For a long moment they just stared at one another. Her eyes soaked him up.

He wore cargo trousers today, with a hoodie, new sunglasses hung off the neckline, his hair was in a manbun, making his facial features look a lot sharper. He had trimmed his beard. His eyes were more intense than she remembered.

"You have a suppressed number," he stated calmly, taking a step towards her. "When my brother checked his phone in the incoming calls list, yours came up as an unknown number. So I couldn't call you."

She nodded.

"And you're not listed in the phone book," he continued, taking another step.

She shook her head.

"Did you know that there are over 200 spas in LA?"

Another step. He was so close now that his scent engulfed her and she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.

"I didn't...," she cleared her throat, "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I."

His eyes roamed around her face, before settling on her eyes again.

"Can I come in?"

She held his gaze as she stepped to the side. He walked past her, his hand brushing hers. She closed her eyes and shut the door. When she turned around, he was standing right in front of her.

His hand reached out to take hers, their fingers intertwining. Little sparks travelled up her arm and down her spine, her heart beating fast.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi."

"I missed you."

Her heart was beating rapidly.

His hand tugged on hers and he pulled her into his chest, his arms engulfing her in a hug.

This.

Exactly this was what had been missing.

"I missed you, too," she admitted.

She felt his head nuzzled in her neck, breathing her in, his hands stroking her hair, caressing her back. She could hear his heart beating fast.

Then she felt him kissing her neck, kissing her hair, kissing her forehead.

His hands cupped her face as he gazed down at her.

"Nina Mcleod."

The way he said her name made her feel hot.

"I've been thinking about this moment for the last six weeks," he breathed.

"You have?" she whispered.

He nodded and leaned in, but her finger on his lips stopped him.

"What about your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" he asked, utter confusion on his face.

She nodded her head towards her bag that hung on a hook on the wall next to them, the gossip magazine peeking out.

"Natasha Antonova?"

He followed her gaze to the magazine, then looked back at her. "Nina, that's a trash magazine. It's full of lies."

She needed to hear it though and he seemed to see it on her face. "Natasha and I used to go out a while ago. We're not an item anymore, just friends."

Nina bit her lip, feeling embarrassed, but she needed to know. She didn't want to be the other girl.

His finger under her chin made her look up at him again.

"I've spent the last six weeks trying to track you down," he said, voice husky. "Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"Because I can't stop thinking about you." His fingers tenderly skimmed over her cheek. "I called every single spa in LA, trying to find you. It's been driving me crazy. And now that I've found you," he leaned in, his lips ghosting over hers, "I don't want to let you go again."

And then he closed the distance, placing his lips on hers. They both moaned into the kiss.

This wasn't like their first kiss. It was raw and needy, all teeth and tongues, hands roaming their bodies.

His hands travelled to the back of her thighs and he lifted her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, her back pressed up against the door. His hand moved under her cardigan, tracing the soft skin of her stomach and up, cupping her breast over her bra, squeezing.

A whimper escaped her and he tore his mouth from hers, kissing down her neck, pulling down the neckline of her cardigan to kiss the top of her mounds.

Her hands started to tug on his hoodie impatiently and he pulled back just long enough to pull off the annoying piece of clothing, along with his t-shirt, discarding both on the floor, before he kissed her deeply.

She hungrily explored his chest and trailed her hands over his abs. His muscles were hard, his skin soft and hot and he shivered under her touch.

She could feel his growing bulge pressing into her hot core. A moan escaped her when he broke the kiss.

They were both panting.

"Where's your bedroom?"

She motioned to a door behind him. He set her down swiftly, kissing her again.

They stumbled their way to the bedroom. He pushed her up against every wall, kissing her deeply, grinding his hips into her.

She was a mess. A hot, bothered mess.

He pushed her onto the bed, covering her body with his.

A loud ringing noise came from his trousers that were hanging dangerously low on his hips.

"Ignore it," she begged, as his teeth pulled on her bottom lip.

The ringing stopped, only to start straight up again.

"Shit, I can't," he panted, sitting back up and answering his phone.

The conversation was quick and he ended the call after a few words.

He looked down at her. "I need you to pack. Warm, comfortable clothes. Waterproofs, hiking boots."

She shot him a look of surprise. "What's going on, Jared?"

"That was my assistant confirming some details of my plans for you. You're coming with me. We're going away. Just you and me." He smiled at her. "We're going climbing."

*****

The drive took a little over ten hours. Jared had said they were going to Utah, but he had remained mysterious about where exactly.

The car came to a stop and Nina stared out the windscreen at the mountain looming over them.

"Oh my goodness!"

Jared unbuckled his seatbelt and got out. She followed suit and they met at the hood of the car, glancing up the ragged rocks that were just starting to get bathed in the light of the rising sun.

He draped his arm over her shoulder and they stood there for a long moment soaking it all in.

"This is Mount Timpanogos. And we're going to climb it," he was almost bouncing with excitement. "Tomorrow, that is. Because I'm knackered after all this driving. So the plan is we get our gear and set up tent at the Timpooneke campground. Get an early night and an early start tomorrow. We hike up the trail and climb to the summit tomorrow. It'll be a hard day but totally worth it."

"Sounds awesome!" she said, still awestruck. "Let's go get the gear and set up camp!"

He laughed at her enthusiasm, pulling her in close and kissing the top of her head.

They got back into the car, drove to a cafe where they had breakfast, then drove to the rental shop. Whilst Jared loaded their gear up in the back of the car, Nina shopped for some food provisions and essentials. Half an hour later they were on their way to the campsite parking lot. They were lucky, it wasn't busy. They unloaded the car, signed in and set up their tent.

Jared decided to take a "quick nap". He had, after all, driven all night. Nina gave him space and wandered up the trail a little bit, taking in the beauty that was surrounding her.

"You gonna go up to the summit tomorrow?" she heard behind her.

She turned to see the campsite owner holding some wooden poles and a hammer in his hands.

She nodded her head.

"Weather forecast's not particularly good," the man continued. "It'll put off most tourists anyways. But you two just keep going through the drizzle. It usually eases up round lunchtime. You'll be rewarded with spectacular views."

Nina smiled. "Thank you."

She kept walking up the trail, taking in nature, before she made her way back to their tent. She didn't want to wake Jared, so she quietly set up the gas stove on the wooden picnic table just a few steps from their tent and got the ingredients she needed out of the cooler. She turned on the gas stoves and started cooking, rice in one pan, the veggies in the other.

Suddenly, she felt two arms wrap around her from behind, and he nuzzled her neck.

"Mmh, that smells delicious. What are you cooking?" His voice sounded raspy from sleep.

"Satay sweet potato curry. 100% vegan," she added quickly.

His lips brushed her neck. "Thank you."

"Why don't you sit, it's nearly ready."

She spooned some rice and curry in two bowls, handed him one, along with a fork and sat down next to him, at the picnic table.

They ate in silence, then washed up the bowls and pots together, before putting everything away.

"I saw the campsite manager earlier," she said as she zipped up the storage area of their tent.

"Oh yeah?"

"He told me that the weather forecast for tomorrow's not good, but that we should push through the drizzle and that it would clear up at lunchtime. That it would be worth it."

"Well then, we'd better turn in early," he said.

She checked her watch. "It's only gone three."

He pulled the zipper of the tent down, when she turned to look at him, closing the outside world out.

"Exactly," he breathed, his eyes now a darker shade of blue, looking at her with need.