ROAR (23 page)

PAMELA:
Yes, Sir.

She nearly cringed at her submissive response, but he was awfully bossy.

KRISTOFFER:
See you in the morning.

PAMELA:
Night.

She hadn’t been on a picnic in forever. Now how was she expected to sleep? She tossed the covers off and went to the kitchen to boil the potatoes and eggs. She wouldn’t mix everything until morning, but this way they’d already be cooled when she worked with them.

Pamela had the salad finished by ten and was dressed and sitting down on the front steps to her apartment building early. She carried her jacket, because the sun was quite warm. Were they going to the mountains?

The purr of his Jaguar coming around the corner set her heart to racing. She’d missed him so much.

She’d been too sedentary since returning from Afghanistan and hoped she wouldn’t be too out of shape. Although, knowing Kristoffer, he wouldn’t be putting her through her paces. Most likely, he’d want to carry her so she wouldn’t exhaust herself.

She grinned at the image and rolled the small cooler down the sidewalk to meet him in the driveway, smiling at him as he exited the car.

He didn’t seem as happy at the sight of the cooler. “What’s that?”

“A cooler. I need to keep the potato salad on ice.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Which floor do you live on?”

Curious why he wanted to know, she blinked and answered, “Third.”

“You carried it downstairs by yourself? Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Why was he so upset? “I’m stronger than I look.”

“You’re also recovering from a serious illness. No more heavy lifting.”

One bowl of potato salad was hardly heavy lifting, but she’d already learned Kristoffer liked to fuss over her health. Not something she wanted to focus on today.

“Next time, you will wait for me to carry heavy stuff downstairs. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.” The automatic response came out before she realized she wasn’t speaking to her Dom. He nodded curtly without raising his brows in surprise and opened the door for her, so she decided not to bring attention to her slip of the tongue. He probably just thought it a throwback to her days as an Air Force brat. Unlike her text last night, he couldn’t tell from her words whether she used an upper- or lowercased “sir.”

“Great day for a picnic,” she said, hoping to shift his focus. “I’m in such a good mood today.”

He grinned back at her. “Surprisingly, I’m getting there, too. I haven’t been on a picnic in years.” Today, he wore a jogging outfit with some serious running shoes, but she liked him in suits best.

Kristoffer popped the trunk and stowed the cooler inside next to several bags from a local barbecue restaurant.

“Smells delicious!”

“We’ll eat first then hike.” Minutes later, they were seated side by side, talking about Tori’s condition and all that had happened since they’d seen each other late last week.

She and Kristoffer had all afternoon to enjoy their meal and hike before he’d need to visit Tori. Pamela admired the hell out of Kristoffer for remaining faithful to his wife, even though the woman would never know one way or another. Pamela couldn’t imagine that kind of lifelong love, but hoped she’d find it someday.

Soon they were leaving Denver and heading west. She wondered where they were going until he took the Idaho Springs exit.

“Mount Evans?”

“Yep. Echo Lake to be exact, although if you’d like, we could drive up to the top of the mountain.”

“Whatever you want is fine with me. The drive is gorgeous, but there are some good hiking trails at Echo, too.”

He pulled into a popular hiking area several miles up Mount Evans Road. After parking and hauling their picnic supplies to one of the lakeside tables—Kristoffer letting Pamela carry the lightest two bags—they spread a blanket over the table next to the lake and started emptying the bags and coolers. Despite her jacket, with the stiff breeze coming off the lake, she might want to huddle
under
the blanket before long. Maybe they were rushing the season, but she loved being outdoors. They’d both dressed in layers knowing how unpredictable the Front Range could be in springtime.

“Are we expecting anyone else?” she asked him.

He quirked an eyebrow. “No, why?”

“Because there’s enough food here to feed a small army.”

He laughed. “We’ll need to build up our strength for the hike.”

There were boneless chicken wings, a platter of sliced cheeses and deli meats, fresh fruit salad, and, of course, her potato salad.

A red-tailed hawk screeched overhead, and she jumped at the noise, nearly dropping her plate, then laughed at herself. She was on edge for some reason she couldn’t fathom and needed to relax.

