Page 9 of Goddess of Storms

I hate this pretending. It kills me not to be next to her, caressing her face, or kissing her lips. Hell, I’d take a handshake at this point.

“Awkward can be hot, some guys dig that,” I finally say.

“Why are you so interested in my love life? Doesn’t yours keep you busy enough?” she asks.

“You have no idea.” I laugh as we head away from our campsite.

“Keep your eyes peeled, I got a whiff of smoke. We may have a fire close.”

“You got it, boss,” I say as I scan the area for any sign of flames.

Harper always seemed to have a connection to nature, even past her goddess gifts from her parents.

“Morganite, this way.“ Harper points to her left.

“Want me to lead?” I question.

“Please, that way I know you aren’t staring at my ass,” she says.

“Nope, you’ll be staring at mine. Do you want me to move my pack, so you can get a better view?” I joke.

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t say a word.

“So, I’ll take that as a yes,” I state as I take a few steps in front of her.

The green grass thins as we walk higher up on the side of the mountain, Not a lot of trees here.

“Harper, you can see the middle of the lake from here. Did you bring a suit?”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “No, we are on a mission to stop random fires. Why would a swimsuit be on my to-pack-list?”

“Yeah, I didn’t pack one, either, so you know what that means right?” I ask as I wiggle my eyebrow at her. “Skinny-dipping.”

Her lips tip into a smile, “Do you ever think with anything but your dick?”

“Nope, that’s where my brain is.” I shrug.

Harper

Damn Stone and his charming smile. His flirtation has a familiar ring to it, instead of feeling creeped out, it makes me want to go to him. Everything about him seems like home, but how can that be? I have only known him for less than a year.

“Morganite, we need to focus and find this fire. Your teasing has to wait, best not to let this place burn so that you can get in my pants.”

A little blush grazes his cheeks and he glances back at me. “Call me Stone and we are nearly there. I can hear the crackle of the wood.”

We hike for five more minutes or so when the heat wave hits. It is a small fire with a handful of downed trees. As we approach, Stone pulls out his camping shovel and I do the same. Dropping our bags, we get to work. The best way to put out fires this far from water or the office is to cover it with dirt and let it burn itself out.

Making quick work of it, the fire and its embers are covered and there is now a thick coat of ash on us both. I wipe the beads of sweat from my forehead.

“I may take you up on the swim,” I call to Stone.

He gazes at me, raising an eyebrow at me. “Oh?”

“We aren’t too far from the lake, one little dip can’t hurt right?” I ask as I fold my shovel and pick up my pack.

“Fuck, you think I’m gonna turn you down?” He smirks and takes my hand, leading us back to the body of water in the middle of the park.

When our skin touches for the first time, a pulse of electricity runs through me. His touch seems familiar.How can that be?

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