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—Simone—
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All inhibition became forgotten the instant I spotted Banks’s BMX leaning against the corner of the porch. I barked a laugh and swung around to face him. “Really?”
Chuckling, he grabbed it and wheeled it away from my car. “Yeah. Jump on.”
I hedged. “Front or back?”
Banks kicked his leg over and straddled the seat. “Any way you want it, babe—the choice is yours.”
Ignoring the innuendo, I gazed longingly at my car while murmuring to Banks, “I’ll meet you there?”
“Absolutely not. Get your ass on my bike, Simone.”
Letting out a dramatic huff, I reluctantly held his shoulder and put one foot on the rear foot-peg. “How far are we going?”
Everything about him illuminated when he grinned. “Just to the track at the top of the rise.”
“Great, so I have to have your ass in my face again?” I teased.
He set his hand on his abdomen and laughed. “Ride up front then. However, I must admit it’s far easier with you behind.”
I feigned a pout. “Ass or almost crashing... Gee, what a choice.”
Banks cracked up again and twisted a little further. “Take it from me, choose the ass—crashing hurts more. Recently, this hot girl pushed me off my bike for no reason whatsoever and it hurt so bad—”
“You were pissing me off!” I yelled, then held up my hand while we both laughed. “You just want me to look at your ass again.”
Comical shock hit his expression. “Wait—you looked at my ass last time?”
“Well, not intentionally. And besides, it was dark, so it doesn’t really count.” I flicked an invisible piece of lint off my t-shirt, then looked up from under my lashes to find Banks grinning.
I flapped a hand at him. “You need to stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“That stupid grin.”
Banks harrumphed. “Just get your ass on my bike already otherwise we’re going to run out of time to get to the falls and back before you start work.”
That spurred me into action. I held his shoulder and climbed on behind him, finding my balance a little quicker on the foot-pegs than last time.
“About damn time,” Banks muttered, which had me giggling.
I snickered under my breath as he took me down the street, then couldn’t help but laugh when he rose to his feet during the uphill.
“Fuck, I feel violated right now,” he growled.
Still amused, my hands dropped to his torso without reluctance like the night he took me home after work. This time, I reveled in the way his body moved under my hands. Muscles coiled and twisted with each pump of his legs. Whether it was from my touch or exertion, his body temperature rose under my palms.
“Don’t make this anymore awkward than it already is, Banks.”
“Shush,” he grumbled, digging in and beginning to pant from exertion.
I dropped my hands to rest on his hips, not daring to go lower than his waistband.
“Simone,” he warned.
“What?” I asked innocently. “Could be worse.”
“Could be a helluva lot better, too, babe.”
We wobbled a little and my hands instinctively clenched, unintentionally clawing Banks’s non-existent muffins. He hissed, but otherwise didn’t complain... until we reached the start of the trail and cruised to a stop.
“Christ, you’ve got some grip, new girl.”
After I jumped off the BMX, he lifted one side of his t-shirt to inspect the ‘damage’. He pointed at the muscular ridge of his hip. “Look at these claw marks!”
I snorted. “Where? I don’t see any.”
His voice pitched. “Look!”
“Oh please.” I scoffed, leaning close to get a super good look. “I don’t see a single one.” I poked the area for good measure, then grinned as he flinched.
His grunt drew my eyes up the length of his body from my bent stance. Our gazes snagged and heat hit my cheeks when I recognized the position I was in. I reared back as fast as I could, tripping on a stone in my haste. I jerked, stumbled, and flailed until I re-caught my balance, then scolded Banks through his roaring with laughter.
“Thanks for the help—not!”
He raised his hand. “I thought you had a handle on things. I gotta admit it wasn’t very graceful though.”
Embarrassment crept from my gut to my face, turning it red. “Ugh, you’re the worst.”
Cheeks blazing and unable to stay in Banks’s presence while disgraced, I turned to the trail and put one foot in front of the other.
“Stay on the path, Simone! It’s easy to get lost out here,” he called, tone suddenly serious and commanding.
Knowing he’d catch up in a matter of seconds, I strode on then snorted under my breath when his jogging steps soon grew closer. A brief turn confirmed it was him, complete with a reassuring smile.
We stayed silent for a long time, enjoying each other’s company while pushing deeper into the pine and fir trees. As the trail wove higher into the mountains, the slower I became. My legs burned and my chest stung with each unfit inhale.
“How much farther?” I puffed, climbing yet more natural rock steps.
“Almost there, babe. At the rate you’re going, ten more minutes, tops.”
I paused with my hands on my hips, breathing hard and sweating. “You’re barely puffing.”