Kristoffer opened the bottle of Perrier and poured them each a glass. “Here. Sorry it’s not wine, but I didn’t want either of us to get dehydrated when we start our hike.”

She took a sip and set the glass on the table as Kristoffer stared out over the blue mountain lake in silence. She wondered if he was remembering special times here with his wife? Pamela worried about him not being able to break from the past and enjoy the present.

In an attempt to bring his attention back to the moment, she announced, “Let’s dig in! Everything looks delicious.”

They took their places on the same side of the bench so both could face the lake, and he refilled her glass before raising his. She did the same. “To blue lakes, brilliant sunshine, and a phenomenal day.” They clinked glasses and sipped their water to complete the toast.

They enjoyed the beginning of their meal in near silence as both ate heartily and enjoyed the splendid view before them. Being out here with a friend rather than a date, she didn’t have to worry about looking like a glutton and helped herself to another chicken wing. Good thing the restaurant packed wipes for their messy fingers.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” he said. She enjoyed watching him eat with equal gusto. A look of surprise crossed his face when he took a bite of her potato salad. Her recipe used tarragon, dill, and celery seed to give it a special flavor. He swallowed and smiled at her. “This has to be the most fantastic potato salad I’ve ever eaten. You’re a good cook.”

His smile and praise warmed her heart. “One of my hobbies, but I don’t have a lot of ambition to cook just for me. So flattery might get you invited over for dinner sometime.”

She’d never invited him to her place before. When he became serious, she prepared to laugh away the statement until he said, “I’d like that.”

His words surprised her, as did his next ones. “Pamela, I can’t tell you how much you helped me get through Tori’s hospitalization. Thanks for being there.”

She felt a familiar heat come into her cheeks. A Steller’s jay came begging for food at the end of the table, and she used the distraction to toss it a piece of bread. After it swallowed that piece, it strutted closer to them.

“Brave little thing,” she remarked.

“I guess he trusts us.”

Pamela tossed another piece of bread to the bird and spoke to it. “You, little bird, will live much longer if you don’t place your trust in the hands of strangers.”

“You sound as though you speak on experience.”

“Oh, do I ever!”

“Could that be one of the things keeping you from staying in the moment when you scene?”

She chewed while she thought. “I suppose. I haven’t really analyzed it.”

“Well, thinking won’t wear you out. While you’re on this little hiatus, it might be a good time for you to figure some things out before you dive back into the lifestyle.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Hey, the night Tori went into the hospital, you offered to help me on my concentration and focus issues with some exercises.”

“Nothing wrong with your memory.”

She laughed. “No. I’m like an elephant.”

“Well, I did, but haven’t had a lot of time to think about it.”

“No rush. I’m here for another six to eight weeks, maybe longer depending on the staffing needs at the hospital.”

“You sure you’ll be ready to return to Afghanistan?” She could imagine the worry on his face. The man worried way too much.

“With you barely letting me lift a feather and curtailing my work to a couple hours at a computer each day, I don’t see there being any problem.”

“I didn’t help matters any by having you hanging out at the hospital so much.”

“That was my choice.” Before he decided to skip the hike and take her home to send her to bed, she stood and picked up her empty plate. “Why don’t we pack up all this stuff so we can take that hike and work off this food?”

His grin warmed her. “Good idea.” Watching his hands with those long, tapered fingers as he helped clear the table, she wondered what it would feel like to have those hands massage her entire body.

Sheesh! Get a grip, woman.

They soon had everything packed up and stowed inside his trunk.

He surveyed the area. “Which trail? Besides this one, there’s also Goliath and Mount Evans trails.”

“The Chicago Lakes Trail is nice, as long as we don’t hike to the end.”

After they did some warm-up stretches using the bench of the table, she stood again. “Follow me.” She started toward the lake and heard the crunch of pulverized gravel behind her. A smile broke out on her face. Normally, she wouldn’t be comfortable having a guy checking out her backside while hiking and would insist he go first. But this was Kristoffer. He wasn’t the least bit interested in her butt.

