Panic stricken, she took off again, trying to get away from him for a few seconds, to think.
My God, I'm so in lust with this man... Heaven help me... I can't believe this...
She suddenly knew why Aden was so popular. He had 'it', whatever 'it' was, the powerful male gene that had women panting at his ankles, begging for his attention. The dark moody, serious look he wore covered his very passionate inner self that she instinctively knew was just underneath the surface. But it was more than that. Something primal was lurking inside him too. He had an underlying animal air about him. She couldn't explain it. In a room full of equally good looking men he would stand out.
He was an alpha male. That was what he was... The leader of his pack, and that turned her on like nothing else ever had.
She slowed, taking a deep breath, and looked over her shoulder as he approached.
“I need a drink of water,” she said, trying to bring a note of normality between them.
“Yeah, me too.” He pulled a couple of bottles out of his saddle bag and handed one to her. At that moment, a deer darted across the path in front of them. Aden noticeably stiffened in his saddle, seemingly having a problem with it. His face was tight as he stared at the beautiful pale brown creature as it disappeared into the trees. His brow was furrowed, sweat breaking out across it, and she swore she saw a weird flash of orange in his eyes.
“Are you okay? Got a deer phobia or something?” she asked with a small nervous laugh. He cleared his throat noisily before answering.
“Quite the opposite. I love deer. They're one of my great loves in fact. I've got a cramp, that's all, too much breakfast.” He laughed heartily and she smiled widely at his sudden change of mood. What a beautiful laugh he had. He should do it more often. He was far too serious.
They moved on for a while, making their way down to the lake. They wound their way through the tall trees, negotiating the bushes and bracken that covered the ground lushly beneath the firs, at a slow even pace. They arrived at the shore and he stopped.
“Let's have a rest. I often stop here. It's a great view across the lake, don't you think?” He dismounted, wrapping Storm's reins around a nearby tree branch loosely. He climbed up on a large boulder that was partially submerged in the water and sat down on top of it.
She swung her leg over Oberon and dropped down daintily, as he watched her intently. She tied up her horse and made her way to his side, sitting down on the boulder, leaving a decent space between them.
She gazed up and down the lake with a deep sigh. The dark blue shimmering water contrasted so beautifully with the green of the trees surrounding it, and the stunning azure of the sky above, she was almost awestruck with its beauty. She was just thinking this could well be paradise, when the following scene sealed it as a certainty. A small flock of beautiful white snow geese glided in low and landed, one by one, upon the water not far from where they sat.
“Oh Aden! It so, so is...” she gushed, looking at him with a big smile of pure delight. His eyes blazed into hers.
“You love the wilderness, don't you?”
“I do. Everything about it. It's as if I was born to be here.”
“I know what you mean. I feel the same way.”
“Shane told me you used to run a garage in Calgary.”
“Yeah, I always liked tinkering with cars and engines. But the city lost its appeal. It became hard living there after a while.”
“In what way?”
“Urban constraints, the growing population, a feeling of deep dissatisfaction with my surroundings...” He threw a pebble into the water and they watched the ripples spread out below.
“Mmmm, city life is so hard to take at times. The pace of it kills me. That's why I love to get away to places like this. I do it often. And I love to ride of course.”
“Like a bat out of hell, it would seem,” he said with a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“The faster the better. The adrenaline rush gets rid of my stress. Oberon has a great pace, doesn't he?”
“He does that...” He made a subtle move, as if to get up, “I suppose we should get a move on, we've a lot of ground to cover.”
“No, let's stay here for an hour, maybe for lunch. I like the peace and quiet,” she said, gazing out at the view.
“We won't be able to do the whole trail if we do.”
“That suits me. You can take me out again tomorrow.”
“Oh I can, can I?” he replied, cocking his eyebrow at her.
“I insist. I like a challenge and a fast race.”
He chuckled loudly and she laughed along with him, not quite sure what was so funny. They both suddenly stopped laughing and stared. An urgent and intense look came upon his face and she trembled inside in response.