Chapter 35 Harper-Rayn
HARPER-RAYN
Rolling over in bed, I feel for Knight, but instead of his warm body, I find his side of the bed cold and empty. My eyes spring open to find him perched against the doorframe of our walk-in closet, looking like a goddamn snack.
I grin, taking him in, imagining all the things I could do with him.
Jonah is dropping the girls off late in the afternoon for the wedding he’s attending with Emily, so until then, I have nothing but time to waste with Knight, and I intend to make every second of it count.
“Come on,” he says, a smirk on his lips. “We’re going hiking.”
I laugh, but quickly realize he’s being serious, and I stare at him as though he’s lost his mind. “Uhhhh . . . absolutely not,” I tell him, snuggling deeper under the blankets. “I thought we could spend our morning working our way through the Kama Sutra.”
Knight grins and pushes off the wall, making his way to the end of the bed before finding my ankle and dragging my ass right down to him.
Then, as I lie sprawled at the end of the bed, he leans over me and brushes a quick kiss to my lips.
“As amazing as that sounds, no. You’re coming hiking with me,” he says before grabbing my waist and hauling me right up off the bed and over his big shoulder, his hand coming down on my ass with a firm spank.
“You could use the fresh air. Maybe even touch some grass.”
“Nooooo,” I groan, kicking my legs like a delinquent child.
“I’ll do literally anything else but go hiking.
I am not a hiker. I’m a binge-watching wine drinker.
There’s gotta be other things we can do that involve both my strengths and yours.
Oh, what about a beach day? Fresh air, waves, bikini bodies.
You can fail at surfing while I catch some sun. It’ll be great.”
“Nope. Hiking.”
Fuck.
An hour later, I’m huffing and puffing in heavy boots while bracing myself against an ant-infested tree.
How the hell can he think this is the life when both beach days and wine exist? I should be sleeping in and rocking his world by showing him just how high I can get my leg, not walking through the woods where I’m bound to get lost or hurt.
At least I had an excuse to wear my matching crop and shorts set.
I’m looking cute, while Knight is looking like even more of a snack than he did first thing this morning.
Low-riding basketball shorts with his shirt tucked into the waistband, and his muscular, tattooed body is on display.
The light sheen of sweat coating his skin makes my mouth water.
I could sink my teeth into that body, you know, assuming I had the stamina to actually catch up.
“I think I’m going to die,” I call after him, my arm slipping off the edge of the tree, only to face-plant right against it. A loud oomph expels from my lungs as Knight walks ahead, enjoying the great outdoors.
“You’re good, doll. Keep going. We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?”
“You’ll see.”
Damn it.
I put one foot in front of the other and keep my ass moving, grateful that the walk back is mostly a downhill descent. If I’m lucky, I can simply tuck and roll my ass all the way down this damn mountainside, but knowing my luck, he’d probably want to take the scenic tour.
My thighs begin to ache, and as my pace slows, Knight pauses and glances back at me with a smirk on his damn face. He doubles back, and without another word, he scoops me up, throwing me over his shoulder as he rests his hand on my ass, and then he continues up the long trail as if I weigh nothing.
“See, this is what I’m talking about,” I tease as my body dangles down his strong back, my gaze locked on the tightness of his ass. “We should have done it like this from the beginning.”
“I hardly think so,” he murmurs as the sweet sound of birds chirping high in the trees fills the air. “Do you hear that, doll?”
“What? The alarming wheeze in my lungs or the birdies?”
“Not the birds,” he murmurs. “Beyond that.”
I listen carefully, hearing nothing but rustling leaves in the soft breeze and insects going about their day. Then, ever so faintly, I hear water, and a lot of it. “Is that . . . is it a waterfall?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Excitement drums through my veins, and I push up over his shoulder, struggling to hold on. “Are you fucking with me? There’s a waterfall out here? I’ve always wanted to see one up close. Is that where we’re going?”
“Did you think I was just dragging your ass up this mountain to see the top of some trees? I could have shown you that from the back deck at home,” he says, a smirk on his lips, and as the excitement rushes through me, I suddenly have all the energy in the world and wriggle free from his shoulder.
