Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(38)
She rose up on her toes to peek around him at the gear and laughed, “Camping? We’re going camping?”
“What’s wrong with camping?” Clint asked, moving up against her back and kissing her shoulder.
“Oh, uh, nothing is wrong with it. I haven’t been since I was a girl scout. I think I was about seven. I hope you two know what you’re doing with that tent because otherwise we would be smarter to make a run for the border.” When she laughed it filled his chest with a sweet warmth that he hadn’t experienced before.
“Nope, no Mexican rice for you tonight, just hotdogs and s’mores over a campfire.”
Her excitement was contagious as she bounced on her toes between them and laughed. “What are we waiting for? There is a marshmallow with my name on it so let’s get going!”
The ride up to the bluffs that lined the northern edge of the Triple T took about a half an hour. Zoey seemed anxious to learn everything about them, and Dalton took that as a good sign. After exchanging favorite colors, foods, drinks, vacation destinations, books, and music, they still didn’t seem to have any trouble finding things to talk about. It was the most comfortable he had ever been with a woman, and he felt more confident that their plan would work.
A lengthy phone call to Sawyer Brooks this morning had given him a few ideas on how to woo Zoey over to their way of thinking, and as much as he hated to let Clint have his way, sex was at the top of that list. The Brooks brothers had used seduction to land Rachel, and according to Sawyer, they had invested significant time both as a group and alone with her until she realized her own feelings.
As they pulled to a stop at the end of the working road, Zoey glanced around with a frown. “Where are we? All I see is trees. Is this still the Triple T?”
“Yep. We’re going to the top of the bluffs that overlook the Cuyato River, it’s the northern boundary of the ranch, and there is a great view of the sunset where we camp,” Clint answered as Dalton went around to the back and started unloading their supplies.
Handing Zoey a backpack and a small cooler, he winked, “We have to hoof it from here, but it’s not a long walk. Clint, grab the tent and take the lead.”
As they followed the well-worn but slightly overgrown footpath, Dalton explained their choice of destination. “When we were kids the three of us boys would come up here and camp a lot. Mama and pops didn’t worry about us up here because we were still on Triple T ground. We told ghost stories, built forts, and tree houses, snuck our first dirty magazines and our first drinks—”
“We even learned some first aid while we were up here,” Clint added, and Zoey snorted.
“I can only imagine what kind of trouble the three of you got into all alone. How long has it been since you’ve been up here?” Dalton heard Zoey’s question, but his eyes were focused on her curvy ass, so he had difficulty doing the math. For once Clint came to his rescue.
“The night I turned eighteen, me and some of my friends came up here to camp. The last time Dalton and Tanner came with me I think was Tanner’s eighteenth birthday. Kinda makes me wish he would have joined us tonight.”
Clint’s words were like a kick in Dalton’s gut. Without Tanner, it certainly felt weird. It was like the third leg of their stool was missing and they were swaying back and forth on just two legs, hoping they didn’t topple. Could Zoey accept just the two of them if Tanner never came around?
Before Dalton could come up with an answer they had reached the clearing at the top of the bluff, and Zoey gasped. The view was pretty incredible. The other side of the river was land that used to belong to the Raft family but had recently become part of Brooks Pastures. It was prime grazing land, but the Brooks family raised horses in their own fields and had yet to start using it. As far as the eye could see there was tall green grass and blue sky.
“I have to admit, I’m impressed. I had no idea a place like this existed.” Zoey stood at sharp edge of the bluff looking down into the rolling grayish green water of the river. “Has anyone ever fallen?”
Dalton felt his face drain of blood, and his knees wobble at her question. When she looked up at him her eyes widened in horror.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe…I’m so sorry, Dalton! I didn’t mean to ask that, or say that, or bring up bad things. Shit!” She rushed to his side, her hands skimming up his arms to cup his face. “Hey, look at me.”
He focused on her eyes, and all he saw was deep concern there. Concern for him and his feelings. For over a decade he had been the one concerned about everyone else. In medical school he was concerned about his studies, his teachers, his classmates, but never himself. In Africa, he was a doctor, so it was his duty to be concerned about those around him. He was known to be selfless and unequivocally reliable. All of his life he had been the peacemaker between bossy Tanner, and bratty Clint, never concerned with what he wanted, only concerned with building a strategic compromise between the two sides. For the first time, he stared into the eyes of someone who was concerned for him and him alone.
His heart rocked in his chest, and he let out a deep breath before molding his body to hers. When he slammed his mouth down on hers, she didn’t struggle or fight back, she just relaxed into him, submitting to his need for comfort. It was the perfect reaction, and his body agreed as lust slammed through him.
Digging his hands into her ass, he lifted her off the ground and she locked her ankles behind his hips as if she did it all the time. God, what he would give to feel her do this every day for the rest of his life.