Page 18 of Jackson's Redemption
He brought the truck to an abrupt stop. “Trail ends here.”
I looked out the windshield and could see he was right. I got out and circled around to the back. I had my camping gear stowed neatly in a backpack and my camera in a separate case that I slung around my neck.
I had bought sturdy clothes and good boots for just this reason, so I had no worries about a five-mile hike through the woods. In fact, I was looking forward to it.
“Follow my lead. Listen to my warnings. And in an emergency, do what I say.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know how to handle myself in an emergency.”
“With bad guys, maybe. With bears, not so much. I meant what I said before, this isn’t an amusement park. We’re on foot out here, so now it’s about survival.”
“Fine. Are we allowed to talk while we’re walking, or do we need to stay silent?”
“We can talk, but I hold my hand up, I need you to shut up.”
“Anyone ever let you know you’re a little rough around the edges?”
“Everyone I know.”
I chuckled. “Okay, you old grizzly bear. Lead the way.”
He did, and I followed. I didn’t ask him again what other reasons there were that a woman might not want to marry him. It certainly wasn’t his ass. I couldn’t help but admire the view from behind him. Not that I was going there, but now that I was committed to not going there, I was sorry I hadn’t bitten it last night. A nice taut butt cheek right between my teeth.
He would grunt a little with the pleasure pain of it.
The image was so clear in my head I laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Yeah, no. I wasn’t going to be sharing any of that with him. “Just thinking about something. Which raises another good question. Do you ever laugh?”
He paused. A person shouldn’t have to pause before answering that question.
“Sure.”
“Why am I doubting you? I think I’m going to need to proof.”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “You want me to laugh right now?”
“No, that wouldn’t be genuine. I’m going to have to make you laugh. Now, on a scale of one to ten I’m about a five in the humor department. I’ve always been a little too serious about life. But my guess is you’re hovering around a two, which means I’m still hysterical next to you.”
He stepped over a fallen tree with one stride. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to match that. I went to step up, but he already had his hands around my waist and basically lifted me over the log in one smooth motion until I was on the other side.
“Jackson!” I protested. “You can’t just lift me over stuff like that.”
“I think I proved I can.”
“I meant I can handle getting over a tree trunk on my own.”
“Quicker and faster this way. But if this is about me touching you—”
“It’s not,” I answered quickly. “I don’t want you to think I’m going to be uptight about that. We’re camping in some pretty wild conditions. I get that we’re going to need to rely on each other. You told me nothing was going to happen, and I trust that. Trust you.”
He stopped, and I nearly bumped into his back. “I told you I wouldn’t fuck you unless you wanted me to. We should be clear about that. If you ask me, I’m not going to do the honorable thing and remind you it’s not what you want.”
I tried to laugh it off. “What, you think I can’t resist you?”
He faced me then. “We’ll see.”
