Chapter Eleven
Two days later, on Thursday afternoon, Eden was following Aaron’s eminently watchable butt and legs, clad in shorts, as he hiked up a narrow trail ahead of her. They were at Spirit Bluff, the island’s largest park. Aaron said it hadn’t been developed except for picnic areas along the beach near the parking lot, but trails crisscrossed it. He’d led her along one of those trails, through heavily treed forest, rocky stretches, and fields with wild grasses. She’d stopped more than once to snap photos, stroke the smooth orange curves of arbutus trees, or gasp as an eagle soared overhead, its white head and tail gleaming in the sun.
The first half hour had been relatively easy walking, but for the last ten or fifteen minutes they’d pretty much been going up. The incline wasn’t all that steep. A pair of women with gray hair, small backpacks, and hiking staffs had passed them a few minutes earlier. Still, Eden and her gray Skechers were used to flat, paved ground and walks lasting no longer than half an hour.
Aaron, with his own large backpack, had obviously slowed his natural stride to accommodate her, but all the same she was puffing. When she got back to Ottawa, she should find a way to fit regular exercise into her weekly routine. Sadly, working out in a fitness club wouldn’t be the same as kayaking or hiking in a spectacular wilderness setting.
She was about to fake another I-want-to-take-a-picture stop when the trail widened and stopped climbing. Aaron waited for her to catch up and took her hand. “How are you doing?”
Trying not to wheeze, she said, “Just fine.”
Voices sounded from lower down on the trail, and they stepped aside as a group of six or seven teens rushed past them.
“This is a popular spot,” Eden commented.
“Yeah. With locals and with tourists.” Aaron tugged her hand. “Come on, if you’ve caught your breath. I know a private spot for our picnic.”
“How can there be a private spot in this park?”
“Pilots know all the best places. We see what people can’t from the ground.”
As they resumed their hike, she tried to match her stride to his. Her shorts-clad legs were so pale and thin compared to his strong brown ones. Her size-six feet looked like city feet in her Skechers and no-show socks; his were so masculine and outdoorsy in the heavy, Velcro-strapped sandals he called Tevas.
How many other women had he brought here? Probably every single one had been more fit than she was—and that was her own damned fault. As for how many other lovers he’d had, why should she care? What was wrong with her? Was she starting to have feelings for Aaron?
He let go of her hand as he branched off onto an even narrower, rougher trail. The green-leafed shrub he’d identified as salal almost obscured the path and scratched at her bare legs. Where on earth was this man leading her?
In more ways than just on this hike. Where was their relationship headed?
Last night, when they’d been joking about dessert at his place, he’d said she could have anything her heart desired. And for one moment, her heart had desired him. Not just his sexy body and skilled lovemaking but Aaron himself. His heart. His love.
And that was ridiculous. It wasn’t what she really wanted and it wasn’t what he was offering. Maybe she truly was incapable of relaxing and having a fling.
Or maybe . . . was it possible this really might be something more? She hadn’t intended it to be, nor had he. But she was experiencing disconcerting emotions, like maybe she could really care for Aaron—if he had a deeper, more serious side. He must, mustn’t he, even if it sometimes seemed he diverted her more probing questions? And if he did have hidden depths, might it be possible he had feelings for her?
She clambered over roots and rocks, trying to match her footsteps to where Aaron, with his longer stride, had walked. Panting, she struggled to suck in enough air.
Reality check: Time for the con side of the list. Even if they did come to care for each other, surely there was no future in it. She couldn’t leave her parents, and her job was very important to her, too. Aaron was a pilot and presumably could find a job anywhere, but it was hard to imagine him ever leaving Destiny. He seemed as tied to the island as Azalea, Lionel, Marlise, Tamsyn, and the others she’d talked to. He belonged here, like the seals and the eagles.
“This way,” Aaron said. He ducked through some bushes. As far as she could see, there was no trail. Or if there was, it belonged to woodland creatures like deer, not to humans. But she followed gamely, trying to ignore the scratch of foliage against her bare legs and arms.
Ten minutes later, after dodging and ducking branches and prickles, stubbing her toes on rocks, tripping over an arbutus root, and getting increasingly sweaty, she was losing patience. But then, on Aaron’s heels, she came out at a clearing. Daisies and clover sprinkled the shaggy grass. Gazing around, she saw the disintegrating ruins of what looked to have been a wooden cabin, several rambling old apple trees, and a stream. “Someone lived here once?”
“Must have done. Probably more than a century ago, before this land was made into a park. Running water. Land to grow fruit and vegetables. Likely had a cow or two, chickens, maybe sheep. Horses for transportation.”
Such an isolated life. “I wonder what happened to them.”
