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She let herself emerge the same way, released the music in her own voice. “Compared to a gym? I should hope so.”

“It’s not as if I’ve never been in the Great Outdoors before. I’ve been camping plenty of times. But I’ve never…”

Ryker shook his head, then gazed around them at the long-distance views in every direction—lush and green, so many trees, a textured tapestry of varying shades and intricate leaves. He stared up at the endless mostly-sunny sky that was nearly as blue as his eyes. He kept smiling as he looked down the long slope from where they’d come.

“Still okay?” Leslie said. “With the height, I mean.”

“Oh, yeah. No edge here.” His gaze settled on her, still looking…yes, happy, but also somehow moved. “Thanks for caring about it.”

“Of course.” Anyone who cared about Ryker ought to care about this.

“And thanks for a brand new experience, running up the side of a mountain.”

“My pleasure.”

He spread his arms over his head, then crouched and sprang several dozen lateral feet and about ten feet into the air. He landed in the branches of a pine tree. Leslie leaped after him and landed on a branch across the trunk from his perch. This man kept surprising her in the best ways.

“Well? Does this rival your gym?”

“I’m not afraid to admit it: a real mountain definitely outclasses my climbing wall.”

Then he leaned around the trunk of the tree and kissed her.

So many surprises. She kissed him back, but the stupid tree was in the way. Leslie sprang to Ryker’s branch, and he cupped her face between his hands and…and…she was humming. She sank her fingers into his delightfully soft hair, and he gave a low hum too, and they kissed. And kissed.

She murmured against his mouth, “This is…”

But then he pushed his hand through her hair and ran his fingers along her scalp, and Leslie lost her train of thought entirely. Whatever. Thoughts were overrated.

They kissed.

When they finally stopped, Leslie rested her head on his shoulder and continued playing with his hair. Ryker wound a thick strand of hers around his finger and stroked it with his thumb.

“I think this is special,” she whispered, afraid for the birds in the neighboring tree or anyone else in the universe to hear. Wasn’t it too early to know this? But she did.

“I think so too,” Ryker said.

“You make it so easy to let myself…be all of myself.”

“Mmm,” he hummed.

“What?”

“On the one hand…good. I want you to know you’re safe with me. But on the other hand, it sucks that you spend so much time muted.”

“I don’t mind, Ryker. I’ve spent most of my time muted since my vampire traits emerged as a kid.”

“Maybe it’s not as big a deal as it seems from my perspective, how I grew up. But to me…well, to me it sucks.”

“Fair enough,” she said. “I want to visit you too. See your world, you know?”

He gave a low hum that held musical layers of happiness. “I was hoping you’d say that soon, but I wasn’t counting on it today.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” she said with a nudge of his shoulder. “When I put the effort into an adventure, I’m always glad I did.” But reality dulled the sparkle of anticipation inside her. “I mean…if I can. I might not be able to get the time off.”

“If you’ve only got a day or two, we’ll make it work.”

“It’s not that.” She traced circles on the trunk of the pine, unsure why she didn’t want to admit this. “I’ve got a lot more than a day or two, but the restaurant’s really busy. My boss lets me cash out my PTO at the end of the year.”