“Can I help? Or are you going to strip off one garment at a time?” he purred as he caught hold of her clothes and pulled them up over her stomach and higher.
“We’ll be here all night if I take off one layer at a time, but I don’t think I can take them all off at once,” she squeaked as he attempted to prove her wrong.
Hannah wriggled as O’Malley tugged at her layers of clothing. When they finally popped off her head, she was certainly warmer from the exertion. As she took them from him and shoved them into her sleeping bag, she giggled. Being with O’Malley was fun. It was as if nothing could touch her.
She knew that wasn’t true. That the pain of loss would be stinging and real if they found proof Karl had perished on the mountain. Until that happened, she was willing to let go and permit herself to have fun.
“Maybe you should get naked too so we can exchange body heat.” Hannah yanked at his T-shirt and he lifted his arms, grabbed the thin fabric, and pulled it over his head.
She couldn’t see his toned muscles in the near-dark, so she used her fingers to explore his body. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the curve of his biceps as she stroked her hands up over his arms and across his shoulders. Leaning forward, she kissed his abs, working her way higher until her mouth covered his nipple and she grazed her teeth over the taut flesh.
The breath hissed through his teeth and seemed to ignite his deep, primal desire. With one deft movement, he unclasped her bra. The cold caressed her skin before his warm hands took its place, chasing the chill away as he cupped them in his large hands and kneaded them.
Heat spread out from her core. Igniting a burning, yearning need for him. O’Malley kissed her mouth, turning her onto her back with the weight of his body. Resting on one elbow, he eased his weight off her as he nestled between her thighs.
Hannah slid one hand down between their bodies and stroked his hardness, guiding him into her. O’Malley paused before he thrust forward, penetrating her completely. She gasped, her hand on his butt, her nails digging into his flesh as she urged him on.
Caught up in the moment, the link between them strengthened, as if they would never be apart again. In this moment, with O’Malley making love to her, she was cocooned by his warmth and tenderness as he moved in and out of her, taking them both on a wild journey filled with passion.
She sighed as he tore his mouth from hers and licked her nipple until it was painfully taut before sucking it into his mouth. The contrast in sensations was exquisite, and her senses were consumed by him. Each battled to send messages to her brain. His touch excited her, each nerve ending vying to feel his fingertips in a soft caress. The scent of him, a heady mix of man and the wilderness surrounding them. Damp earth mixed with pine resin and wood smoke.
O’Malley curled his arms around her and held her close as her breath caught in her throat. She was close to her climax, teetering on the edge, waiting for him to join her. She wanted them to fly together, up to the stars above and farther, into the dark beyond.
She squeezed her eyes shut, blinking away tears as he kissed her, his mouth soft and yet firm, teasing but entirely honest. In the moment when he finally came and took her with him, she loved O’Malley. True honest love with no trimmings but a deep desire to be with him for the rest of her life. To marry him and raise children with him before they grew old and gray.
“Are you okay?” he whispered as he lay in her arms completely spent.
“Perfect.” She cupped his face in her hands and brushed her lips over his. “This is perfect.”
Hannah laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Sleep took her instantly. But even in sleep, she could sense him.
They would be together now even when they were apart.
Chapter Fifteen – O’Malley
The next morning dawned bright, crisp, and unseasonably cold for early summer. Although, as O’Malley opened the tent and climbed outside, he was glowing as if the sun washed over him, bright and warm.
He hadn’t expected to claim his mate while they were looking for Norton. He certainly hadn’t pushed Hannah at all. Yet it had happened. Twice. Once before they slept and then again when they woke.
To warm them up, Hannah had whispered in his ear as she wrapped her legs around him and pressed her warm, sensuous body close.
He didn’t need warming, he was hot through and through but if his mate needed him, he had to do whatever it took to make her happy.
His cougar laughed. You keep telling yourself that.
They were both in good spirits. Finding the poker chips yesterday had given Hannah hope and seeing her happy if even for a short time was worth the long days of tramping across the mountain.
Instead of organizing the opening of the bar, his cougar reminded him.
Thanks for reminding me. O’Malley made a mental note to use the satellite phone at a more appropriate hour to call Axel, and ask how things were going.
But that was for later and right now he planned to light a small fire and burn the rest of their supply of wood so they could share a morning cup of coffee. Together with a good breakfast, he hoped Hannah would have the strength, both physical and mental, to face the day ahead.
Today is the day we reach the section of the trail that was blocked. His cougar’s tail flicked from side to side as if he were annoyed.
Yes. Today we might find out what happened to Norton. Did he leave the trail and meet a bad end? If not, we need to find any clue as to where he went and why he hasn’t contacted his family.
Perhaps he decided they were his past and he wanted a new future, one not marred down by his family. His cougar wasn’t serious, but there could be some truth in his words.
That’s not something we should share with Hannah, O’Malley told his cougar, who chuckled.
I can’t share it with her since I cannot speak. His cougar curled up and rested his head on his paws.
