Yet, in such a short time, Duke is starting to mean everything. Every now and then, I glance up at him and catch the way the light hits him. He really does look like something out of a movie.
He’s not just devastating to look at, but uh, let’s be real, he is. No, it’s more than that. He’s the kind of man who would carry my pain like it’s his own, who would steady my breathing with his, and who didn’t flinch when my world was spinning.
When I woke up to him this morning, I couldn’t help myself. It was the safest I had felt in a long time, and one of the only timesI was able to sleep while camping. All because I was in his arms. Once his scruff rubbed my cheek when he woke up and said “mornin’,” that was it. I transformed into this wild woman. I wanted to see what it felt like when that strong, steady man came undone … because of me. When I watched him giving into ecstasy, I felt so alive.
With my ex, everything, and I mean everything, was on his terms. When we were intimate, I wasn’t a partner, I was an accessory—a shortcut to his own gratification.
With Duke, it’s the opposite. This morning, even though I was the one touching him, he still made me feel like the center of the universe. I didn’t even care that Topper interrupted us. It was still one of the hottest experiences I’ve ever had.
Now, the sound of him gasping and moaning playing over and over in my ears has my skin prickling. Part of me wants to find a clearing, throw a blanket down, and find out what he really meant by “your turn.”
I’m so preoccupied with these thoughts that I miss a step on the trail and lose my footing. I’m airborne for a minute and then land in the stream with a splash so loud it probably startles birds out of trees three counties over. Cold water rushes up my sleeves, soaks through my shorts, and sends a shock straight to my spine.
“Roxanne!” Duke says, rushing to me.
I glance at him and burst out laughing. I haven’t laughed like this in years. I love that the thought of making Duke climax literally swept me off my feet.
“Are you okay?” he asks, splashing into the water.
He extends a hand to help me up, and I take it, still giggling. The second I rise to my feet, something shifts and the air between us becomes charged once again.
His hand is still wrapped around my back. His eyes are on my mouth, and I swear, the forest goes quiet for half a second. Duke’s other hand rises to brush a soaked strand of hair from my cheek.
“It’s my new favorite thing to hear you laugh,” he says.
I blink up at him. “I must look like a drowned rat.”
His lips curve into a smile, slow and devastating. “Just my type.”
“I learn something new about you every day. You can’t fish worth a damn, and you have a fetish for rodents.”
“I didn’t want you to feel bad for taking a dive,” Duke says with a wink. “You do know this is adrycamp out, Trouble?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t need to be drinking to make a fool of myself.”
Duke helps me back onto the trail and offers to carry my pack. “I find it hard to believe you’ve ever been a fool.”
I squeeze water from my ponytail. “Actually, this doesn’t even come close to my most dramatic splash.”
He tilts his head. “Oh yeah?”
“Picture it,” I say, spreading my fingers wide and fanning my arms out. “Thailand. A floating market outside of Bangkok. This was back when I did more of the photography on our travels.”
“I’m picturing.”
“So I climb into this tiny wooden boat to get footage. I’ve got my camera strapped around my neck, my backpack on one shoulder, and?—”
Duke’s already chuckling. “This ends with a splash, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, it ends with me tipping the boat, flipping into the canal, a shoe that goes flying, and me emerging with a durian floating next to my head.”
He laughs and it’s this warm, rumbling sound that makes me feel like I’ve just won something.
“I reeked of fermented fruit and fish for the rest of the day,” I add, tossing my hair. “Still made the cover photo for that issue, though. Thank goodness my camera flew off and landed inthe boat.”
“Hmm, let me guess, you would’ve ended up in Goose’s trough whether you were wearing those heels or not?”
“Most likely, yes. Are you impressed by knowing how many times I manage to land in a body of water?”
