Chapter 7
Bright sunlight filters through the crevice entrance, rousing me from a deep, contented sleep. For a few disoriented seconds, I simply blink in the lighting, trying to get my bearings. Then, the solid warmth of Garrett”s frame against my back reminds me exactly where I am—wrapped in his protective embrace in our tiny, rocky den.
A slow, secret smile curves my lips as the memories come trickling back in luscious detail. The scorching slide of naked skin, the tantalizing friction of his powerful body claiming mine until we were both boneless and sated... I can still feel the delicious ache between my thighs.
Who knew the big, gruff mountain man would turn out to have such an insatiable appetite when properly motivated?
The thought has my skin prickling with renewed arousal. I can”t resist pressing back subtly against the solid wall of muscle, seeking out that delicious hardness that had me trembling and incoherent with ecstasy just hours ago.
A low rumble vibrates against the back of my neck, the sound sending tingles skittering down my spine as Garrett”s arms instinctively tighten around me. ”Easy there, wildcat. Give me a few minutes to wake up before demanding an encore performance.”
His gravelly rasp has my insides clenching, and I force myself not to grind shamelessly against the growing bulge behind me.
”Who says I”m demanding anything?” I tease, twisting my head to catch the glint in his eyes. ”Maybe I just wanted to make sure my big bad rescue ranger was still with me.”
”I”m not going anywhere.” The words are laced with a quiet promise sending an unexpected frisson of warmth through my chest.
Before I can dwell too much on the unfamiliar feelings, Garrett leans in to capture my lips in a slow, smoldering kiss. I melt into the familiar heat of his mouth, the leisurely glide of his tongue instantly reigniting that delicious friction low in my belly.
Then, just as suddenly, he pulls back with one last lingering brush against my tingling lips. ”I should check on the damage from the rockslide and see if there”s a way out of here.”
With a grunt of effort, he extricates himself from our tangled embrace, rising fluidly in the confined space before snagging his discarded clothes and quickly pulling them on. The sight of all that chiseled, bronzed muscle disappearing beneath layers of denim and cotton is almost painful to watch.
Once fully dressed, he crouches in front of me, that heated look never wavering. His palm cups the side of my jaw in an unexpectedly tender gesture, the calloused pads rasping against my cheek as his thumb traces the curve of my lower lip.
”I”ll be right outside,” he promises. ”Whenever you”re ready.”
I nod mutely as he leans in for one last kiss, and by the time Garrett finally pulls away and slips out of the crevice entrance, I”m left in a dazed, trembling heap, the phantom echoes of his touch and taste seared onto every nerve-ending. I let out a low whine of pure, unfiltered longing, every molecule vibrating with the need to drag him back in here.
But the rational part of me knows he”s right—we can”t hide away in this sanctuary forever, as tempting as the notion is. We need to face reality, to figure out the next move.
Forcing myself into a semblance of calm, I start pulling on my clothes. My mind drifts as I methodically layer up, replaying every detail of our frantic, passionate sex on an endless loop.
How had things escalated so quickly between Garrett and me? Just yesterday, we were total strangers with absolutely nothing in common beyond an ill-timed run-in on the mountain trail. And yet, in the span of mere hours, he”s somehow managed to work his way under my skin unlike any other man before.
I can”t quite put my finger on what it is about him that calls to me on such a visceral level—the commanding alpha presence? The quiet intensity and unwavering sense of self? The way he makes me feel utterly possessed yet cherished all at once? Whatever the reason, the connection blazing between us is unlike anything I”ve experienced before.
And it terrifies me just as much as it thrills me.
Because how can a love like this possibly last? I”m the girl who chases horizons and scorns the very notion of being tamed. Yet here I am, already entertaining the idea of settling into the warm, steady embrace of a man whose very purpose in life revolves around safeguarding others. A man who wants to build a home and a life, to nurture and care for someone. There”s a part of Garrett that”s already staking an eternal claim on me, marking me as his.
And God help me, I think a part of me wants to let him.
Shoving those dangerous thoughts firmly aside, I quickly finish lacing up my boots and scramble out of our den, blinking rapidly against the harsh sunlight. I spot Garrett”s tall frame crouched a few yards away near the base of the rock wall, intently studying the debris field from last night”s rockslide.
”So what”s the verdict?” I call out. ”Think we”ve got any chance of picking our way through?”
”Hard to say.” He straightens to his full height, turning to face me with those piercing dark eyes narrowed in assessment. ”The damage is pretty extensive. But if we double back and try skirting the ridge, maybe...”
”Do you think there”s any chance we can make it up to Falcon”s Ridge from here?”
Garrett”s expression instantly clouds over at my words. ”You can”t be serious.”
”What?” I fire back, hackles rising at the condescending tone.
