16 - Melissa

16

Melissa

Noah offered to drive me back to my cabin so I could change into a bathing suit. One of the last things I had packed was a bikini for the occasional river bath along my hike, though I hadn’t gotten a chance to use it yet. I had wondered if it was even necessary—storage and weight were concerns while backpacking—but now I was glad I had it.

Ash rested his woodworking blade on a shoulder and watched us drive away. A shiver went up my spine, and I wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement. There was something about that man.

The camp was stirring with activity, but there was no sign of Jack. That made me sigh with relief… which then made me question my own emotions. What did I care if Jack saw Noah dropping me off the morning after a date? He wasn’t anything to me. Just an acquaintance that had helped me out.

That felt like a lie, but I was too excited about my plans with Noah to think about it too much.

I changed into my bikini, then pulled on a pair of hiking shorts and a T-shirt over top. Noah gave me an appraising look when I got back in the car.

“You look stunning.”

“You said that this morning. And last night before our date.”

“And it was true each time.”

When we got back to Noah’s place, Ash and his truck were both gone. Noah went into a nearby shed and came out with a long two-person kayak. He attached one end to a set of wheels and began rolling it toward the river.

“Need any help?” I asked. “Notice how I offered after you already clearly have it under control, that way I don’t have to help, but I still get the credit.”

“Smart,” he said with a chuckle. “But actually, you can grab two life jackets. They’re on the wall in the shed.”

I grabbed them and followed him across the field to the river.

“How’s your ankle?” he asked over his shoulder. “I meant to ask you last night, but…” A big grin split his face.

“It’s improving!” I replied happily. “It still hurts like hell when I move certain ways, but it’s better than it was. We don’t need to order those scans.”

“Glad my initial diagnosis was accurate.” He lowered the kayak next to a bench by the riverbank and frowned back at me. “I don’t want the wrapping to get wet, though. So I’m going to prescribe you an unorthodox treatment.”

I tensed. “Oh?”

Noah reached into his pack and pulled out a plastic grocery bag. “This will keep it dry.”

I laughed. “I was expecting something a little more official.”

He patted the bench, and I sat down. “This is the latest in anti-wetness technology,” he bragged while taking off my sandal. “We usually charge insurance companies seven hundred dollars for this kind of treatment.”

“It must be state-of-the-art plastic,” I said, pretending to be awed.

He wrapped it around my ankle and tied it. “Since you slept with me, this one’s on the house.”

“Good,” I replied. “I only slept with you for the free healthcare, so I’m glad it’s paying off.”

His touch was soft and caring, and then he planted a quick kiss on my knee. “All done. Now you’re ready to hit the water.”

“This will keep the occasional splash off me, but what if I fall in?”

“Don’t,” he said with a wink. “Then I’ll have to go by the clinic to get another wrap, and that would raise some more questions.”

“Wait. You can’t get in trouble for helping me, can you?”

“Probably not, but it’s better if we don’t find out.”

Noah dragged the kayak to the edge of the water and then held it steady while I climbed inside. There was only one paddle, the kind with blades on both ends, but he clicked a button in the middle and split it into two individual paddles. He handed one to me, climbed in the back, and then shoved off the riverbank.

“I’ve never been kayaking before,” I admitted.

“Really? Is Toledo not on a river? My Ohio geography isn’t great.”

“We have the Maumee River. People do kayak on it, but the water always looks so dirty. Everything out here is much cleaner, much fresher.”

“That’s part of why I love it out here so much,” Noah said with a happy sigh. “It’s easy. You paddle on one side, and I’ll paddle on the other.”

Now that we were on the water, gently floating along, I felt panicked. “How do we steer?”

“I’m in the back, so I’ll worry about that,” Noah said calmly. “We’re going upstream to start, so we’ll have an easy trip back.”

I gripped the paddle with both hands and dipped it into the river. It seemed to take a tremendous amount of effort to push it through the murky water.

“Am I doing it right?”

“You don’t need to shove it so deep. The blade is all that needs to go in the water.”

I changed my form. “Like this?”

Rather than answering, Noah placed his paddle into the bottom of the kayak and wrapped his arms around me. His hands closed over mine and he guided my motions.

“Like this. Dip just the blade. Now a nice, smooth stroke. See how I’m not trying to force it?”

“Is this advice for kayaking, or foreplay?” I teased.

His breath was hot on my neck. “It can be both.”

I twisted around and brushed my lips against his. Desire and need flooded my body, the memory of last night’s activities still fresh in my mind.

“But no, this is purely kayaking,” he said while still guiding my motions. “My intentions are innocent, I promise. We can have other fun when we get home later.”

“Your intentions are innocent?” I purred. “You’re doing the cheesy thing from rom coms. Showing the girl how to do something as an excuse to touch her.”

“I don’t need an excuse, but I am enjoying the physical touch,” he admitted. “How else am I supposed to explain kayaking to a novice?”

“I wasn’t complaining,” I breathed.

He rumbled a laugh, and one of his hands left mine… but instead of returning to his own paddle, it slid down my waist to the front of my shorts. His fingers lightly dove inside, splitting into a V-shape to surround both sides of my sex without really touching me. I sighed as he kissed the back of my neck.

“This is more fun than kayaking,” I whispered.

“It’s more fun than a lot of activities,” he replied, voice throaty with his own desire. He nuzzled at my neck some more.

“We can go back inside and kayak another day.” I pushed my hips forward into his fingers, but they remained maddeningly adjacent to my sex without actually touching the parts I wanted.

“After all the work of hauling the kayak onto the water?” he rumbled into me.

I twisted my head to gaze into his blue eyes. The morning sun was playing in his blond hair. God damn he looked good, even better than any other time I had been around him. Although that might have been my lady parts talking, because right now they were screaming at me to take him back inside.

Suddenly, someone giggled nearby. Noah and I tore our gazes toward the shore, where two little girls had stopped riding their bikes on the path and were now openly watching us.

“And my lady-boner is gone,” I mumbled.

“Same for my gentleman boner,” he whispered back, then waved at the girls. “Morning, Carla! Shouldn’t you be in class? The school bell rings in five minutes.”

They hurried on their way, but the moment with Noah was gone. He returned to his own seat behind me, with a gap of air between us, and resumed paddling.

“We can have our fun later,” he promised.

Only slightly disappointed, I hefted my paddle and took a deep breath of the mountain air.

“I’m going to hold you to that!”