Chapter 15 - Clara

I stand on uneven ground, totally blind to the world around me, my body reluctant to move forward because I can't see a damned thing.

"Just trust me," Alex chuckles, his hands on my waist as he guides me forward.

The blindfold is so effective that I can't even see the light peeking through the fabric covering my eyes.

It's still daytime, and I know we are outside. I can feel the sun on my skin, but I can't see anything.

I grip his wrists as he steadies me. His hands feel warm against my waist.

"I feel like I'm going to trip on something," I complain, walking along the sloping ground outside. All I know is that we are outside the main fence behind Alexei's forest mansion. He took me out into the garden, then stopped me just as we left the property.

At the back gate, he tied this blindfold over my eyes, and since then—about fifteen minutes ago—he has been leading me to only heaven knows where.

It's scary and exciting, to be completely trusting someone else like this. I've never done anything like this. I don't think I've ever let someone blindfold me before. It's an act of faith in a lot of ways.

"We are almost there," he says behind me. "You doing okay?"

"I can't take much more of this," I giggle, but the truth is that for some reason, I feel completely comfortable letting him lead me, blind as a bat, through the forest at the back of the house. I'm actually having fun.

I don't know when the change happened, but in Alexei's hands I feel safer than I have ever felt before. It sounds ridiculous considering that this is the man who kidnapped me, almost caused me to fall off a cliff (to be fair, he did save my life then, too) and held me against my will as a prisoner in his house.

So I don't know why I've had a change of heart towards him. At first, I thought maybe it was just a physical thing. Something like an idea that turned me on when we made love, but it isn't. It's more than that. I trust him—even with my life.

Whether that is good or not is a whole different can of worms that I don't even want to think about opening.

I've decided that for now, whatever is going on, I am just going to enjoy it.

Sure, he might get bored with this whole thing and want to get rid of me soon and—send me back to my uncle? Who knows. The thought of going back to my life at my uncle's place makes me want to cry, so I push it away and refuse to acknowledge that it might be a very real possibility soon.

I kick something hard, a rock or a log. It doesn't hurt, but it does give me a fright.

"Lift your foot a little higher," he chuckles.

"Hey, you are the only one who can see right now," I laugh.

"You're doing so well—just a few more meters."

"What is that sound?" I ask, needing to talk louder as we get closer to it. Water? A soft rumbling?

"You're about to find out."

He stops walking and pulls me to a stop with him. He doesn't lift his hands off me, instead sliding them up from my waist, over my ribs, onto my shoulders. He pulls me back a little so that I am leaning against him.

"Are you ready?" he sounds excited.

"More than ready," I laugh.

"Take a deep breath in before I take the blindfold off. Tell me what you can smell. Tell me what you feel."

I lean fully against him, melting against his body.

I quiet my thoughts and listen; then, I let my senses take over for a moment.

The air feels crisp. It smells really fresh, scented with pine and a rich earthy smell, but sweet and inviting.

"It smells like we are a million miles from the city, right in the heart of nature. The air feels like it is a little damp, like we are standing in mist. It smells like it's just rained. You know when the grass has been shaken around a little and you can see how bright green it is…?"

I feel his hands untying the blindfold. He lets it drop slowly from my face and I blink my eyes open.

It takes me a moment for my vision to adjust from the complete darkness to this bright forest light. We are standing on the edge of a cliff, not very high, a rocky slope down to a river that has formed a pool right below us—and on the cliff opposite us is the most magnificent waterfall I have ever seen.

The soft spray of mist is churning in the air, causing a fine dance of water droplets to drift towards us. The water is running over the rocks, smoothed from years of contact, into the pool below.

Green moss and hanging vines and ferns decorate the edge of the waterfall, growing in the soil and the cracks of the rocks.

I stare with my jaw hanging open.

It is too beautiful for words. Looking at it makes my entire body relax, as though the soul of this place is embracing me.

"It's—it's—" I can't seem to find the word.

"It's really special." His voice is right against my ear as he wraps his arm tighter around me.

"It's really special." I nod in agreement, realizing that I don't even have to try and describe it. I can just feel it. I think that's why he asked me to take it all in a little before I removed the blindfold.

"Come on, I've got a little spot set up near the edge of the water."

"We're climbing down there?" I ask nervously.

"It's not far and I will help you."

"I've never actually been hiking before."

"Well, I am glad that I could be here to see you enjoy your first time."

Every time I look over at him, I notice how his eyes are sparkling. He's loving this. I have never seen him more in his element than he is right now, and holy shit, he looks so fucking sexy as he steps down the rocks along the cliff as though they were nothing but flat ground. His balance, control and nimble movements are distracting me from my own balance, which is not looking elegant at all right now.

He leads me to the edge of the rocks and along a sort of pathway, but I still need to scoot over some of the sections on my butt with Alexei holding me and guiding me, his arm muscles flexing as he lets me lean on him for support.

At the bottom, I grin. I feel wild and adventurous, just from that short climb.

Alexei is grinning at me when he holds his hand out to take mine.

