Page 60 of One Quick Obsession

“That’s just mean.”

“I really am mean. I hope you can hike with a hard-on.”

In answer, I reached between us and rubbed the seam of her jeans over her clit.

She let out a shocked gasp, and I grinned, loving the way her eyes dilated.

“Payback’s a bitch. And that clit of yours is going to be rubbed every time you take a step. Poor baby.”

“I should hate you right now, but I can’t really catch my breath.”

“And now we’re even.” I smacked a kiss on her lips and took her hand. “Let’s start our hike. I’m going to drive to the edge of the trail, that way we don’t waste most of our hiking time getting through the property.”

“You’re the one who knows what he’s doing. I’ll just follow along.”

“I like the sound of that.”

She shoved at me again, before she picked up her backpack. “I went through the checklist that you gave me, as well as one that I found online. I should have everything for an afternoon hike.”

I frowned and lifted the bag. “It’s a little heavy. You going to be okay with that?”

“Of course. I even practiced on my small treadmill to see if I could handle it.”

My lips twitched. “Of course you did. I know you do a few hikes with the resort, but we’re going to be on the trail that heads off to the off-gridders.”

Her eyes widened. “We’re not actually going to go to the off-grid camp, are we?”

I shook my head. “No. These guys aren’t the dangerous ones. They are off-grid when it comes to most things, but they’re not the scary guys that believe they’re forming their own independent country within the United States. Or any other shit like that.”

“Oh good. They just don’t like being on the electrical grid or something?”

“Pretty much. They own the land that they’re on, so there’s nothing much that others can do about it.”

“You know, when they told me that you were a growly mountain man, I assumed you were with the off-gridders.”

I shrugged as we got into the truck and made our way to the trail.

“I thought about it to be honest.”

Her eyes widened, and I gripped the steering wheel a little bit harder.

“Some of them have the right idea. Getting away from people and just figuring out what the hell you want with your life.”

“So why didn’t you?”

I met her gaze, before turning back to the road. We parked in a small spot that wasn’t really a parking lot at the edge of the trail.

“As much as I like to be alone, and to hide, well, maybe not hide, but to get away, my family would never let that happen. Even before my dad died, my brothers and I were all decently close. When my youngest brother Ford went through all that hell, well, somebody had to be there for him. Even if he tried not to let us. And then it was one thing after another, and here I am, doing family dinners.”

“I’m glad that your family was there for you. Because you’re always there for them even if you don’t think you are.”

I let out a breath and didn’t say a word as we got out of the truck and began on the small trail that would lead us in a circle after a couple of miles. The wind started to pick up, and I frowned, checking the clouds.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she tightened the straps on her backpack.

“Just making sure that we’re okay on the weather. We should be.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” she said dryly.