Chapter 15
CHLOE
Hiking in the middle of the summer through the Montana wilderness is as close to idyllic as you can get. Even if I’m a sweaty mess, with my hair stuck to my forehead and a light sheen covering my body.
It’s all worth it though, because I get to watch Kade navigate the terrain with practiced ease, take pictures of the scenery as we go and catch up with Aunt Liz.
More than once, Kade has turned around and caught me staring, but he’s unfazed—like he’s used to me looking at him like that.
I’m not at all sorry for it, especially when he gets a knowing smirk on his face and carries on as if he wants me to keep looking.
We left the diner a few hours ago. Kade drove me and Aunt Liz back over to the ranch, waited for me as I collected my camera and a couple of bottles of water and Aunt Liv got changed. With the promise of a cool creek and views that rival those at the ranch, we set off.
I’ll go as far as to say that this is as close to a perfect day as you can get.
“It’s so lovely that your boyfriend lives in the town Rachel got married in,” Liz comments.
My eyes blow wide as panic rushes through me. Oh God. I hadn’t thought that far ahead in our lies. Sensing my alarm, Kade slows down his pace, taking hold of my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“It was honestly a coincidence. Chloe and I met online, and we’ve had a few trips out to see each other since.”
He throws an arm around my shoulder, and I look up at him. My eyes flutter closed when he dips to dust his lips over mine. He pulls back a fraction and that charged energy swirls between us again.
“You two are just so cute. Mark my words, wedding bells will be ringing for you soon,” Aunt Liz says in a sing-song tone.
The corner of Kade’s mouth kicks up before he gives me another quick peck, as if he couldn’t help himself. With a last lingering stare, he sets back off up the trail.
“It won’t be long until we reach the creek,” Kade calls as he leads the way.
“How soon is soon?” Aunt Liz asks, fanning herself with a brochure she picked up in the ranch lobby.
Kade looks over his shoulder at us before looking up the trail and then back to us. “Maybe twenty to thirty minutes.”
Aunt Liz rests against a rock, her cheeks pink from the heat. “And how far is it to the car park?”
Kade rolls his lips together as he ambles back to where Aunt Liz and I have stopped. “About ten to twenty minutes.”
Nodding, Aunt Liz looks longingly back in the direction we came.
“We can head back, it’s probably too warm for hiking anyway,” I rush, side-eyeing Kade and knowing full well that Aunt Liz hasn’t ever hiked a day in her life and her travel adventures have always involved five-star hotels or guided tours.
“Yeah, it is pretty warm today,” Kade agrees, looking up through the trees.
Aunt Liz waves her arm at us, shaking her head. “You two go ahead and see the creek.” She points to the camera hanging around my neck. “Take pictures for me, Chlo. And I’ll wait for you in the cabin I saw down there.”
I nod, pressing my lips together.
“If they’re closed, wait in the car with the air conditioning on,” Kade says, handing Aunt Liz the keys to his truck.
We watch until Aunt Liz is no longer in view before setting off again. I snap pictures of Kade and the woods that surround us as we go.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to cool off in the stream,” he comments.
“Oh no,” I gasp. “I forgot to bring a swimsuit,” I tease, fluttering my lashes when he looks back at me, a heat in his eyes.
I’m still sore from last night, but it doesn’t stop my body from wanting him again. And from the look in his eyes, I think he wants me too.
Kade stalks toward me, forcing my head to tip back as he gets closer. I know we’re alone out here and that there isn’t a soul for miles, but as he towers over me, I’ve never felt safer. I feel like I could take on the world and win, just because of the look in his eyes.
Dragging his thumb over my bottom lip, Kade lowers his head, capturing my mouth in a searing kiss. He coaxes my lips open with his, diving his tongue inside as soon as he can. I grip onto his hips, like I’ll float into the big blue sky if I don’t somehow anchor myself to him.
He robs the air from my lungs, and still, I don’t move, don’t break the kiss. I don’t need to breathe, not when I’m near him. The thought should scare me because we barely know each other, but it doesn’t. Instead, it sends a rush of excitement through me and straight to my pussy.
All too soon, Kade breaks the kiss, stepping back. His voice is gravelly and filled with a lust that mirrors my own when he says, “Come.” Before stalking off in the direction we were headed.
