Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 307(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“Five-foot-four, thank you very much.” She shudders. “Do you know how many cases of rabies were confirmed last year in New York state alone?”
“How many?”
“I don’t remember, but it’s a lot. And the treatments are horrible.”
She shivers again and tries to speed-walk ahead of me, but I overtake her easily, grabbing her hips and backing her up to a maple tree on the side of the trail.
“Hey. I’ve got teeth and claws and you like to hang out with me.” I lean in to nibble her neck, making her laugh as she twines her arms around my neck and kisses me full on.
“How did you even find this place?” she murmurs against my lips.
“Do you like it?”
“God, it’s beautiful,” she says, eyes wide with appreciation as she takes it all in again. “But it’s like the trail that time—and park maintenance—forgot.”
“It’s always been like this. My parents used to bring me when I was a kid. Every year or so I find myself gravitating back to it. It’s not on any of the maps, and most people stick to the more popular routes, so it’s the perfect getaway.”
It is perfect. Sunny and clear blue skies, a light breeze to keep us comfortable, and no one else on the trail but the forest dwellers. No fretting about stock valuations, no mind-numbing meetings, and—best of all—no interruptions.
And I love sharing this place with her.
“Thanks for bringing me,” she says. “It’s been way too long since I’ve stepped on actual dirt and grass outside a city greenspace.”
“I thought you’d enjoy it. Couple years ago, I did a solo backpacking trip up here—little farther in. No human contact for ten days.”
“Impressive. And it gives me an idea for my next story.” Ellie grins, holding up her hands to frame my face. “Jack Edward Holt. From Wall Street tycoon to wilderness wanderer. How does he find the time to be so consistently fascinating?”
“Admit it.” I hook a finger through her belt loop and tug her close. “You love hanging out with me in the wild.”
Ellie bites her bottom lip, her cheeks pink. “Yeah, I do. Even with the bears.”
“I knew it!” I kiss her forehead. “An adventurer in the making.”
“It was four miles,” she says. “Round trip. I’m hardly scaling Mount Everest.”
“You know what they say. ‘A journey of a thousand steps begins with hiking four miles and mounting me on a rocky outcropping.’”
She grins. “I believe you mounted me.”
“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”
“You’re impossible. Seriously, I—Jack!” Ellie gasps as I wrap her up in a tight squeeze, my fingers seeking those ticklish spots along her rib cage.
“Stop!” she squeals, tears of laughter spilling down her cheeks. “Oh my God, Stop! It burns us!”
“Not until you admit that was the most fun you’ve had since we got high and planned our apocalypse escape. Admit it, Seyfried.”
“Okay, okay! You win!” She squirms free and leans back against the tree to catch her breath, still giggling as she tugs a lock of hair from her mouth.
Maybe it’s the fresh mountain air, the workout from our hike, or that sexy glow on her skin, but I can’t stop staring at her. Can’t stop grinning like a kid on Christmas, knowing that I have the power to make this woman laugh like that. That she has the power to make this former diehard workaholic bail on his clients so we can play hooky together.
Actually, she has a lot more power than that.
Ellie’s the one wearing a mask for this assignment, but I’ve been doing the same damn thing for more than a decade, hiding behind my confident, master-of-all-I-survey persona.
Ryan is the only person I stayed close to after my parents died—the only one who truly knows anything about my past. Not the headlines version, but the hard, ugly stuff beneath. The crappy year bouncing around foster care. The uphill battle to get my ass into college after my grades dropped in the wake of the accident.
I spent a long time building walls around my heart after that, convinced it was the only way to keep it from imploding again.
But Ellie…
For the first time since the accident, those walls are starting to crumble. She makes me want to open myself up to possibilities. To trust in something good again. To believe, like that happy kid from long ago, that loving someone doesn’t automatically come with a one-way ticket to heartbreak.
Yes, we’ve got great chemistry, the sex is off the charts, and she’s so much fun to be with—always has been. But I’d be lying if I said that this is just a good time.
Looking at that smile on her face as we make our way down the last rocky stretch of trail, seeing that sense of adventure peeking out from beneath her practical shell…
Damn. I don’t want this thing between us to have an expiration date.