Page 13 of Wild Valentine
“I’m sorry you’ve come all this way.” Or am I? My head’s been in a spin ever since she walked into HQ this morning. I’m not going to give her the interview, but I’d sure as hell like to spend some time with her. “I’m not going to talk to you about my work, but since you’re here, let me show you the mountain.”
Her chin lifts up, but she looks defeated, resigned to some fate that I can only guess at. If she loses her job because of this, then her boss is more of an asshole than I thought.
But that doesn’t explain the worry in her eyes and the dark smudges. She looks like she needs some fun. Whatever’s got her up at night, she needs to put it out of her mind for a while.
“Then your trip won’t be wasted.”
Steam’s filling up the bathroom now, heating me up and doing nothing to help the fact that I’m on fire just being around her.
“I’ve never been to the mountains.”
The confession floors me. But I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s from New York. There’s so much to show her here.
“Good. I’ll collect you after breakfast tomorrow.”
She smiles, and a look of triumph crosses her face.
“I’m not changing my mind about the interview,” I warn before she gets any ideas. “But I will show you my mountain.”
I leave her to the shower and walk uncomfortably back to my cabin, trying not to let it show that I’ve got a massive boner.
As soon as I’m inside, I take my aching cock from my jeans and think about Hazel soaping herself down in the shower as I tug at myself.
My release comes fast, but it’s not satisfying. It won’t be until I’ve had the real thing.
5
HAZEL
Terror clenches my stomach and rises up my chest, tumbling out of my throat in a strangled scream.
Trees fly past below me, my feet almost skimming their branches. As I whiz over the canopy clutching the thick rope, the terror turns to exhilaration and the scream to a long whoop. Then I giggle, and by the time I reach Marcus, grinning on the platform and ready to catch me, I’m laughing so hard my belly aches.
My feet find purchase on the platform, and Marcus’s strong arms wrap around me as I come to the end of the zip line.
“That was insane!”
I’m laughing so hard, and I’m not sure why. I guess it’s the adrenaline coursing through my veins because I just jumped off a perfectly good wooden platform and flew over the trees.
“Let’s go again.”
Marcus laughs at my eagerness, but I’m being serious.
For one joyful moment, I forgot why I was here. I forgot the story I’m supposed to be writing, I forgot my mother dying in a hospital bed, and I forgot the massive bills pilling up and waiting for me in New York. For one joyful moment, it was just me flying through the trees on a zip line.
“All right, my little adrenaline junkie.” Marcus grins at me so hard it makes my heart squeeze. “We’ve got to get around the rest of the course, but if you want, at the end, we can go around again.”
“Yes please,” I say without hesitation.
I’ve never done anything like this in my life. There’s no zip-lining over a forest in New York. But it’s not just the zip-lining that’s got me pumped. The more time I spend with Marcus, the more I fall for the surly mountain man.
We’re high above the trees on wooden platforms, just me, Marcus, and the instructor. We’re in harnesses and attached to the safety ropes in two places.
There’s not a lot of room on these wooden platforms, and as I move to the next line, my boobs brush up against Marcus.
My entire body shudders at the contact. Even through the layers of clothing, my body’s on fire. I’m not sure if the adrenaline comes from zip-lining through the trees or being this close to Marcus.
“Remind me to buy you a sky dive for your birthday.”
