Page 27 of Hell's Kitten

“WOOHOO!”he yells at one point as we round a bend, climbing higher above the town. I’d never go so far as to call this a mountain, but you could say it’s a hill with big ambitions. It’s not long before we come across the familiar rest-stop, so I pull the bike over and kill the engine. He’s off the seat in a flash, pulling off his helmet and bopping around.

I pull my helmet off as well, and put them both in the lockbox. “You liked that, huh?” I say, unable to stop the smile that creeps onto my face.

“That was so, so cool! Thank you, Nim. This was so fun.”

“Not there yet,” I say smugly.

Trusting that he’ll follow me, I turn and begin walking down a well-worn path that disappears into the foliage. There are aspens, elms, and oaks all around us, and their bark smells warm from the summer sunshine. A light breeze plays with the leaves, creating a rustling chorus. As soon as we step away from the road, it’s so peaceful it feels like a little slice of heaven. I wonder if we’ll see any cardinals.

“Where are we going?” Jessie asks cheekily as he walks beside me.

I raise an eyebrow and look down at him. “Wait and see,” I grumble. Secretly, I love the way he’s wriggling around with excitement. God, I want to do this all the time. I don’t just want to prepare him meals and make sure he’s clothed properly and sleeping comfortably.

I want to give him gifts and surprises and just generally see that look of wonder on his face that someone else has thought about him at all.

All I do is think about him.

Fuck, if he were mine and I could spoil him however I wanted, I’d buy him such nice tails and ears and toys and anything else his little kitten heart desired.

Maybe even a collar.

The thought brings me up short, although I barely falter in my step, and keep walking. I thought a lot about collaring Brent, but it never felt like the right time. Thank goodness. That would have been a disaster. But with Jessie, the idea seems so natural. I bet he’d love it.

Only if it was what was right for him, though. With the right person. Honestly, that’s probably not me, so I need to stop daydreaming about it right now.

My distraction comes quickly enough. The path we’ve been following has only one destination. All the paths around here do.

The Paddle Creek waterfall.

It’s not very tall. In fact, if waterfalls are your thing, it’s probably not that impressive at all. But the way Jessie gasps when he sees it tells me that he most likely feels the same way about it that I do.

“Oh my god,” he whispers, covering his mouth with his hand as he takes in the sight. I’m so happy that, at least for now, we’re all by ourselves and can enjoy the scene in private.

The creek flows down several shelves of purplish-gray slate rock into a large pool that eventually continues to travel downward toward the town. We’re surrounded by trees, and bright August sunshine spills through the branches and dances on the rippling water. Unseen birds chirp and whistle, making the place feel truly alive.

Usually, I’m not so fussed to know what other people are thinking. That’s their business. But right now, I’m dying to know what’s going on in Jessie’s head. “You like it?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest as if that might protect me from everything I’m feeling.

“Like it?” he splutters with a laugh. “Iloveit! It’s so beautiful and alive and…and…it’s like our own little kingdom we’re surveying. Oh my god, can we get in the water?”

His question completely throws me. “Uh, people do, I guess. But it’ll be cold?—”

“That’s the point,” he cries, still laughing as he throws my jacket back to me and pulls his hoodie over his head.

He’s not wearing anything underneath. Oh lord. I’d wondered many times before, but it turns out that his nipples are, in fact, pierced.

I’d worry that he hears my whimper, but he’s too busy giggling to himself as he hops around removing his shoes and socks before shucking down his jeans.

For a heart-stopping moment I think he’s going to go all the way and whip off his briefs as well. Mercifully, he stops there. But the bastard winks at me over his shoulder. “Are you coming?” he asks.

I’m too stunned to speak. Instead, I just watch on as he splashes into the water, shrieking and cackling at the cold.

But he does it, the crazy little minx. He takes a deep breath before falling over like a plank of wood, submerging under the water. My grip on the leather jacket in my hands tightens as I involuntarily take a step forward, my heart in my mouth. However, it’s only a second before he emerges once more, flicking his hair and making a sparkling spray of water droplets that form a rainbow before my eyes.

There’s a strong possibility that I might pass out.

“It’s lovely!” he says through chattering teeth, waving me over. “Come on in!”

“No fucking chance,” I grumble, but he can see that I’m smiling and shaking my head at his outrageousness. My heart is pounding, and I want to believe that it’s just from the fear that his own heart might have stopped from the shock of that water. But my half-hard cock in my pants might indicate a different theory.

---