26. The Fall
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Dalton
The Fall
O nce they were dressed, it took all his strength not to ditch his plans and just keep Brooke naked and in his bed the rest of the night. But they only had about an hour until sunset, and he really wanted to take her to his favorite spot. After just a thirty-minute drive inland he pulled down the dirt road toward Victory Falls, a hidden gem of a forty-foot waterfall that ended in a chain of cold springs mostly visited by hikers or nature enthusiasts. There were a few campsites with just the bare bones of amenities, firepits, and private clearings for tents. Once he parked at their designated campsite nestled in the tall trees, he hoped he hadn’t made the wrong choice for this outing. He was trying to date Brooke without risking them getting caught by people in Sandy Point, for Brooke’s sake. He, for one, wanted everyone to know Brooke was with him, but she wasn’t ready for that.
“Is that a waterfall?”
“Yes, have you ever been here?”
“No, I didn’t even know this existed.” She unbuckled her seat belt.
Dalton grabbed a simple pack and a few towels for the first phase of their date, to swim in the falls, then he’d set up their tent in the bed of his truck and start a fire if they needed it. They didn’t have to stay all night but he was hoping she’d like the idea of lying with him under the stars.
He reached for her hand. “Ready?”
The excitement in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. He gripped her hand and led her over to the side of the falls, where the thundering sound and scene of the white spray was impossible not to admire.
It was still hot and humid out, but as the sun continued to descend it would cool off even more where they were now nestled in the trees.
“Are we going swimming?” she asked.
Several other visitors were already here, but there were several pools of water where the falls crashed down, giving everyone enough room to enjoy the fresh water.
“Yes, are you a good swimmer?”
“You won’t have to rescue me if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He smiled, pulled off his shirt, and set their things on his pack with their towels. Then he watched as she pulled off her dress to reveal a red bikini on her curvy frame. It was just a basic swimsuit, but her curves were on display and he wanted to touch her. He guided her to the edge of the falls where there weren’t a lot of rocks. Pebbles and flat stones covered the edge before it dropped off into deeper water.
“This natural spring is sixty feet-deep, divers go down to explore the caves,” he told her as they eased into the water.
“That is insane. I could never do that.”
“I don’t miss swimming in the dark,” he confessed. “It was my least favorite part of being a SEAL.”
“I bet.”
They swam out to where they couldn’t touch the bottom of the spring, and she smiled so big that he knew he’d made the right choice to bring her. Then she latched on to him, wrapping her legs around his waist, and he was no longer interested in the beauty of the falls. Pulling her closer, he began to tread water while he kissed her, his breath catching at the sight of her so open and relaxed with him.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, but it didn’t capture how he was feeling. He wanted to tell her he was going to stay in Sandy Point. He wanted to ask her if they could make this real. But he held back. He wasn’t sure he could be everything she needed. He’d been on the move for so long that he wasn’t sure he even knew how to stay rooted, or if he could do it in Sandy Point for good.
But as Brooke draped her arms over his shoulders and traced his lips with her tongue, he knew he wanted to try to be what she needed. For now he just wanted to make sure she enjoyed every moment they were together.
“Are we staying here tonight?” she asked as he led her back over to his truck and put the tailgate down.
There was a camping mattress already on the liner of the bed, and with a few added sticks, he erected their tent in record time.
“We don’t have to stay all night, but I figured we could stay long enough to eat and do some stargazing.”
By now all the other visitors to the falls had departed and they had some privacy in the darkness and trees.
She plopped her bag on the edge of the tailgate and used the fold-down steps he’d set up for her to get into the bed of the truck.
“This is by far the most creative and romantic date I’ve ever been on,” she said, but then she tried to correct herself. “Or whatever it is we’re doing.”
“This is definitely a date,” he said, and unzipped the tent to reveal all the blankets he had ready, a cooler, and a bottle of wine.
“Wow, did they teach this in SEAL school too?”
“No, I just like the idea of keeping you close, so I figured what better way than this?”
The tent was tall enough for her to stand in it just a little bent over, and he got in after her then zipped it closed.
“And no one will bother us?” she asked, untying her bikini top and letting it fall down to reveal her dark rose-hued nipples already tightening from the pulse of tension between them.
He reached for her waist and she moved to stand in front of him, her hair falling down to frame her face.
“No one would dare bother us,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her hip before slowly peeling her bikini bottoms down and covering her with his mouth.
Her folds were wet, eager for him.
“Dalton, I can’t get enough of you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” he said, pushing two fingers inside her, unable to resist watching as her eyes grew clouded with desire and she bit her lip.
“You’re going to ruin me.” She clutched his shoulders.
“I’m going to give you whatever you want for as long as you’ll let me,” he said. It was risky to tell her how he was feeling, but she only smiled as her hips began to grind down on his hand.
“In that case,” she said, kneeling to lie down on the blankets before pulling him closer and kissing him.
They didn’t talk again, but this time he made slow, methodical love to her, and even when she begged he refused to move faster. Instead, he took his time giving her pleasure, and watched as she fell apart in his arms. Then he kissed her and told her how beautiful she was to him and how much he needed her before finding his own release.
They lay there wrapped in each other’s arms as the bass drum of the falls crashed outside. There was so much he wanted to say but he didn’t want to ruin the moment or get too serious if she wasn’t ready. But he knew his fate was sealed again: he was going to have to face all his fears and tell Wes what he’d done, because there was no way he was leaving Sandy Point now. He needed to find out if he and Brooke were as great together as he thought they could be. He wanted to be everything she needed.