CHAPTER FIFTEEN - KAMI

I was all set to leave on my trip and felt better about going now that I had new locks on my door. I’d gotten off work the day before to find that Tate had them installed already. I hadn’t known he could be so handy.

I knew in my gut that Devin had pulled the stunt fucking some girl in my bed, but I’d never be able to prove it. I wished I could see the look on his face when he tried to get his key to work now.

After I thanked Tate for his work, and he’d gone home to sleep in his own bed and check on his sister, who was feeling a bit under the weather, I got online and deleted my account from Matched Solid.

I didn’t need the profile anymore, and it had served its purpose. I’d met the man of my dreams, and he was better than anything that had ever happened to me. Truly worth the ten dollars I’d paid to join.

I wouldn’t miss it, and if anything were to ever happen to me and Tate, I was going to give up dating forever anyway and actually go into a real sperm bank this time. That’s what I promised myself.

I gathered my things and decided to change into jeans, and I was just tying up my hiking boots when Rain came up with Tate in tow. “She hates snakes and spiders.”

“Well, me too, so if we come across any of those, it’s every man or woman for himself.” He chuckled.

“Wrong answer, buddy! You better take care of my girl.” She came over and sat beside me on the couch as I tied my last shoe.

“Don’t worry.” Tate leaned down and kissed me. “And just so you know, she’s my girl too now.” He gave me a squeeze.

“I know the first rule of survival. I don’t have to be fast, only faster than you.” I gave him a nudge.

Rain laughed. “I’ll keep an eye out to see if anyone comes up here.”

“Well, they’ll be in for a surprise when they aren't able to get in, and besides, I already know it was Devin. Had to be.” I knew she was trying to give her friend the benefit of the doubt, but I was past that with Devin.

“Well, I’ll still be on the lookout. Just in case, it would be good to know. And if Devin gets out of line and tries to come up, I’ll tell you I’m sorry for trusting in the asshole.”

“Yeah, that’s what I told you after I dated him.” I laughed, but Tate pulled me to my feet. “We better get going, baby. I want to make it out before the moon rises, so I can get a few good shots in the dark.”

“So, you’re only going to be able to get pictures when the moon is down? What do you do with all that extra time?” Rain wagged her brows at me.

“Use your imagination.” I giggled as she rose to her feet and hugged me.

“You two have fun. Do all the things I wouldn’t do. You deserve some fun, friend.” She broke the hug and then went in to hug Tate, who kindly responded. “Take care of our girl,” she whispered in his ear.

Once Tate made his promise and Rain let him out of his headlock, we headed out to the jeep and then made our way out of town. We drove a long way, talking about camping trips from our past and growing up in Texas. We had a few more things in common than we’d ever imagined and soon the sun was setting, and it seemed we’d been driving forever.

“How much farther?” I leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“About another half-hour. We’ve only been driving for two hours. Do you need another break?” We’d stopped once already and grabbed a bite to eat, but I was hungry for him now. It was going to be a long night.

I reached over and rubbed his crotch, feeling his cock harden beneath my touch. I knew it wasn’t fully erect and decided I wanted to feel it grow in my mouth. I worked him out of his pants and gripped it, still growing in my hand, and quickly lowered my head to put my mouth on him. “Fuck, Kami.” He stroked my hair and grunted as I worked myself down, taking all that I could of him into my mouth, and past my tonsils.

He held my head still and pumped his hips. “Should I pull over, or do you want me to keep driving?”

“Keep driving,” I whispered around his flesh. “I just wanted to pass the time.”

He chuckled, and his cock jerked in my mouth. “I love it when you’re bored.”

I relaxed my throat and took him deeper still until his head closed off the back of my throat, and I gasped for air, pulling back. He moaned, and a taste of his salt splashed the roof of my mouth.

“Sorry, baby. You’re about to make me pop.”

I eased off and teased him slowly for a while, edging and then relenting, until he growled. The sound made me take him harder, sucking and bobbing my head, hoping to earn another taste. He didn’t disappoint. His cock swelled in my throat, and I pulled back just in time to catch the hot spurts of his nectar against my tongue. I swallowed him down, wiping my mouth as I rose up and he pulled me into a kiss.

“You’re amazing. That was so hot and you know I’m going to pay you back once I get that tent set up and we’re tucked in for the night. You’ll be howling louder than the coyotes.”

“I’ll hold you to that, and don’t remind me about the coyotes.” I didn’t want to think about the critters we might encounter. I wasn’t a girlie girl, by far, but I still didn’t like anything that had more legs than I did.

“Don’t worry about them; you’ll scare them off when you scream my name.” He belted a laugh as I nudged him in the arm and redid his pants.

We found a place to park and got out to search for the perfect site for pitching our tent and setting up the camera. The pitch darkness wasn’t as big of a surprise as last time, and my eyes adjusted quickly.

“This looks like the spot.” He took out his camera, showing me how it was set up, and we talked about the proper settings and how to make adjustments.

Though I knew my photography, I didn’t mind letting him give me one-on-one. He was a great teacher and let me use the camera we’d adjusted while bringing out a second one. “I’m going to use this one, so you can shoot too, tonight.”

“I brought my camera, remember?” I didn’t mind using his, but I had come prepared.

“I’ll set your camera in a bit if you want, but I didn’t think you’d want to mess with your adjustments. If yours is anything like mine, it can be hard to get them just right again. Besides, I have a few extras.”

He clearly very passionate photography and had put quite a bit of investment into it. I wondered what his family thought about his passion.

“You mentioned your dad and you don’t talk much. Do you mind if I ask why?”

“Well, our relationship is a little complicated. He thinks my photography is a waste of time, and I guess that’s why this exhibit will be even more important to me. He thinks I should find a real job, but I’d rather shoot myself than put on a suit and tie and sit at a damn desk every day.” He checked his viewfinder and snapped a few photos.

“Maybe one day he’ll surprise you. Once he has a chance to see how good you are and how happy it makes you, maybe he’ll back off,” I suggested.

He shrugged. “Doubt it, but it’s a nice thought. What about your family? You don’t talk much about them.”

“There’s really not much to tell. I’m an only child and I never knew my dad. He took off when my mom found out she was pregnant with me. She raised me by herself until she died during my freshman year in college. Rain and I had been best friends since high school and so she and Aunt Helen just kind of took me in.”

He shook his head. “Damn. Maybe I shouldn’t complain about my dad so much.”

I looked at him and smiled. “It’s OK. I’ve gotten used to it. It’s not like I’m totally alone. I have Rain and Aunt Helen. And you,” I added, my cheeks turning pink.

He reached out and pulled me close. “Come look at this shot.” He pointed to the viewfinder, and I saw a little white streak on the image.

“What is it?” I leaned in closer.

“That’s a shooting star. It’s not easy to catch one without the camera rolling continuously. But looks like it’s my lucky night.” He turned his head and kissed me.

The moon was rising in the sky, and he let out a breath. “Time to change the strategy. There will be light soon, so I want to change my settings so I can shoot the moon. But first, let’s get that tent up.”