*     *     *

Kristoffer tried to take in the breathtaking scenery of blue sky, willowy reeds growing along the banks of the equally blue lake, and bristlecone pines and towering evergreens surrounding them, but hard as he tried, he could
not
take his eyes off the mesmerizing sway of Pamela’s hips as she strolled along the trail in front of him. Her slacks encased her sweet cheeks with no visible panty line. Did that mean she wasn’t wearing panties? Or did she wear a thong?

What the fuck was he thinking about her rounded assets for?

Because you’re not dead yet.

Says who? He’d been dead in that department for years. And as long as Tori remained alive, he intended to remain shut down sexually.

Besides, Pamela was anything but a love interest. Determined not to ruin a nice afternoon with a newfound and much-needed friend, he forced himself to gaze out over the lake toward the mountains. Unfortunately, with little success at banishing the image of her ass from his mind.

His awareness with her would only get worse now. Why had he suggested helping her work on her focus?

As the image of a naked Pamela kneeling before him awaiting his guidance flashed across his mind, he banished it.

I’m not ready to train her.

Could he propose exercises that wouldn’t require him to be in the same place with her? Perhaps. But not at first. They were together now. Why not start now?

“We’re only going to hike for an hour or so because I don’t want you attempting the steep parts yet, but this would be a good time for you to start working on your concentration skills.”

She turned and cocked her head. “How so?”

“As you walk along, I want you to look for specific vegetation and animals until you have a list of ten items. Then you’ll recite them to me when you reach that number.”

Pamela’s smile took his breath away. “Sounds good!” She pivoted on the ball of her foot and proceeded on the trail, scanning left and right. He watched her hands as she seemed to count off the items.

Willing himself to simply enjoy this hike and his brief respite from real life, he followed. Something drew him back into the past. Perhaps a bird’s call or the sound of the water lapping against the bank. Growing up, the times he’d spent with Gunnar at their grandfather’s house in Norway had almost always been spent outside in various Viking-inspired adventures. A far cry from his sedate city life in Connecticut with his mother, although his proximity to the coastal waters off New London had led him on some adventures of his own as a teen. His friend, Jeremy, owned a sailboat, and the two of them had sailed out to Fishers Island once a week in good weather.

Tori never cared for spending time outdoors. Thoughts of his wife dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on him, as usual.

When Pamela stopped in her tracks, he nearly plowed into her. She turned and raised a finger to her lips to keep him quiet before pointing several dozen yards ahead of them. A mule deer drank at the bank of the lake near the trail ahead. They shared the peaceful sight for several moments until something spooked the animal, and it sniffed the air before darting back into the safety of the woods.

“Beautiful,” Pamela said.

He found himself staring at the fiery streaks in her strawberry blonde hair, forgetting all about the deer. “Definitely.”

She turned to him and smiled, oblivious to where his mind had strayed. “Don’t you love it up here?” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “If I could move out of the city, I’d do so in a heartbeat.”

He hated to end her revealing ramblings, but clearly, she’d lost her focus. “What number did you get to with the deer?”

Her eyes opened wide. “Oh! I lost count—but I can remember. Let me see.” Holding her hands in front of her, she ticked off on her fingers what she’d noticed. “Ducks; bristlecone pine; mushroom—or maybe it was a toadstool; a gum wrapper—burns me up that someone would toss litter away on a nature trail; a squawking Steller’s jay—I wonder if it was the same one who joined us for our picnic,” she said, glancing up at him.

Kristoffer couldn’t hold back his laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Did you keep up the running commentary while making your observations, too?”

Her eyes opened wider, and she scowled. “See what I mean? I just can’t stay focused!”

“Well, tell me the rest of the list now—without the sidebars.”

She switched hands. “Number six was…oh, yeah, a broken branch across the trail; and seven, the mule deer!”

The smile on her face made him smile, too, which made it hard for him to chastise her, but she’d asked him to help her focus. He forced himself to grow stern. “You fell short by three. I want you to start over at one as we continue our hike back to the car—no repeated items.” He motioned her to precede him.