The way home was even better, with Molly’s confidence growing as they paddled down the strait toward base camp again. The orcas were absent this afternoon, but Molly didn’t care. She dipped her paddle in and out of the water in time with Eric, who was now in the back. The breeze blew her hair off her face and she couldn’t ever remember feeling this alive. By the time they’d reached “home,” she was sad to leave the kayaking behind. Two and a half days hardly seemed long enough. Tomorrow morning’s expedition was a boat ride farther up the strait on a quest to see grizzly bears, and then it was back to the lodge and luxury before the next leg of their journey. She was sorry this part was over just as she was getting comfortable with it.
She and Eric sat together over dinner and chatted with others while dining on fresh cedar-planked salmon, baby potatoes and salad. Food even tasted better outdoors, she decided, and when the evening was waning she and Eric went for a walk on the beach. The moon was out and stars peeked from their inky blanket, giving the couple enough light to see where they were going.
Eric reached over and took her hand. After they’d walked a good distance, he led her to a large rock pushed up against the grassy overhang. They were hidden from camp, but the beach and the cove stretched out before them. The air tasted like salt and evergreens.
He climbed up and then helped her up, until they were settled in the natural seat of the boulder. He put his arm around her and snuggled her in, then let out a deep, satisfied sigh.
She understood. She was feeling the same way right now, and was afraid that saying anything would break the perfect moment.
So they sat in the silence for a long time, listening to the sounds of the water, the soft shhh of unseen wildlife nearby—squirrels, perhaps, or something equally innocuous. Laughter came from the area of the campfire, making a smile bloom on Molly’s face.
She’d always been a city girl. Not much into roughing it or spending loads of time in nature, at least not more than the local park or gardens. But this was perfection. Bidding on this trip had been on a whim, but it was turning out to be the best decisi
on of her life.
“What are you thinking?” he asked. “I can hear the wheels turning in there.”
“That I wish I’d done this sooner.”
“Me too. But then, we wouldn’t have met. And despite our inauspicious beginning, I’m finding I’m glad we did.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, burrowing into his embrace a little deeper.
They sat a while longer, long enough that a shooting star swept across the sky. “So,” she whispered. Speaking in a regular voice seemed harsh, somehow, as if the evening required hushed tones and a bit of reverence. “As of tomorrow, we’re halfway through our trip.”
“I know.”
“And then we’ll both be going back to our own lives.”
“We will.”
“And I’ll be in Boston and you’ll be in Montreal, or wherever your work is going to take you once this is over.”
“I suppose you’re right.” There was a pause, and then he said, “You’re wondering if it’s worth exploring this.” She didn’t have to ask what “this” was; they both knew it was the attraction humming between them. “If it’s a good idea. What’ll happen when it’s over and we have to go our separate ways.”
She nodded, her ponytail rubbing against his chest.
His lips touched the hair beside her ear. “We have to go back to our lives. We both know that.”
His warm breath on her hair sent delicious shivers down her spine. “Yes,” she agreed, feeling a little breathless. “Back to our lives.” Even if she suspected her life was going to change a bit. It was odd not knowing what it would look like, but that wasn’t a thought for this moment. Not for tonight.
“So no expectations,” he murmured, his lips still close to her ear, his hand on the curve of her waist. “Just...”
She turned her head a little, leaning into him so his lips grazed her temple and sent a thrill zinging down to her toes. “Just being in the moment,” she said, finishing his thought. Her lips remained slightly open as they made cautious movements—a touch here, a press of the lips there. They were prolonging the anticipation but not fighting it—not anymore. She turned into him, so that she was cradled in his left arm as her face turned up to his. The look in his eyes was hungry and she bit down on her lip as her lashes fluttered a little. She was dying for him to finally kiss her on the mouth. When he did, she lifted her arm and curled her hand around his neck, drawing him down so he was half on top of her, sandwiched between the cool rock and the warm, sexy man who was currently tasting her lips so expertly she would swear she heard music.
He lifted his head, his mouth only a few inches from hers, his gaze burning down into her. She hadn’t been wrong—she did hear music. Up by the campfire. One of the guides must have brought a guitar, and a couple of voices joined in.
Molly was swamped with a sense of the surreal, but she let it sweep her away. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She wasn’t going to squander it.
She pushed up with her hands and saw Eric’s face blank with surprise as he sat upright and she straddled him, a knee on either side of his hips. The closeness had her body humming in response, and she put her hands on his face and kissed him, taking the lead and loving every moment of it. His arms came around her and pulled her close, one hand skimming down her ribs as his thumb grazed the side of her breast. She felt so alive. So free.
Eric slid his mouth away from hers and kissed her collarbone, his hot breath radiating through the cotton of her shirt. For a moment she allowed herself to fantasize about making love here, on a rock beside the water, with the sound of the waves ebbing and flowing around them. It would be so good. But there were also ten other guests and three guides not far away, and the inconvenient realization that she had no protection. This possibility had never crossed her mind.
“I don’t have anything. Do you?” she asked, unsure which answer she truly wanted him to give.
“No.” He stopped moving and lifted his head away from the vee of her shirt. “Dammit.”
She laughed a little, the sound rich and full of promises that weren’t to be fulfilled—at least not tonight. “It’s okay. It’s like Christmas. All the fun is in the lead-up.”