Page 84 of The Illicit Play

I nod. “I’m serious. I can feel the energy of this place. I get why it’s your favorite.”

His lips curl into a smile that warms his eyes as well, and I just want to stand here drinking him in. The dappled sunlight breaking through the trees is highlighting his handsome face and?—

He turns away, continuing down the trail, and I try not to feel that burn of disappointment. We almost had a moment. I could feel it.

Wrestling my phone out of the front zipper pouch of my bag, I know I can no longer capture him just the way he was… but that shaft of light breaking through the trees is stunning.

Pausing on the trail, I line up the shot, catching Grady’s back as he walks into the light. He’s surrounded by trees, and it seriously looks like angels are smiling down on him or something.

“Nice,” I murmur to myself, smiling at the screen and already imagining this picture blown up and framed on a wall. It’s stunning.

“You coming?” Grady calls from ahead, and I pick up my pace, chasing after him as he teases me aboutbeing on my phone when I should be enjoying the view.

“I was taking a photo, dipshit.” I snort, laughing when he turns to frown at me.

I grin back, and his lips start to twitch before he nods and keeps walking.

Happily following after him, I enjoy this slow pace, although it’s probably taking us way longer to get to the first pit stop he planned. But I don’t want to go any faster. I want to drink this all in.

It’s so gorgeous.

We’re like the only two people on the planet right now, and that’s not overwhelming or scary at all.

It’s comforting.

Peaceful.

Two hours disappear in a flash as I take in this nature like it’s my personal brand of fuel. I snap a stupid number of photos, but I just can’t help myself. There is so much to capture out here.

My shoulders start to ache, my calf muscles are cramping as we ascend a steep, rocky pathway, and my feet are complaining big-time.

But I’m struggling to remember a time that I felt this content.

This unburdened.

And I want to freaking drown in this feeling.

CHAPTER 25

GRADY

Blake seems happy. Her genuine smile is absolutely stunning. I’m not used to seeing her so unchecked. This smile isn’t the one she puts on for Wily, and it’s not the one I saw her use when she was talking to her parents yesterday. Their video chat was all about her parents questioning why she was taking this insane trip with me. They were obviously too busy, on the weekend we visited them, talking football with Wily to really let the news sink in, but now it has… and her mother wanted to know why on earth her daughter would choose to live like a savage for five whole days.

Blake had laughed at the comment, but it hadn’t been a relaxed sound.

Not like the one she made when we spotted that squirrel racing up the tree.

A squirrel.

She’s definitely seen one before, but obviously out here, in the wild, it’s that much more spectacular.

The musical sound carried across the breeze, and Iturned back in time to see her pointing at that tree and grinning at me.

It was beautiful.

She’s so stunningly beautiful, it’s hard to concentrate around her.

Which is why I’m leading the way.