“You’re not in pain this morning?”
“Nothing I wouldn’t do again.”
I lean over and kiss her slowly, lingering on her bottom lip before giving some attention to the top. Somehow, she alwaystastes like wild berries. “Well then, I’d say we find you some breakfast and get you up on Daddy’s cock where you belong.”
She smiles against my lips before letting out a gentle sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just…” She closes her eyes and shakes her head back and forth. “Last night was incredible, and now we’re here, we woke up together, and it feels so good. I don’t know… maybe we should stay out in the woods with no cell service forever. I mean, I’m sure my father and Troy have called a thousand times by now. Heck, maybe the whole town is looking for me. I don’t ever want to go back.”
I kiss her forehead again. “Maybe we’ll just have to get further away.”
“Oh yeah?” She grins. “Where are we going?”
“Not sure. That’s the fun part of a road trip. We just drive and see where we end up.”
“My God that sounds good. I mean, I’m pretty sure I lost the sale with Troy, and I’m not at breakfast this morning with Mulligan, so I doubt that’s going to go through either, which means a road trip with Daddy is exactly what I need!” She grins as she cuddles into my side, and I feel a sense of relief I’ve been aching for. She’s finally mine. My little kitten belongs to me, and nothing can change that. I won’t let it.
“Good! I’ve got a few granola bars in my saddlebag. You can snack on those before we head out to that diner out in Whiskey Falls. You remember me taking you there back in the day?”
Her pretty brown eyes widen as she nods. “The mountain stack of pancakes? Yeah, how could I forget? They have the best huckleberry syrup in the state.”
“Good.” I kiss her forehead and squeeze her in tighter, my lips massaging hers again in the cool chill of the morning air. “You don’t mind that you’ll be on my bike?”
“I mind greatly,” she grins, “but I did feel pretty safe last night in your arms. It’s much better than holding on for dear life in the back.”
“In the front it is then. You can—”
“Knock, knock,” Kade’s voice echoes through the campsite. “You in there talking to yourself? You’re getting more senile by the second.”
Shit. My chest tightens, though I’m unsure why. I’ve been planning to stop here for weeks, and I’ve been looking forward to catching up with my buddy, but I wasn’t expecting Nikki to be with me.
Kade isn’t one to keep his thoughts to himself. If he sees you’re making a shit decision, he’s certainly going to point it out.
I kiss my kitten on the top of her head, and slide to the edge of the air mattress. I’ll be glad to get off this thing tonight. My back is killing me.
“Should I stay here?” she whispers low, that soft, innocent gaze staring up at me.
“Not at all.” I help her up from the bed and pull her naked body against mine, the breeze from the slightly unzipped side vent sending tiny bumps over her arms. I brush my hands down over them quickly in an effort to warm her as I whisper low against her ear, “I have a feeling he’s the least of the judgment we’re going to get today. I’ll handle him.”
She grins wide and tips up onto her toes for a kiss, then twists back to grab her sundress off the edge of the air mattress. “I’m right behind you.”
My chest lifts, and there’s a warm upward swell behind my sternum at the thought of her trusting me to handle the situation, though there’s a part of me that’s nervous myself. Kade can be gruff sometimes, and I’m not in the mood to deal with any of that this morning. Right now, I want to go back to touching the woman I’ve been trying not to touch for years.
With Nikki’s dress in place and my jeans buckled, I unzip the tent and step out into the fresh morning air to see my buddy standing by the fire with deep set brows and the stoic intensity of a man who’s been personally wronged by sunlight.
“Hey, man.” I reach out for his hand, and he reciprocates with a firm shake. “Thanks for setting everything up. How the hell are you?”
He shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest, inadvertently showing off the dragon tattoo he has on his left forearm. “Real question is, how are you? Security caught you coming in last night, but I didn’t see your guest.” He bends to the side to get a better look at the woman I’ve brought with me, and my stomach tightens, ready for his response.
“Oh,” he clears his throat, birds singing in the trees, “Nikki Sage? I haven’t seen you in ages. What are you doing up here with this old man?”
“Hey!” She smiles and reaches toward him for a hug. “Yeah, it’s me. This place is gorgeous. I didn’t know you owned it.”
“Officially bought the place a couple of years ago, but my buddies and I just opened the outfitters this year. Not sure how long we’ll last with all the shit people in town are talking, though.” He shrugs and drags his hand back through his hair.
I shake my head. “You know how folks are. Give it another year and they’ll forget all about the ex-con shit, and you’ll just be a few guys up in the mountains running an outfitters. Hell, Rugged Mountain has plenty of parolees. People talk for a while, then they get over it. The guy who just opened that plow company was in jail for ten years for some drug trafficking thing. It was all the mountain was talking about the first winter he was here. Now he’s got more business than he knows what to do with and everyone’s grandma is baking him cookies.” I slap my buddy on the back. “It’ll work out.”
