trying to be a gentleman here.”
“And I appreciate the effort.” She gave him a mischievous glance from under her lashes and he felt his cock twitch in response. “We’ll be too tired after everything we did today for anyone’s virtue to be in jeopardy.”
There was a knock on the door and Latham wheeled in surprise as a woman stuck her head into the room.
“Hi, I’m Sariah Mortons, the VP of Harlecky Industries.
We’re the group in the other nine cabins.
Welcome to Corleon Cove. We’ve been here a few days so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to come and ask. ”
“The lady at IDA Admin said you were on a corporate retreat?” Helaine asked, leaving the bed and coming to shake the woman’s hand, as Latham had done.
“Yes, team building and visioning. “
“I’m Helaine and this is Latham. We’re in the Ardannan special matching program,” Helaine said.
“Interesting. We’re having a cookout on the beach tonight and you’re welcome to come. Our corporate HQ sent way too much food so we have plenty.”
“Very kind of you.” Latham thought he could handle a small gathering and he could tell Helaine liked the idea of a party, even a corporate dinner. How formal could it be on a remote beach?
“All right, so maybe we’ll see you there.
What else—oh, we won’t be using the boats if you plan to go diving or fishing.
We’ve already done our water-based activities for the week.
And com service here is lousy. We get one nightly download of news and messages from the IDA network and that’s pretty much it.
There’s an emergency beacon in the storage hut if anyone gets sick or injured.
The hut is where the com feed arrives as well.
Have fun, enjoy the cove and I hope we’ll see you tonight. ” She gave a wave and departed.
“That was nice,” Helaine said, moving to explore their bungalow’s amenities.
“I hope they don’t try to sell us anything,” Latham said. “She was kinda staking her ownership of the cove, did you notice? As if she was our hostess.”
“Yeah a bit,” Helaine admitted. “But they have been here a few days already and this bungalow was supposed to be for one of their group.”