“I didn’t say anything.” Shane merely shrugged, like all he’d been doing was polishing his halo.
Huh.
“I’ll pack up while you get ready.” Krista ducked inside her tent to prepare for the day’s hike, grateful to be away from Shane’s loaded gaze for a few minutes. She needed to get her head together, but man, just the thought of how ramped up and turned on she’d been last night was making her damp between her thighs and hot around her neck.
Talk about losing all inhibition!
Where had all this inner primal lust come from?
And why hadn’t it ever come to the surface before?
***
Acouple of hours later, as they hiked a trail near their camp that promised views of the Edith Cavell glacier, that question still bounced around Krista’s head.
Why had Shane turned her on so much?
For sure, he had an impressive body and he was fun to be with, but they were friends, and she’d never pounced on a friend like that before.
It must have been the two Molsons she’d drunk and the cover of darkness, giving her extra confidence to have her vacation treat and eat it too, as well as the obvious—hard—fact that Shane had wantedher.
This was his fault. The lovely meal they’d shared. The moonlight and the wilderness afterwards. It had given him ideas of romance.
Well, no, not romance.
Just wanton, unadulterated sex.
And of course, sex and love were entirely different things. Which was another reason she shouldn’t read anything into last night.
Casual sex was just casual sex!She’d be wise to repeat that mantra to herself every time Shane popped into her mind.
“Do you want to try out this side trail?” Shane asked, looking up from his map. He nodded toward a seemingly lesser-trodden track through the trees. “It says in the guide that it leads to a rocky view of the Athabasca River.”
“Sure, sounds awesome.” Krista followed Shane down the narrow track.
“The ground here is so mossy. I can just about make out the trail. It’s overgrown.”
They were back to the business of hiking. Back to talking about the terrain and the beautiful scenery. Shane had stopped looking at her in that way that saidLast night, eh?and was his usual focused and disciplined self. A good thing. A really good thing. Because Shane thought love was for losers, and getting involved with a man who thought such a thing wasn’t in Krista’s DNA.
Bushes covered the trail. Shane stepped over a decomposing log that had weeds growing out of the cracks in the rotting bark.
“Are you sure we’re still on the right track?”
“Yeah. Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a while, but I can hear the river.”
And sure enough, the sound of rushing water got louder and louder. Ten minutes later, the trees cleared a little and they came to a rocky bank that, just as the trail guide had promised, gave them a clear, wide view of the river. Some parts flowed quickly. Others were still and smooth, reflecting clouds and the surrounding forest.
Krista took in the tall wide spruces across the water and the forever-present mountain peaks. “It’s so pretty here.”
Shane’s gaze heated the side of her face. Slowly, she turned to him. Avoiding eye contact with him had been easy on the narrow trail, but now, there was nowhere to hide.
“I want to see you naked,” he said. “I want to see every inch of your body. I want to see your face when you come.”
Krista’s breath hitched, her cheeks on fire. “You...um... What did you say?”
“You heard.”
Her legs weakened. She leaned against a tree.