He stopped at my side and snickered. “I do this for a day-job, staying fit is a must.”
“How long does this trail normally take you?”
He adjusted his cap. “Around forty minutes running it with Pepin. Easily double that for walking.”
“Oh, we should have brought her along.”
“Nah. We already did a few miles this morning. Too much more and her leg gives her grief.”
I eyed him, and eventually he tilted his head in question. “What?”
“You’ve got a caring soul, Banks.”
He barked a laugh. “I’ve been telling you that since day one!”
“And modest,” I drawled.
“Don’t forget incredibly handsome.”
“For goodness’ sake, get over yourself,” I scoffed.
The grin that got me every time reappeared. “Easier said than done, Simone.”
I threw up my hands dramatically, pulling more laughter from Banks, then willed my legs to get moving again. “Your ego is so damn big I’m surprised your head doesn’t drag on the ground!”
“Know what else is big about me?”
“Oh, come on!” The exclamation belied how curious I was.
Banks’s full-bodied chuckle consumed my thoughts. “I was going to say my appetite. Ate Mom out of house and home when I was growin’ up, and still do whenever I visit.”
“You were not referring to your appetite,” I sassed breathlessly as I climbed.
“Well, it would have been rude to be so open about my dick size, but since we’re going there—”
“We’re not!” I yelled before hearing too much. “Oh my god, you need a filter.”
Our laughter interlaced in the air. As much as Banks’s unpredictability had set me on edge when we first met, I’d become accustomed to it. Now I found myself enjoying it. Looking forward to it, even.
After the next rise, the sound of a large waterfall could be heard. The air grew cooler and moisture laden. A sheen of tiny droplets began to coat my arms and kiss my heated face.
I looked back at Banks, who grinned. “Gettin’ close now.”
On a renewed surge of energy, I rushed along the trail and gasped when the falls finally came into view. The large torrent of water cascaded down a cliff face with breathtaking beauty. I’d never seen a waterfall in real life and this one almost moved me to tears.
Banks’s warm hand connected with my lower back. “Worth the hike?”
“So worth it,” I breathed out. “It’s... stunning!”
“This waterfall is how Gatlin Falls got its name. My great-great-grandfather was drawn here by the promise of copper, and when he discovered the falls, he named it in his family’s honor. A year later, when he found the copper deposits along the valley, other families chasing potential wealth started to settle here too. The settlement became known as Gatlin Falls and quickly grew. Some settlers liked the idea of having their own settlement, so they headed down the valley to establish their own. You drove through them on your way to Gatlin Falls.”
“What an incredible history. I can see why your great-great-grandfather settled here. The entire area is stunning.”
Pride straightened Banks’s posture. “And guess what he did first, in this very spot?”
I blinked and looked around, searching for clues. “I dunno.”
“This.” Banks whipped off his cap and t-shirt, kicked out of his shoes and socks, then shoved down his shorts. He tossed everything in a haphazard pile while I tried to stop myself from stealing glances at his body.
Unpredictable as always, he ran barefoot to the rocky outcrop jutting above the Falls pool and jumped off, diving into the water as if he’d done it a thousand times before, which he probably had.
He emerged with a head flick that shook his hair from his eyes, and hollered, “Jump in, new girl. The water’s great!”
“I don’t think so,” I called.
“Aw, come on!”
“I’m not wearing my swimsuit.”
Banks tread water. “Simone, this is one of those times when you need to not overthink and just trust me.”
My heart barely beat. “I dunno, Banks. It’s so high.”
“Babe, I’ve been jumping off that rock since I could walk, and if two-year-old me can do it, you can too.”
“I—”
“No excuses,” he interrupted and flicked his hand. “C’mon, I’ll be right here.”
A beat passed where I didn’t move. I glared, willing him to vanish into thin air so I didn’t have to do it. A flicker of determination lit when he smirked, then gathered strength as his grin spread wider. I could practically see the taunt before it came.
“A country girl would do it.”
“Ha! Your mind games aren’t going to work, Banks.”
“Oh yeah?” He swam closer to where I stood with my hands on my hips. “How about I come out there and give you no option?”
I took a hasty step back. “You wouldn’t!”
He set his hands on the rocky edge of the deep pool. “Throw you in? Yeah I would. So I guess you’d better make up your mind quickly.”
With my hands still firmly planted on my hips, my stand lasted approximately three seconds until he launched forward, sending a surge of fresh water washing over the rocks.
“Okay, okay, okay! I’m doing it,” I cried, holding up my hands, petrified that he’d follow through with his threat. If I was getting in, it would be of my own accord.