“I could probably find out if I asked around, but I haven’t mentioned this place to anyone. If folks have forgotten about it, that works fine for me.”
She walked over to a cluster of bushes with simple but lovely pink flowers and leaned in to sniff a blossom. The scent was heady and familiar. “It’s some kind of rose.”
“Wild rose.”
She was enjoying another long sniff when Aaron stepped up behind her. He put his hands on her waist and turned her to face him. “Was the climb worth it?”
Muscles she hadn’t even known she possessed were protesting. But there were wild roses and daisies and, glancing past him, she saw he’d spread a big striped towel over a patch of grass. “The jury’s still out,” she teased.
“You’re a tough sell.”
Laughing softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed against him. “Ah, but I happen to know you can be persuasive.”
He dipped his head and kissed her, long and slow, as lazy as the hum of bees exploring the clover. Her body was doing some humming of its own, and she murmured approval.
Aaron put his arm around her and led her over to stand beside the towel. He knelt and removed her shoes and socks. Careful to avoid bees, she plunged her feet into the rough grass and wriggled her toes among the warm, springy blades.
He rose and, starting at the top, button by button, undid her short-sleeved blouse. He tugged the tails free from the belted waistband of her walking shorts and then slid the blouse off her shoulders and arms.
She fought the impulse to cross her arms over her chest as he undid her shorts and pushed them to the ground, leaving her clad in only a white lace-trimmed bra and matching bikini panties. He stepped back and gazed at her.
She had two options. If she worried about someone coming along, she’d ruin what promised to be another special time with Aaron. And so, as she’d done on the beach at SkySong, she chose to believe him that this spot was private. That decision, coupled with the gleam of attraction in his eyes, gave her the confidence to straighten her shoulders and stand tall, letting him look his fill.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
Ray had said the same words, but they’d never made her skin tingle. In four whole years with her ex, she’d never felt as sexy and uninhibited as she did now. Part of it might be the grass under her toes, the sunny air on her skin, and the scent of roses that drifted from the blossom-laden bushes, but mostly it was Aaron.
Reaching behind herself, she undid the clasp of her bra and then pulled off the flimsy garment, flaunting her firm breasts with the arousal-tightened nipples. Aaron was the sexiest man she’d ever met and, while she knew he’d had many lovers before her, she was the one with him now and she had power. A feminine power she’d never truly tapped into before.
She cupped her breasts, plumping them up like an offering, and slid her thumbs over the pebbled buds of her nipples. Arousal rippled through her, but it was less from her own touch than from the naked desire in Aaron’s eyes.
Keeping one hand on her breast, she slid the other slowly down her body, appreciating as never before the silkiness of her skin, the firmness of her ribs, the curving line of her waist. Realizing on a whole new level that her body had been designed to give and take pleasure. As had Aaron’s, which was still clad in a faded black tank top and khaki shorts. Her sex pulsed at the thought of stripping him naked, here in the middle of nature, where he was in his element.
But first she’d finish her own striptease. Still fondling one breast, she hooked her fingers into the narrow sideband of her bikini panties and slowly peeled the thin fabric down her hips. Aaron didn’t move, but his gaze followed the motion as if she’d hypnotized him. When gravity took over and her panties slid down her legs, she stroked her belly and let her hand slip down to cover her neatly trimmed vee of brown hair. How far did she dare go? Aaron made her want to do things she’d never imagined doing in front of a man.
She dipped her index finger lower to stroke the dampness between her legs, and then she lifted her hand, finger raised and gleaming with moisture.
That broke Aaron out of his trance. He closed the small distance between them and caught her raised hand. Staring into her eyes, he lifted her hand to his mouth and closed his lips around her finger.
When the wet heat of his mouth enveloped her damp finger and he began to suck, Eden’s sex clenched. Her internal muscles pulsed with need and her clit tightened, craving the same attention he was giving her finger. “Aaron.” It came out as a pleading, breathy moan.
The expression in those bluish-gray eyes was a little smug. He kept making love to her finger and she closed her eyes, breathing faster as arousal tightened inside her. Could she come from that potent combination of his mouth on her finger, her caress on her breast, and her vivid imagination? No, she needed one more thing. Boldly, she thrust her pelvis forward, hooked one naked leg around Aaron, and rubbed her crotch against the thick, hard bulge in his shorts.
His teeth closed on her finger, an involuntary reaction that, thank heavens, he controlled before he bit off that digit. His free arm came around her and gripped her butt, his strong hand pressing her into him and giving her support.
She threw back her head, reveling in the sensations, blissfully aware of being naked outdoors, of being sexy and wanton, of listening to her body and taking what she needed from this man who seemed entirely happy to provide it.
