Page 73 of Lost and Found

We say our goodbyes and I head toward main street and the mountain. The corporation isn't going to hire a local crew when they have a cookie cutter design and their own team with experience building it.

I sure as hell hope Martin hasn't been vandalizing the site to get a job. If that's his goal, he's going to fail hard.

***

I have no idea what to expect as I hike up the mountain in the dark. Experience has taught me to keep a pack ready for just about anything at all times, so I've got a headlamp, a sleeping bag, snacks, water, and emergency gear.

I also have condoms, something I started keeping with me after I failed to have one when I needed it with Dani.

The glow of a campfire at the Bobwhite campsite douses my excitement. We can't exactly have the kind of fun I want if campers are right next to our tent.

I sigh and slow my pace. I see no tents or signs of other campers as I approach the campfire. No sound of kids or adults laughing and talking.

The Bobwhite campsite is off the beaten path and far from the Appalachian trail, so it's one of our less frequented sites. My heart speeds with hope.

Dani sits on a log next to the campfire, rotating a stick with a marshmallow on the tip near the flames. She stares into the fire contemplatively, her expression sad.

Have I misconstrued her invitation? Maybe she just needs a friendly ear.

Shoving down my expectations, I focus on what she needs.

"Dani," I say, so I don't startle her.

She startles anyway, her body jerking with surprise, but she manages not to lose her marshmallow to the fire.

Pressing a hand to her chest, she blinks up at me, her smile forced. She has chocolate on her cheek and her hair is down, her curls blowing gently in the night breeze.

"Grant. You didn't text back, so I figured you wouldn't show."

I sit next to her on the log. "I didn't want to waste time texting back. In the future, just assume I'm on my way unless I text to tell you I can't make it." It bothers me a bit how certain I am that I'll go wherever she wants, rush to her side, any time she asks. I've got it bad for this woman.

I lean in and wipe at the chocolate on her cheek, hoping for a sexy, sweet moment, but the chocolate is stubborn and I have to lick my thumb and really scrub at it until she's laughing and swatting me away.

"Just leave it. Messy is my natural state."

I've gotten most of the chocolate, so I leave it. "Beautiful is your natural state."

She pretends to gag, her cute nose wrinkled, but she's building a s'more, so the gesture loses some of its intended disgust. "Don't go getting all flowery and sweet on me, Ranger. This is a booty call, pure and simple."

My cock perks up at her words, happy for news that I might get to slide into her sweet, sweet pussy after all.

I help myself to a marshmallow from the bag and munch on it. I'm not leaving my seat next to her to look for a roasting stick. "Booty calls rarely involve a romantic fire lit meal."

She snorts and hands me the s'more she built, making me soften even more toward her. Which basically means I'm a puddle of goo at this point, totally in her thrall.

"This is dessert, not a meal. Don't get confused, we are strictly about sex. We don't like each other, we just have a shared appreciation for each other's bodies." She looks at me and licks her lips. "And tongues."

My cock goes rock hard at the memory of her taste on my tongue and what she did to me with hers. I clear my throat. "I like you, Dandelion Weston. I like your smile and I like how you rescue animals without even meaning to and I like how you—"

She holds up a hand. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. That's hormones talking, Ranger. You are a neat and tidy, stay in the lines type of rule following authority figure and I am a mess. I'm just trying to survive and get my shit together. There's no room for romance in my life. If we try to be anything more than lovers, we really will end up hating each other."

I lean in and cup her cheek with my free hand. "You are not a mess, Dandelion. You're a person with a huge heart who's building a life for herself that involves giving everything before she even has anything to give. You—"

She grabs the s'more from my hand and shoves it into my mouth. Then she stands and pulls her t-shirt over her head, revealing that she's been bra-less this whole time.

How the hell did I not notice that?

Probably had something to do with my focus on her face and the sadness in her eyes.