Page 29 of Mating With My Grumpy Alphas (Hollow Haven #2)

The ride to the waterfall took thirty-five minutes on roads that got progressively narrower and twisting with sharper turns.

She held on without complaint, her confidence growing as we rode.

I could feel her relaxing against me, starting to enjoy the freedom of it, the way the bike moved through the landscape like it was part of it.

When we hit the final dirt track that led to my spot, she laughed again, and this time I felt it vibrate through her chest against my back. That sensation went straight through me, making me acutely aware of every point where our bodies connected.

I parked in the small clearing where I always left the bike, cutting the engine.

The sudden silence felt profound after the steady rumble of the Honda.

She didn't let go immediately, and I didn't move to make her.

For a moment, we just sat there in the growing dusk, her arms still around me, both of us breathing hard as my hands slowly trailed up and down her thighs.

"That was incredible," she said finally, her voice soft with amazement. "I felt like I was flying."

I swung off first, then steadied her as she found her feet. Her legs were a little shaky from the ride, and she gripped my arm as she got her balance back. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with exhilaration, and strands of hair had escaped from her braid to frame her face in wild waves.

She looked alive in a way I'd never seen before, and I felt a surge of possessive pride that I'd been the one to put that expression on her face.

"Different than a car," I said, pulling off my helmet and running a hand through my hair.

"Completely different. I can see why you love it." She pulled off her own helmet, and her hair fell around her shoulders in wind-tangled waves that made my fingers itch to touch them. "How long have you been riding?"

"Since I was sixteen. Saved up for two years to buy my first bike.

" I didn't mention that I'd sold it to help pay for the garage expenses when I went into business for myself, or that rebuilding this Honda had been one of the first things I'd done when the shop started turning a real profit. I should have. If there was anyone I wanted to tell my story to, it was Willa. But I’d isolated myself for so long now that I’d forgotten what it was like to talk to people. Forgotten how to make those real connections and break away the walls you’d erected to try and keep yourself.

"Trail's this way," I said, pulling two small flashlights from my saddlebags. "It's not far, but it gets dark fast in the trees."

The path wound through thick forest, pine needles soft under our feet.

I led the way, hyperaware of her behind me, the small sounds she made when branches caught her attention or an owl called overhead.

The forest was quiet except for our footsteps and the distant sound of water growing louder as we walked.

"The trees are so old here," she said, reaching out to touch the bark of a massive pine. "How long has this trail been here?"

"Long time. Probably started as a game trail, then maybe loggers used it back in the day. Haven't seen another person up here in years."

That was the truth. This place was too remote for casual hikers, too hidden for anyone who wasn't specifically looking for it.

Which was exactly why I'd kept coming back.

In a world that seemed to get more crowded and complicated every year, having a place that was truly private had become precious beyond measure.

"How did you find this place?" she asked as we walked deeper into the woods.

"Exploring. When I was younger." I hesitated, then found myself telling her more than I'd planned. "Used to come up here when I needed to get away from things. When home got too... complicated."

She was quiet for a moment, and I wondered if I'd revealed too much. But when she spoke, her voice was gentle with understanding.

"Sometimes the best places are the ones we find when we're looking for escape."

That's exactly what it had been. What it still was, in many ways.

The sound reached us before we saw it. Water cascading over rocks, peaceful and constant. I'd heard that sound in my dreams more nights than I could count, had used it to calm myself to sleep when the garage was struggling or loneliness felt like it might actually kill me.

"Oh," Willa breathed as we stepped into the clearing.

The waterfall wasn't huge, maybe fifteen feet of water tumbling down moss-covered rocks into a pool that reflected the afternoon light.

Ancient trees surrounded it, their branches creating a natural cathedral.

Mist rose from where the water hit the pool, catching the soft light like tiny diamonds.

It was beautiful in a quiet, undemanding way.

The kind of place that didn't try to impress you, just offered itself honestly.

"Rhett, this is gorgeous."

I watched her move around the pool's edge, taking in the details.

The way the light filtered through the canopy, the perfect stillness of the pool's surface broken only by the gentle disturbance of falling water, the carpet of moss that covered everything in shades of green I'd never seen anywhere else.

"I come here when I need to think," I said, the admission coming out rougher than I'd intended. "When things get too much to handle."

She turned to look at me directly, and there was something in her expression that made my chest tight. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

"Never brought anyone here before."

The words hung between us, carrying more weight than I'd meant them to.

She was quiet for a long moment, and I started to worry I'd said too much, revealed too much.

This was why I didn't do relationships, didn't open up to people.

I had no idea how to calibrate these things, how much honesty was connection and how much was just dumping your emotional baggage on someone who was trying to be polite.

"Why now?" she asked softly. "Why me?"

I could have deflected. Made some joke about needing company or claimed I was just being neighborly. Instead, I found myself telling her the truth.

"Because you see things differently. The way you look at that injured owl, at the books in the shop, at everything.

Like you're really seeing it, not just looking at it.

" I moved closer, drawn by something in her expression that looked like understanding.

"And because you matter to me. More than I know how to handle. "

She stepped closer too, close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes. "It's perfect. Peaceful but alive. Like it's holding secrets."

That's exactly what it was. What it felt like. I'd never had words for it before, but she'd found them without even trying.

"What kind of secrets?" I asked, my voice coming out lower than I'd intended.

"Happy ones," she said, moving even closer. "The kind that make you want to stay. The kind that make you want to share them with someone special."

The mist from the waterfall had settled on her skin, tiny droplets catching the light. Her scent was stronger here, mixing with the clean smell of moving water and growing things. Everything about the moment felt suspended, like we were existing in a pocket outside of time.

I reached up without thinking, brushing a drop of water from her cheek with my thumb. Her skin was soft under my rough hands, and she didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed for just a moment.

"Willa," I said, her name coming out like a prayer.

When she opened her eyes, there was something in them that made my heart stop. Something that looked like the beginning of love.

"I've been thinking about you," she said quietly. "About this. About us."

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm falling for you, Rhett. For your gruff exterior and your gentle heart. For the way you fix things and the way you've been trying to hold the broken pieces of me without making me feel like I need fixing."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Good blow. The kind that left you breathless and grateful and wondering how you'd gotten so lucky.

"You don't need fixing," I said, moving closer until we were almost touching. "You're perfect exactly as you are. Smart and strong and beautiful and brave enough to start over when someone didn't deserve you."

"I want to kiss you," she whispered. "But I need to know that you want it too. That this isn't just about being nice to the damaged omega."

I cupped her face in both hands, careful of my callused palms against her soft skin. "Willa, I've wanted to kiss you since the day I met you. Since you told me exactly what you thought of my attitude and made me realize I'd been hiding from everyone, including myself."

"Then do it" she said, her voice so soft I almost missed it over the sound of falling water.

"Please," I said, and it came out like a confession.

She rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine, and the world tilted sideways.

The kiss was gentle at first, tentative, like she was testing whether this was real or just another dream.

But when I responded by pulling her closer, deepening the kiss with all the longing I'd been keeping locked away, she melted against me with a soft sound that made my alpha instincts roar with satisfaction.

She tasted like sweet tea and possibility and something essentially her that I wanted to memorize.

Her hands came up to rest against my chest, fingers curling into my jacket as she pressed closer.

The sound of the waterfall faded into background noise as every sense focused on her.

The warmth of her mouth, the small sounds she made when I deepened the kiss, the way she fit perfectly against me despite our height difference.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, I rested my forehead against hers.

"Been wanting to do that since the day I met you," I admitted.