He let me climb on the boulders and the cliffs to my heart’s content. He stuck with me for a while, but then seemed happy to sit on a boulder and watch me play. When I came back to him, he’d hold me, or give me a casual kiss, but he didn’t turn my world inside out again while we were there. I think he knew I needed time to process whatever-the-fuck had happened during that first kiss.
Chapter Six
Frost
I’d been a little too pleased to learn she’d never ridden on the back of a bike before. She quickly picked up on how to work with me and the bike, and not against us. I think her inner cat protested at first, but the kitty eventually enjoyed it as much as the woman.
And now, watching her play on the face of the slippery cliff, barefoot and completely balanced, as sure-footed as the feline, it felt like life was nearly complete. The kiss had almost undone me, but that was okay because it seemed to affect her the same.
She was coming back towards me when something caught my eye and my head swung around. My inner owl spotted the squirrel before I did, and I had to hold him back to keep him from trying to fly after it. I could see Cheyenne with my peripheral vision, and she’d done the exact same thing, though it was her cat wanting to run and pounce on it, instead of flying to it.
We looked back at each other, realized we’d both wanted to eat the squirrel, and grinned.
“Maybe we should go eat now?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if she could hear me over the roar of the falls, but she laughed and nodded, so she’d either heard me or read my lips.
She put her socks and boots back on, and we made our way to the bike.
Once we were on the way, I told her, “The place we’re headed has excellent chicken-and-dumplings, but their country fried steak is also really good. We have a couple of long, sweeping curves coming up. I really like this section of road.”
“Thanks for today. I mean, I know it isn’t over yet, but I’m having fun.”
My heart warmed. I’d known she was enjoying herself, but it was good to hear her say it. “You’re welcome. Thanks for coming with me.”
We ate, and then we rode a while, keeping to the forest, away from civilization, and I debated whether to take her to the cabin. I’d rented one just outside the national preserve, but I hadn’t known for sure if we’d go or not. Something told me she wasn’t ready for sex yet, and that was fine, but she might be in a few hours. Even if we didn’t stay the night, though, it would give us a place to sit and talk, or to explore together. I’d never seen her cat. Would she show me?
And so, I made my way to it, stopped at the gate at the bottom of the small mountain, input the code the rental company had given me, and went through as it opened. I stopped and looked back to make sure it closed — we didn’t want unexpected visitors.
The road going up is hard-packed gravel, so I took it nice and slow. It’s curved, and steep, but this meant no one was likely to bother us. The nearest hiking trail is a mile and a half away, and the terrain is too steep to go off-trail and accidentally end up there.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a cabin I rent when I need some alone time. I love my brothers, but owls are mostly solitary, and sometimes being around them is too much. My house is in the spa’s compound, and work is crazy. I’m careful not to fly around too much here, but I can let my owl have some time. Squatch comes with me sometimes, when he needs to let the bear out. Usually, I come alone, though.”
“Am I going to get to meet your owl?”
“If you’d like. Do you think I can meet your cat?”
I pulled up to the cabin as I asked, and I felt her taking her helmet off behind me. I killed the engine, and she slung her leg around to get off. I missed her body heat, but I tried not to show it.
“Yes, I think she’d like to explore the forest here. Any problem with my cat finding her own food?”