She walked a few steps and turned back. “I feel like a duck.”
“That’s natural. You’ll get past it.” He took her hand and pulled her in close, tipping up her chin to meet her gaze. “And as for the other choice…I do want you. So damn much.”
“You don’t have to say that-”
“I want to kiss you,” he said quietly. “Touch you. I want to do things to you, all night long.”
She stared at his mouth, hers falling open.
“I want to feel your heart pound for me when I’m inside you. I’m sorry I wasn’t clear on that. I’ve been unclear on a lot of stuff lately, especially with you because I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Misguided,” she murmured, her voice a little thick. “I take care of myself, Cam.”
“You do. I know that. You’re so strong, but I…Look, I wasn’t completely honest. You do scare me. Okay? You scare the hell out of me.”
She nodded. “I could hold your hand.”
He let out a low laugh and drank in the sight of her by moonlight, trying to fit into his world. Fitting into his world. “Just so you know, you are truly the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.” She took the last step between them. “Oh, and one last thing.” She kissed him, one quick, hard, very nice kiss on the lips before pulling back. “That’s what you’re missing out on by being afraid of me. Just so you know.”
When she’d walked away, Nick leaned in. “I’m glad to see I’m not the only idiot in residence.”
Still reeling, Cam lifted his middle finger and scratched his nose with it in Nick’s direction. While Nick laughed, he called out to the group. “Everyone ready?” He struggled to gather his thoughts. “We’ve got three miles to cover. At the top, we’ll stop for pictures. Hopefully the sky will stay clear and you’ll get a great shot at the full moon.”
“So romantic,” the woman with her boyfriend whispered.
And she was right. It was incredibly romantic. Cam slid Katie a quick glance, and found her looking at him.
Nick leaned in to Cam again. “It might be scary up there. Need me to hold your hand?”
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.” Cam led the way, with Nick taking up the rear, still chuckling at the both of them.
For Katie, the snow hike started off easy enough but quickly turned challenging. Even so, it was hard not to be completely awed by the night. The moon shined down on the snow, bouncing the reflecting light over the snow-covered trees, the mountains. She’d never paid much attention to the night sky in Los Angeles. Or to the daytime sky, for that matter. Either it was a dingy blue, thanks to the smog, or it was a dingy black, also thanks to the smog.
But here.
God, here.
Here in the Sierras, the sky had a million different looks, from pale purple in the dawn, to an eye-popping blue midday, to the blackest of black at night, and every single one seemed so large, so stunning.
Sort of like the man who was leading her hike right this very moment.
I want to do things to you…
Just thinking about his words had her breath coming faster, and Cam turned his head to check on her. “I’m good.” As long as I don’t picture you doing things to me…
But she did picture them as they kept going. And going. And going…As Cam promised, after a few minutes, she no longer felt like a duck as they all moved up the same hill he’d taken her up once before, in the Sno-Cat.
This time, under her own steam, it was a challenge. Her breath was huffing in her chest, making little white puffs of clouds with each exhale. They walked single file, the trail didn’t allow for anything else. Stone had warned her that snowshoeing up this particular mountain was pretty much a solitary experience, but that had appealed.
The couple in front of her, John and Sally, had a flask filled with something they kept passing back and forth, which made them giggle with increasing frequency.
Cam turned back often, checking on everyone, and each time he locked gazes with her, her heart stuttered.
He wanted to do things…and she wanted him to do those things…He kept a close eye on Sally and John, too, probably because after an hour, John was completely hammered and kept tripping over his own feet. Twice Nick had leaned past Katie to tell him to be careful.
Cam did the same from the front.
But John-Sally called him “Sweetie Pie”-wasn’t listening too well. He wasn’t obnoxious or rude or anything. In fact, he was quite happy and jolly. But he was definitely not heeding any advice.
The trail became increasingly narrower, with a sharp rock wall to their right, and then a decent drop to their left. When “Sweetie Pie” began to sing show tunes, Sally merely laughed. When he added in dance moves, coming extremely close to the edge several times, Katie held her breath. “Careful,” she begged him, adding what she hoped was a pleasant smile when she wanted to tell him not to be stupid. “Don’t fall.”
“I won’t,” he said just as one of his legs buckled. Katie shoved him clear of the edge at the same time he wrapped his arms around her for balance, but both of them wobbled and teetered, and Katie’s life instantly flashed before her eyes. Another time and place, another cliff…
As the panic hit her, her last coherent thought was, she was going to die before Cam could get her naked, and that was just really, really unfair.