Gracie tucked her head against me in the truck early the next morning, whispering, “Daddy, I’ll just close my eyes for a minute.” Her curls were still damp from her morning bath.

My heart squeezed with a moment of pure love. As she fell back into slumber, I cranked the truck back from the hidden driveway near the cabin I’d built with my two hands three years before.

I still had the scars on my fingers. I’d worked quickly, diligently, knowing I had to build a house of permanence for my “new” daughter. I’d known that anything less safe than this would necessarily allow the people who were after me to find me. I knew I couldn’t take any risks.

Chugging back down the mountain, my eyes turned toward Serena’s cabin as we passed it. I was already so curious, yearning to catch a glimpse. I’d asked Tatiana down in the town to watch Gracie, as it was the weekend and school was out. Tatiana’s daughter, Rachel, was one of Gracie’s best friends. They often played together for hours, without a single moment of reprieve.

After dropping Gracie off, and giving Tatiana a hearty thanks, I turned the truck back toward the mountain, swept passed the entrance of the national park, and found myself braking directly in front of Serena’s little red Chevy.

Inspecting it, I walked around it, eyeing every mark, every scrape. It was clear Serena didn’t drive it often, probably taking some form of public transit in the city. She probably hadn’t given much thought to it: that if she didn’t drive her car often, it probably wouldn’t be up to making such a trek.

I latched the red car to my truck, then towed it back toward her cabin. My truck creaked along. As I eased toward Serena, flashes of her bright smile remained in my mind. I hadn’t met a woman quite as beautiful, quite as vibrant as her in years.

Of course, I had good reason for my gruff exterior. It wasn’t like I could bring a woman into mine and Gracie’s life. We had to be strong, calculated, guarded, if we were going to avoid disaster. And beyond that, I’d never been much for commitment. Gracie’s mother had known that—she hadn’t even told me about the baby in the first place.

Learning that I’d missed out on three years of Gracie’s life had absolutely devastated me. I often thought about what it must have been like to experience Gracie’s first smile, her first step. I wondered what it would have been like to cradle her when she cried as an infant, so terrified and angry, a ball of wild energy.

I couldn’t ever make up for that time. I could only move forward.

As my truck tires creaked across the gravel of the driveway, Serena appeared in the doorway. She was clinging to a mug of something hot—probably coffee—and her eyes glowed over the top of it.

I brought my chin lower and began to walk toward her, trying to conceal my excitement about seeing her. Her slim frame, gorgeous breasts, and coiffed, blond hair made her into a near-perfect package. And the way she stared at me gave me the assurance that she felt the same.

But I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Hey there,” she began, her voice tentative. I could tell my height and muscled frame frightened her as well as excited her. Her nostrils flared. “Hope you slept all right?”

“Sure did,” I said, my voice lower than normal. I yanked my head toward her car. “Figured I’d give this a try before the day gets away from us.”

“Thank you,” she squeaked. “It really means the world. I don’t know how else I’d get back home. Although…” She gestured to the lake behind the cabin, the bright blue sky, “I don’t know how I could ever leave a place like this.”

I held her gaze for a moment, feeling the tension mount between us. Without another word, I turned back toward my truck, taking out a large toolbox. I opened up the front of her red car, revealing its metal organs, and began to tinker.

After just a few moments, Serena appeared beside me holding a second coffee cup—steaming, with just a small ounce of milk making it a light brown. I thanked her. In response, her cheeks turned bright red.

“You look like you know what you’re doing,” Serena said, grinning.

“I’ve fixed a car or two in my time,” I told her.

“In your old life? As a bounty hunter?” she asked, showing her curiosity, looking earnest. “I’m sure you ran into all kinds of trouble.”

Reaching up, I ran my fingers along the tattoo of a bear I had on my upper left bicep. I felt the strength of the muscle, felt at the vein that traced along it. Thinking back, every time I’d had a busted-up car, when in the business, I’d just stolen another one. I’d been working on both the right and wrong side of the law, free-wielding, ensuring I made as much money as possible. Thanks to my abilities, I was never caught.

