“It’s amazing.” I couldn’t stop staring.
No wonder people loved it here—it was so beautiful and serene. I put my hands over his, and we stood there in peaceful silence. I couldn’t imagine being here with anyone but Trent.
“Thank you for doing this with me,” I whispered.
Gently, he turned me in his arms so I was facing him. “Don’t thank me just yet.” His eyes twinkled in the morning sunlight. “We’re not done.”
“We’re not?” I raised a brow. “But we made it to the top.”
He chuckled. “Yes, but we’re hiking all the way to the top of the Giant Mountain.”
“How far is that?”
“About four miles.”
My draw dropped, and dread pooled in my gut. “Four miles? Are you crazy?”
The half a mile it had taken to get here hadn’t been too bad, but there was no way I could hike four miles up to Giant Mountain and then another four miles to get back down.
“I never said I wanted to do that,” I said.
“It’s worth it. Trust me.”
“Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “We made it to the top of the falls. We can cross it off my bucket list and move on to the next thing.”
Trent laughed. “Will you please do this? For me?”
He tightened his hold on me and stared at me with those big blue eyes and long, dark lashes. His thick hair was slightly messy from the morning breeze, making him look intentionally disheveled, and his full lips were turned down in a faint pout. How did I say no to that?
“Fine.” I sighed. “But if this hike kills me, that’s on you.”
His lips curved into a rare smile that showed off his dimple. “It’s not going to kill you. I promise.” He leaned down and captured my lips in a long, slow kiss that left me slightly dizzy.
“Can we stay here a few more minutes?” I twisted back around to admire the view for a little longer.
“We can stay as long as you want.” Trent’s voice was low at my ear, and his arms were once again wrapped around my midsection.
I leaned into his embrace. “This would be a really great spot to propose. You know, if you were planning to do something like that,” I said causally, but my heart was racing.
“Nice try,” he said, humor in his tone.
I sighed, not with disappointment really, but with impatience. I wanted him to propose, badly, so that we could really start our life together. At the same time, though, I didn’t want to rush things; I wanted to enjoy this time we had together.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said.
We made our way back to the path and began our ascent to the Giant Mountain—even the name was intimidating.
“So, Abby suggested we all find couple’s costumes for Whitney’s Halloween party. What do you think?” I asked.
“I think I’m going to do whatever you want to do.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t do that. If you don’t want to go to her party, say so. If you don’t want to dress up, just tell me. I won’t be mad.”
“For starters, she’s having her party at my house, so not going really isn’t an option. And Halloween is your favorite holiday, so if you want to dress up and party, then sign me up.” He grinned. “But I refuse to dress up as a vampire.”
I laughed. “No vampires. Got it. So, you really have no issues with me finding costumes for us to wear?”
“Nope.”
We fell silent, and I concentrated on the hike. We’d been walking for almost an hour already. There were quite a few fallen trees across the path, and my legs tired quickly from not just walking but climbing over the broken logs.
Sweat beaded on my brow and dripped down the back of my neck. My breaths were more like ragged pants, and every inhale was sharp.
“I need a break.” I found a large rock off the path and sat. “Please tell me you have water in that backpack.”
Trent dropped the bag to the ground and rifled around inside. He produced a bottle of water and held it out to me. “It’s going to cost you,” he said.
I glared at him through a sweat-induced, angry haze. He stole a quick kiss, then handed me the water.
I twisted off the top and took a greedy drink. “I hate you so much right now.” I took another, longer drink, but it did nothing to calm my breathing.
“Earlier, you were trying to get me to propose, and now you hate me?” He sat next to me.
“Yes.” I finished the water. “It’s not fair that you’re still”—I waved my hand in his direction—“all cool and sexy and not sweating and looking just as good as you did when you picked me up. And I’m a hot friggin’ mess.”
Trent laughed. “Well, I do agree that you’re hot.” He gently nudged me with his shoulder. “It’s not much farther. Promise.” He stood.
“Yeah, but then we have to hike all the way back down,” I whined. “You should just carry me. We’d get there a lot faster.”
“That would be cheating.” He crouched in front of me, hands on my knees, and peered into my eyes. “You can do this, Chloe. I know you can.” He tucked loose strands of hair behind my ear.
Right now, his belief in me was super annoying. With a heavy sigh, I nodded. “All right. Let’s go then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Greatest Hits
MY MUSCLES BURNED WITH EVEN THE slightest movement, and by the time we reached the top of the mountain, I was ready to collapse. The wind had picked up, and the temperatures dropped, and with me pouring sweat, I was now chilled on top of being exhausted.
I stepped onto what I assumed was another rocky area that we had to navigate to get to the next spot, but there was nothing but a steep drop down the mountain. I froze, eyes wide. And then my brain caught up with what my eyes were seeing—I was at the top, overlooking Keene Valley.
My breath hitched. “Oh, my God,” I whispered.
