The feedback on the last chapter was phenomenal! I was surprised to find that many responses, let alone such well thought out and detailed critiques. It's a godsend to any writer still in the revision process, and I'm eternally grateful. You're all on the good list 😉😂 Enjoy 🤗🤗❤️❤️

Chapter 48

Bard held a finger to his lips and pulled me down to crouch behind the nearest tree. "There," he whispered.

I followed his gaze, and my lips parted on a breath. A massive deer stood less than twenty feet away. It chewed at the grass, then lifted its head to the air as if it could sense us there. My lips curved. I'd never seen anything more exotic than a raccoon, and that had been beside a dumpster.

This was different.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bard thumb moved across my shoulder. "That's an elk. They're all over out here."

"I thought it was a deer."

"They're bigger, and the antlers are different." Bard's eyes trailed over my face and softened, then shot back over as the elk barreled off into the trees. "C'mon. Let's find something else then." He gently lifted me and lead the way in the opposite direction.

I stared up at the sun filtering through the trees, listened to the chirping birds and picked apart each individual song.

All the while, Bard's eyes stayed sharp and focused on the ground. He dipped down and touched the dirt, then smiled and waved me along behind him.

I hurried to catch up, and inwardly cursed each noise I made. Bard stepped through the forrest with a ghostly silence, but each time my foot hit the earth, a crack or crunch would echo like gunfire. No matter how hard I tried to dull it, to pay attention, I couldn't accomplish what he did so effortlessly. I made a mental note to ask him to teach me.

Bard crouched again and worked his way up a hill. When he reached the top, he slowly stretched out onto his stomach and peeked at something over the other side. He looked back at me, eyes light. "You're good luck, Tequila."

I carefully pulled myself up to lay beside him, then covered my mouth when I saw what he'd found.

A family of foxes. Three grown and four of the cutest little babies spread out across a small opening between the trees.

"That's their burrow." Bard pointed to the large hole just behind them. "In most places, you don't see them during the daytime. They're nocturnal. But sometimes, if they feel safe, they'll start to hunt during the daylight hours."

"This is amazing." I wanted to try and get closer, but his words made me resist the temptation. The last thing I wanted to do was disrupt their peace of mind. "I understand how they feel. I've never felt as safe as I do out here." My smile widened as one of the cubs tumbled into another and knocked them both to the ground.

"I'm glad." He leaned forward and kissed my temple. "C'mon. I've got something else to show you." He helped me slide back down the hill, then pulled me in yet another direction.

His steps were light, and his aura was still that infectious joy that pulled me in and wouldn't let go. That morning by the fire, I'd given up fighting. I'd given in, and despite my eagerness, Bard only kissed me for a moment before he pulled away and suggested we head out.

Somehow, he always knew the exact thing to do to make me feel secure, even if I didn't even know it myself. In that moment, with that choice, he sent a message. He showed me that this wasn't just physical. This was more.

"Here," he said as he changed course and took us deeper into the foliage.

The familiar burble of water across rock greeted me, and as I broke through the trees, I saw it. The water trickled down and pooled into a large circle surrounded by smooth stones and mossy greens.

Bard let go of my hand and pulled his shirt over his head.

"What are you doing?"

He grinned at me. "Going for a swim." He yanked off his boots, then his jeans, down to nothing but his boxers then took a running start and jumped into the center. The water splashed up around him, peppered the bank.

He resurfaced and ran a hand down his face, smile blinding, eyes light.

He was beautiful, and I couldn't seem to catch my breath. "Isn't the.. um...water cold?"

"It's a natural hot spring. It stays warm." He waved a hand. "Come in."

I swallowed hard. Sweet, lord. The sight of all that skin dripping wet and exposed. So close and touchable. It should have been a crime to even consider it. The best things were always illegal. Always wrong. But I was allowed to touch it. He'd made it perfectly clear that he welcomed it.

He's like every present I never got wrapped into one massive payback.

My eyes darted around the setting, the rippling waves, the leafy greens, the birdsong. The air was clean and crisp. It didn't smell of exhaust. I looked back at Bard, a true wild man, just as much a part of the setting as any of the rest of it, waiting... for me.

Fuck Karma.

I'm with Mother Nature.

I pulled my shirt away, and Bard's smile dulled.  His eyes sharpened and cut into me as I did the same with my boots and jeans. He stood stock still, as if I were another critter out in the bush that he didn't want to scare away.

I snapped my fingers to get his attention. "I'm gonna jump. You gonna catch me?"

Bard's lip twitched. "That's what I've been trying to do."

My heart skipped, but I no longer tried to quell the sensation. I let it sputter and beat just for him. I let the smile spread across my face. Love flooded through me and warmed my skin.

I ran forward and jumped... then screamed as the water splashed up around me.

Bard's arms circled my waist and pulled me up. His chest rumbled with deep, hearty laughter. "You could have jumped a little closer."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but there was no anger behind it. The water was warm. He was warmer, and if I was making new memories, this one was my favorite.

Bard positioned me out at arm's length and waded us in a circle. "You know..." He paused, and his eyes drifted to the water.

"What?"

He looked up, and there was something raw in the depths of those eyes. Slowly, he pulled me closer, so close I had to wrap my legs around his waist and every inch of me was pressed flush against him.

He stared at me for a long moment, then titled his face until his mouth was barely a breath from mine. "I want to keep you." His hand slid up to my knee and pulled hard, while his other splayed out across my back and pressed firm.

"I'm a woman, not a puppy."

His lip twitched, but that vulnerability remained. "Be my woman."

He's asking too much.

He wants commitment, all of me, everything.

He already has it, inner Jessie spoke softly.

I idly tangled my fingers into the wet hair hanging down his back and heaved a sigh. "Dammit, Bard." I bit my lip. "I don't have much of a choice. You stole my fucking heart."

He spun us around, that blinding smile burst into existence, and his chest rumbled with a laughter that didn't quite sound like his. Bard wrapped his arms around my back and hugged me tight, face buried into the crook of my neck. His chest rose and fell heavy, and each ragged breath hitched, so subtle it was barely noticeable at all. He clung to me as if I was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Bard?" I tried to pull back and look at him, but he held me still.

"Give me a minute." His voice was hoarse. He sucked in another breath. "My heart just started beating again."

That did it for me. I laid my cheek upon his shoulder, splayed my hands out across his back, wrapped my legs tighter around his waist, because he needed me to, and... he was mine.

I wanted to take care of him, and the need to do so was so strong that if he hadn't been holding me, I would have stumbled.

I caressed his skin, kissed his neck, and within the circle of his arms, I felt like I found a place. Like the cranny at the playground, only this one just for me. This was where I could curl into and be. It was warm, and safe, and comforting.

For the first time in my life, I felt at home.

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