“I suppose so,” I said, lying.

Anxious, she brought her fingers through her bright blond hair. “Do you think it’s fixable?”

“Actually, I’m nearly done.” I glanced up at the rising sun, reasoning that it was around ten-thirty in the morning. “Which means we have an entire day at our disposal. Did you have any plans?”

Serena tilted her head, ever so slightly. “Where’s Gracie?”

“She’s with a friend for the day,” I told her. “No school today, but I didn’t want her to have to hang around a car mechanic all day. Needs some more creative stimuli, know what I mean?”

“I suppose so,” Serena laughed. Her eyes were slightly bleary, as if she could hardly focus on my words any longer. It had been a long time since I’d held anyone’s attention, beyond Gracie’s. I suppose I couldn’t blame her for feeling bored. Although I felt gruff, closed off—unable to link up with anyone anyway.

Then why was I trying to reach out?

After a final crank of my wrench, I stepped inside the car, keeping the front door wide open and one foot on the gravel driveway.

“Here goes nothing,” I told Serena.

Turning the key in the ignition, I heard the pleasing roar of the engine. I made eye contact with Serena through the front window of the car, watching as a smile burst between her cheeks.

“You did it!” she called.

Ducking out from the car once more, I closed the hood, locked the car, and tossed the keys back toward her. Serena caught them in a moment of panic and reflex. Then, she spun her thumb toward the lake behind her, swallowing hard.

“I was thinking about having a glass of iced tea. Could I interest you?” she asked.

“Actually,” I said, “I was planning to spend the afternoon on the lake. Haven’t been fishing since last Thursday, and want to cook up something hearty for dinner.”

I watched as Serena’s face fell.

“Oh…” she sighed.

“You can come along too, of course,” I offered.

Her eyes fluttered. She looked like a daydream, her dress whipping around her legs.

“I could pack us a picnic,” she whispered.

“Sounds great.”

I found myself following her back into the cabin, listening to the creak of her rickety door. Inside, the bed had been made, the dinner plates and bowls scrubbed clean from the evening before.

Serena reached into the refrigerator and drew out cheeses, bread, fruits, and began to toss them into a brown paper sack. I sensed that she was anxious, busying herself with the lunch. From the window, I caught sight of my boat bobbing alongside the dock on the other side of the lake. I pointed, telling her.

“Oh!” she said, her voice bright. “I saw that boat yesterday. She’s a beauty. Did you build it yourself?”

“Yes,” I told her. “The lake’s actually a bit bigger than we can see from here. With the mountains tucked around it, it makes it look more like a pond. But I assure you, once you get out there, it feels wide and long, with plenty of nooks and crannies where we can spot animals and birds. It’s one of the best ways to experience the nature up here.”

Serena wrapped her arms around the brown paper sack and lifted it. I watched as she walked toward the back door, her ass moving left and right with each step. I felt a strange roar of desire, wanting to reach toward her, to grip her. I wanted her against the wall of the tiny cabin, I wanted to inhale the scent of her skin.

But I held back, my heart ramping up in my chest.

With nostrils flared, I followed her toward my truck. She placed the picnic bag in the center and piled into the side, sitting in the passenger seat. Waiting for me. It was as if we didn’t need to speak about what we were doing, where we were headed.

I gripped the truck’s steering wheel and backed into the paved road, driving back up the mountain, toward the road that led to the far side of the lake. I sneaked glances at her as she gazed across the glass-like water. Her hands were restless. She looked like a frightened rabbit.

“Have you ever gone fishing?” I finally asked her, breaking the silence.

She shook her head no.

“I think it was something my dad did before he moved us into the city. We grew up south, in the Big Sur area, before my dad’s career took off and he started making big-city money. I could have had a very different life, if we’d stayed out there. I might have been able to fish, hunt, hike, even repair a car. But as it stands, I’m pretty useless.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Sounds to me like you defend people who really need it.”