Banks laughed. “Good choice, babe.”
I hissed a string of curses as I untied my shoes and whipped off my socks. Turning my back on Banks, I stripped off my t-shirt, then looked back over my shoulder. “Don’t look.”
He scoffed. “Too late.”
“You’re making me self-conscious.”
“Fine. I’ll turn around.” With a dramatic throw of his hands, he honored my privacy as I slid my shorts down.
I awkwardly folded them and set them on my shoes as if this was a formal affair, not a stall tactic.
Banks cleared his throat after a minute. “Done?”
“Yes,” I begrudgingly grumbled.
“Cool.” He turned without warning and froze. The only part that moved were his eyes tracing up and down my body, making me self-conscious as fuck all over again.
Crossing my legs and arms helped shield me from his darkening gaze. The action had his eyes cutting to mine.
“Fuck! Sorry. I ah... got distracted by your legs.” His attention dropped again. “They’re sexy as fuck,” he all but spat, then balled a fist and pressed it to his mouth, cursing quietly under his breath. When his gaze hit mine again, it darkened. “Run.”
I gasped, immediately grasping his meaning. Banks’s laughter chased me down as I harried my way to the top of the outcrop that held pride of place over the pool.
A stinging slap landed on my ass right before Banks launched himself off the rock again, bombing into the water with an almighty splash.
My toes flexed on the warm rock as I hesitated. It was higher than it looked from below.
Banks surfaced and flicked his hair out of his face. “Don’t think, just do,” he urged before I lost my nerve.
“You should have pushed me!”
He shook his head. “No way. If there’s one thing that both my parents stressed to us as kids, it was that you don’t go pushing someone off that rock. You can’t jump straight down, you need to jump out a little.”
“Okay...” I backed up, took a deep breath, then ran toward the edge.
Past the point of no return, I had no choice but to commit to the jump, and I screamed until I entered the cold water a blink later. The chill shocked my heated body, and I rose to the surface with an exclamation already on my tongue.
“Holy fuck it’s cold!”
Banks laughed. “Refreshing, right?”
“No! It’s glacial!”
He scoffed. “Well, I wouldn’t say glacial.”
I swam to the edge. “I would! I’m getting out.” My sassy declaration cut off with a scream when Banks’s hand wrapped around my ankle.
“Not so fast. The longer you stay in, the warmer it gets.”
“I doubt that.” I jerked my leg, testing his grip.
He held firm and began reeling me in, grinning his ass off. “You know what I’ve got a hankering for?”
Paddling away was no use, so I relaxed. “What?”
“Those legs of yours wrapped around my waist.”
Putting up the most pitiful resistance, I pressed against his cooled shoulders. “They’re way too spiky now thanks to my goosebumps.”
He snickered. “Don’t care.”
Two firm hands landed on my waist, then slowly pulled me into him. My legs wove around his waist as if guided by old habits, and my ankles secured on his lower back. I leaned away a little, scared to be completely chest to chest.
Banks hummed. “See. This is nice.”
I laughed lightly. “Forced to jump in a waterfall, then coerced to get this close... Dunno if nice is the word I’d use to describe...”
His fingertips landed on my chin before slowly tracing a seductive line down the curve of my throat.
“There was no forcing involved, new girl. You found that courage all on your own,” he murmured grittily. “And as much as you try to deny it, you like me touching you.”
A shiver ran through my body when his feather-light touch grazed over one alert nipple. Despite the chill of the water, with each inch Banks mapped across my body, needy heat gathered between my legs.
My breath grew shallower the lower his fingers dropped, passing my belly button before sweeping across the jut of my hipbone. Propelled forward by longing, I wove my arms around his shoulders and struggled to steady my racing pulse. Tight-lunged and near panting, I blindly pulled his mouth to mine before I lost the nerve.
One of Banks’s hands stayed gripping my ass while the other firmly wrapped around the base of my neck, pulling me impossibly closer. He kissed me with reckless abandon; humming, licking, and devouring in time with my rhythm, and tugged me harder against his hardening erection.
“Fuck, I want you. You make it impossible not to,” he hissed against my mouth.
My head tipped back, and my eyes fell closed as he kissed along my jaw. I soaked in every sensation; from his firm kisses and his soft murmurings to his hard arousal rubbing against the perfect spot between my legs.
Careless whispers fell from my mouth before I had the thought to stop them. “You’ve got me.”
“No. I want you, want you.”
“I know.” My eyes connected with his as his hands smoothed up and down my back. A thousand questions swam in his hazel depths, but I answered just one.
“You make me want you too.”
