Chapter Twenty-Three

Elijah

 

“Thanks for letting us hang out all week,” I slapped Xander on the back.

“It was good to have some company,” he admitted. I knew he didn’t like staying up here alone all the damn time, but I could see the appeal of being so far away from the rest of the world.

Taylor leaned in and gave Xander a long hug. I could tell there was some real emotion there, and it warmed my heart to know she’d taken to him so easily.

“Come back anytime,” Xander offered.

“Yeah. I don’t think we’ll be making that hike again anytime soon,” I laughed.

Taylor took my hand, and we headed back down the mountain, back towards society, our homes, and our problems.

“Thanks for coming up here with me,” I smiled, pulling her close to my side.

Her sweet giggle in my ear was nice, comforting, and at that moment, was the best noise I’d ever heard.

The trip down wasn’t much easier than the trip up. My calves were burning, and I knew Taylor’s had to be as well. “You want to stop?” I asked.

She nodded, and immediately sat down on a fallen tree, catching her breath and trembling a little from what I assumed was exhaustion and pain. “How about we camp out here,” I suggested.

Her eyes widened, and her lips curled into a smile. “And sleep in what?” she laughed.

I grinned as I pulled the backpack from my shoulder and dropped it on the ground in front of me. “I have a tent.”

“Why did you bring a tent?” she questioned, her eyes filled with curiosity, but satisfaction.

“I didn’t think you’d make the trip up the mountain all in one day,” I admitted.

“Wow, ye of little faith,” she shook her head.

It was true. I hadn’t believed she could make the trip. But, hell, she did better than I did. She was a tough woman. She’d proved that time and time again.

I pulled the tent from the bag and started setting it up while she tossed her backpack in front of her. “Well, I guess we can have some wine and crackers,” she grinned, pulling the ingredients for a little make-shift picnic from her bag. “What else do you have in there?” I questioned.

Taylor smiled, her eyes narrowing on mine, and then pulled out a sexy nightie, scented massage oils, and a box of condoms. My eyes widened. What the fuck?

“How come this is the first time I’m seeing all this?” I gasped.

“It’s the first time we’ve actually been alone,” she groaned.

I had stayed up late talking with Xander every night while she fell asleep on the couch. In the mornings, he was always up before us, even when we woke up super early. I wasn’t sure the man even slept. “I’m sorry,” I apologized for neglecting her.

“Don’t be. I’m glad you got to talk to him about Bailey. I hope it helped you with your decision,” she smiled.

It had. I hadn’t told anyone what I was going to do yet, but I would, after I was certain it was the right choice for everyone involved.

“So, you coming in here, or what?” I asked, opening up the door to the tent I’d just erected.

Taylor climbed inside, gripping the items from her bag, and I closed the tent so we’d have some privacy; not that we needed it out in the middle of nowhere. “I feel like something’s been on your mind all week,” I questioned.

Taylor had been quiet and acted distant a few times during our week together. I wasn’t sure if it was about Bailey, about me, or something else going on in her life. She never had told me what was on her mind when she’d come over that day, and there’d been plenty of opportunities. “Is it about Milton?” I asked, knowing he was someone she’d grown close to over the last few weeks.

“I have been worried about him,” she admitted. “I just get a strange feeling that he could take his own life,” she added, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke. I knew this wasn’t just about Milton; it was deeper.

“Because of your dad?” I asked carefully.

She nodded, sniffling up her tears. “I should have been there for him. I knew how depressed he’d become after Tommy’s death. I thought he was strong, that if I could handle it, so could he,” she cried.

I pulled her in close, rubbing her back as she let out her sobs. “That wasn’t your fault. There’s no way you could’ve known,” I assured her.

“If I was here, I would’ve known,” she pulled back, looking into my eyes with a strong remorse and regret.

“Baby, you can’t blame yourself. I know how close you were with your father. I’m sure you talked to him all the time. If he wanted to cry out for help, he would have, and you would’ve seen it. He thought he could deal with it on his own, so you can’t blame yourself,” I asserted.

She nodded. “I know. It’s just, Milton, and I feel like I can at least help him,” she smiled faintly, her eyes still wet with tears, and her cheeks flushed with pain.

“Okay. So, you’ll help Milton. That’s not a bad thing,” I smiled, wiping a lone tear from her cheek.

I’d spent so much time talking about my problems; I’d neglected to see that Taylor had plenty of her own. I knew that being around me and Xander all week, hearing stories that included Tommy, had opened up a can of worms for her, but I thought it was doing more good than bad. I wasn’t sure right now. I felt like there was more, but in her fragile state of mind, I didn’t want to push. If there was more, she’d tell me when she was ready.

I unzipped the tent and pulled in the backpacks that we’d left behind, and quickly zipped back up. The sun was starting to go down, and the noises in the woods startled Taylor with each howl, hoot, or snort. I couldn’t help but laughing. Little Miss Betty Bad Ass was scared. She was human after all. “It’s not funny,” she squealed, slapping me gently on the shoulder as I teased her.

“I think you need some wine.” I pulled out the cork with the portable corkscrew she’d brought. “Glasses?” I asked, my eyebrows rising onto my head. She shook her head. “Really? And I thought you were prepared,” I teased.

After the first bottle was gone, and Taylor had relaxed, I was starting to feel frisky. “Why don’t you put on that nightie,” I suggested, biting down on my bottom lip as she reacted with a smile.

“Turn around,” she insisted as she dug through the bag.

I hated to do it, but I agreed. I could see the shadow of her silhouette in the tent as it shadowed from the small battery operated light. Fuck, she is sexy. How did I get so lucky?

“Okay, turn around,” she announced.

I turned. My eyes dropped to her chest; thin white lace curled around each breast, leaving plenty of cleavage to admire. They lowered to her bare belly as the red baby doll top opened to her tanned, smooth flesh. Past her navel, a pair of silky red panties covered the sweetest flesh of all, the flesh that made my dick jump just thinking about it. “Damn,” I gasped, bringing my eyes back to hers.

I didn’t wait for an invitation or permission. I grabbed her by the small of the waist and pulled her onto my lap. My mouth sucked on the sweet flesh of her neck, slowly moving to the open cleavage she’d made available. She moaned, her head falling back against her shoulders, and then a soft sigh of satisfaction rolled from her parted lips. Fuck, she makes my dick hard as a rock.

Her body arched back as her arm stretched out behind her. I watched as she reached for the box of condoms. She handed them to me, and then slid off my lap, sprawling out before me on the tent’s floor. Her flesh was so smooth, so silky in the dim light of the tent that my eyes filled with pleasure just looking at her.