Finding exactly the right angle, she ground herself against him as everything inside her tightened and coiled. She imagined his naked cock, knowing that, once she took her satisfaction this way, she’d strip him bare and they’d make love again, and maybe again. He’d thrust into her deep and hard, his swollen, heated flesh probing her slick folds, and . . . “Oh yes!” That coil inside her shattered, splintered, and pleasure surged in waves.
Eden sagged against him as her climax ebbed and then faded in slow ripples. When she finally regained her senses, she saw the barely banked fire in Aaron’s eyes. Was she ready for round two? Most definitely.
She reached for the fastenings of his shorts, and in less than a minute they were naked together on the towel with him inside her, rolling in a mock battle to determine who’d be on top. They resolved it by taking turns as he did exactly as she’d imagined but even better, pumping slowly, then fast, then slowly again, bringing her to the edge and then easing off. Until she lost patience, claimed top again, and rode him unrelentingly until they both shattered together, sweaty and breathless.
Eventually, she found the strength to climb off and collapse beside him, her lungs still laboring for breath.
Aaron, once again proving himself more fit than she, sat up, barely breathing hard. He removed the condom and tied off the top. “Having satisfied one appetite, I’m ready to satisfy another.” He hooked a hand in the strap of his backpack and pulled it toward him. “Let’s have lunch.”
Lunch? He had the energy to think about food? But now that he mentioned it, her tummy was awfully empty. It had been a long time—and a lot of exertion—since breakfast. She forced her body up to a sitting position. “Sounds good.” She found her panties, wriggled into them, and reached for her bra.
“Spoilsport,” Aaron said. Still naked, he made no move toward his scattered clothing.
Earlier, she’d been carried away by passion and had reveled in being uninhibited. Now, though, the old Eden had returned. “I’m sorry. I know you said no one knows about this spot, but I just can’t eat lunch naked in a public park.”
He raised his eyebrows. “But you can have sex?”
She pressed her hands to her heated cheeks. “I know, it doesn’t make sense. I was caught up in the moment.”
“Those were a lot of moments, and they were mighty fine ones. But okay, whatever you want, city girl.”
“Thank you. And, uh, as much as I enjoy the sight of your body, I’d appreciate it if you’d put something on.”
“Or you’ll get crazed by lust again?” But he reached for his boxers. “Yeah, it probably wouldn’t be good if Jillian flew over with a planeload of people.”
“Oh!” Eden clasped her bra against her breasts and cast an eye at the clear sky. In fact, they did have a winged audience. “There’s another eagle.”
He gazed up. “Bald eagles are pretty impressive, aren’t they?”
“That’s a good word.” The huge bird, soaring with its wings spread, had a wild kind of dignity and grace.
“He commands the skies.”
“Like you, when you’re flying.”
Aaron gave a quick laugh and pulled on his shorts. “Now can we eat?”
“Yes, please. What have we got this time?” She slipped into her bra.
“Courtesy of the deli, there’s shrimp salad on a croissant and a roast beef and roasted veggies panini.”
“Yum.” She finished putting on her clothing. “I’ll take the shrimp salad, if that’s okay.”
“I kind of figured.” He handed her a wrapped sandwich and took out a couple of bottles of sparkling fruit-flavored drinks. “I’d have brought wine or beer, but alcohol doesn’t always combine that well with sunshine and exercise.”
She swallowed a bite of the delicious croissantwich, enjoying the combination of fresh shrimp, dill, celery, and mayonnaise. “No, I wouldn’t have thought so. Besides, I almost never drink during the day.”
“Of course you don’t.” He winked at her.
“Am I really so predictable?” She sighed and answered her own question. “I guess being a rational, organized person does pretty much rule out any truly spontaneous, unpredictable, or eccentric behavior.” Except for when she was, as he’d said, crazed with lust. “But what can I say? My parents raised me to be responsible.”
A shadow darkened his eyes and then was gone. “I guess that’s stood you in good stead in your job.”
“In my entire life. I’m grateful to them.” Hoping that this time he wouldn’t deflect, she said, “You never talk about your family.”
“Nope.”
She processed that flat refusal, combined with previous conversations, and didn’t like the result she came up with. “You’re really quite charming and fun to be with.”
“I’d say thank you, but you’ve got that forehead scrunch happening.”
“Charming yes, but you never talk about yourself. Not beyond a superficial level. Do you ever let anyone really get to know you?”
* * *
Aaron tried not to wince. She was right about him not spilling his guts all over the place, so why should he be insulted? He summoned a carefree grin. “Hate to disappoint you, but that’s all there is. What you see is what you get. I like to fly, I like Destiny, I’m an outdoorsy guy, and I avoid commitments.”
