5. On Our Backs

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Ah,fresh air and a morning without a commute to work. Day three of my sabbatical and a mist hovered over the lake when I awoke, everything wet and cool. It was the perfect time to get to know this side of the valley.

I spent a few hours hiking, exploring the forest and lakeshore, stopping to snack and filled in a little more of the map I drafted in my journal. Junior Steele's master plan for the valley hadn't yet developed this side of the lake. How many million dollar homes does one small valley need, anyway?

Perfectly manicured trees and landscapes were too common in my world these days in San Francisco. The rough, undeveloped land here reminded me more of my growing-up years in the Pacific Northwest.

Following game trails, I discovered deer tracks and various types of scat. I even found trees marked by bears, the gouges in the bark about the height for a full-grown black bear.

Eve's cautions on keeping food and trash put away were out of necessity plus scaring the guests into staying neat. Good thing I carried bear spray in my pack and knew what to do in case I ran into one.

I returned to the campground as the sun climbed higher, the air warming and promising a hot afternoon. In a clump of trees I hadn't noticed before, Eve rested in a hammock, reading a book. One shapely leg hung out, her foot touching the ground, rocking herself back and forth.

There was an empty hammock next to hers. Perfect. Time to turn up the charm and get to know Eve a little better. I swung by my cabin first and stuffed two cold bottles of water and my e-reader into my backpack.

"Hi. I didn't notice these hammocks yesterday. Nice spot for reading," I said, and, facing opposite her, I settled in, as much as one can while defying the laws of gravity inside the contraption hanging in between two trees.

She glanced up, finally acknowledging me, her mouth tightening ever so slightly, despite sucking on a gold necklace between her lips.Her hair up in a bun, I'd like to let it loose and see it flowing around her shoulders. Her full breasts displayed beautifully in a rose-colored halter top. Shorts highlighted long, toned legs.

"Would you like a bottle of water?" I extended one. Her tongue darted out, moistening her lips, and she sat up, surprising me by taking it.

"Thank you," she said, her voice rough like she hadn't spoken in a while. Her lips opened to form around the bottle opening and I stifled a growl, tearing my eyes away toward the words on my screen.

"Nice day," I said. She made no comment, not even a Mm-hmm through pursed pink lips. But persistence was my middle name in the field of science. "It's warmer out than it was yesterday."

"You're really talking to me about the weather?" She peered at me over the top of her book with her gorgeous eyes—A mesmerizing blue-green, almost the color of the vibrant lake on a sunny day.

The clean air in Steele Valley, the snow run-off from the mountains, and a bright blue sky contributed to the lake's rich hue. But like rain muddying the water, I'd hate to see what clouds forming in her eyes would do.

"I think summer is really settling in. We'll have to find ways to keep cool." I pretended to keep reading, gauging her reaction.

She peered up just enough for brief eye contact again. "There's a lake right there."

"You're right. And wearing fewer clothes is always an option."

She leaned back into her hammock. "I was thinking more along the lines of a certain hot guy needing cold water and a good plunge to help cool him off."

"So, you think I'm hot?"

She snorted, remaining quietly intent on her book. I smiled inwardly. I was getting to her.

"What are you reading?" I asked. Due to the nondescript cover on her book, I couldn't tell what it was, and teased her. "My guess is it's a romance novel."

"Sh." At least I got a response or a rise out of her. Then again, she could prove too much of a challenge for the length of my stay here. "I'm just getting to a really hot scene."

"Oh? And does the author go into detail about that?"

"Immense detail." If I wasn't mistaken, a slight curve of the corner of her plump, pink lips hooked on the end of that.

"Don't suppose you'll share?"

"Nope." She clammed up.

Holy shit. Now all I could think about was her, me, hammock, cock, pussy, and how we could position ourselves for the greatest pleasure.

"What appeals to you about romance novels?"

"Reading is a well-respected form of escapism," she muttered.

Hm. My brain went to work and analyzed her voice. A little haughty, mixed with sarcasm, infused with a challenge. I'd never backed down from one in my life.

"Look around you at the beauty of Steele Valley. Is your reality so bad that you have to escape?" I ended with a well-tested flirty smile, including my dimples. It failed, and she didn't notice, burying herself back in her book, a stress line forming on her forehead.

"No, but a romance book is way better than the complications of dating."

"I see. Had a heartbreak recently?"

"What? No."

"Avoiding heartbreak then, hiding away here with your nose in a book?"

"I…um." She sighed as if exasperated with me, and I adored the pink shading her cheeks. It took her a moment until she had a comeback. "I'm not hiding. Just keeping to myself."

I snickered at the slight difference. We continued to read; the silence relaxing rather than awkward, but my eyes drifted over her body more than a few times. Whatever type of book it was, I liked a woman who read—a total turn on.

I broke the quiet a minute later. "Don't you want to know what I'm reading?"

She glared at me, her head cocking to the side. "You can't be reading too much since you keep talking, but I'll bite. What are you reading?"

"This one came highly recommended." I turned my device around, showing the book cover on my app. "The biography of a tech mogul, Heath Arnault."

She gasped and jerked upright in the hammock. I took that as a sign of interest.

"He's supposed to be a genius and is taking the tech world by storm with his work in artificial intelligence. I'm really impressed by what I'm reading so far," I said, explaining.

Her mouth twisted and her nose wrinkled, like she smelled something rotten. "The people who write biographies often embellish the truth. I wouldn't trust a word of it."

Her strong reaction was curious. "And you know this how? From experience?" But before she could answer me, the mother from cabin three waved to her, shouting about a laundry machine overflowing.

Eve scrambled out of the hammock, knocking over her water bottle and dropping her book as she sprinted off.

Without her company, I abandoned my own hammock, righting her bottle and the book. I snuck a glance over the page she was on, shocked to find she wasn't reading romance at all but a technical manual about computer coding, and it looked rather specialized. I had a basic knowledge of code and this book was far beyond what I'd learned from a few college courses in my undergrad years.

Why would she lie about this? Why not just admit she was reading something much more advanced than a romcom? Her deception annoyed me, however small it was. But then, my brain caught on fire, turned on as much as my cock.

So, Eve was a smart girl and possessed a rocking body I wanted to fuck in the worst way.

Intrigued, I set the book on her hammock, and walked away, suddenly desiring to know every single detail about her. If she wanted to talk code, I was her guy. If she wanted to fuck, I'd lay my body down for her to take advantage of me. How could I accomplish both goals as my charm had yielded no success yet?

Then again, should I even bother? After all, I'd return to my neat and organized world in San Francisco soon and she'd be here. Was she the type of woman to appreciate a fling and keep it non-committal? Nothing serious, just pure summer fun? Or was she looking for something more?