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“Arlo will take care of it,” he said. “And if you get blisters, I’ll just carry you back to the house and fuck you better.”

An aftershock rippled through me. “I don’t think sex helps with blisters.”

Einar ran a fingertip over my bottom lip. He seemed fascinated with it. Fine by me. “I guess we’ll have to try it out,” he murmured.

“All right.”

He smiled. “So it’s a date.”

“It’s a date.” And maybe I’d gotten everything backward, and the hiking should have come before sex. Then again, I challenged anyone faced with an aroused Einar to decline a session on his desk…or in his bed.

He rolled on top of me and pushed his knee between my thighs. “It’s a long time until tomorrow, woman. I’ll have to keep you busy until then.”

Chapter

Sixteen

EINAR

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Harper asked, pausing to look at me over her shoulder. She wore her hair in two braids. Thick athletic tights molded to her hips and ass, and a signature tight sweater hugged her breasts. I didn’t need hiking poles. My dick had kindly volunteered to take on the role.

“Einar?”

I realized I stood in the center of the trail, probably wearing a dumbfounded expression as Harper frowned at me. We’d been hiking for two hours, and we neared my favorite spot in the mountains. The breeze carried a sharp bite, but the sun was out, making the late afternoon air appear to sparkle.

I cleared my throat. “Sorry, did you ask a question?”

“Yes. I asked if we’re going the right way.” Harper looked around, her frown deepening. “There isn’t much of a trail here.”

That was an understatement. I’d worn a few trails into the ground over the years, but they weren’t the smooth, manicured terrain Harper was probably used to. They were also narrow as hell.

“I know the mountain,” I said. “If you veer off course, I’ll tell you.”

She grumbled as she faced forward and continued up the incline. “This would be a lot easier if you led us.”

“And miss this view?” I asked, looking at her ass for the thousandth time since we left the house.

Okay, maybe the millionth.

She swung around again. “Is that why you insisted on bringing up the rear?”

I grinned.

She closed her eyes on a long blink. “Forget I said that.”

I lunged forward and grabbed a handful of the rear in question. Leaning in, I let my lips graze the tender skin under her ear. “Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s an unbeatable view.” I squeezed her cheek, wishing I possessed the magic to make the layer of lycra separating us disappear. “Also, there’s no way I can handle having you behind me. I’d spend all my time looking back to make sure you’re okay and probably end up falling over a cliff.”

Her soft laughter made joy flare in my chest. She pushed me away with a good-natured shove. “Fine. But this favorite spot of yours better be close.”

Worry drifted through me. “Why? Are you getting blisters?”

“No, my boots are fine, I promise. But I’m not a lycan, and my stamina isn’t the same as yours.”

“Understood.” I gestured toward the summit ahead. “We’re almost there. Five more minutes.”

With a nod, she turned and continued up the mountain. As I followed, her words burrowed into my mind. Because she was right. She was human—and like all humans, she was fragile. If she decided to stay at Draithmere, how much time would we have? A century?

My gut knotted. There had to be a way to extend Harper’s lifespan. My brother’s wife had been born human.