After locking the front door, Carter skipped over to where Sloane stood, backpack strapped on her back and eagerness plastered across her face. He wasn't worried about the woman in the cellar. He had left her toast, applesauce, some fresh fruit, and a jug of water along with a bucket and some camping toilet paper. He figured she'd be too scared to even consider eating, but if she did, she had the provisions.

"Where do we start?" The air was thick with Sloane's excitement and he couldn't help but give her a wide, toothy smile.

"I always start this way. It's best to have a routine, that way you won't get yourself messed up and then lost."

"Makes sense." Despite the serious expression she had, there was a child-like bounce in her step.

The first trap wasn't too far away from the house and wasn't a hole in the ground. Instead, an old fashioned bear trap was spread open, ready for prey. She wouldn't have seen it if Carter hadn't used a stick to move around the leaves that covered it.

"That's pretty scary." Sloane stared at the contraption with large, worried eyes. "I think that might have been worse to get caught in."

"Yeah. Probably."

"Do you have any more bear traps?"

"Yeah, but I keep them on the perimeter of the house. And there's only two more."

"Okay. So, don't go this way for a hike." She let out a nervous laugh.

"That's why I'm showing you where the traps are. I don't want you to be afraid to go out on our land. And I know books will only entertain you for so long." The sternness in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Okay. But, we're gonna have to do this hike again so that I can get it in my head. I'm not going to remember after just one time." An overwhelming feeling came over her as she shook her head.

"I know. I know." His hands were running up and down her arms in an effort to soothe her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Let me run back in the house. I can get a notepad and pencil. You know, make a map."

"Good idea. But I'll go grab it for you."

His back was to her in a second and the sound of his boots crunching along the path got weaker the farther away he went. She took this moment to look around her, not daring to move from where she stood. The trap wasn't directly on the path, but a sort of mini track led to it from where she stood. There still wasn’t any way she was taking any chances until he'd shown her everything. Her feet were planted to the ground.

It wasn’t long before Carter was back with a spiral bound notebook and a collection of pencils.

"I figured if you wanted to color code certain areas, you could." The explanation was offered as she raised her eyebrows in questioning.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that." Without another word, she started drawing a map she figured she'd understand. Just as he'd suggested, she chose to use green to mark the main path and orange for smaller ones that led to the traps which were coded with the red pencil.

As they continued their walk, she kept her eyes and ears open for signs of any wildlife. There were the occasional scurrying sounds of squirrels running through the underbrush or up tree trunks, birds squawking from their perches, and the gentle breeze brushing through the leaves. Sloane was in her happy place.

Carter pointed out his traps as they went along. She was surprised there weren't more, presuming with such a large spread of land that he'd have set traps every few yards.

Their trek had begun a slow ascent and they both began to pant a little. At some point, with the sun high in the sky, he slowed their pace and gripped her wrist.

With a questioning look, she stopped and cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"This next one…"

The way he paused, the way his voice shifted, told her everything she needed to know. It was her trap.

"Oh." She breathed, looking in the direction she thought the pit would be. Her heart began to hammer and she questioned if she wanted to bother with this one. Instead of stepping forward, she turned to her map to add the location.

"It's okay. I'm here with you. You're safe." He noticed her hands shake as she drew and his heart ached.

All she did was nod her head and slip her hand into his. After a few gulps, she gave him a slight nod and allowed him to guide her forward.

"I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I'm grateful for this one. Otherwise, you might have never come into my life."

She looked at him to see a mixture of embarrassment and sadness in his eyes. It gave her a little boost that she didn't understand. But she faced the hole and stood straight, determined to face the thing that had forever changed her life.

Her hand slipped from his as she took a few steps forward. Peering down to see the various objects didn't scare her like she thought it would. Instead, she found herself being grateful that Carter had found and nursed her back to health. She turned to him, a wide smile on her face, and leapt into his arms. Her lips crushed against his, earning a low groan of satisfaction.

"Me falling in that hole and getting hurt isn't the ideal way to begin a relationship, by any means. But you're right. If I hadn't, we probably wouldn't be together. And I'm sorry for how I acted in the beginning. But here we are now, all of that behind us." She gave him a squeeze before leaning back again. "I love you."

Her profession made his heart race and tears spring to his eyes. Astounded that she had beaten him to expressing her feelings, he pulled her close and gave her the most fiery kiss he could. "And I love you."

They kissed again, passion and heat fueled. Their hands roamed one another's bodies before he pushed away.

Confusion clear across her face, she watched as he ripped the sleeping bag away from the pack. He unzipped it, opening it to a full blanket. It took him seconds to grab her around the waist and pull her onto the blanket with him.

"I never imagined the first time we told each other 'I love you' would be followed by sex in the woods."

She laughed and caressed his face, all of her feelings clear in her gaze. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With that, his mouth was against hers, one hand behind her head and the other tugging at the waistband of her shorts.

She helped get the clothes out of their way, then turned her attention to him. He already had his shorts down, so she wrapped her fingers around him and began to stroke.

"Oh, Sloane." His moan prompted her to continue with her work. In return, he slipped his fingers into her. "I love how you're always so wet for me."

His fingers distracted her even as she tried to focus on pleasing him. This went on for a few minutes before Carter decided that he couldn't wait any longer.

Despite their frenzied movements, he took his time entering her, a long moan coming from both of them. He took his time and she found it both nerve wracking and intense.

He watched her expressions, listened to her breathing. When she raised her hips higher, he pushed harder. When she neared her point of ecstasy, he let himself go with her.

He lay on her, his face against hers.

"I think that was the perfect way to show our love to one another." Sloane whispered in his ear and then gave him a quick peck.

"Yes."

They decided that they would go ahead and have lunch after expending a good deal of energy on their quick round of lovemaking.

She found herself looking around, trying to figure out where she had been prior to falling into the hole. It was obvious that she had been on the opposite side of the pit and she wouldn't have been able to see the small path they sat on.

"Did you find my phone?" The thought had just occurred to her, but she found that she didn't care what his answer was. The quiet and peacefulness of their land was all she wanted with him.

"I did. It was busted. You must have thrown it against a tree." He spoke around the bite of food he'd just taken.

"It's nice to not have any electronics." With a shrug, she took a bite of her sandwich, followed by a thoughtful look. "I never thought I'd say that."

There was silence as they ate, Sloane enjoying the sounds of nature around them and Carter just enjoying her.

After a while, she had another question. "Do you think my sister could come to visit us?"

The quiet was heavy between them as he tried to figure out an answer. "I don't think she'd understand…your situation."

"What do you mean?"

"You kinda just disappeared. I'm sure she's got a police report out for you." He tried to keep the tremor out of his voice.

"I guess." She shrugged. "But I'll just explain to her what happened and all is good. You didn’t kidnap me or anything. I'm here because I want to be."

"You think that she'd believe that?" The woman in the cellar came to mind. How was he going to hunt if her sister came around?

"Would it make you feel better if we met in town?"

"Maybe." He didn't share Sloane's positive mindset but his answer seemed to pacify her as she began to clean up their stuff. In the back of his mind, he hoped she’d forget about her sister and they could live their lives, just the two of them.

Before he could take a bag from her, she stood, everything on her back. "Ready?"

"Yes." He leaned forward and kissed her before they continued up the slope.

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