Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“They better have coffee brewing,” Callum grumbles, his voice thick with sleep as he stretches, his body shifting beneath the thin fabric of his shirt.
My eyes travel over his muscular form, following the ink that winds across his arms like a road map of stories I’ve yet to hear. I bite my lower lip as my gaze slowly moves back up and meets his.
Damn, my husband is sexy.
He catches my stare, and a slow smile spreads across his face, one that sends my heart racing. There’s something about the way he looks at me, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and I can’t help but smile back.
“As your wife, I think you should know that you’re kind of sexy,” I say, my voice low and teasing, but the truth of it hangs between us.
His eyes darken, and his breathing picks up just a little, enough for me to notice. “As your husband, I think you should know that you’re as beautiful as you are sexy.”
The air between us thickens, the tent suddenly feeling warmer. We’re locked in a gaze, the kind that makes my skin tingle and my heart hammer in my chest. I can feel the electricity crackling between us, the unspoken attraction simmering just beneath the surface.
And for the first time, I feel as beautiful and sexy as Callum says I am. It’s a strange, intoxicating feeling, like I’m standing at the edge of something I don’t fully understand but desperately want to explore.
I lean in, my body moving before my mind can catch up. I want to kiss him, to feel his lips on mine again, to let this tension between us explode into something more.
“Coffee,” Callum says abruptly, breaking the spell. He unzips the tent and climbs out, leaving me sitting there, stunned and breathless.
Maybe I’m fooling myself. Maybe all these moments between us are just my imagination playing tricks on me. But it feels so real. Too real.
I shake my head, pulling myself together, and follow him out of the tent, only to see him standing by the makeshift table, a crumpled note in his hand and frustration written all over his face.
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he mutters.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, stepping closer.
He turns to me, holding up the note. “They left already. It says, ‘Pack a lunch and meet us there.’” He crumples the paper in his fist and tosses it into the fire pit, his jaw tight. “Why the hell would they do that?”
He’s not really asking me; he’s venting, but I step forward anyway, resting my hand on his shoulder. His tense posture softens slightly as he lifts his eyes to mine.
“Maybe they thought we’d like to sleep in. I mean, we never do,” I say with a small smile, trying to ease the tension. “Don’t get angry at them. Let’s just get ready and find them. It’ll be a fun day. Don’t let this little speed bump turn into a roadblock.”
For a moment, he just stares at me, his expression unreadable. Then, without warning, he pulls me into a quick hug. It’s brief, but his arms around me send a wave of warmth through my entire body, leaving my legs weak as he pulls back with that signature grin of his.
“How do you do that?” he asks, his voice laced with genuine curiosity.
“Do what?” I ask, trying to play it cool, but my pulse is racing.
“Get me to calm down so quickly and see things differently. No one’s ever been able to do that before,” he says, almost mesmerized, as if he’s just realized something important.
I shrug, trying to brush it off like it’s no big deal, even though the way he’s looking at me makes my heart skip a beat. “I just talk to you, try to get you to see things from another point of view. It’s not hard.”
His gaze flickers down my body, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake before settling back on my eyes. “It is a big deal. You have no idea.” He pauses for a second, like he’s weighing his next words. Then, with a nod, he says, “Let’s get lunch packed and get this day started. It’s a bit of a hike.”
As he turns to gather supplies, I stand there for a moment, trying to steady my breathing. These moments between us—they’re becoming harder and harder to ignore. And I’m starting to realize I don’t want to.
Chapter 18
Callum
“We’re almost there. Just another few hundred yards,” I call back to Violet, glancing over my shoulder to make sure she’s keeping pace. The trail is narrow here, the trees thick with pine, their scent filling the air, and I can hear the distant rush of water growing louder with every step.
“I’m ready to take a dip in the lake,” she says, a playful grin on her lips.