Maybe that’s what she likes about you the most, O’Malley said. You listen without prejudice and don’t offer her advice. You don’t judge her when she cries but you can comfort her in ways no one else can.
I’ll take that as a compliment. His cougar sighed and stretched out. Tell her anytime she needs me, I’m there for her, even if it’s just because she needs a furry shoulder to cry on.
I will.
O’Malley glanced toward the tent where his mate was dozing. Quickly assembling the fire, he lit it and put the water on to boil. Taking out two small packets of coffee, he tipped it into a couple of tin mugs and added the water. After a quick stir, he carried the instant coffee back to the tent.
“Here, this should help wake you up.” He handed her the cup.
“I am awake. I just don’t want to get up. It’s still warm in here and it’s so cold out there.” She half sat, keeping the sleeping bag wrapped around her as she blew on the hot coffee. “Oh, this is surprisingly good.”
“I’ll fix us some breakfast. I can’t promise it’ll be as good as the coffee.” O’Malley perched on the edge of the sleeping bag with his feet outside of the tent. “Then we need to break camp and move on.”
“I’ll get dressed and take the tent down while you make breakfast,” Hannah offered. “I think I must be getting used to the mountain terrain, I don’t ache quite as bad today.”
O’Malley grinned and wriggled his fingers. “It’s my magic touch.”
She laughed. “You might be right.” She caught hold of his hand and held it in hers. “You can use them on me anytime.”
“If only we were here on a vacation, we could spend the day in bed.” He got up and went back to the fire. “One day we should come back here and explore the trails.”
“Not for our honeymoon,” she warned.
He looked at her over his shoulder. “So you’re planning our wedding already?”
“Isn’t that where our relationship is heading, or don’t all shifters believe in marriage?” She placed her coffee cup down on the ground outside of the tent and ducked inside the sle
eping bag. She emerged triumphant with her clothes.
“If that’s what you want,” he replied evasively.
“Does that mean it’s not what you want?” She looked confused as she quickly dressed and then pulled on her boots.
“It is.” He took a pan out of his backpack and added some water. “But this isn’t all about what I want.”
“Now I’m confused. I thought we were mates, meant to be together forever because you are a shifter and fate decided that’s how it should be.” Her forehead creased as she stood up.
“Are you asking me to marry you?” He grinned as she picked up a twig and threw it at him.
“You’re a funny guy.” She came to join him by the fire.
“So I’ve been told.” He handed her a bowl of oatmeal flavored with dried blueberries.
“Thanks.” She stuck her spoon into the creamy mixture and took a tentative bite. “This is good. Maybe you should think about serving these rehydrated meals at your bar.”
“Now who is the comedian?” O’Malley picked up his bowl and the remainder of his cup of coffee and moved to sit closer to Hannah. “I have a great chef and I think he’d invent a horrible end for me if I even mentioned serving this gloop to our diners.”
He lifted his spoon and let the oatmeal fall off it in a lump. He was being unfair, the trail rations they’d eaten so far had been good. Both taste and texture were enjoyable. Although when you’re hungry, anything could taste good.
“So, the bar.” Hannah slowly spooned the oatmeal up and ate it, savoring the taste.
“The bar.” He waited for her to continue.
“You need to be there for the opening. Which is in five days.” She glanced sideways at him and he nodded to confirm her statement. “If we push on harder today and reach the section where the trail splits, we can check it out and then, if we don’t find any more chips or other proof Karl went that way, we have a couple more days to explore the rest of the trail as far as the next village.”
“Your point?” O’Malley asked.
“My point is that you have given up more of your valuable time than you should. The bar is your business and you have other people who depend on you and depend on it being a success.” She scraped the last of the oatmeal out of her bowl and her spoon hovered in the air as she said, “In three days, if we still haven’t found Karl, you should ask Kelos to come and pick us up.”
“You mean to abandon the search?” O’Malley asked. “I am willing to see this through to the end with you.” He winced. “Sorry, that’s a poor choice of words.”
“No, you’re right, there has to be an end to this.” She looked up at the mountain above them as she ate the last of her food.
“We could come back.” He reached out and placed his hand over hers. “As many times as you want.”
Hannah nodded and leaned forward. Pressing her lips against his, she kissed him. O’Malley longed to take her back to bed and chase all thoughts of Karl from her head. Just for a while. To give her respite from the challenges ahead.
“Let’s not make any decisions until we have exhausted our time here.” She curled her fingers around his and squeezed them. “We should go.”
“We should.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before he got up and busied himself breaking camp. With the fire safely extinguished and their gear packed away, he glanced up at the gunmetal gray sky before they made their way back to the trail.
As they walked, they both kept a close watch out for more piles of rocks or any other signs that Karl might have left one of his poker chips. However, it seemed unlikely he would just leave them in haphazard places. So far, he’d left them in specific places.
They stopped briefly to eat lunch before they hiked to the section of the trail that was possibly blocked when Karl made this journey. As they walked, they were both lost in their own thoughts, the quiet of the mountain turning them to both look inward.
