I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I have to bemyself, and I’ve always had a naughty streak. Striding purposefully towards the spring, I wade in, sinking up to my neck in the heat of the water with a satisfied groan. My muscles instantly surrender, but the sexual tension continues to ratchet sky-high.
Her voice shakes as she warns, “Please don’t look.”
“I promise I won’t.” But even though I’m trying very hard to be a decent guy, it doesn’t stop me from hoping she’ll reveal more of herself in the water.
Chapter Eleven
FAITH
True to his word, Travis’s eyes never stray as I scramble out of my Ariat jeans and burgundy floral tank top. I think long and hard about whether to take off my bra and panties, finally deciding to leave them on the shoreline.
After all, he’s got a point about having to dry everything afterward, and it’s so dark out here that I know he won’t be able to see much, even by the campfire’s flickering light.
I step into the water carefully, my right hand over my breasts and my left over the triangular patch of hair between my legs. I feel like a heroine out of a Renaissance painting, wading out into the springs until the water fully covers my breasts. “Okay, you can look now.”
“Thank goodness,” he says with a big smile, crossing the distance between us. I brace myself in shock for the feel of his naked body next to mine. But he breezes right by, heading straight for the bag of chocolate. True to his nature, Travis remains a jokester.
I let out a surprised puff of air, and he explains, “Sorry, but I have been jonesing for a Peanut Butter Cup ever since the gasstation.” He unwraps one carefully, shoving the whole thing in his mouth with a happy moan. “I forgot how good these are.”
Giggling as I take in the scene, my head bobbles back and forth between his face and the bag. He raises a hand. “I know. I know. I should be more disciplined, but I haven’t had one of these in I-don’t-know-how-long. Best fucking cheat ever.”
I swim to the opposite side of the spring from him, resting my shoulders against the edge and relaxing in the hot mineral water. “This is like heaven,” I sigh.
He nods, shoving another Peanut Butter Cup in his mouth while nodding enthusiastically. “No, this is.”
“You’re going to hate yourself tomorrow,” I tease.
“Yes, but last time I checked, it’s tonight, not tomorrow. So, who cares?”
My heart races as I swim a little way towards him, chuckling. “Hold it there, cowboy. You’re eating all my candy.”
He licks chocolate from his fingers unashamed before asking, “What’s your pleasure, sugar?”
How do I begin to answer that?
Instead, I ask, “What’s in the bag?”
“Let’s see. Peanut Butter Cups, of course. Mounds, Butterfingers, and Red Vines.”
My voice catches in my throat as I realize he’s just listed all of my favorite candies in order of preference. Swallowing hard, I manage, “A Reese’s, please.”
“And what else?” He knows me so well. I can never stop at one.
“A Mounds, too.”
Grabbing the candies, he questions, “Mind if I bring them to you unwrapped? That way, I can keep all the wrappers in the bag?”
I nod. As a wildland firefighter, Travis ultimately works for the US Forestry Service, so he takes littering seriously. Heheads out into the water towards me with the Mounds in one hand and the Peanut Butter cup in the other.
By the time he reaches me, he exclaims, “Shit, they’re melting.”
Between the heat coming off the springs and the warmth of his hands, it’s no wonder. I close the distance between us, trying to grab the Mounds from his hand. But it’s an ooey gooey mess.
“Want me to get you another—” He stops mid-sentence and watches as I dip my finger into the melted chocolate and lick it off.
“No, this is fine. I eat out of your hands all the time anyway.”
When we’re working together in the garage, and my hands are covered in oil and grease, he feeds me snacks—popcorn, sandwiches, apples, cheese sticks, you name it. And I return the favor when he’s working under the hood. Melted chocolate is a stretch, but I’m not picky.
