Pieces of Us - Carrie Elks Page 0,20
getting used to this one. It feels like I’m on a permanent vacation right now.”
“Apart from the fact you have to work here.” He grinned.
She shrugged. “I usually work on vacation.” She and Josh had spent most of their honeymoon closing a deal. Ugh, she didn’t want to think about that.
Griff quirked an eyebrow, his warm gaze bringing her back to the present. “Of course you do.”
Autumn tipped her head to the side. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who relaxes much, either.”
“I relax all the time. My whole life is laid back.” He shrugged.
“Apart from when you’re working or surfing or hiking.” She grinned at him. “Do you ever sit down and watch T.V.?”
“I watch it occasionally.”
“What was the last thing you watched?” she asked him, enjoying the banter between them. Striding next to her, in his cargo shorts and t-shirt, he felt more like a force of nature than a man. She wasn’t the lightest woman in the world – her ass could attest to that – but she had no doubt he could lift her up without even taking a breath.
“I watched the Backyardigans with Arthur yesterday,” Griff told her.
She laughed. Could he be any more adorable? “What about TV for the over twenty-one crowd?”
“I can’t remember the last time I switched my TV on.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure if it even works.”
Ahead of them was a field of rocks, inclining up to the base of a craggy hill. “Have you walked on scree uphill before?” Griff asked her, glancing down at her pristine boots.
Autumn looked at the incline ahead of them, covered with loose stone. “A couple of times.”
“There are a few tricky areas,” he told her, inclining his head toward the rocks. “But it’s mostly okay. Take your time and put your weight in your feet to keep your balance. I know the easiest way through, so follow me.”
“Okay.” She watched as he scrambled over the rocks, the thick muscles in his back and legs contracting as he climbed. His thighs were tight against the thin fabric of his shorts, and her gaze rose up to his ass.
His fine, tight, perfectly rounded ass. Was it getting hot up here?
“You okay?” He looked back at her, and she immediately blushed.
“Yeah.” She nodded and gave herself a mental slap. Stop ogling the sexy guy, Autumn.
She stepped onto the loose stone, feeling it roll beneath her soles. She flexed her own muscles to keep herself steady, taking long slow steps to where Griff was waiting for her.
“The next bit is harder. Hold on to that rock for as long as you can,” he said, pointing at a large boulder. “It won’t move.”
She did as he directed, circling around the rock behind him, feeling her body warm with the exertion.
“If this is the easy trail, what’s the hard one like?” she called out to him.
“Hard,” he said again, and she swallowed down a grin.
A thin sheen of perspiration covered her face as she let go of the boulder and stretched her right foot out for the next step. Moving her left foot forward to complete the stride, she felt the rocks sliding out from beneath her, and found herself windmilling her arms in a desperate attempt to find something to grab onto.
Her fingers closed around the cotton of Griff’s t-shirt, bundling the gray fabric into her fist. Her knuckles pressed against his warm skin, and he turned immediately, reaching out for her wrist to stop her from sliding. He gently pulled her toward him, hooking his thick arms around her waist.
By instinct, she grabbed hold of his arms, feeling his iron-hard biceps beneath her palms. Her heart was hammering against her chest from a mixture of adrenaline and something else… something altogether more electrifying.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah,” she said breathlessly, feeling her hair tumble down around her shoulders. “It’s a rookie mistake. I stepped too far and lost my balance.”
He reached out and tucked the loose hair behind her ear, his finger leaving a trail of fire on her skin. “Do you want to go back?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “It was just a little slide.”
The corner of his lip quirked up. “We used to slide down this hill when we were young and stupid. Until Jackson fell over and broke his arm. Lucas’s folks gave us hell over it. He and Jackson were grounded for a month.”
“You slid down the scree?” Autumn asked, looking down the long slope they’d just