O’Malley thought about his life up to this point. Of the many paths he could have taken. Of the choices he’d made that had led him to open the bar and his decision to move to Cougar Ridge. All those small minute steps had meant he was there on the fateful day when his mate needed him.
One small deviation might have meant the difference between him meeting Hannah and never finding his mate. As they reached the section of the trail, O’Malley couldn’t help but see the similarities between the path Karl had taken and his own.
If Karl had found the trail blocked by a landslide, he could have chosen to go back or find a way around. If he’d gone back, he would have no doubt ended up at O’Brian’s door once more and would have gone back to his old life. A life he didn’t want. A life he’d come here to change.
Whatever Karl’s decision was, at this very point his life did change.
“Are we going to follow the trail or try to go around?” Hannah asked, her voice small in the vastness of the mountain around them.
O’Malley turned to look at his mate. She looked tired, her features pinched as she stared at the trail before them. “Both the search party and O’Brian and Elvie took the main trail.” He pointed to their right. “But they might have missed the poker chips.” He pointed to their left where a small game track was barely visible. “But did Karl decide to follow this trail made by the animals that live on the mountain? They would have found the easiest route around the landslide.”
“Karl came here to change his life. If it were me, I would see the blocked trail as a sign. A sign that he should take a different path.” She put her hands on her hips and sighed. “But I’m not Karl. He could have seen the blocked trail as one he had to conquer. That the mountain was testing him to see if he dared to overcome the obstacles life puts in front of us.”
O’Malley took out his water bottle and sat down on the edge of the trail. “Both valid points. We have no real idea of what Karl chose to do.”
“What would you do?” Hannah asked.
“Me?” O’Malley shrugged. “I don’t think I am the best person to make the choice.”
“You’re similar to Karl. You are a similar age, you served your country, you’ve been single and yet wanting a family.” Hannah was looking to him for help. He’d seen the same look in the eyes of people caught up in a war zone. All looking for answers, for help out of their current predicament.
But O’Malley didn’t have all the answers. “There’s no right or wrong answer here, Hannah. Neither of us can step into Karl’s shoes and know for sure what he was thinking.” He held out his hand. “Let’s take the left fork. If we don’t find any clues, we’ll come back and explore the right fork.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
Hannah took one last lingering look at the right fork before she followed him to the left. The game trail was narrow and difficult to follow. He figured once the normal trail had been cleared, the new trail was abandoned. The elements would slowly wash the trail away and the moss and grass that clung to the side of the mountain would grow over it until no one would ever know it existed.
“Give me your hand.” He thrust his hand toward her as she lost her grip on a large slab of rock that the animals who used this trail had leaped over.
“Thanks.” She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up toward him. Hannah scrambled to find a foothold as she reached him. “This is not an easy trail.”
“It’s not.” O’Malley turned around and flopped down onto the ground. “Let’s take a rest.”
“I’m okay to go on.” Hannah’s cheeks were flushed red from exertion.
“I need a drink.” He took out his water bottle and took a long drink before he passed it to Hannah. “So do you.”
She took the bottle and drank before handing it back to him. As she looked farther up the trail, she groaned. “Do you think Karl might have turned back when he got this far?”
“No.” O’Malley was certain that if Karl had taken this trail, he’d have seen it through to the end. Or his end. “Karl was not a quitter.”
Hannah
nodded. “No, he was not.” She put her hand out and pushed herself to her knees before carefully bringing her legs under her.
“Wait.” O’Malley stuck out his hand.
“What is it?” Hannah asked as she slumped back down to the ground.
“I’m not sure.” He pointed to a small pile of rocks. “It could be nothing.”
“Or it could be another chip.” She scooted over the ground, careful not to fall back down the slab of rock as she began picking up the rocks one by one and placing them to one side.
O’Malley held his breath. If they found another poker chip here, it meant they had made the right decision and Karl had come this way. Of course, they would have no way of knowing if he’d then doubled back and taken the original route, but it was a new piece of evidence.
Hannah closed her hand around something and then turned to him with a look of triumph on her face. Opening her hand, she showed him a chip.
“Great.” He let out his breath and then helped Hannah to her feet. “We go on?”
“We go on.” As they turned their attention to the difficult trail ahead, O’Malley sensed they were nearing the end of their search.
Whether the outcome would be happy or sad remained to be seen.
Chapter Sixteen – Hannah
The trail was not easy. For Hannah at least. O’Malley, on the other hand, was fitter and he climbed the difficult terrain as nimbly as his alter ego could. There were times when O’Malley looked as if he was trying to contain his other side who would probably love to leap from rock to rock, clearing the worst of the trail in a single leap.
However, the cougar would not be able to half drag Hannah over the same difficult terrain, even if she hung onto his tail.
Then there was the other question that circled around and around inside Hannah’s head. How would Karl have fared on this trail? Would he have turned around and gone back down? Perhaps she had misread the poker chips. Instead of a sign he had gone on, they were a sign that he’d given up and gone back down the trail and climbed the landslide instead.
O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7) Page 11