Knight helps me to my feet, and I take off, leaving him in my dust. “Well, come on,” I say, waving him along. “Put a little haste in your step.”
Knight shakes his head, rolling his eyes at me, but I simply march on like a good little soldier, following the trail ahead of me as I feel Knight’s laser stare focused on my ass. “I really like those little shorts, doll.”
“Yeah?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder with a grin, making sure to shake my ass in the process. “I would have preferred seeing them on our bedroom floor, but you wanted to be one with nature.”
Knight laughs and moves in behind me, squeezing my waist before sliding his hand into mine and dragging me along, reminding me just how sore my thighs are. “Come on, it’s just around the corner.”
The corner that it was just around ended up being another thirty minutes of agonizing twig-tripping, but with every step, the sound of the waterfall got louder until it was almost deafening.
Knight and I push through an opening in the bushes, and as I follow him, I come to a stop and gaze out at the world beyond.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, finding myself at the top of a huge waterfall, the rushing water sparkling like a million diamonds under the great blue sky. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, doll,” Knight murmurs, his gaze on me. “It is.”
My cheeks flush, and I give him a stupid grin. “That was corny.”
“Still made you squirm, though.”
I roll my eyes, and he takes my hand again, leading me right to the edge to show me the stunning views below.
“Wow,” I whisper, my heart racing a million miles an hour as I stare out at the vast world around me, making me realize just how small I really am.
I spend my days stressing about work, about life, about what I’m going to eat for dinner, but this right here is what really matters.
Having love, peace, joy, and happiness, and this is it.
“Doll,” Knight murmurs, turning into me, watching the way I watch the world pass me by. “I have to ask you something.”
I take him in, his dark eyes fixed on me with adoration as we stand on top of a literal waterfall.
I suck in a breath, realizing what he’s about to do.
“Oh no.” I panic, my eyes going wide. “Please don’t.
It’s going to be one hell of an awkward walk back to your truck if you ask me to marry you and I have to say no because like what the fuck are you even thinking? I’m like, barely even a grown-up yet.”
“You’re twenty-eight.”
“Shit, Knight,” I groan, dropping my forehead to his chest. “We can’t. Not yet. I’m not . . . I’m not ready. I love you, and I know every day of the rest of my life will be yours, but I’m—”
“Would you shut the fuck up?”
My head snaps back up, gaping at Knight. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, doll. You’re out here jumping to conclusions so fast that you broke the fucking sound barrier and offended science.
Now, let me make this clear enough that even the likes of Harper-Rayn Madden can fully understand.
I will be making you my wife. Don’t doubt that.
With or without your consent, I will marry you, but I know you’re not ready, and that’s okay.
I’m not in a rush because that little marriage certificate isn’t going to change how I feel about you. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”
“So, wait . . . You’re not asking me to marry you?”
“No, doll. Not yet,” he says with a smirk. “And besides, if I were, you wouldn’t need clarification. You’d know.”
“We’re standing on a fucking waterfall. You’re holding my hands and looking at me as though you can’t live without me.
Not to mention, when you had me move into your place, it’s not as though you really asked nicely.
You just showed up ready to start packing, so the fact that I tend to jump to conclusions is basically your fault.
You’re the one who conditioned me to expect the unexpected. ”
Knight gives me a blank stare. “Are you done?”
I shrug. “I mean, I could keep going, but I suppose I could also be done.”
“Good, because like I said, I have to ask you something,” he says, his hand slipping inside his pocket and making my heart race just a little faster, but when he pulls out a familiar canister of pills, my heart races for a whole new reason.
“I know you haven’t been taking your pills, doll.
I don’t want the bullshit or the denial.
I saw you wash it down the kitchen drain last week.
I’m not angry. I’m not going to jump down your throat. I just want to know what’s going on.”
Well, fuck.
I take the little canister out of his hands, guilt washing through me. “You’re right. I wasn’t taking them, only for a little while,” I tell him. “However, I achieved what I wanted, and since then, I’ve been back on the meds train. I’m good now.”
His brows furrow, and he’s looking at me as though I’m legit crazy. “What are you talking about? What the hell were you trying to achieve?”
I cringe and reluctantly pull away from him. “You’re gonna judge.”
“I swear, doll. I just need to know what’s going on with you.”