I’d never seen anything so majestic. I lowered myself to sit on the large, flat rock and stared at everything stretched out in front of me. Like at the top of the falls, trees with leaves in various colors spread as far as the eye could see. Farther in the distance, hills and valleys and mountains rose and fell, kissed by puffy clouds.
I felt like I was on top of the world up here, like nothing could find me or harm me. Total, uninhibited peace descended. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the unpolluted air seep into me.
The wind whistled in a sudden howl, and I shivered. A moment later, Trent draped a nylon jacket over my shoulders, which I quickly slipped on. Smiling at him, I patted the spot next to me. When he sat, I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Thank you for making me do this,” I said.
He kissed the top of my head. “Still hate me?”
“A little.” I did still have to hike all the way back to his truck.
“Well, now we can cross this off your bucket list.” Trent wrapped his arm around me, tucking me firmly against his side.
“I wanted to go to the top of Roaring Brook Falls because it has special meaning for us, but this… I could have easily done this after I changed.”
“You wouldn’t have appreciated it as much,” he whispered.
He might be right about that. Nothing about this hike seemed difficult for him, but I’d fought to make it up here, and now that I had, a sense of pride swept through me. I did this. Nothing and no one could take that away from me.
And then, a jolt of excitement hit me. I was going to be a vampire. I was going to get an eternity with Trent. As soon as we talked to Ivy, there would be nothing standing in our way. Part of me didn’t want to wait until tomorrow—I wanted the bond transferred right now.
“Christmas,” Trent said out of nowhere.
“What?”
“You asked me what my favorite holiday was, and I said I didn’t really have one, which is true. I didn’t exactly have a normal childhood with a vampire for a father, but when we were younger, Sean always made sure to celebrate Christmas with us. So, that’s probably my favorite ho
liday.”
“Christmas always used to be my mom’s favorite, too. Until the year my dad left. It was never the same after that.” I shifted closer and draped my arm around Trent’s stomach in an effort to find a little more warmth.
Trent moved to sit behind me so I was positioned between his legs. He pulled my back flush against his chest and wrapped his arms around me tightly, using his body to block me from the wind as best he could.
“So, you don’t like Christmas?” he asked, his face nuzzled close to my neck. “Then what’s with wanting to be kissed under the mistletoe?”
“No, I like it.” I rested my arms on top of his, causing him to hug me a little tighter. “I just wish that sometimes, real life was more like the movies, where everything always works out in the end and everyone is happy.”
“Who says it can’t work out like that?”
“It never has for me.”
“Hmm,” he said, and I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t.
We fell silent, the sounds of nature the only noise around us, and we sat there like that for a long while, until my butt started to go numb. I shifted, then stood, unable to handle sitting on the hard, cold rock a second longer.
I stretched my arms over my head. “So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day? A leisurely swim across Lake Placid?” I teased.
“No.” He smirked. “But if you’d like to do that, I’m sure I can arrange it.” He stood.
“You’ll be lucky if I don’t fall asleep in your truck on the way to Ellie’s.” I laughed.
“Who said anything about taking you to Ellie’s just yet?” Trent scooped me into his arms, and I yelped with surprise. “You might want to close your eyes,” he said, a devious twinkle in his eyes.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed my eyes shut. Wind whipped violently around me, and I buried my face against his shoulder, fully expecting to be smacked by tree branches. And at the speed Trent moved, getting hit with a branch would probably break my bones.
Before I knew it, Trent was setting me on my feet—in front of his truck. He kept his hands on my waist, steadying me.
“That was so much faster,” I said, laughing.
As soon as we were in his truck, he cranked the heat, and I held my hands in front of the vents. It only took a few moments for me to warm up. Trent drove toward the high school, then sped past it before pulling into what looked like a lodge.
“A motel?” I gave him a curious look.
“Unless you want to hang out with everyone at my house…” He killed the engine.
Everyone probably included Jax, and he was the very last person I wanted to see. I got out of the truck and followed Trent to the room he’d already reserved.
A single king size bed sat in the center, wooden nightstands on either side of the bed. A brick fireplace stood against the wall directly across from the foot of the bed, above it, a flat screen TV hung on the wall. Cozy.
“Figured we could watch movies,” he said, closing the door.
I grinned. “Which ones?”
“Whatever we can find on the TV.” He laughed.
Kicking off my shoes, I sighed and wiggled my toes against the carpet; then I removed the jacket Trent had given me and my sweatshirt.
“That’s better,” I said. Though I was still sweaty, and my hair was stuck to my head in some places and probably sticking up in others. “Actually, I might take a shower.”
“Go ahead.” Trent removed his shoes and flopped down on the bed. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”
A thrill shot up my spine at the way he said that. I was in and out of the shower in less than fifteen minutes. I snagged one of the white, fluffy robes from the hooks and slipped it on; then I did my best to brush my hair with my fingers. Giving up, I braided it so it wouldn’t knot any worse than it already was.
“You look comfortable,” Trent said when I walked out of the bathroom.
“I am.” I climbed onto the bed, and Trent reached for me.
