Heat Waves (4 page)

This would be his secret, his own sordid
little secret.

About AJ
Walters

A J Walters is a new contemporary romance author who
has just made her first appearance on to the indie circuit. Having
interests in history, romance and elements of erotica, she has
brought all of these together in her debut publication; An Acute
Attraction.

Wanting to break the trend of size 12 virgins in
books, A J Walters has introduced a new real woman in Isabel
Chambers. She’s a size 18-20, working single mother who now feels
is it her time to start living her life again. At the ripe young
age of 39, A J Walters also wanted to show that you can experience
everything that a twenty-something would.

“I saw that a 39 year old isn’t quite at retirement
age for fun, sex and finding love again. There are so many women
out there that can be represented in books as well as the slim,
innocent and beautiful types. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading
books with them in, but there are so many of them around now. I
felt it was time for something different. I’d like to think I
brought my sense of humor across in it as well. I am ditsy, I
suffer from ‘foot in mouth’ syndrome, but I can also be serious and
sentimental. From the feedback I’ve had, apparently it makes for a
great writing voice.”

A J Walters currently live in Staffordshire, England
with her two children.

Also by AJ Walters

If you enjoyed
A Picture of Hope
, be sure to
check out
A Constant Attraction.

Find
A Constant Attraction
and other works by
AJ Walters on the following publishing sites:

Amazon
UK

Amazon
US

LuLu

For more from AJ Walters

Twitter
@AJWaltersAuthor

Facebook

Goodreads

I pull into a spot at the trailhead, and the
cloud of dust slowly settles behind the car. Just as the online
guides said it would be, the parking lot is empty.
'Heaven's
Pools'
is known as a tough hike, and in the opposite direction
of most of the other trailheads, so it is has the reputation of
being a solitary hike. I haven’t told you much about this trail,
and I want to keep it a bit of a surprise. I know that if it is as
half as amazing as the descriptions make it out to be, we will have
a wonderful time.

As I remove the key from the ignition, you
open the passenger door and exit the car. It wasn't that long of a
drive, but after a half an hour of sitting, you need a stretch. I
watch as you put your hands on your hips and lean back. I can’t
help but stare, slack-jawed, as your beautiful breasts point
upwards and strain at the fabric of your shirt. As you finish your
stretch, you open your eyes and smile at me.

“Stop gawking and get out of the car, you
lazy boy. We've got a hike to take!” As you finish chiding me, one
of your incredibly cute laughs slips out.

“Ok, ok. But you got to admit that I pick the
right things to gawk over.”

“Really? A sports bra and tee-shirt is all it
takes for you to gawk? I should stop trying so hard….” You flip
your hair over your shoulder and a mischievous smile slips over
your lips.

Without a witty comeback, I open my door and
slide out into the warm summer breeze. Even here, at the edge of
the woods, the air is filled with the earthy scents of nature. I
reach behind the driver's seat and pick up my backpack, which is
heavy with water and treats. Slipping my arms through the straps, I
wonder if I’ve brought too much before shrugging my shoulders and
cinching down the straps.

“Ready?” I turn to you as you arrange your
hair under a baseball cap and smile.

With a nod, you reply, “Yep. I'm eager to see
what is so special about this hike you picked out.”

We are heading towards the trailhead’s brown
wooden sign, carved with the words 'Heaven's
Pools'
, filled
in with yellow paint so it is clearly visible.

“It's going to be a long walk with quite a
bit of elevation gain, however, it ends at
'Heaven's Pools'
,
which is supposed to be just amazing!”

“A little long? What's that mean? Two hours?
Six hours?” We walk past the sign, and the forest abruptly
surrounds us, a rocky dirt path beckoning us further.

“About two or so hours up, and an hour and a
half back down.”

“That's never a good sign, an hour difference
there versus back. Some serious elevation gain, huh?”

“Yeah, a little more than we've done in the
past, about one thousand four hundred feet—over seven point two
miles. Besides, you like it when you make me gain elevation.”

I hear you grumble a little bit as we leave
the parking lot behind. Walking along the slightly overgrown path,
I can hear your breathing relax as you inhabit the meditative zone
hiking brings about. The red blazes painted on the trees make it
easy to follow the trail, even where the grasses and moss have
begun to cover the path. I hope that the soft trail and the
promised reward will make the journey worth it in the end.

We continue along at a good clip until we get
to our first obstacle, a fallen tree. It is just large enough to be
a nuisance, with enough branches that we need to think before we
pass by.

We walk over to the right side, and I hug the
trunk and swing myself underneath the branch, my feet sliding on
the dirt and my hand sliding against the bark. I try to hide my
discomfort under a veil of masculinity, however, you can tell it
burns a little, based on how I rub the dirt off me.

Concentrating, you turn around and bounce up
so you are sitting on the trunk. With the protection of your shorts
you swing one leg up and over the log. You turn to me and wink,
your hands flat on the tree between your legs. Then, you flip your
other leg over, lift your chin a bit, and smile, satisfied at how
much better your plan was.

I walk over to your side and you wrap your
arm around my shoulder. You hop up and then slide down the log,
your body running delightfully against mine. After you hit the
ground and stand up straight again, your shoulder is right in the
crook of my arm, your breast pressed against my ribcage. I lean
down and look into your sparkling eyes. You wrap your arm around my
waist, flash a mischievous smile, and lean your head back. As I
lean down to kiss you, one of your pixie laughs escapes, and you
twirl away from me, your fingertips trailing slowly across my
crotch as you disappear ahead of me.

