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I trail behind him as we head toward his bike. Opening one of the saddlebags, he pulls out a blanket, and tucks it under his arm. He throws an arm around my shoulders, tugging me close. Butterflies erupt in my belly. I love how possessive he gets, even when we’re alone. He leads me from the clearing to a narrow path in the woods. Broken twigs and branches crunch under our feet as we follow a worn path until we come across a fallen birch tree blocking our way. Releasing me, he climbs over first, then holds out his hand for me. My fingers wrap around his callous ones as he guides me over the tree.
After a few more twists and turns, we hop over another log, and finally we reach the beach. While it’s not the powdery white sand and aquamarine waters I’m familiar with, it’s still beautiful. Ledger unfolds the blanket and lays it out on a small patch of grass. He tugs on the corner to make sure it’s straight. It’s kind of cute that he cares so much about the straightness of the blanket. But when he tugs on the same corner for the fifth time, I stop him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Ledger. It’s perfect.”
He smooths the blanket one last time before motioning me to sit. I lower myself to the ground and sit cross-legged as he sits down next to me, his long legs stretched out.
I lean over, resting my head on his shoulder. “It’s so beautiful here. All we’re missing is a picnic.”
“Are you hungry? I should have packed something.”
I rest my hand on his thigh. “No. This is perfect. Everything is perfect.” I rotate to face him. Slowly, I trail a finger on his forearm, tracing one of his tattoos. “Is everything alright? You seem a little…off.”
He gives his head a slight shake. “Everything is great. I just want this to be a perfect day.”
“I haven’t seen this side of you. Are you going soft on me?”
He sits up and grips my chin, forcing me to look at him. His voice is deep and stern. “I promise you, nothing about me is soft.”
I’ve never turned into lady goo as fast as I did with those eight words. Because I know what he’s packing and it’s not soft. Every day I spend with this man, I fall a little more and a little harder. And I’m terrified. It’s been a long time since I’ve had feelings like this.
With his lips still only an inch away from mine, I whisper, “Not soft. Got it.”
When he doesn’t move, I’m convinced he’s going to kiss me. But he drops his hand and returns to leaning on his palms behind him. Not wanting to show my disappointment, I busy myself with picking at the small rocks that surround us. I pick up a blueish-black rock and brush my thumb over the smooth, flat surface. Rising to my feet, rock in hand, I wind up and side throw it into the lake. As it flies through the air, I hold my breath until it hits the water with a splash. My shoulders deflate. A chuckle sounds behind me and I whirl around. A wide grin covers Ledger’s face.
“That’s either a sad attempt at skipping a rock or an even sadder attempt at throwing one.”
With a hand on my waist, I narrow my eyes. “And you can do better?”
“Pfft. I could do better with my eyes closed and from behind my back.”
“Well, Mr. Big Shot. Put your money where your mouth is.”
He sits up. A smile tips up on one side of his mouth. “Are you challenging me?”
“Hell yeah.” I hold my head up high.
With a slight shake of his head he rises to his feet, a hint of a smile forming on his lips, and stalks toward me. “This is the first time,” he eyes me from head to toe, “a five-foot nothing girl has challenged me.”
“Five-five.” I flash him a cocky smirk.
“Challenge accepted.” He bends down and without even looking, he picks up a rock, and stands with his back facing the lake. He grips the flat rock in front of him and flings it as he twists around. The rock skips across the water once, twice, three times before it sinks.
“You did kinda cheat by twisting around but I’ll let it slide. Now, show me how you did that!” Bending down, I find another rock, wind up and throw it, but once again it hits the water and immediately sinks.
“Your stance is all wrong.” He scoops up a rock and stands behind me. His body is so close, it presses against mine. He grips my hips and rotates me so I’m perpendicular to the lake. “And you need to snap your wrist on release.” He flips my hand over and drops the rock into my open palm. His nose brushes against the shell of my ear. Then he whispers, “Feel the rock. Be the rock.”
A small laugh escapes me. “Yes, Sensei.”
He grabs my wrist and swings it back and forth to the side. “First, we need to loosen you up. Get your body used to the motion.”
“There are some motions my body could definitely get used to.”
Ledger stops swinging my arm. “Only you could turn rock skipping sexual.”
“What can I say? Something with the back-and-forth motion really turns me on.” I give him a wink.
He not so discreetly adjusts himself in his jeans. “Back to the task at hand.” He pulls my hand to the side. “Now you fling it forward and release right where you want it to land. Give it a try.”
