Chapter 1 The afternoon sun was a brutal, brilliant gold, casting long shadows across the trail they’d been navigating since dawn. Jamie’s skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat and sunscreen, her breaths coming in steady, rhythmic puffs as they pressed forward. They had planned this three-night weekend hike meticulously—packing light but ensuring they had everything they needed for the rugged terrain and secluded nigh...

The walk back to their campsite was a languid, buzzing affair, their bodies humming with the aftershocks of pleasure and the thrilling rush of being seen. The forest was deep velvet now, the only light coming from their headlamps cutting swaths through the inky darkness. Jamie leaned into Matt’s side, her arm wrapped around his waist, her fingers tucked into the back pocket of his hiking shorts. She could still feel the p...

The first sensation was a thick, insistent pressure against the small of her back, a solid heat that pulsed even through the layers of their shared sleeping bag. Jamie surfaced from sleep slowly, the deep, even rhythm of Matt’s breathing a warm breeze against her neck. A sliver of dawn’s pale, gold-orange light peeked through the tent’s mesh window. She smiled into the darkness, a slow, languid curl of her lips. He was st...