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Chapter Eight
Nisha couldn’t rememberwhy she’d signed up for this. Hiking through the woods, during fall, in Minnesota.Crazy.
Outdoorsy activities had never been her thing. Bugs, wildlife, grass, bushes, fresh air?Um, no.The closest she’d ever wanted to be to the great outdoors were Beer Gardens. So why had she agreed to this?
Oh, because of the hot as hell alien trucking through the overbrush leading the way.
Nisha blew out a breath as she watched Kien push overgrown tree branches from their path, making a way for her. He turned around every so often to check on her and make sure she wasn’t struggling keeping up. And everytime he did, she gave him a thumbs up, letting him know she was fine, although she was slowly dying inside.
The only thing keeping her from tapping out and heading back the way they’d come was the sweet visual she was currently being treated to. As he picked up this object or that, or moved woodsy stuff from the path he made, his back muscles flexed provocatively under his t-shirt.
She’d told him to bring a coat to fight against the chill and he’d declined, stating the temperature of their spaceship was near the temperature of the weather outside. She’d grumbled about him trying to be manly and how he’d end up catching a cold, but now she was thankful he hadn’t listened to her grumblings. His back muscles were the only thing she currently lived for.
Oh, and the beads of sweat rolling down the back of his neck and dampening his shirt. She lived for that too.
She’d never wanted to lick sweat off someone’s body before. But here she was, just wanting to lick...lick...and lick.
Kien glanced over his shoulder to catch her eyes. “Are you okay? We’re almost there.”
Embarrassed he would somehow know about the lascivious thoughts racing through her mind, heat flushed her face. “I’m good,” she squeaked. When he gave her an odd look, she quickly added, “How about you? Do you need help carrying the bags?” His backpack was slung over one shoulder, and he carried hers in his left hand.
She’d offered to hold hers when they’d started hours ago, and he’d let her the first mile. But seeing how she struggled to keep up, he’d grumbled something under his breath and took it from her.
“I’ve got this.” He turned back. “Another hour at the pace we’re setting then we should be there. Maybe you should’ve stayed at the hotel and ordered room service? That would’ve helped with the ruse. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that sooner.”
“And miss out on the opportunity to see a bonafide alien spaceship?” She tripped over a tree root but quickly righted her footing. “I think not.”
He chuckled low. “You’re obviously not enjoying any of this.”
“Enjoyment has nothing to do with it, Kien. Curiosity is what’s fueling me on.”
She followed behind him and admitted to herself she really was not that upset about her current situation. While also being able to watch his back, she got a nice, unencumbered view of his round and high butt. It looked like he did five-hundred squats a dayanddeadlifts. She liked that and she liked him.
She could also fully admit that to herself because ain’t no way in hell she would ever admit it to anyone else. Even Tasha couldn’t pull that information from her.
She would keep walking and enjoy her view because soon, he would be gone. Then, all she’d have were these memories she created with him.
An hour later, they came to a fallen tree trunk. Kien, placing one hand on the dead tree, leaped over the obstacle. She stood on the other side, out of breath and tried to work the logistics of climbing over the tree in her mind. Going around it wasn’t an option. The thicket of thorny vines tangled on either side of it made that impossible.
Climb it is.
She reached out to dig her fingers in the grooves of the tree and lifted a nurse shoe to brace against the side. Kien leaned over to hook a hand under her arm and lifted her up and around. It happened so quickly she didn’t have time to react. When he sat her feet on the ground she stood there in mute shock.
She didn’t weigh that much, maybe one-hundred and twenty-five pounds, but it was the ease in which he’d handled her that left her swooning. No grunts, no groans, just a one-handed lift and she was over a five-foot structure.
He hopped down and looked in the direction they’d been traveling. “We should be coming up on the lake.”
“How deep is this lake?”
Kien continued on, forcing himself through the foliage and she followed. “Deep enough for a spaceship. I should’ve asked if you know how to swim. If you can’t, I’ll make you a camp and you can wait for me here. I won’t be long.”