I left the truck in the parking lot twenty feet or so from where I’d moored the boat at the dock. It bobbed heartily with the waves, creaking up against the wooden planks.

Reaching into the back of the truck, I drew out a fishing rod and tackle, carrying it as I swept toward the boat. I felt Serena following behind me, taking light steps. I whistled as we walked, filling the silence. I knew I needed to make her feel more comfortable around me. Needed to assure her I wouldn’t hurt her. That despite being miles away from anything she really knew, she could be herself.

Beyond that, I wanted to strip her bare. Wanted to tear at her clothes and reveal her gleaming, porcelain skin to the world. Wanted to ravage her in the sunshine, on my boat, as the quiet forest continued on around us.

But I held back.

Stepping onto the boat, I placed my fishing rod to the side and helped Serena into the boat. Her eyes gleamed. The moment she stepped on the uneven surface, she lurched to the side, almost falling. I wrapped my arms around her, yanking her back upright. She giggled, rolling her eyes at herself.

“Sorry about that,” she said, clearly embarrassed. “I haven’t been on a boat in years.”

Swallowing a laugh, I cranked up the boat’s engine, beginning to ease it into the open water. Serena sat at the edge, staring out at the open water, and I kept us chugging along until we reached a small cove, surrounded by pine trees. The fish often bit there.

I wrapped my hands around the fishing rod, lurched it back, and then cast the line far from the boat. I felt Serena’s eyes on me as I fished, gazing at my straining biceps, my tattoo. I knew my effect on women. I could feel it simmering in her blood.

“Why don’t I teach you how to do it?” I said suddenly, surprising even myself.

“What?” she asked, her voice high.

“Come over here,” I said, giving her a broad smile.

I gestured, bringing her toward me. She reached for the end of the fishing rod, wrapping her hands around the base, and edged toward the water. She was shivering slightly. I wrapped my hands around her upper arms, trying to guide her.

“A bit higher,” I coaxed. I inhaled the scent of her—flowery, delicate, and fresh. I took a step back, feeling my heart hammer with sudden lust.

“Am I doing it right?” she asked, sounding breathless.

“We’ll see,” I told her. “We’ll see if the fish bite, that is.”

“And if they don’t?”

“We’ll stay here till they do,” I whispered.

A long moment of silence followed. She shifted, her toes digging into the floor of the boat. With a sudden jolt, she spun into my arms, dropping the fishing rod onto the floorboards. Her eyes were closed; her lips were slightly parted. Suddenly, she was kissing me.

As my stomach grew tense with pleasure and excitement, I wrapped my lips around her bottom one and kissed her back fervently, passionately.

My firm arms wrapped tightly around her, squeezing her tight. She gave a gentle, loving moan, and then leaned deeper into me. I felt her breasts press up against my firm chest. She reached upward, bringing her fingers along my neck. They crept over my T-shirt, feeling at my thick, coarse chest hair. She began to rub at my chest, before reaching down and yanking my shirt over my head.

“God,” she whispered, looking at my muscled chest, my six-pack abdomen. “I’ve been wondering what you looked like naked since yesterday.”

I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t find the words.

Moving swiftly, I reached down and brought her black dress over her head, revealing her swimsuit beneath. She was gorgeous, with a gym-honed frame and gleaming skin. Her breasts were tight and round, and her thighs thin and taut—the very definition of perfection.

I took in the curve of her hips. I traced them with my thumb before moving my mouth to her shoulder. I gave her a kiss there, before drawing a line with my lips down to her nipple. Undoing her swimsuit, I revealed her breasts to the world.

“Are you sure we can do this? Out here?” she asked, still breathless.

“Baby, there’s no one around for miles,” I told her.

Without waiting another moment, I stripped her bottom suit from her legs and pressed her against the side of the boat. She separated her legs, revealing her soft, peachy center. When I reached forward, her pussy was wet, open.

