by Cameron Dane
“No problem. I had a feeling you would appreciate it.” Marek unbuckled his bag and let it fall to the fern-covered ground next to the one he had given Colin to use. He stood shoulder to shoulder, hands in his front pockets. “It's a temporary fall, or what people sometimes call an ephemeral waterfall. It comes with the rain, and depending on how long it storms, it can last for as little as a few hours or up to a few weeks. I've seen it run off for ten days straight at the most so far, but only once. Usually it's a morning or afternoon to a few days.”
“It's like a perfect tourist postcard snapshot. I've never seen anything like it in my life.” Colin dragged his attention off the scenery long enough to send Marek a wry, sidelong glance. “And it's almost all yours.”
“Almost.” Marek dug his hands deeper into his pockets, but a proud smile stole the “aw shucks” gesture. “I can count on one hand the number of times I've crossed paths with another of the island's residents while hiking on this mountain. And I'm all over this place a lot.”
“How could you stay away if this was your backyard?” Not to mention that Marek apparently didn't have a nine-to-five job consuming most of his waking hours. He could obviously afford this luxury.
“I don't know if you noticed,” Marek said, drawing Colin's focus back to him, “but there's a shelf behind the fall. Do you want to go behind the water and look from the other side? It's a short but slippery climb to get in there, so just be aware. We can leave the bags here for now.”
Colin stepped back and made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “Lead the way.”
Following, Colin stayed close on Marek's heels as he circled the pool and came to what looked like an uneven, narrow set of stairs dug into the rocky mountain face.
Marek stopped and turned, facing Colin once again. “It's not far but just take it slow and make sure you can feel a good grip with your boots before you push off to the next step. If you keep your right hand on the rock as you climb, you'll find natural places to hold as you move.” Colin nodded, and Marek added, “I'll go first. Give me at least one free step between us before you start. Okay?”
Colin agreed, and Marek began the brief climb. Watching where Marek placed his feet and how he used the mountain wall to help him, Colin actually gave the man two steps before he started. He moved steadily upward and inward with careful precision, extremely mindful of the traction the soles of Marek's boots gave him; he understood why his running shoes would not have been adequate for this task. Perhaps bare feet, where he could use his toes almost as fingers, would be the only thing that might work as effectively.
With the last steep stair, Colin's legs shook from the tension and concentration, but he stepped onto a rock shelf with a jagged, angled roof cut right into the mountain. Dampness clung to the stone, and the slightest mist from the waterfall constantly floated into the enclosure, lowering the temperature at least ten degrees. The sounds of the water running over the lip above and splashing into the spring below amplified in Colin's ears, blocking out the chirps and squawks of birds and other life beyond. Ahead, Marek stood close to the ledge, his arm stretched out to his side with his fingers grazing the inner plane of the fall.
“Come look and feel.” Marek beckoned with his other hand. “You might think you climbed a good distance up, but really you haven't. It was more in than up. Take a glance over the side at how close we are to the pool below.”
Colin walked to Marek's side with a sensation inside him that within this place, he could not rush. He looked over the rim, shocked that no more than ten feet separated where they stood from the spring. Marek took his hand and held it out under the fall with his, and Colin gasped as the first shock of chill turned his fingers icy.
“Shit.” A little shiver rocked through him. “That's colder than I expected.” Colin kept his hand under the thick stream, though, held in the strong grip of Marek's.
“But not that powerful, you'll notice,” Marek pointed out. “The storm last night didn't end up producing rain heavy enough, and it didn't last long enough to give it a true thundering rush. It wouldn't surprise me if this one goes away by evening.”
“It sounds loud enough to me.”
Marek took their hands out from the flow of the fall but left them linked together. “It doesn't happen often, but there are times when the water is coming down so fast, and there's so much of it, that when you stand here you can feel it vibrating through your whole body.” Excitement brightened Marek's eyes and enthusiasm fused his voice. “When you leave, it takes a good part of your trek back down the mountain to reacclimatize to varying degrees of sound. It's really something incredible to experience.”
