Page 43 of Rough

I winked and helped her back in her clothes. I wanted her to remain bare, to walk naked as I often did after a shift and a run. She didn’t need clothes here, not with me. Not with anyone around.

I’d get her there. For now, I’d get her to the secret spot, get her naked again. She liked it wild, she liked it rough. I’d give her anything she wanted.Doanything she wanted. Ensure she knew she was mine. When I helped her down from the truck bed and saw her reddened ass, I knew she already was.

18

AUDREY

Everything tingled.My ass, my clit, my nipples. My lips. And the oxytocin—what we’d calledthe love hormonein med school—plowing through my system had me soaring. Bonding.

I was definitely feeling the love.

In all kinds of ways.

It was more than physical, and that part scared the hell out of me. Marina had told me to climb Boyd like a tree. Becky, who’d never met my sister, would high five her and agree. I’d wanted to get laid, get some man-made orgasms and have a little fun.

Check and check.

I hadn’t expected Boyd to turn out to be so much more than I gave him credit for. He was almost too good to be true. Cocky, sure. He’d proven he was a skilled lover. No wonder women eyed him like he was the last piece of chocolate in a box. I craved him now.

I guess that made me nervous. Because I’d learned if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.

I wasn’t going to give any attention to my fears right now, though. The day was gorgeous, and my body thrummed with pleasure. I was following Boyd across the field. His long legs ate up the distance, and I couldn’t keep up. He slowed, held out his hand, and I took it. He didn’t let go as he led me to—

“Is that water?” I asked as we headed down a barely-there narrow footpath. I assumed we were on private property, but the place was visited enough to have a worn-down area in the grass. We were about ten minutes from the truck and had gone higher and close to the mountains. Small boulders dotted the hillside, scraggly bushes and even a cottonwood or two offered dappled spots of shade. I stopped short and gasped when we rounded a corner. “Oh my God, Boyd. This is incredible.”

In front of us, a small, fifteen-foot waterfall dazzled, dropping freely over a moss-covered rock lip to feed what appeared to be a deep pool.

He looked my way and grinned. “I know, darlin’. It’s private property, Old Man Shefield’s land. Wolf Ranch is his next-door neighbor, so I’ve been coming here since I was a tot. He died a few months ago, sadly.”

I turned around and looked east. I couldn’t see the house for this property or any of the buildings on Wolf Ranch. He leaned close and pointed over my shoulder.

“Wolf Ranch is that way.”

“This is one of those things you did as a kid? Roamed free and got to come up here with your brothers?”

I turned back around, took in the water. It would be called a pond because of the size. It was perhaps only thirty feet across. Excess water escaped over the bank and made a little stream that went down the hillside.

“Sure did.”

I could envision Boyd as a boy, pale tousled hair and gangly arms and legs, running after his older brothers and splashing in the water. It had to have been such a carefree childhood. Until—

“Do you swim here?” I asked, steering my thoughts away from what had happened to his parents. I wondered if he came here much after their deaths.

“Yes. Feel the water. You won’t believe it.”

I walked to the water’s edge, squatted down and stuck my fingertips in. “It’s so warm! Is it a hot spring?”

He nodded, then tipped his chin. “Yep. The waterfall is runoff and cold as hell. Beneath it, coming out of the ground is a spring. Water’s really hot, so careful if you go in that corner. It all mixes together to make it just right. I’ve even come here in the winter.”

I looked up at him, wondering if he was teasing me. There were hot springs all over the west and in this area, the same underground source that fed Yellowstone’s hot springs and geysers. Most were public and made into baths, but this…

A private oasis.

I dipped my fingertips in. The water was perfect, like a tepid bath. “This is incredible!” I shouted.

Boyd chuckled. “I know it is. Aren’t you glad you finally agreed to let me show you around?”

Yes. For more reasons than one. I just hadn’t expected a tour like this.