Chapter 8 #2
"Nothing so complicated. See that shed? Dad and I built it when we came here one summer. It has everything we need."
"I'm not doing a damn thing." To prove it, she folded her arms over her chest, her expression mutinous.
She had a mind to go back to the cabin and sulk or start work on her project. He had brought documents to keep them both occupied on their individual projects.
But after being outside, she was reluctant to go back in. It really was beautiful out here.
"You don't have to." Strolling towards the simply made structure, he pushed open the door and was gone for a couple of minutes.
When he came back out, he was armed with two fishing poles and a tackle box.
"You cannot make me want to take part."
He shrugged, a little too casually, as he started to set up.
"Just sit next to me and look pretty." Lowering himself onto the slatted boards, he put aside the rods and started to rummage through the box.
"I thought we were supposed to be touring." Curiosity had her moving towards him.
"I had the idea that we could eat fish for supper. There's a grill right there."
He pointed to the bulky object draped with a black waterproof material. "When I was here some weeks ago, I had them get rid of the old one and bought another."
He was efficiently baiting the line. Before she knew it, Regina found herself sitting next to him.
"Fish for supper?"
He spared her a glance and did his best not to let his triumph show. She was sitting next to him and looking curious.
"Umm-Hmm." He baited the next rod and was sure he could change her mind.
"With garden vegetables. Turnips, sweet peppers, carrots, and potatoes. Everything on the grill. Outdoor dining. I believe there's beer in the cooler."
"Sounds rustic."
He laughed. "That's the idea, city girl."
"And I am proud of it." She watched as he lowered the rod into the water.
"How long have you been doing this?"
He glanced over at her and felt his heart taking a dive. She looked so outrageously beautiful, with several locks falling down the back of her neck.
The urge to lean in and take her enticing lips had him looking away hastily.
"Since as far as I can remember. My parents had been coming here since I was a baby."
His line jerked and had her gripping his arm.
"It's biting."
He flashed her a grin at the term. "It seems that way."
Deciding on the fly, he thrust the rod into her hands.
"What-"
"Hold onto it, grip it firmly when you feel the tug."
"Craig- I-" Her scream had him jolting.
"Not so loud, you'll scare them away," he instructed wryly.
"I feel the tug. What do I do now?"
"You haul it in. Keep a firm hold-" He demonstrated.
"Not too tight. That's it."
Her eyes were dancing.
"I feel it! I feel it! I have a fish. It's a big one; I just know it."
"Reel it in." He helped her and gave a shout himself when he saw the size of it.
"Wow!"
"Oh, my goodness!" she whispered in awe as she stared at the wriggling fish at the end of the line.
He showed her what to do.
"Gently, you don't want to tear its mouth. Gently now."
He helped her unhook the fish and dumped it into a bucket he had brought with him.
When he started to bait the hook for her again, she shook her head.
"I want to do it. Show me how."
He showed her and, to his secret amusement, watched as she concentrated fiercely on the task. For an hour, they sat side by side, fishing.
He discovered that the woman he was in love with was also very competitive and very soon turned the activity into a sport. The memory of fishing with his dad flashed into his head.
He had also competed with him, making note of who caught the biggest fish.
She was a natural, and she was having so much fun that she bounced around on her bottom as she reeled in another catch.
"Mine's bigger."
"I had no idea we were competing."
"Oh, we are, Mr. I've-been-doing-this-since-I-was-a-child," she told him loftily. "This is my first time, and I'm beating you."
"Do you expect a prize?" he asked her teasingly, happy to see the look on her face.
"Oh, absolutely." When she grabbed his arm and leaned closer to him, he felt heat pearling at his lower body.
"Another one," she whispered.
"It's big. Craig, it's big."
"Then you're going to need both hands." With great reluctance, he removed her hand from his arm.
"Steady now."
And she was right. It was big.
So much so, he had to relinquish his own rod and help her to reel it in. She insisted on taking pictures.
