Wes slowed and turned onto a gravel road that led into the colorful forest.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“My secret hideaway. ” His voice holding exaggerated mystery.
They wound in and around curves. The road turned to dirt and the elevation dropped once again as they started down the other side of a ridge. “Secret’s right. How’d you ever find it?”
“Just like this, driving around for the fun of driving. ”
The trees finally opened, parting to expose a small body of water with a grassy shoreline. The big trees overhung the tranquil spot, shading the shore while sunlight shone directly on the pool. It was, quite simply, one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen.
Wes parked the bike, shut off the engine, and pulled off his helmet, then turned to help Rubi remove hers. She gazed out over the clear water fed by a creek, small rocks and bigger boulders worn away by time and creating mini waterfalls.
“Oh my God, Wes. ” She didn’t know why she was whispering. But after having Nickelback screaming in her ear, priming her for hot and dirty sex, this was not what she’d been prepared for. “This is amazing. ”
He gazed out over the sight for a long moment, seeming to take it all in. The absolute lack of man-made sound created a blissful tranquility of trees rustling, birds singing, creek gurgling. “Yeah,” he said, his mouth turning slightly but his expression melancholy. “I love this place. ”
Rubi swung her leg over the back and slid off the bike. Wes followed. He opened a side compartment and pulled out towels, a blanket, and a couple of Ziploc bags of food. She grinned. “Okay, now I get it. You’re fulfilling an outdoor-sex fantasy. ”
Wes set everything down in a smooth, grassy area. “Baby, all sex with you is a fantasy come true—indoors or out. ”
He spread out the blanket, dropped the towels, then turned toward the water and peeled off his jacket.
She wandered up beside him as he sat down and pulled off his boots. He patted the blanket beside him and lay back, hands behind his head. “Lie down. It’s really cool to look up into the trees. If I do it long enough, I feel like I’m floating. ”
Rubi took off her jacket and lay down next to him, a towel for a pillow. Overhead, reds, oranges, and yellows burst from the trees like flame. All against a crisp blue sky. “God, that’s…impossibly beautiful. ”
Wes said nothing, and silence stretched and deepened until Rubi imagined the quiet reached into her body, releasing all her tension. But she found the lack of tension, of stress, of worries…the sheer comfort, tranquility, and happiness swamping her so foreign, it created a stress of its own.
“Is this where you brought your girlfriends to get lucky?” she asked playfully. “Somewhere you could go while you were living at home?”
“No. ” His answer was mellow, so completely calm. “I’ve never brought anyone here. Not even Wyatt or high school football buddies. My parents don’t know this exists. Melissa doesn’t know this exists. I always came alone. It’s always been my very own. This is where I came to think problems through, to chill before a big race, to let my temper cool off after a fight. ”
Rubi rolled to her side and propped her head in her hand. Wes kept his gaze skyward. His eyes were more blue than gray, as if the sky was reflected in his irises. Outlined by thick gold lashes. Her chest squeezed hard.
She couldn’t be in love with him. The mere thought kicked off a panic attack. Yet another part of her couldn’t deny the emotions twisting her inside out. Emotions that rushed in without warning and took over until everything she’d ever known was upside down and backward.
“Why’d you bring me here?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He hesitated, a slight furrow appearing between his eyes. “I wanted to share something with you that I’ve never shared with anyone. I wanted you to have this piece of me I can give only you. ”
Her throat thickened, tightened until she had to force herself to swallow. “That’s…” How could she possibly explain how she felt when even she didn’t understand? “That…”
His head turned slowly, and his gaze locked on hers, intense and meaningful. “Scares you. ”
A breath of laughter escaped. Tense, shaky laughter. And with it, tears that rolled over her bottom lashes. Tears she hadn’t realized were coming. Rubi closed her eyes and nodded, wiping at her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m just…not wired right. ”
“Come here. ”
Wes stretched out his arm, and she went to him with the same unabashed need as Rodie showed her. She laid her head on his chest, pressed her face into the warm muscle of his pec, and breathed him in. Burrowed closer. “It’s so much easier to just have sex. ”
His laugh rolled through his chest, shaking Rubi, and laughter bubbled out of her too. He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close. And then just held her.
“I won’t disappear, baby,” he said after a long silence. “I won’t open that trapdoor and let you fall. ”
She wanted to believe, but she’d believed so many times in the past. Her mother, her father, her nannies, her friends, her early boyfriends—they’d all left her. Some repeatedly, after she’d allowed them back into her life. Lexi was the only person who’d ever stayed. The only person who truly understood her and loved her anyway. But hadn’t Wes seen her worst sides? Stilettos. Her hatred for her father. Her pathetically superficial life. Yet…
“I know you won’t mean to,” she whispered. “But I’m just…hard to love, I guess. ”