I stroked a single finger against the tip of her clitoris, and she let out a long, slow moan. As she moaned, her feet rose high and positioned themselves on either side of my shoulders. She was available to me. Open. Alive.

I removed the rest of my clothes, bringing my cock into the open. I watched her eyes grow wide with awe. Her mouth was open, her lips wet. She drew her tongue over her bottom lip, looking hungry. My cock was wide and veiny and thick, a deep red color, with a small fleck of cum already on the tip of it. So expectant.

I knew she wanted it. But I wanted to tease her instead.

As she tried to reach for my cock, to wrap her hands around it and feel the weight of it, I moved to my knees. Keeping my hands on her thighs, ensuring her legs were spread wide, I moved forward and placed the tip of my tongue against her clit.

Serena gasped, placing her hands on my thick, black hair, pulling at it as I went down on her, sliding my tongue up and down the slit of her pussy, up toward her clit, and back down again. She was growing wetter and more insistent as I went on, crying out for me to go slower, then faster.

I obeyed her, feeling her muscles beginning to spasm for me. Just when I felt she was about to come, I brought my cock up and slipped it inside her, easing up to the hilt.

The movement was so abrupt, wild, that it caused an immediate orgasm to shudder through her. I felt the orgasm through my cock. It vibrated up my spine, causing a slight, knowing smile to creep over my face. I knew, in that moment, I had her.

“Jesus Christ,” she whispered, sweat pouring from her temples. She brought her fingers through her hair, yanking at it. “What did you do to me?”

“It’s not over yet,” I told her, my voice gruff.

Without another moment’s pause, I began to fuck her, bringing her legs up over my shoulders so that I could thrust myself far and deep within her. Our bodies were completely and totally aligned, speaking the same language.

The boat tipped left and right as we moved together, kissing and biting and crying out. As the forest around us was completely deserted, no one could hear our moans. No one could hear her demand that I fuck her harder, faster. When I squeezed her nipple, providing her a dramatic mix of pleasure and pain, no one could hear her cry out.

No one heard my low groan as my orgasm ripped through me, sending her over the edge once more.

When the aftershocks began to fade, I brought myself off of her and collapsed in the belly of the boat. She collapsed alongside me, her limbs shaking.

After a long gasp, she brought her arm over my chest, holding me close. It was no longer clear where I began and she ended. We were one body, one being. She shook her head, her hair flecked with sweat.

As we lay back, staring at the clouds that swept across the sky, I remembered that it had been almost two years since I’d been with anyone at all. And the way Serena had spoken about her own life assured me it had been a long time for her, as well. It was as if we’d both been waiting for that moment. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.

“So,” I heard Serena whisper, sounding like she was incredibly far away. “Do you want to do it again?”

Before we knew it, we were on one another again. She was on top, grinding on me, her breasts bouncing, as I pulsed up and down as well. With her eyes closed, she looked majestic, wild. Her blond hair swept out behind her with the wind.

When we finally did steer the boat back to the shore, latching it back on the dock, we didn’t have a single fish to our name. We dressed slowly, buttoning and zipping, grinning at one another sheepishly. As we entered the truck, she placed her hand on my thigh, showing that she didn’t want to be apart for long.

I dropped her off at her little cabin, my heart straining. I yearned to stay with her, but I knew I needed to pick up Gracie.

“Have a good night, Serena,” I whispered to her, giving her a wink. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

Serena walked across to the cabin, carrying our uneaten food in a brown paper sack. Looking regretful, she turned her eyes away from me and snuck inside. When she disappeared, I felt a stab of regret. I should have kissed her goodbye, told her how much our stolen afternoon had meant to me.

But no. Nothing could come of this, I told myself.

I started the engine and eased back down the mountain, trying to return my thoughts to being a father, to keeping Gracie safe. But my skin still smelled and tasted like Serena. She was someone I couldn’t shake.