As soon as the fish was inside the bucket, she grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket and snapped away, her laughter ringing out over the silence, causing a flock of birds to abandon their perch in the trees.
But she noticed none of it. She was so enchanted with her victory that she was dancing.
"I'm going to put the pics up on my Instagram page." She grinned at him.
"I already have the title."
"I'm sure you do," he said dryly. They had more than enough for their supper.
"Novice fisherwoman or fisherperson-" She waved a hand.
"Oh, I have it! First time at the sport-" She looked over at him.
"Is it a sport?"
Before he could respond, she continued, "First time fishing against a so-called expert and managed to haul in the biggest catch. Not to mention, I'm a diehard city girl."
She grinned at the dirty look he threw at her. "You're a sore loser, Muldoon."
"I hope you put in there that I was the one who caught the first fish, before handing you the rod. It's my lucky fishing rod, by the way."
"Sore loser."
"Are you going to help me clean them?"
"Clean?" A frown touched her brow and dampened her enthusiasm.
"What do you mean?"
"You think that it's all finished?" he scoffed. "We have to scale and gut them in order to get them ready to put on the grill."
He lifted his brows as her frown deepened. "I'm guessing you did not take that into consideration."
"I'm not doing that." She actually started to back away with him stalking her.
"Stop that! I draw the line at- Jesus! Gutting? You mean using a knife-"
She shook her head.
"Nuh-uh. You cannot make me."
"Not so celebratory, are you?" he jeered, gripping her arms to stop her from falling into the water.
"What happened, darling? The sheen has gone off the experience?"
"I never thought- It never occurred to me that you'd have to do any of that."
"Squeamish?" She was close enough for him to feel the heat of her body.
"Just not interested. Craig-"
"I'll do the nasty work while you watch."
"I don't want to watch." She started to push at him, but he only tightened his hold.
"Don't." Her voice started out sharp at first, and she told herself that she had every intention of pushing away.
But her limbs were weak, and the blood was pounding inside her head.
"Regina." Her name was a whispered prayer as he drew her towards him.
All around them, the call of nature could be heard, but then everything went still as if in tune with the emotions rioting through their bodies. His hands drifted up her arms to encircle her neck, and she was powerless to do anything but watch as his jade green eyes darkened and his head lowered.
His breath feathered over her mouth, potent and completely irresistible. Her hands lifted of their own volition, fingers curling into the shirt clinging to his chest.
He had abandoned the jacket before he started fishing, and the early morning sun had left his skin damp, the shirt molding to his skin. He smelled wonderful and earthy.
The sexual tug she felt was so powerful it left her weak and reeling. Her fingers curled into the shirt, pulling him even closer as her head lifted.
Biting off a groan, he brushed his lips against hers, gently at first as if testing the waters. When he started to nibble, he felt his body burgeoning at the quick catch of her breath.
He captured the full bottom lip between his teeth, the hunger for her filling him and overflowing. His arms encircled her waist to bring her flushed against him.
Regina was lost. It was no use trying to tell herself that she didn't want him.
She had never been one to lie to herself. She was facing facts right now, and she wanted him with a passion that was taking over.
Feeling her response, Craig used his tongue to soothe the bite and entered her mouth slowly. He took his time to savor, to taste, to allow the texture and feel of her to seep inside him.
He was drowning in her scent. She was everywhere inside him, filling him with a need that tore him to shreds.
His fingers fit into her waist and had him impatient to feel her skin. The barriers of clothing were frustrating.
Dragging at the jacket she still wore, he managed to wrestle it off her. Tossing it somewhere, he played his fingers over the bare skin of her back, loving the feel of her smooth skin.
The kiss deepened, though whether by design or just the need to go deeper, he had no idea. But the deeper he went, the more he tasted, the more he wanted.
He would never be satisfied with just this. Her tongue met his, and the kiss took on a wildness that left them reeling!