“Oh, come on, I bet you have hidden depths.”
“Only in your imagination.”
Her frown told him she wasn’t amused.
“Why do you need me to have hidden depths?” he asked, a little annoyed. “This is a one-week relationship.” That was the truth, and many of his other relationships lasted only a night or two, yet he felt an odd pang when he thought of Eden leaving in a couple of days.
Her frown deepened. “I know it is. But I like you, Aaron. You seem to be a nice guy.”
“Seem to be. Gee, thanks. I like you, too.”
“You can’t just skate through life on the surface, not really caring about any person or cause. Can you?”
He ground his teeth, holding back an angry retort. Why should her opinion matter? After another swallow of juice, he said evenly, “You’re being awfully judgmental. Not everyone wants as complicated a life as yours. There’s nothing wrong with living life as it comes.”
And yet there was something special about Eden, even though she sometimes got on his nerves. She was so involved and intense, setting her priorities and living life with total commitment. She was brave enough to love people and causes, to devote herself to them. He admired that quality, maybe even envied it.
He shrugged sudden tension from his shoulders. Why was he thinking this way? His past had taught him that love led only to disappointment and hurt, and he’d long ago learned to guard his heart. He wasn’t going to change just because his latest hookup found him superficial.
“No,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. If it makes you feel fulfilled.” She turned her gaze from his face, picked up her drink bottle, and twisted off the cap. It felt like a deliberate dismissal.
Fine. He raised his own bottle again. Here he was at one of his favorite spots, having just made love with a beautiful woman, enjoying a tasty lunch, and yet he felt kind of . . . depressed? Lonely? Well, aloneness was the choice he’d made. No, it was the only way he knew how to be. So perhaps it wasn’t as much choice as necessity.
As a little kid, he’d hoped in vain for a loving mom and a happy home life, until he’d finally learned to stop hoping. He’d tried to teach Miranda that lesson, but her heart wasn’t as tough as his, and their mother had broken it over and over. As a teen, coming to Destiny, he’d been stupid enough to listen to Miranda when she’d said that maybe it would be different with their grandparents, and they’d finally find a home. He’d maybe let himself hope, just a little. But both their hopes had been dashed by the icy welcome they’d received. Aaron had added a couple of layers to the shell around his heart.
The only people who had access to that rarely used organ were his sister and his niece. He wished Miranda would learn from experience, too, rather than persist in chasing after some dream of love the way their mom had. Love hadn’t been their mother’s destiny. Nor was it his or Miranda’s.
Eden would find it, he figured. Things might not have worked out with her ex, and she might not be at the right place in her life now, but when she was ready she’d come up with some plan and meet a guy who gave her what she wanted. She’d have an organized life, the kind of life that would drive Aaron freaking nuts.
Seeking to restore a pleasant mood, he said, “We’re seeing Darnell Lucas this afternoon.” After that, there was only one more name on Eden’s list, an elderly woman they’d visit the next morning. “Want to go someplace for dinner tonight or have it at my place?” He would keep her talking about her family and her work, and afterward they’d have sex, and things would go back to being easy between them.
“Thank you, but I’ll have to pass on dinner. Things at the Foundation have been piling up and I need to do some work.”
He wouldn’t ask why her assistant couldn’t handle this stuff. Eden had trouble delegating, not trusting anyone else to get things right. Or maybe work was an excuse and she’d written Aaron off. Testing, he said, “Tomorrow night’s the dance at Quail Ridge Community Hall, with B-B-Zee playing.”
“Oh, that’s right. I really don’t dance, so it’s better if I don’t go.”
He didn’t want her to be mad at him. He did want to teach her a few dance steps, or even just cling and shuffle around the dance floor. He wanted to see her reaction to the band and its eclectic selection of music and wanted her to be part of a foot-stomping Destiny Island Friday night. “Jonathan and Forbes invited you. You don’t want to offend them, do you?”
“They probably don’t even remember inviting me.”
He heard doubt in her voice and shamelessly exploited it. “See, now you’re acting like an outsider again. Islanders don’t invite just anyone to their get-togethers. It’s a sign of acceptance, and it’d be rude not to come.” While it was true that islanders were chary with their invitations, it was also a fact that the Friday night dances were open to anyone who wanted to attend. In summer, half the crowd was tourists. “Your mom didn’t bring you up to be rude.”
“Of course not.” She rubbed her temple, and he wondered if the sun and exertion, or their semiargument, had given her a headache. “Okay, I’ll go. But only for a little while. I’ll need to get packed and organized for Saturday.”
She was booked on the Saturday morning Blue Moon Air flight to Vancouver, from which she’d fly to Ottawa. Back to her normal life.
Away from Destiny Island, and from him.