He leads me to a picnic area he has set up near the waterfall, in an open space between the trees which is letting the sun reach down onto us.

"Wow, when did you do all of this?" I ask, admiring his setup.

"While you were in the shower. Then drying your hair. Turns out it takes you long enough to do that that you didn't even notice me sneaking out with a picnic."

We sit there in the warm summery glow, and Alexei pours us each a glass of wine and lays out a very beautiful picnic of cheese and biscuits and cold cuts with strawberries and little chocolates for dessert.

"This is so perfect."

"It's our first adventure." He smiles. "I am already planning the next one."

We sit there talking and laughing for about an hour, then Alexei starts kicking his shoes off as a mischievous grin spreads across his cheeks.

"What are you doing?" I ask, staring at him as he pulls his tee shirt over his head, his abs are fully on display for me.

" We are going to swim."

" We ? In the river? But what if there are things in there?" I stare nervously into the crystal clear pool beneath the waterfall. I don't see anything in there, but it looks deep in the one section where the waterfall is bubbling beautifully off the rocks.

"Yep. Adventures, remember? Take it off." He gestures with his eyes over my clothes.

I gasp and cover my chest with my hand. "Won't it be cold?"

"It will—icy, in fact. So cold you will feel more alive than you have ever felt in your life. But the trick is not to think about it. We'll stand on the edge there, on that big rock, and just jump in."

"Together?"

He nods. And the smile on his face is all I need as motivation to agree to what seems like something I would never do.

Perhaps this is a new version of me. An adventurous girl who gets naked in the forest with the guy who kidnapped her to jump into a really deep ice-cold pool.

I start pulling off my clothes, racing to catch up with him.

When I get to my underwear, I hesitate, but Alexei is already kicking his off, smirking at me as though I have been challenged to do the same.

I toss mine on the blanket, feeling shy but incredibly brave at the same time.

He takes my hand, and we stand completely naked on the rock. I am about to dip my toe into the water when he says, "No. Don't even feel it. On three—jump."

I nod, butterflies going wild in my stomach.

"One…two…"

He pulls me as he shouts three, and for a blissful second, we are launched into the air together. Then ice slams into my body as we plunge into the deep pool. It bites at my skin. Cold. Fresh. And more alive than I have ever felt.

As I'm gasping for air on the surface as my body fights to adjust to the temperature, Alexei pulls me right up against him, holding me as we float together.

"How does it feel?"

Through shivering teeth, I smile and mumble, "Truthfully? I can't stop smiling."

"This place has that effect on me, too."

But I don't think it is just this place.

It's him.

It's his spirit, his energy, his laugh and that gorgeous smile of his.

I just want to soak him into me.

I want to be a part of him.

After a few minutes, my body has adjusted to the cold and it doesn't feel so bad. We dive beneath the surface and collect beautiful pebbles, tossing them towards our blanket to collect later.

We float on our backs, staring up at the bright blue sky shining between the tall trees.

It is the perfect day. There is no wind, the sun is warm, and everything just feels exactly right.

When I do finally start shivering, Alexei pulls me to the edge of the river and helps me climb out. He wraps a spare blanket around me and hugs me close to him.

We lie on the picnic blanket until we are dry and warm.

Looking up at the sky, we play that silly game where you have to say what you see in the clouds. A rabbit. A hat. A flower. A dragon.

"You are really bad at this game." Alexei laughs loudly, trying to figure out how the shape I am pointing at can possibly look like a car.

"You just don't have the creative vision to keep up with me."

The sky is starting to turn orange and pink and we are still lying naked, wrapped in the blanket together.

"It's getting late. Are you ready to head back home?" Alexei asks.

"You know, this might sound ridiculous to you, but I've never played that game before—the shapes in the clouds—and something else I've never done before…you know, my entire life has been about keeping my uncle happy. Going to school. Doing well. Being well behaved…" I sigh and bite my lip.

"What is it that you've never done before?"

"I've never stargazed before." I shrug, feeling embarrassed to admit it.

"Never ever? You've never just stared up at the night sky and watched the stars?" He can't believe it.

"Never." I shrug again, feeling my cheeks growing warm. I don't want him to think I'm boring.

"Well, then I guess we are going to have our second adventure, aren't we? We will have to stay out here all night, watching the stars, and staying warm together."

"Really?" I ask, shocked. "All night?"

"All night." He grins. "I already checked the weather before I planned this picnic, so I know it's going to be a beautiful night. We'll be warm, as long as we stay close together." His hand presses against my stomach and I feel his fingers brushing over my skin.

"I can do that. I can stay close to you all night," I whisper as nervous excitement ripples through me.

He grins down at me, where I am lying with my head in his arms.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Mhm."

Lying naked in the forest as the sun begins to set, snuggled against the most gorgeous man in the world—it's making my head churn. My body is so alive I can barely sit still, but I am trying. I keep having to stop myself from running my hands over his chest, down—

We are chatting and laughing about so many different things, and at least that is distracting me from the primal thoughts infecting my mind.

But it's getting harder to control the longer we lie here.