Marek's passion crackled between them, and Colin couldn't help smiling. “You obviously come up here a lot.”
“Yep, I do.” Marek leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Colin's lips. “And one of the things I learned is that right now”—he let go of Colin's hand and pulled off his T-shirt, revealing too much perfect, gorgeous body—“it is just right for a jump and a swim.” He backed away from the ledge and stooped down to unlace his boots. “Come on.” Pausing with one boot almost off, Marek glanced up. “Start getting naked.”
Jump off the shelf? Colin took another peek down, and with a sense of tunnel vision, the pool suddenly looked a whole lot farther away. “Jumping doesn't seem entirely safe.”
“It's fine. I've done it at least a hundred times.” Marek finished with his boots and socks, stood, and went for his belt. “I didn't bring you up here to sit down and dangle your feet over the side.”
“Still…” Colin knew the ledge cleared the side of the cliff by a good number of feet, but he had this image of himself whipping backward, cracking his head open, and bleeding to death. “I don't know.”
“I promise I'll hold your hand the whole way down.” Marek held his unzipped pants at his hips, keeping them from slipping farther down and revealing more than the base of his penis. He looked up at Colin with playful heat burning in his gaze. “If you do it, I might even give you a blowjob afterward.” He stuck his hand down the front of his underwear and clearly stroked his length, moaning once before letting his pants and underwear hit the floor. He stood before Colin naked, and his dark cock jutted with the beginnings of an erection.
Colin swallowed the rush of saliva filling his mouth and tore his focus off the enticing view of Marek's half-hard prick. “You'll give me a blowjob anyway.” Marek started stalking him the scant distance; Colin's heart rate sped up, but he kept his chin angled high and held his ground. “You like sucking cock.”
Marek kept coming and finally ended up standing so close that his body heat swirled around Colin like a blanket. “I certainly like yours.” He slid his hand around Colin's waist and skimmed a kiss against his temple. Holding there, he said, “Now undress and let me see it.” He dipped lower, right to Colin's ear. “Sweetness.”
Colin shivered at the name. “Now who's the tease?”
Groaning, Marek nipped Colin on the shoulder, but pulled away and rubbed his arms in a comforting pattern. “All right, in all seriousness, I can feel your nervousness. Where is your hesitation coming from? I don't want you to be scared and intimidated; I want you to try it because you think it'll be fun.”
Okay, so maybe I don't really think I'm going to crash into the mountainside. Still, Colin couldn't ignore the butterflies in his stomach. They were as familiar to him as the scars on his body. “Just give me the basics,” he shared, “so I'm not surprised by something unexpected when I hit the water.”
A shadow crossed Marek's eyes right then, but with a blink, it was gone, and Colin wondered if he had imagined it.
“I can do that.” Marek went to unbuttoning Colin's shirt as he talked. “It's cold right where you jump, but the rest of the pool is warmed by the heat and sunlight because, remember, the fall isn't always flowing.” He drew Colin's shirt down his arms and tossed it to land in the pile with his clothes. Then he led Colin away from the ledge and dropped to his knees to undo
Colin's shoes for him. “The water feels really funky against your skin when you swim from the deep point where the waterfall hits to the shallower areas on the edges, and you can feel the temperature slowly shift from cold to warm with each stroke you take.”
“Sounds interesting.” Colin planted his hand on Marek's head, steadying himself as Marek removed both of his boots. “You swear you won't let go of my hand?”
“I promise.” Marek pressed a kiss right above the line of Colin's belt and looked up at him from his kneeling position. He darted his tongue into Colin's belly button, making Colin tremble. He worked the belt open and finished, “But I also know you're going to want to do it on your own the second time around.”
“One step at a time.” As Colin said that, he couldn't help thinking he'd dived headfirst into getting to know Marek again at about step ninety-three out of one hundred. Fuck. I'm already in so deep. The proof? Colin now stood naked behind a waterfall with a man he'd known as an adult only in his dreams, and he was about to trust him enough to jump off a cliff. That was so unlike the person he was back in Austin.