“Can't take a break yet, we have too far yet
to go.” Your voice is playful as you continue up the trail.

I can still smell the lingering scent of your
shampoo as I follow up the trail. I do a quick jog to catch up with
you, and then I'm right behind you once again. “I want to go so far
with you…,” my voice trailing off. You shoot a look over your
shoulder, and immediately notice that I'm taking in the view of
your amazing ass. With a snort you turn back around, shaking your
ass seductively.

As we keep walking down the trail, the path
gets steeper and more rugged. You slow your pace, and, secretly,
I'm a little thankful. The going is not terrible but it is
certainly getting tougher.

Huffing in response to the strain, you mange
to collect enough breath to talk. “Gosh, this is so much harder
than our usual hikes. I hope that this one is worth it.”

“Trust me,” I say, pausing to get a little
air. “If what I've heard is true, it will be.”

“Well, if it doesn't take my breath away,
then you won't get a chance to take it away either.”

The trail exits the forest, and then we are
on the side of the mountain. Surrounded by a grassy meadow and with
the world spread out before us, we just stop to drink in the view.
The sun is bright, the sky deep blue, and the clouds white, soft,
and seemingly just out of our grasp.

“This is fantastic,” you say. “Can't we just
stop here?”

“It's certainly beautiful, but we're not far
now.”

“Are you sure?”

I quickly glance down at my watch. “Well I'm
pretty sure there's more trail behind us than there is in front of
us.”

“Maybe I just need to have the motivating
view for a bit.” You bow and swing your hands forward, “After
you.”

When you look up at me, I raise an eyebrow,
and then walk past your outstretched arm. As I pass you, you swat
my ass playfully. Turning around with mock surprise on my face, I
clearly see that you are full of delight with yourself. I shake my
head and continue down the path.

I’m trying to keep a steady pace but the view
of the world constantly pleads for me to shift my attention to it,
rather than the path. This makes me slower than my normal pace,
something that I’m sure you appreciate. As we round the side of the
mountain, we reach another patch of trees. Here the path becomes
steeper, and the switchbacks that were added don’t make it much
easier.

About half way up, you tug on the strap
dangling from my backpack. I look at your flushed face, and
immediately realize we need a quick breather. Silently you pull out
your water bottle and flip up the bite valve. I watch as your lips
wrap around the plastic and you suck up the water. You lift your
eyes up, locking on to mine. You smile as your lips slip off the
tube with a sigh.

As you twist around to reseat your water
bottle, I can’t help but admire you. The sheen of sweat that is
coating your skin makes you glow in the dappled sunlight, so that
you are looking remarkably sexy. The flush of blood makes your
cheeks redden, and this, coupled with your heaving chest, stirs a
deep longing within me.

Taking a step forward, I am close enough to
your body to feel the heat radiating off of you. Unable to resist,
I watch a bead of perspiration running down your neck, and
carefully I wrap my lips around it. Sucking it into my mouth, the
salty taste explodes on my tongue, and you let out a soft moan. My
lips linger for a heartbeat longer before I take a step back.

You turn around quickly, your chest heaving.
“Yummy, no?”

I can barely manage to gulp out a response.
“Yes.”

You tug on your shirt, exposing the top of
your sports bra for a moment. “Well, you’ll get a lot more than a
drop of sweat if the destination is as glorious as you promise.”
And with that you wink, lightly spank my ass, and shoo me up the
trail.

We press ahead, and the trail finally begins
to level off. Our pace quickens as the strain on our muscles
slackens, and before we know it, we are rounding a bend in the
trail. In the distance we can hear the sounds of falling water, and
with renewed vigor we hurry down the last section of trail.

Stepping out of the woods, we are witness to
a spectacular sight, and we have to stop in our tracks and take in
the view. The pictures have not done this place justice.

There are three pools with small waterfalls
connecting each of them. The top pool is the smallest, with a
bubbling spring feeding it from deep within the mountain. The
middle pool is a little larger. The sides gradually slope into the
water for about two feet all around, before giving way to a pool
about five feet deep. Since the pool is shallow for so much of it,
and the stone so dark, this pool is warmed by the sun, and is
comfortable to swim in. The lower pool is down about four feet from
there, and very shallow, with a strong current leading to the edge.
From the bottom pool the water flows downward out of view with a
roar of white noise that is somehow both peaceful and
exhilarating.

We glance at each other and see the smile on
the other’s face. The answer to the unasked question,
was the
hike worth it?
is obvious. That long trek was more than worth
it.

In unison we both walk over to a patch of
grass near the pools and put our backpacks down. As I stretch, you
take off your hat and drop it to the ground. Then we grab our empty
water bottles and fill them from the fresh spring water. Greedily
we drink in the cold, crisp liquid, the water dribbling down our
chins and dampening our shirts.

“Wow,” you say, finally breaking our silence.
“This place is incredible.”

I am beaming, excited to have pleased you.
“Glad you approve.”

“I admit that I had my doubts on the way up
here, but you’ve proved an excellent expedition leader,” you say
with a wink. “So good you deserve a reward.”

Coyly you walk over to me and drag your
finger up my body, following the trail that the water has left. The
single finger reaches my chin and pushes my face downward. When it
has reached the appropriate angle, your arms slip around my neck
and your lips reach up towards mine.