He tugged me over so I was nestled between his legs, exactly as I had been at the top of the mountain, and he wrapped his arms protectively around me. I sighed and melted against him. Falling asleep in his arms like this would be so easy. Just thinking about it had my eyelids drooping.
Trent turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels, settling on a movie I hadn’t seen before. It was about a woman who’d lost her husband in a war and then fell in love with her husband’s best friend, only to find out her husband wasn’t actually dead.
By the end, I had tears streaming down my face. I wiped them away and sniffled. “Well, that was heartbreaking,” I said with a laugh, needing to lighten the mood.
“How so? She got her husband back. That’s what she wanted,” Trent said.
“Yeah, but the other guy loved her so much, and she broke his heart,” I said, realizing for the first time how similar this movie was to my situation with Trent and Jax. Suddenly, I was very uncomfortable. I needed to change the subject. Fast.
“What’s your biggest regret?” I asked.
“Hannah,” he said, his voice low.
“Sleeping with her or changing her?” I asked bluntly, cringing at how accusatory I sounded.
I’d been shocked when Jax told me Trent had had sex with Hannah before he’d changed her, and when Trent hadn’t denied it, the jealousy ate me alive. Which was stupid considering Hannah was dead.
“Both.” He sighed. “What’s yours?”
“Not saying yes when you asked me to spend eternity with you.”
That single decision had led us to where we were now. I’d caused so much trouble and heartache because I’d been too scared to say yes.
“Please don’t regret that. You weren’t ready then,” he said. “And I knew that. I shouldn’t have pressured you. So, what’s your second biggest regret?”
“You didn’t pressure me. But okay.” I sighed. “Then I guess texting my mom that night. If I hadn’t been such a brat…” I shrugged. “She might still be here.”
That was a regret I’d never get over, no matter how much time passed or how often I reminded myself the accident wasn’t my fault.
“What’s your greatest fear?” I asked.
“Losing you.” He buried his face against my neck, hugging me a little tighter, as if that would make his fear disappear.
My heart splintered at the way his voice cracked. I wiggled free from his hold and kneeled between his legs. “You are not going to lose me,” I said.
“Maybe not intentionally.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“My entire existence, I’ve been cursed. Literally. And every time something good happens, something comes along to destroy it.” He rested his hands on my thighs. “You punched your way into my life.” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes.
“Then, Hannah and Isach kidnap you and almost kill you,” he continued. “I get you back, and then your dad shows up and forces you to move to California. I get you back again, and then you nearly died when your appendix ruptured. But we make it through that only to have Ivy lock you up for—”
“Okay, I get it,” I said, holding up my hand to silence him. “We’ve been torn apart more than once, but we’re here now. Together.”
“I know.” He trailed his hand down the side of my face, cupping my cheek.
I shifted and straddled his lap. “And tomorrow, the bond with Jax will be broken, and then there’s nothing standing in our way. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I don’t care.” I took his face into my hands and kissed him. “Because I love you, Trent, more than anything, and I don’t care how hard or how often we have to fight to be together. This is where I belong. With you.” I emphasized my point with another kiss.
“This is where I belong, too, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” He eased his hands up my bathrobe, his palms smooth against my legs. “What’s your greatest fear?”
“Not being with you. And hei
ghts.”
He laughed. “That would have been good information to have before we climbed to the top of a mountain.”
“That wasn’t so bad.” I rested my hands on his shoulders. “What’s your greatest accomplishment?”
“Loving you.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Every answer doesn’t have to be about me, you know.”
“I know, but it’s the truth. Would you rather I lie to you?” He raised a brow. “I don’t think you understand, Chloe. Before you, I never thought I’d fall in love. I never even tried. There was no point. But then you punched me in the face and—”
“It was an accident.” I groaned.
“And I took one look at you, and I knew things were never going to be the same,” he said, ignoring my interruption. “I thought about you all the time, and I couldn’t stay away from you. Not that I really tried.”
I smiled, remembering how he always used to seem to show up when I least expected him to.
“I’m pretty sure I drove Jax crazy with how much I talked about you.” He chuckled. “My point is, I have never loved anyone before you, and I’ll never love anyone but you,” he said, his gaze intense and heated.
Blinking, I stared up at the ceiling in an effort not to cry. “How do you always do that?” I asked after a moment.
“Do what?”
“Say exactly the right things,” I said.
“I’m a hopeless romantic, remember?” He lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “So, what’s your greatest accomplishment?”
“I don’t know.” I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure I have one. I mean, I’m only eighteen. I haven’t exactly done a whole lot.”
“You will,” he said in a firm yet reassuring tone. “I’ll make sure of it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
First Time
TRENT ORDERED FOOD, AND WHILE I ate, he took a shower. I sat cross-legged on the bed, a half-eaten chicken sandwich and a pile of fries sat on a plate in front of me.
He came out of the bathroom wearing a matching white robe. His hair was wet and messy, as if he’d run his fingers through it and called it good.
Eternal Love: (The Cursed Series, Book 4) Page 17