Touching my fingers to my lips, I nod, following him through the trees. There wasn’t anybody around for us to put on a show for. It’s just us out here now, which means that kiss was because he wanted it. And if that doesn’t send a thrill through my body and turn me on, I don’t know what would.
The lust-filled haze blanketing me has barely lifted by the time we reach a clearing.
It’s a meadow filled with tall grass and wildflowers, surrounded by trees on three sides, with a view of impossibly huge mountains standing tall at the only opening.
It’s magnificent. It almost doesn’t feel real that this is the view.
As the thick, floral-scented air wraps around me, I lift my camera and press the shutter-release a few times before checking the screen. They don’t do the natural beauty justice, but I don’t think even the best camera in the world could.
Kade peeks over my shoulder, rumbling his appreciation softly before touching my lower back and signaling for me to follow him.
We take a left and follow the tree line around the meadow as I snap more pictures.
I think I’ve taken more today than I have all month, at least ever since getting laid off.
There isn’t really much to photograph in Seattle that I haven’t already captured.
We’re on the opposite side of the space when we cut through into another part of the wooded area. I can hear the water as well as smell it now.
In less than a minute, we reach a small creek. The ground at the water’s edge is mossy, with the trees standing tall in the secluded space providing the perfect amount of shade to cool down my heated, sweat-covered body.
Barely two steps into the secluded area, Kade strips his T-shirt over his head, throwing it to the ground as he winks at me.
I lift my camera, and a succession of quick shutter clicks echoes around us.
These will be for my own private collection, something to look back on when I’m in Seattle and missing my cowboy.
A pang of yearning hits me in the chest, twisting with a sharp pain. I roll my lips to keep the feeling inside, reminding myself that he’s right here. I shouldn’t be missing something I haven’t lost yet. I should be focusing on the here and now, not what’s to come when I’m back home.
I’m pulled back into reality when Kade throws his shorts at me. His baseball cap follows, and suddenly, he’s naked, with a trail of clothes left in his wake.
Chuckling, I walk to a nearby tree stump as Kade wades his way into the water with nothing but his birthday suit on. I snap a couple of shots, the click of the shutter giving away my not-so-secretive photo taking. He shakes his head, chuckling as he flexes the muscles in his back.
When the water reaches his waist, he turns to me and says, “Come on in. The water’s real refreshing.”
I walk to the edge, looking down at the near crystal-clear water. “Is there anything in there that’s gonna get me?”
“Aside from me?” he asks, dunking down until his shoulders are covered.
I bite back my grin, rolling my eyes. “Aside from you.”
Kade shakes his head, running a wet hand down his face as I move to set my camera down on a flat rock.
I unbutton my shorts, pushing them down my legs and kicking them off before they can touch the mossy ground.
Kade’s gaze burns a heated path along my skin as I pull the material of my T-shirt up my body.
When it’s over my head, I lay it over my camera, leaving me in nothing but my sneakers and a white high-rise thong.
My nipples pebble and not because it’s cold—it’s far from it—but because of the look on Kade’s face. I’m almost afraid to get into the water with him because he looks like he’s ready to eat me.
Who am I kidding? I want nothing more than dive in and let him devour me.
Beneath the surface of the water, I can make out his cock and the way it’s hardening with each second that passes.
He looks down before returning his attention to me. “I’m sorry. Apparently he doesn’t know how to behave around you.”
I chuckle, shrugging one shoulder as I wet my lips. Kicking off my shoes, I reply, “I’m glad he doesn’t, but also, can we not talk about ‘him’ like that?”
Kade grins. “Yes, ma’am.”
Shaking my head, I push my underwear down my legs and step into the water. It’s cool against my heated skin, and I groan under my breath with each step I take. “It feels good,” I say as I make my way toward Kade.
He wraps an arm around my waist when I reach him, pulling me against his body and trapping his cock between us. Capturing my lips with his, he kisses me, the touch almost tender. I wrap my arms around his neck, everything around us falling away as it does every time we kiss.
Kade lifts me, and I wrap my legs around his torso, holding on as he moves through the water and further into the creek. We reach a ledge, and he places me on top of it, breaking the kiss as he points to the view behind me.
It’s magnificent. From up here, I can see some of the town. Wild horses roam free, grazing on the land. There’s an air of peace about the place, as if everything and everyone out there doesn’t have a care in the world.