Rebel Hearts
What we have is precious, irreplaceable, and if I’d made a mistake I was certain I’d never repeat, I would lie to Sam to protect it. To protect us.
So if that’s what she’s doing, I’ve decided to let it go.
I made the decision last night and woke up feeling lighter than I have since we got off the plane. Even waking up half frozen isn’t enough to ruin the start of my day. And hearing the clerk say the hotel is giving us half off the second night of our stay because of the heat problem makes the case of frozen toes worth it. Now Sam and I can splurge on something other than trail mix for lunch.
When I get back to the room, she’s still asleep, so I build a fire and put on the electric kettle to make instant coffee.
Finally, when the room is warm and we both need to get moving if we’re going to make our float time, I wake her by waving the steaming coffee fumes at her nose across the mattress, laughing when she moans happily in her sleep.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty. We’ve got to get moving.”
“What time is it?” Sam asks in a rough voice, smiling when she opens her eyes and sees the coffee. “Coffee angel. Come to me.”
I wait until she’s propped up against the headboard with the covers tucked up to her chest and hand over the mug. “It’s eight. I figured we should leave here by nine, right?”
Sam takes a sip and nods. “Yeah. That should be fine.” She frowns over the rim of her mug as she takes another sip. “Is it cold in here?”
“It was even colder thirty minutes ago.” I tell her about the broken heat and the discount on our second night, laughing when she perks up and says—
“That means we can have a real lunch. What?” She laughs with me. “What’s funny?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking the same thing a few minutes ago. Great minds think alike.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Last night was amazing, by the way.”
“Yes, it was.” She turns to me, giving me a closed lip kiss, shaking her head and pulling away when I try to deepen the kiss. “No way, I have morning and coffee breath.”
“So what,” I say, kissing her bare shoulder. “You’re naked under this blanket. That’s all I care about.”
She laughs a husky laugh that makes me pretty sure I’m going to get lucky, even before she says, “Fine, but take the coffee before I spill it and burn both of us.”
“Your wish is my command, princess,” I say, taking the mug and setting it on the nightstand before rolling back into bed with Sam.
Twenty minutes later, she’s arching beneath me as she comes and I’m fighting to hold on a little longer, but it’s pointless. She feels too fucking amazing, and I’ve been dying to be with her like this for so long not even our marathon session last night took the edge off.
I call out her name, my balls feeling like they’re going to crawl up into my body as I come so hard the world is still spinning when I roll over onto my back a few minutes later, pulling Sam with me so she’s lying sprawled across my chest.
“So good,” she says, with a ragged sigh. “That was even better than last night.”
“I know. I’m really good in bed,” I say, laughing when she pinches my nipple.
After we catch our breath, we head into the shower, managing to keep our hands to ourselves long enough to get clean and dressed in our warmest clothes. We grab towels from the room and our swimsuits for the hot springs we’ll be stopping at halfway through the float trip and are out the door in plenty of time to snag breakfast sandwiches from the restaurant on our way to the river.
We meet the people we’ll be floating with—a family of four from Australia, who seem friendly and laid back—get our life jackets and hit the Waikato River. Sam and I each have our own kayak and have no trouble keeping up with the guide. The family we’re with is divided between two double kayaks, with the parents in the back and the kids in the front. They’re a little slower, but I can tell Sam doesn’t mind taking it easy, and neither do I. It’s another gorgeous fall day, and the countryside is even more stunning from the water.
I’ve spent the past several years with the outdoors as my office, but the beauty of the natural world never fails to take my breath away, and this part of New Zealand is over-the-top stunning. The blue-green water flows in a peaceful ribbon through farmland and gently rolling hills, under high steel bridges and between rock formations sharply eroded on both sides, hinting at the violence of the current when the river is high. Trees on fire with orange and red leaves bend down to kiss the surface of the water and the cool breeze carries a clean mineral scent. Just pulling in a breath is an exercise in bliss, and for the first time in years I want for absolutely nothing.