Marek took Colin's hand and guided him right to the ledge. “Ready?”
Colin looked at Marek and all his jittery nerves settled and transformed into anticipation. He won't let me get hurt. Colin squeezed Marek's fingers. “Ready.”
Nodding sharply, Marek called, “One, two, three…” He swung their linked hands backward then forward, helping momentum. “Jump!”
Colin leaped with all of his might, shooting through the rush of the icy waterfall and out the other side. Adrenaline hit at full speed, and he screamed as he flew through the air. He swore he heard Marek shout with laughter next to him; his grip on Colin's hand remained tight enough to grind bone on bone. A blaze of sunlight blinded Colin, and he plunged downward at incredible speed, hitting the water with a jolt of force and cold. He closed his eyes a split second before he sank through the chilly liquid like a stone, but he already had his breath held the entire way down, and he knew how to swim. It didn't matter. Marek still gripped his hand in a bruising clasp and gave him the tug needed to surge to the surface.
His face breaking through the water, Colin wheezed and inhaled half a dozen giant gulps of much-needed air. Every molecule in his body popped and tingled with a sense of being completely alert. Water sluiced over his nudity with an intimacy he had never experienced while taking a shower or bath, and the sunlight twinkled over his face in a warm caress. This was elemental, and it pushed at pieces of himself—the freer spirit—he hadn't let see the light of day in many years.
Marek tugged Colin's hand, and Colin finally opened his eyes. Blinking rapidly, droplets of water fell from his lashes and splashed on his cheeks. It took a second for his vision to clear, even though Marek treaded water right next to him.
“Not done yet,” Marek said. “Now you have to swim to the side.” He released his fingers from the death grip he had on Colin. “You'll need both hands to do it.” Pushing his wet hair off his forehead, Marek shifted to his back and took a few small strokes away but kept his focus on Colin. “I'll race you to where we dropped the backpacks.” He floated while Colin did a sidestroke and pulled even. “Ready…set…go!”
Marek stroked on his back, but Colin quickly shifted to freestyle, slicing through the water with full, broad glides of his arms and aggressive kicks from his legs. He didn't care if he won, but once again his juices were flowing at full pace, and he moved through the water with all the speed he could muster. Marek's big body surfed right past him, and competition surged another burst of energy in Colin's limbs. Very quickly, his hand touched the moss and rock natural wall of the pool…and Marek's leg that dangled over the edge.
Reaching down, Marek grabbed Colin's arm and hoisted him out of the spring. He brushed the water off Colin's body, smiling sheepishly. “That wasn't really a fair race. I'm going to guess I swim a whole lot more than you do.”
“Don't worry.” Colin slid his hand down Marek's chest to his stomach, reveling in the hard, tight flesh. He eased around Marek's trim waist to the small of his back and then went lower, jerking him closer with a hold on his ass. “I wasn't going to hold the advantage against you.” He teased his middle finger between the snug globes of Marek's buttocks and flicked his entrance.
Marek swayed into Colin, reached back, and held Colin's fingers over his crease. “Mmm, that's nice. So, other than the fixed race, what did you think?”
Colin's gaze drifted to the fall, and his chest pounded with an extra kick, beyond what touching Marek did to him. “You know, I was trying so hard to keep up with you in that race, I didn't take time to notice the change in the water temperature.” He let go of Marek and cocked his head to the side. “I think we need to do it again.” He waggled a brow. “Maybe more than once.”
Marek barked with laughter. He snaked his hand around Colin's neck and dragged his mouth in for a hot kiss. Pushing his tongue through, Marek licked fast and deep but just as quickly ended the tangle. “Damn, I knew you'd love it here. Your turn to lead.” He spun Colin toward the makeshift steps and smacked him on the ass, stinging his flesh. “You'll do fine in your bare feet. You go first.”
That sense of rightness Colin felt in his dreams settled on him again in reality, and as he hiked to jump with Marek again, he shivered.
I don't ever want to leave.
