Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Ethan
“Holy shit,” Ethan breathed out, staring at the massive trees looming above his head. There were some decent arbors in the San Jose area, but they were nothing compared to these ancient giants. “Sequoiadendron giganteum,” he whispered, running his hand reverently along the bark.
“What?” Tressa asked, coming up beside him.
“Oh, sorry. It’s the scientific name for these. Giant redwoods. I didn’t know they had any in this part of California.”
Tressa shrugged. “I think most people only know about the famous one that you can drive a car through. Very few tourists make it all the way out here.”
“You’re not kidding,” Ethan muttered, glancing around.
They’d driven past Burney Falls a while ago, and ever since then, he’d seen nothing but trees that kept getting bigger and bigger as Tressa drove farther into the forest. By the time she pulled off onto a dirt road that ended at a small trailhead, he hadn’t seen another living being for miles.
“So you approve?” she asked, and he thought he detected a hint of worry in her tone.
How could she be nervous that he wouldn’t like this?
His eyes traced up the colossal sentinels that bordered the parking area and then down the murky pathway they flanked.
Craning his neck, he could barely see where it twisted off into the heart of the forest. There was just enough light to make out the trail, and that was perfection for him.
“I love it,” he told her. “I had no idea it was so secluded. You’re not secretly a vampire, are you?
Because this would be the perfect place to dump my body if you were.
” He chuckled, feeling proud that he actually could joke about it after what he’d been through.
He wasn’t a therapist, but that felt like progress.
Unfortunately, Tressa failed to see the humor.
The pleased expression that lit up her face when he said he loved it dropped faster than his erection near a woodchipper. And he would know because he’d been using that image to keep from being hard as a rock anytime Tressa was near him.
“I was just kidding,” he said, stepping closer and taking her chin in his hand. “I know you’re not one of those mindless killing machines.”
Her eyes dropped, and he felt like a total dick for whatever he’d done to upset her. It killed him to know he was in some way responsible for the downshift in her mood when he only ever wanted to make her smile.
“Ethan, I…” She picked at her cuticles, refusing to look up at him.
“What is it?” he asked, rubbing his thumb along her cheek and trying to ignore the small jolt that always seemed to echo through him when he touched her skin. “What’s wrong?”
He racked his brain in an attempt to figure out what he’d said that made her look like the sky just opened up and started pouring rain. Was it the vampire joke? Did she actually think he believed her to be like one of those creatures for even a second?
She didn’t answer him, but her warm brown eyes searched his, looking for… something.
“Hey,” he said. “You can tell me anything. I hope you trust me when I say that even though we haven’t known each other for very long, I still care about you.” He huffed out a laugh. “Probably more than I should.”
She raised an eyebrow at that, and while it wasn’t a smile, it was progress.
“Seriously, Tressa,” he said, brushing his thumb over the corner of her mouth as if he was physically trying to coax a smile. “If I said something dumb, please let me know. Otherwise, I’ll probably say it again. And knowing me I’ll do it often and in public.”
Her lip twitched.
Come on, he thought. Let me see that smile.
“It’s nothing,” she replied. “I’m just being weird. Ignore me.”
His hand slid around to the back of her neck in a gesture that felt far too comfortable for his liking, and his voice dropped lower. “Tressa, I don’t think that’s ever going to be possible.”
She finally smiled up at him then, a full proper smile, and the shady forest no longer seemed so gray. It was like a damned ray of sunshine, that smile, and if he wasn’t careful, it just might be the thing that broke him.
He took a deep inhale of the clean, woodsy air and let out a small shudder of pleasure, his shoulders fully relaxing for the first time since the attack. “Come on,” he said, prying his hands away from her soft skin. “Let’s go running. Maybe I’ll even go slow so you can keep up.”
Her laughter echoed through the forest, and he couldn’t decide which was more intoxicating, that or her smile. Either was likely to bring him to his knees.
“Whatever you say, Dr. Rose.” She dashed off down the trail, and despite the ridiculous nickname, he couldn’t help but chuckle when she shouted back, “How about we see if you can keep up with me.”
Oh, he could keep up. He might have lost some muscle mass, but working out constantly over the past week combined with a lifetime of running meant he was still damn fast. And when he caught her, he’d make sure he put an end to that nickname.
Grinning, he took off down the path after Tressa.
Damn, he thought, watching her race away from him, her tight ass on full display. Maybe I shouldn’t run too fast after all.