”Look at the mess we”ve found ourselves in because you insisted on chasing after that ”perfect shot” in the first place!” His eyes blaze as he gestures toward the field of rubble surrounding us, voice hardening with each word. ”We”re lucky to have gotten out of here with our lives. And now you”re talking about pressing on to even riskier terrain just so you can get your damn photos?”
I bristle at his accusing tone, every ounce of my earlier contentment evaporating in a hot rush of anger. ”So what, you want to just turn tail and run?”
Garrett”s jaw tenses as he holds up a hand, something in his expression shifting. ”I found my radio in the debris—it must have gotten knocked loose during the rockslide.” He reaches into his jacket and retrieves the battered device, lips pressed into a grim line. ”I already radioed for an evacuation chopper to pull us out of here while you were getting dressed.”
My mouth drops open as his meaning sinks in. ”You what? Without even asking me?”
”There was no need to ask you.” His tone is clipped, final. ”It”s the only reasonable course of action given the circumstances.”
”The only reasonable...” I trail off with an incredulous scoff, anger roaring through me in a scalding wave. ”And who died and made you the authority on what”s reasonable for me, Garrett?”
”Damn it, Bonnie!” He rakes a hand through his tousled hair, jaw working furiously. ”You want to keep pressing on to who knows where, with no real plan beyond chasing your next damn photo op? That”s reckless as hell!”
”And you think stripping me of any choice in the matter is somehow better?”
We”re nearly chest to chest now, the air practically crackling with our heated glares. For someone who claims to want to protect me, Garrett sure has zero qualms about poking the angry wildcat.
Not that I”m any better at defusing the situation. The mere insinuation that I”m incapable of looking after myself is like a match to gasoline. My blood boils hotter with every self-righteous word that spills from those rugged lips.
Then a dull thwapping breaks the charged silence, and we both glance upward at the unmistakable sound of rotor blades. The rescue chopper is a mere speck in the distance, but it”s rapidly growing larger, circling overhead to locate a place to land.
”We”re not done with this conversation,” Garrett bites out before turning to signal the approaching aircraft.
The helicopter”s downdraft whips my hair into a frenzy as it lowers toward a relatively flat clearing near the base of the ridge. We board in tense silence, the only communication between us a brief, loaded look as we strap ourselves into the jump seats across from each other. His expression is unreadable beneath the hardened mask he”s adopted, but there”s a muscle ticking in that chiseled jaw that speaks to some deeper inner turmoil.
The short flight back to the trailhead parking area seems to stretch into an eternity. I keep my gaze fixed firmly out the window, drinking in the sweeping views of snow-capped peaks and lush valleys that had fueled my initial excitement for this shoot.
How naive I was back then, so blissfully unaware of the life-altering collision course ahead. Of the way one mere chance encounter with a rugged mountain man would shake the foundations of everything I thought I knew about myself.
The chopper touches down, and I unbuckle myself with jerky movements, desperate to put some distance between Garrett and me before this powder keg goes off completely. I storm toward my car, the rush of adrenaline making my movements clipped and agitated.
”Bonnie, wait.” Garrett”s gruff command has me freezing mid-stride, fingers curling into fists at my sides. I whirl back to face him, jaw clenched.
”Look,” I snap. ”I get that you want to swoop in and save the day—it”s what you do. But you can”t just make decisions about my life without me.”
His jaw tightens, eyes blazing. ”This isn”t just about you. Your carelessness nearly got us both killed back there!”
I bristle at the harsh accusation. ”Just because I don”t conform to your overprotective, play-it-safe worldview doesn”t make me careless.”
”No, it just makes you selfish.”
For several beats, I can only gape at him, stunned by the low blow. Then my chin juts out defiantly. ”Have you stopped to consider that maybe your desperate need to control everything is just as self-serving?”
His jaw works furiously, but I hold up a hand, suddenly too drained to continue the vicious back-and-forth cycle.
”Look, maybe you”re right—we”re just too different. I need freedom and spontaneity to breathe. And you need...” I trail off with a helpless shrug. ”Rules and safety nets.”
I rake a hand through my messy hair. ”This was insane from the start. A couple of adrenaline junkies getting our wires crossed after that near-death experience, mistaking hot sex for some deeper connection.”
The words leave a hollow ache in their wake, but I force myself to meet Garrett”s shuttered gaze. ”I should go.”
With a last glance over my shoulder, I force my leaden feet toward my car. Garrett remains rooted in place, arms hanging tensely at his sides. For a fleeting instant, I think he”s going to call out to me, to try and stop this.
But then the moment shatters, and I”m pulling open my car door, every ounce of forward momentum requiring a staggering effort. I sink numbly into the driver”s seat as the engine rumbles to life with a turn of the key.
Only once I”m peeling out of the trailhead parking lot, leaving Garrett and our smoldering wreckage of a fling in the rearview mirror, do the first hot, rebellious tears finally slip free.