Page 31 of Hayden's Haven
“Where are we going?” she asked as he took her by her hand and led her down what was barely a path if at all.
“I want to show you something,” he said, trying to hide a grin.
Oh, that grin of his, when it surfaced, was too hard to resist. She’d follow it—and Hayden—anywhere.
Hayden held several aside, so she could squeeze through the thicket of branches on the windy path that seemed to lead nowhere. More than once, his hand settled on her lower back, as he guided her forward with the slightest of touches. He could be really gentle and sweet when he wanted. The farther they got from camp, the more relaxed he became. This Hayden, the one who smiled more and almost glided through the woods, was at ease with himself out here, in the middle of nature with no one around.
No one except her.
“This would make a good set-up for a horror movie.”
“Your pack has tv? I thought you lived in the woods, similar to us.” His thumb started moving over her hand, almost absent-mindedly. “I guess that was another assumption on my part. I have to stop doing that.”
She couldn’t help smiling. Hayden wasnervous.
“You assumed correctly, but I went to college and then medical school, so tv and movies became a part of my life for those eight years. Not that I had a lot of time for either. They were more of an indulgence when I needed a break.”
“What else did you indulge in?” he asked.
His tone gave his curiosity away. He wanted to know about boyfriends.
“The occasional slice of chocolate cake. With dark chocolate icing.”
“You have a thing for chocolate.”
There it was again, that sly look crossing his face that she’d seen once before.
“What about you, Hayden? How do you like to relax? A lot of the males I know enjoying running in the woods, and there’s one or two that like fishing, both in human and wolf form, though I never understood the appeal in either form.”
Hayden swung her around and eased her against a tree. “This is relaxing,” he said as he trailed a finger down her cheek.
She tried to ignore the electricity running through her and ducked beneath his arms. “Hiking. Another good choice,” she said as she continued walking, not sure if she was going the right way. Have you tried any rock climbing?”
He appeared beside her again, his move of a moment before apparently in the past as he seemed completely at ease next to her. His hand slid atop hers again. She didn’t have the heart or desire to pull away. Even shifters like her were allowed to indulge in life’s small pleasures, beyond chocolate that is.
“You’re quiet, Mila.”
“Thinking about chocolate again and how one goes about licking it off a person. Oh, I know how I’d lick it off, but the issue is how to get the chocolate on the guy in the first place. I mean, you can’t exactly pour it on hot because that would burn. And a chocolate syrup, while probably the best option, just wouldn’t taste as good as melted dark chocolate. I can’t see myself running my tongue over every inch of a guy, really having fun with it if the taste of the chocolate made me cringe. You know, I think you’re right, Hayden. Hiking is relaxing. I’m not sure when the last time was that I just let my mind wander about unimportant things.”
When he didn’t answer, she turned to face him. His face looked strained. “Are you okay? Did you hear anything I said?”
“Not much beyond licking chocolate off a person. Blood rushed south at that point.”
Her cheeks heated, and then everything seemed to happen so fast. Hayden laughed, scooped her up, and darted through trees. She locked her hands around his neck, holding on for dear life as he ran up a narrow path that quickly grew steep.
A few minutes later, they were at the base of a frozen waterfall at the edge of a fifty-foot cliff. The sight was incredible. Impossibly long and thick glistening icicles spanned the cliff in a curtain of frozen water. Hayden set her down. Mila climbed the nearby rocks, feeling the call to touch one icicle, to be a part of that striking display of nature.
As she glided her hand along a long expanse of ice, Hayden circled his arms around her from behind, holding her to make sure she wouldn’t fall. “It’s magnificent,” she said, her voice soft as she took in the majesty of the frozen falls.
“I thought you’d like it. Granted, it’s not as magical as chocolate.”
She turned into him, only to be greeted by a grin and playful expression that fit Hayden so well. He hid this side back at camp.
She traced his jaw with her fingers. “Are you happy here, Hayden?”
“In Damien’s pack? Yes. I have friends, work that never gets boring, and the freedom to be myself.”
“Really? You seem so reserved at times.”
