Page 83 of Miles Apart
I shrug. “Shame.”
Emma tenses when I walk us away from the main elevators in the lobby to the back door. It’s a trek on a trail to our campsite, but this isn’t the first time I had her ass this close to my face.
“Miles?”
“Emma?”
“Why are we leaving the hotel?”
“I told you I pitched a tent,” I say, sidestepping large stones beside the wooden staircase. “You thought it was a game? Hey! Keep them claws out my ass.” The slap to her butt shocks her enough to stop digging those talons into my skin. She knows I like that shit and will fuck around and have us falling down these stairs.
Her frustration would be adorable if I weren’t dodging dick shots from her legs, which are kicking in protest. “I’m not roughing it!”
“Chill. I’mma get you relaxed. You’ll be howling at the moon in no time.”
“Kitten?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re purring again.”
“Shut up!” I chuckle at the elbow to my ribs that’s nothing more than a love tap and pour more hot water into the tub. Steam rises, a warm contrast to the chill in the night air.
I wasn’t kidding when I told Emma we were staying outside.
The resort she chose has a campground for glamping, or whatever you call the bells and whistles to make tents and washing your ass in the wilderness a memorable experience. I wasted no time reserving the area near the small lake so we could claim it as our own. We have the restrooms to ourselves and can hit up the restaurants if we want.
It’s a peaceful spot. Where else can you fuck in the woods in a king-size bed without interruption? We tried sex on the balcony back in Malibu, but between her nosy-ass neighbors and the Whitney Houston high notes Emma hits every time I knock her spot, we’d catch a charge before either of us came.
She has full range to scream down our outdoor suite, and she has the last two nights. With all of her hollering and snoring, she scared off Yogi Bear and his squad.
I rolled the dice that Emma wouldn’t give me the finger and march her fine ass back to the hotel for an en-suite bathroom and four walls. She surprised me by agreeing to stay in the tent and has been up under me and on top ever since.
My arms snake around her, stroking her soft skin now glowing in the moonlight. Her back is to my chest, and our eyes are cast up to the stars dotting the sky above the trees.
Emma’s sigh is deep and peaceful without her work schedule weighing her down. She threads our fingers together and kisses my forearm. “Do you camp often?”
“No, but I like traveling to places where it’s quiet.” I kiss the top of her shoulder and rest back against the tub. “Nothing beats unplugging.”
“Because of work,” she says, grasping my need to step away. Emma knows about my data security work but not the specifics of the private contracts I take. Those details are need-to-know.
“I don’t stay in the same place for long. Once I’m done, I’m done,” I say. The homes I do have are simply to collect mail. “Do you travel outside of work?”
“My annual girls’ trip with Jay. Other than that, it’s Milan and Paris every year for my job, and I’m not complaining.”
“Are you living or keeping busy? I know it well,” I say. “Jumping from one project to the next. My mama got sick years back, which had me reevaluating how I was moving. Life is too damn short to not enjoy it.”
Emma tips her head back to look at me. “What did you do?”
“I moved like I had a battery pack in my back that I never recharged. My mama kept up the same hustle since I was a kid and found herself in the hospital. I took care of all that once I got established and promised her the world after I retired her. Deborah Walker has enough stamps on her passport to put me to shame.” I chuckle. “She forced me to slow my ass down, so that’s what I did.”
Being with Emma is opening me up to truths I never expected to reveal. I like sharing with her and want to create more memories with her.
“It’s sweet how much your mother cares.” Emma swallows to school her expression and shifts the conversation away from the topic of family. “Where do you like to go?”
“Iceland. Namibia. Ecuador. Minnesota.”
“Minnesota?” Her eyes snap to mine, the promise of a teasing smile now spreading across her mouth.