* * * * *
Colin floated near the edge of the pool, luxuriating in the warm beat of the sun raining down on him while still enjoying the water under his back. He and Marek had jumped off the waterfall shelf at least six times. Needing a break, this time Colin lingered in the pool rather than immediately letting Marek pull him up to solid ground.
Peeking with one eye, Colin spotted Marek on the bank, leaning back with his weight resting on his elbows, his head tilted up to the sun.
“So, is this how you spend your days now?” Colin asked, broaching carefully. God, though, he craved knowing more about this man. “Split between hiking in mountains and swimming in the ocean?”
“Nooo.” Marek drew out the word, answering without moving or opening his eyes. “The greenhouse takes a lot of time to tend properly, and I actually sell some of what I grow to a restaurant on the main island that specializes in vegetarian food.”
Colin pushed upright to treading water, his gaze fully on a reclining Marek. “But that's not earning you enough to maintain the expenses of living in your house.” His curiosity warred with etiquette regarding someone else's financial and personal situation. “Even if you do close off more than half the rooms.”
“Yes, you're right about that.” Marek shifted and stretched out long on his side. He found Colin in the water with his gaze and rested his head in his hand. His eyes were pure and piercing, but without righteous fire. “Scrap metal is a big, profitable business. You would be surprised. At least it was for my uncle, and then me when I took it over. I had a woman who owns a big corner of that business hounding me to sell after my uncle passed away and I took complete ownership of the business. When Payton died and I knew I couldn't live in Pittsburgh anymore, I sold it to her. It was enough to allow me to buy the house, to spread most in some safe investments, as well as play with a smaller portion in riskier trades.” He picked a pluming fern branch out of the ground, pointed it at Colin, and a little grin teased his lips. “You can do all that from the computer now, as I'm sure you know. I spend part of my time every week on the Internet with my financial planner. I'm not a total bum.”
Many of Marek's early comments about Colin “gaining” something from him twitched at Colin's feathers. The full truth suddenly hit him and he bounded across the water and up the side of the pool with Spider-Man-like moves. “You rich, suspicious son of a bitch.” Colin threw himself down on Marek and wrestled the man to his back, going right for his ticklish waist. “I thought you were wary that I wasn't entirely sane, but you were really scared I knew how much money you have and was here to rob you blind. Oh”—he poked Marek all over,
even hitting with tormenting brushes of his fingers under the man's armpits and knees—“you will so have to pay for that.”
“Me?” Marek shouted and wiggled under Colin's multifinger attack; tears streamed down his cheeks as he laughed and begged Colin to stop. Colin tilted and reached out to grab the ground for balance; Marek moved in on the small opening for control and flipped Colin off him, bounding to his feet. “You just unleashed tickle torture and broke all kinds of fair fighting rules.” Marek widened his stance and spread his arms. With Marek's intense stare, Colin jumped to his feet too, and his mind and body hummed with just as much excitement as his racing heart. Marek whispered hotly, “Better start running.”
A skitter of fear mingled inside Colin, even though he knew they were playing and he was perfectly safe. Marek lunged, and Colin spun away, calling out a “catch me” dare and shooting across the clearing at a dead run. His legs churned with speed, and his feet pounded the fern-covered ground with nary a stab of pain for the hard stone below. For every step he took, Colin could feel Marek right on his back, so close his heat warmed Colin's skin and his breath skated across Colin's nape. Everything inside him pumping overtime, Colin veered toward the left, right for the steps to the shelf.
“Wait, wait! Be careful.” A hand whipped out and grabbed Colin, digging into his forearm. The cutting edge in Marek's voice froze Colin in place with his foot on the bottom stair. “No playing anymore,” Marek said, his tone firm. “Don't go up those steps fast just to stay out of my reach. You will slip and get hurt.” His breath caught audibly, and his grip on Colin slipped away. “Or worse.”
Colin slumped against the rock, losing a little bit more of his ability to remain distant upon hearing the emotion scratching Marek's voice. “You're right,” he said. “I wasn't thinking.” He rolled his head and connected to Marek's gaze, holding it in silence for a drawn-out moment. “I'm sorry.”
