Page 13 of My Mountain Man Grump
She might wonder why Cole isn’t in it, or in any of the pictures I’ve taken, so I turn my phone off in case she calls with questions I don’t want to answer. I’ve told her the signal is patchy to give me an excuse not to call her again and as to why I’m not sending hundreds of photos of me and Cole.
The next part of the trail turns into the mountain, and it’s a serious slope. I’m puffing by the time it flattens out and sweat trickles down the back of my neck. Therush of water reaches my ears, and I take a small side trail and follow the sound to the base of the waterfall.
Water cascades over a rocky outcrop and drops into a plunge pool at the base of the waterfall. Spray hits my legs and a cool mist fills the air.
A sign says that swimming is allowed but not diving.
I shrug off my backpack and take a long cool drink from my water bottle. My cotton dress sticks to my chest and I pull it off my skin, trying to get some air flowing over my overheated body.
If I’d bought my swimsuit with me, I’d jump in to cool off. Instead I pull off my hiking boots and dip a toe into the frothy water. It’s deliciously cool and inviting.
I glance around the trail behind me. I haven’t seen a single soul all morning. This doesn’t seem like a popular area of the mountain. Perhaps it’s too remote for the tourists.
It can’t hurt to have a quick dip. If anyone comes I’ll keep my shoulders under, and they’ll never know I’m in my underwear and not a swimsuit.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I pull my dress over my head and toss it onto the rocks next to my backpack. Then I slip into the cool water.
Cold engulfs me, making me gasp, but it’s cold in a good way, the kind of cold that awakens your senses and makes you feel alive. I paddle over to the waterfall and duck under it, enjoying the sensation of water tumbling over my head.
I spend a few blissful moments paddling around the pool until the fresh mountain water gets too cold for me.I drag myself onto the rocks and realize I don’t have a towel with me to dry off.
The sun warms my wet skin and I sit back on my elbows, enjoying the feel of it on my body.
I’m regretting wearing my best underwear. The lace sticks to my breasts, and the thong panties aren’t made to get wet.
But no one has come past and it can’t hurt to let the sun warm me for a few minutes until I’m dry enough to put on my dress.
I lean back on my elbows and close my eyes.
7
COLE
My chest squeezes tight as I suck air into my burning lungs. My calves ache with every step but I push myself up the hill, maintaining a steady jogging pace.
Usually a run in the woods calms my mind, but there’s no relief today from thoughts of Carrie. How her face fell in disappointment when I insulted her. How she called me out as the asshole that I am. It’s not her fault Gran deceived her, and it’s not her fault her car broke down.
And it’s not her fault her damned hair flutters around her cheeks and that one strand keeps getting caught on her lip.
Thoughts of her luscious lips make me hot in a way that has nothing to do with the 10k run. I’m a hot-blooded man, and it’s been a long time since I had a woman. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time. Is itany wonder when there’s one staying on my property with curves for days that I’m having a reaction to her?
I finally reach the top of the hill where the path evens out, and I take the loop trail to the waterfall. It adds another few yards to the run, and I like to run past the water when it’s hot like this.
I’m almost at the waterfall when a pale leg comes into view. My breath hitches at the sight of Carrie. She’s lying on a rock and resting back on her elbows. Her head is tilted to the sky, and she’s got a contented smile on her face. But it’s not her face that makes me stare.
She’s in her underwear, if you can call the tiny pieces of fabric struggling to cover her intimate parts underwear. Delicate lace is woven in an intricate pattern over her breasts. A thin layer of wet silk sticks to her luscious soft globes, and the fabric stops tantalizingly close to the top of where her nipples are. The wet fabric clings to her skin, showing the peaks of her nipples. If I look hard enough, I can almost see the outline of nipple through the fabric.
My foot connects with a tree root and I stumble, hitting the ground with my elbow as a grunt is forced out of me.
Carries startles and jumps to her feet, letting out a yelp of surprise. She grabs her dress and covers her body with it, but not before I glimpse the miniscule triangle of black lace with the tiniest straps I ever saw wrapped around her hips and disappearing around her back. As she scrambles to cover herself I catch a glimpse of a smooth butt cheek.
She’s wearing a thong, a lace thong.
And that knowledge makes my dick lengthen even as I scramble on the ground to pull myself upright.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“What the fuck, Cole?” The way she’s holding her dress doesn’t cover her entire body, and her glistening wet thigh with the single black strap around the hip is clearly visible.
