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“Maybe I like to drown it with syrup.”
“Says the girl who likes her pot pies nice and flaky, her chicken breaded, and her cornbread with a crisp.”
I laugh, my hand coming up to cover the large bite I’ve yet to swallow. “Okay, fine. You’re right, I hate soggy food.”
“I know.”
“Just like you know you’ve hit the spot yet again. So good.”
“Good. Maybe we’ll have to add a breakfast into our menu somewhere.”
I spin, whispering, “Would this be a breakfast for dinner kind of thing or…”
His smirk is slow. “Or…”
I swat him in the chest. “Don’t make me say it.”
He chuckles and turns to help Cam when she calls him over to the stove.
After eating, everyone hangs around and chats until some people head back in their tents for a nap while the rest of us play a couple games of cards, as another handful of guys begin tossing the football around.
We spend a few hours out on a hike, showing everyone the rock pathways and the small bridge that leads to the opposite side of the mountain.
The rest of the day plays out the same, and only when the sun begins to set, Mason now on the grill, do I bend down behind Noah, who sits sipping on a beer and chatting to a group of guys.
I bring my lips to his ear, so only he can hear. “There’s a path I purposely avoided today.”
Noah tips his head a little, so he can see me, and I drape one arm over him, my fingers tapping along his chest.
“Oh, yeah?” he drawls quietly, his hand coming up to grab mine.
“Mm-hm.” I nod, pressing my forehead to his temple. “What do you say, you up for a little walk in the dark?”
Noah answers by setting his water bottle down and pushing to his feet. He slips his hand in mine, and I smile, leading our way.
We curl around the campsite, dropping lower into the trees, and weave around a small trail of rocks. Large bushes block the view, but as we get a little farther, pushing past the thin branches, there it is.
The waterfall, leading into a small pool of water, rock walls curling from left to right, closing it off from everything around it.
“Man,” Noah says, and I nod, moving closer.
This being the only area around not overlaid with treetops, the stars are visible, creating a glow around us, allowing us to trust our eyes among the darkness.
I slip my shoes and socks off, dipping my toes in the water. It’s cold, but not nearly as cold as the ocean, since we’ve only just come off of summer. A moment later, Noah’s at my side.
He steps in a little farther. “I was expecting it to be freezing.”
“Not so bad, huh?” I grin, and when he faces away, I shove him a bit, but he’s a quarterback and quick on his feet.
No more than his ankle dips in before he’s circled me completely, now positioned at my back with his arms locked tightly around my abdomen.
“What was that Ms. Johnson?” He smiles against my ear. “Your way of telling me you want to go for a swim?”
I tense, squirming in his hold as he inches me forward. “No, no, no!” I laugh. “Hell no.”
“But I thought you loved the water?” he teases.
I squeal, my calves now wet. “Oh my god, Noah, I can’t!”
“Why not?”
I push into him, trying to find some ground to use as leverage. “I don’t do water where I can’t see the bottom!”
He buries his face in my neck, and my muscles settle the slightest bit. “What if your feet don’t touch the ground?”
“What—”
Noah spins me, bends and lifts me up. In the next second, we’re waist-deep in the chilled water, clothes and all.
I scream with a laugh, hiding my eyes in his chest, my arms and legs clenching around him. Something brushes my thigh and I scream again, holding on impossibly tight.
“You are so dead. Wait until I get you in the ocean. I’m sticking crabs down your trunks!”
* * *
His soft chuckle wafts over my skin, his arms gliding along my back and keeping me close. “I’ve got you.”
“You better.”
His lips curve against my neck, and then they press there. Lightly at first but growing firmer by the second.
My legs tighten around him, my toes curling behind his back as he sucks the sensitive skin there, and just like that, the dark waters are forgotten.
My head lifts, and it’s only a moment before his follows.
His eyes, a deep midnight blue tonight, are teeming with desire, and behind that, a hopeful tenderness that reaches deep within me.
I feel it too, the invisible pull from my body to his.
My mind to his.
My heart to his?
I lean forward, taking his lips with my own.
He kisses me back with the same vigor. Our tongues tying, our deep, full breaths turning to quick, short pants, and my body begins to roll.
