sported a V cut in his muscles, something I’d never seen on a man that wasn’t on television or in a magazine. I was used to meth rotted skinny bodies and pot-bellied old men. So, to say that Ryan’s body had me hoping and wishing I would get the chance to slowly explore every single divot and crease of him would be a massive understatement. If I hadn’t already been soaked from our dip, I would have formed a puddle just under where my ass sat at that moment.
After a tense morning in the truck, I loosened up a little after I had some coffee in me and pitched Ryan my idea for the day. The rain passed us by quickly and left nothing but perfect powder blue skies with puffy white clouds. I was glad we healed our little rift before heading to the Lava River Cave. The whole hike is dark and cold, which can seem rather intimate when trying to keep track of your travel partner. This is especially true when you find out your aforementioned travel partner only procured one flashlight. Spending the morning and early afternoon in close proximity, inhaling his delicious, but slightly dirty, earthy scent was starting to get to me.
“Did you hear me?” Britton asked, obviously impatient that I’d missed whatever she’d said.
“Yeah, yeah, um, just be careful, okay?” I responded, not wanting her to know I was distracted.
“Sure,” she said, carefully, like she’d expected a fight to win my agreement. Now, I knew that she’d said something fairly important while I’d been objectifying my travel partner. “How are things going?” she changed the subject again, a sing song quality lighting up her words.
“Good, we went to the Rim yesterday, hit the Lava Tubes in Flag today and now we are cooling off at Slide Rock,” I recounted. “I think we’ll stay in Jerome tonight and head home in the morning.”
“Don’t do that,” she said, quickly. “Take your time, head south, too. I mean, if you are having fun, no need to cut the trip short.”
“Oh—kay,” I elongated, knowing that she wanted me to stay gone for some reason. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yes!” she yelled. “God, Carrie, I can take care of myself, you know? I mean, yeah, I get that you want to take care of me, that you are worried about me, but you need this. More than you know,” she pressed, her voice sounding almost pleaded.
“Fine, I’ll call you tomorrow,” I promised before ending the call and shifting my eyes back to the beautiful man lying on a large rock a few feet from his truck. “That’s probably a better idea,” I called, letting him know that I was through with my call.
“We need to find a place that has a real shower and not just add to our stink by swimming in creeks and streams,” he called back, patting the empty space on the rock beside him in invitation.
“Oh, we will,” I smirked before hoping off the tailgate and joining him. The heat from the rock as I lie down next to him searing through my cold, wet clothes felt incredible.
“I like the sound of that,” he looked over at me, desire burning bright in his amber eyes. “Does that mean we’ll be sharing this shower?”
“Down, boy,” I smacked his arm teasingly. “I was thinking we’d stay in Jerome tonight, maybe see if we can get a tour of the haunted hotel and try to commandeer a room for a few hours to clean up?”
“That sounds like a blast. We should just stay in the room overnight,” he said. “As much as I liked our outdoor adventure last night, I could go for having less mosquito bites tonight,” he shared, scratching at his ankle in emphasis.
“Um, I have to see how much mon-”
“You finish that sentence, I’m going to kick your ass,” he warned. “I invited you on this adventure, I’m paying for the room,” he laid out. “I let you buy breakfast this morning because you were all up in your head. That’s over now.”
“I—”
“No, Carrie,” he shut me down. “That’s over now,” he repeated, turning his
After a tense morning in the truck, I loosened up a little after I had some coffee in me and pitched Ryan my idea for the day. The rain passed us by quickly and left nothing but perfect powder blue skies with puffy white clouds. I was glad we healed our little rift before heading to the Lava River Cave. The whole hike is dark and cold, which can seem rather intimate when trying to keep track of your travel partner. This is especially true when you find out your aforementioned travel partner only procured one flashlight. Spending the morning and early afternoon in close proximity, inhaling his delicious, but slightly dirty, earthy scent was starting to get to me.
“Did you hear me?” Britton asked, obviously impatient that I’d missed whatever she’d said.
“Yeah, yeah, um, just be careful, okay?” I responded, not wanting her to know I was distracted.
“Sure,” she said, carefully, like she’d expected a fight to win my agreement. Now, I knew that she’d said something fairly important while I’d been objectifying my travel partner. “How are things going?” she changed the subject again, a sing song quality lighting up her words.
“Good, we went to the Rim yesterday, hit the Lava Tubes in Flag today and now we are cooling off at Slide Rock,” I recounted. “I think we’ll stay in Jerome tonight and head home in the morning.”
“Don’t do that,” she said, quickly. “Take your time, head south, too. I mean, if you are having fun, no need to cut the trip short.”
“Oh—kay,” I elongated, knowing that she wanted me to stay gone for some reason. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yes!” she yelled. “God, Carrie, I can take care of myself, you know? I mean, yeah, I get that you want to take care of me, that you are worried about me, but you need this. More than you know,” she pressed, her voice sounding almost pleaded.
“Fine, I’ll call you tomorrow,” I promised before ending the call and shifting my eyes back to the beautiful man lying on a large rock a few feet from his truck. “That’s probably a better idea,” I called, letting him know that I was through with my call.
“We need to find a place that has a real shower and not just add to our stink by swimming in creeks and streams,” he called back, patting the empty space on the rock beside him in invitation.
“Oh, we will,” I smirked before hoping off the tailgate and joining him. The heat from the rock as I lie down next to him searing through my cold, wet clothes felt incredible.
“I like the sound of that,” he looked over at me, desire burning bright in his amber eyes. “Does that mean we’ll be sharing this shower?”
“Down, boy,” I smacked his arm teasingly. “I was thinking we’d stay in Jerome tonight, maybe see if we can get a tour of the haunted hotel and try to commandeer a room for a few hours to clean up?”
“That sounds like a blast. We should just stay in the room overnight,” he said. “As much as I liked our outdoor adventure last night, I could go for having less mosquito bites tonight,” he shared, scratching at his ankle in emphasis.
“Um, I have to see how much mon-”
“You finish that sentence, I’m going to kick your ass,” he warned. “I invited you on this adventure, I’m paying for the room,” he laid out. “I let you buy breakfast this morning because you were all up in your head. That’s over now.”
“I—”
“No, Carrie,” he shut me down. “That’s over now,” he repeated, turning his
Similar Books
