“It’s not just the waterfall, Red.”
He didn’t have to explain. I could see the desire for me in his eyes. I took his hand, leading him to a spot I’d seen on the way down. The rock was flat and dry, perfect for a little picnic and a little loving.
“Thank you,” Dylan said once we were seated on the rock.
“For?”
“For bringing me here, for being you.”
Just go and melt my heart, Mr. Policeman.I leaned my cheek on his shoulder, and he rested his chin on my head. We sat like that for a while, listening to the crash of the water onto the rocks. I could feel the tension seeping out of his body as the sun warmed our faces. He sank down onto his back, bringing me with him and cradling my head with his arm.
“I think I could live here if we could get pizza delivery,” he said.
“And chocolate chip cookies. And a hamburger once in a while.”
He laughed. “You’re complicating things, Red.”
There was something in his tone of voice that made me think he wasn’t talking about pizza delivery. His fingers played with my hair, and I closed my eyes, sighing from the tingles he was sending around my head.
“Mm, that feels good.”
“This world tour of yours. How long are you planning to be gone?”
“I don’t know. I’m leaving that open. A year. Two. Until I get tired of traveling, I guess.” But I was going to miss him. I almost wished we hadn’t met until after I came back. There was no way a man like him would sit around for a year or two, waiting for me to get the travel bug out of my system. I’d never expect him to or ask it of him.
There was no one else at the bottom of the falls, and we were hidden from view of anyone on the observation deck. I swung a leg over Dylan’s waist, straddling him. His eyes, hooded and half-asleep, tracked my movements. I put my hands on either side of his head, bracing them on the rock, lowered my face, and brushed my lips over his. He put his hands on my hips as I played with his mouth. I loved kissing Dylan Conrad. His lips were full, soft, and delicious.
“I wish we had a tent we could crawl into so we could strip off our clothes and make love here next to the waterfalls.” I dropped kisses to both sides of his eyes. The mountain water cooled the air around us, but my body felt like someone had turned on the furnace. Simply being near this man sent heat to every bone and nerve ending living inside my skin.
“I’m a transplanted city boy. I’ve never been camping, but I think I’d like wrestling around in a tent with you.” He smiled. “We’ll have to give it a try sometime.”
There were all kinds of things I wanted to do with him, places I wanted to take him, things I wanted to show him. When the voice in my head said that there wasn’t enough time left to check off everything on my list, I pushed it away.
We were in the here and now, and when I left, it would be with beautiful memories of this man, whether we ever got naked together in a tent or not. He slipped a hand under my T-shirt, cupped my breast with his palm, and flicked his thumb over my nipple.
“Copping a feel there, Chief?”
“Uh-huh.”
I laughed. “I love an honest cop.” His erection pressed against the vee of my shorts, and I rubbed against him, teasing him.
“You’re treading on dangerous territory, Red. You keep that up, and I won’t care that we’re out in the open and someone could come down here any minute.” Even as he spoke the words, he arched his hips, pushing back at me.
As if he’d conjured company by mentioning the possibility, I heard voices. Dylan put his hands on my waist and lifted me to the side of him. By the time the family of four reached the bottom of the trail, Dylan and I were innocently enjoying our picnic. But, mercy, those hot looks he was giving me were setting me on fire.
“I think we should go back to your place and take a nap,” I said as I popped the last bit of cheese in my mouth.
He smirked. “If you say so.”
Yeah, we might be in his bed, but we weren’t going to be napping.
24
~ Dylan ~
Monday morning, I waited for Moody to appear. He was late, and as usual where he was concerned, I was irritated. Already on my third cup of coffee, I replayed my weekend in my head. Jenny and I had gone back to my place, made love, and then had actually napped for a few hours. When she said she should go home, I’d convinced her to stay. I could get used to having her in my bed every night.
When I’d kissed her good-bye this morning, I’d almost asked her to come over tonight when she got off work. I liked having her with me, but I resisted asking. We’d spent the weekend together, and it was better that I give her space. Didn’t want her getting tired of my ugly face.
