Colt could easily take them both out and catch Kim, but he didn’t want to cause a ruckus.
“Kim!” he hollered at her. Was she smart enough to not run away from her protection? Actually he knew how smart she was but with her being so upset with him, maybe she wasn’t thinking straight.
Kim turned at the sound of his voice. She ran back toward them, and when she reached the gate she smiled at the men. “Sorry. I forgot to tell you he’s with me.”
“Okay, Miss Kim,” the guy who’d just been giving Colt a hard time grinned at her.
Colt couldn’t be sure what ticked him off more: the way these guys fawned over her or the fact that these two losers were getting the privilege of her dimples appearing, when he didn’t.
He nodded tersely to them and strode through with Kim. She started running again.
“What’s the hurry?” Colt asked, picking up the pace to stay by her side and pumping down the stairs after her. The setting was unreal, lush like a tropical garden. He wouldn’t mind slowing down and taking the views in.
“I got a later than usual start … because of you.”
“Ouch,” Colt said drily.
“I always make it down the stairs four times, then I swim and hike out of here before the tour buses arrive, and the tourists get in the way.”
“Don’t let me slow you down.” Kim had always been a big one for healthy habits, but he found her precise schedule a little disturbing. Yet, maybe it comforted her to stick to a schedule with the upheaval of her life with a stalker after her and living on her own in a foreign country, far from her family. He could understand her liking things organized.
“I won’t.” She winked at him and pumped down the stairs.
Colt chuckled and trailed after her. They descended a lot of stairs before he could hear the loud rush of water. Then they rounded a corner, and a wall of green moss and rock with water spilling in front of it appeared.
Colt saw a spot for a lookout and asked, “Can we?”
“Make it quick.”
Colt hurried to the edge and stared at the lush tropical forest around him, the waterfall was the perfect adornment to the natural beauty. He recognized the focus of most of Kim’s paintings. “This is awesome. Do you come here every day?”
“Every day but Sunday, I can never truly get enough of it.”
“Lucky.”
“I used to think so.”
Colt wasn’t sure if she meant because her stalker had found her again, or because he had. He didn’t ask, but forced his gaze from her beautiful face to the water gushing over the ledge and the thick greenery all around.
She let him take in the view for a few seconds then said, “Do you mind if we appreciate the beauty after we do the stairs a few times? The buses will be here in less than an hour.”
“Don’t let me slow you down,” he said like he had earlier.
Kim laughed. “We’ll see.” She turned and started pumping up the stairs. Colt went after her, appreciating how tough and spunky she was, happy she’d laughed with him. Maybe he could break through her barriers quicker than he’d hoped.
Kim’s legs and lungs were both screaming when they reached the top of the five-hundred stairs for the third time. She’d pushed herself harder than usual, trying to impress Colt. She didn’t see the crowds of tourists waiting at the gate yet, but knew they’d be coming.
“We did it!” she yelled, punching her fists in the air.
Colt bent over, resting his hands on his knees and pulling in air. “I thought I was in shape,” he muttered.
“I do this every day but Sunday,” she reminded him, not sure why she wanted to make him feel better.
Colt glanced up at her. “Explains why you look so good.”
Kim felt a flush of warmth at his compliment and his gaze, but she didn’t let herself respond. “Let’s get back down and we’ll be able to swim alone before the crowds come.”
Colt groaned but followed her down the stairs. “You’re going to make me run up those again?”
“I walk on the last set.”
He blew out a breath. “So there’s an ounce of mercy in that perfect body of yours.”
She rolled her eyes and hurried down the stairs. Colt kept pace behind her. Having ditched their water bottles at the garbage after the first round, they stopped at the natural drinking fountain, took long drinks, and washed off the sweat that was rolling off them like flood waters. Kim couldn’t resist staring at him. He glowed and he was so appealing to her. Colt Quinn had been back in her life less than twelve hours, and she had no clue how she was going to resist him.
They hurried down the rest of the stairs, and Kim was grateful that the buses were late today, as they quite often were. Costa Ricans ran on their own schedule, and even pushy tourists had to just calm down and wait.
They approached the smooth, uneven boulders next to the pool below the waterfall. She loved the crashing of water into the pool, the mist off of the waterfall on her face, and most of all sharing it with Colt. She felt bad she hadn’t let him sit and savor the waterfall the first time he saw it. She had time to remedy that now. She reasoned that she’d be a lot more generous to any out of town guests seeing her prized jewel for the first time. Not that she got many out of town guests. Her parents and sisters visited occasionally and that was it.
Sitting on one of the boulders, she slipped off her shoes and socks but kept her tank top on. It was plenty warm and she didn’t mind climbing the steps or running home with a damp shirt on. “Ready to swim?” she asked Colt, who was focused on the natural beauty around them.
He stared down at her. “Oh, you’re going to let me play tourist for a minute?”
“I guess so.” She shrugged and smiled.
Colt let out a soft groan; his lips curving irresistibly. “I love those dimples.”
Kim’s breath caught, and her body was immediately overheated. She could try to blame her reaction on the exercise but knew it was all on Colt. Standing quickly, she scrambled over boulders to the water’s edge. The boulders got more slippery so she had to slow her pace. The cool water embraced her feet, and she kept descending into deeper water. The rocks fell away, and she plunged under the water, loving the cold liquid enfolding her sweaty body and instantly chilling her. That ought to keep her from being so overheated with Colt around.
She broke through the surface and tried like she did every day to swim closer to the waterfall. It was impossible for her to get too close. The waves and the current the waterfall created pushed her back, and she made little headway as cold water splashed her face. Nature’s way of keeping her safe she supposed. Anyone who went under that waterfall would be pummeled and in danger.
She blinked the spray from the waterfall out of her eyes and gazed up at the towering wall of green. She loved it here so much.
Colt swam close by. “That’s a powerful waterfall,” he said. “I think it’s more powerful than the one on the Napili in Kauai.”
Kim treaded water and let the natural current push her away from the gush of water. “I’ll have to take your word for that, I’ve never been to Kauai.” Could any place on earth be more gorgeous than her sanctuary?
“Really?”
He treaded water close by her, and they moved toward the natural overhang to the right of the waterfall. The spray lessened, and they could face each other and talk more easily.
“My family didn’t travel because I was so busy with acting.” Her parents and older twin sisters had always been very supportive of her acting career, but she knew they’d sacrificed a lot because of her. She sometimes wondered if they were relieved she’d chosen this path, and they could now live their lives. Her sister Ally had recently been hired as a marketing manager for the Georgia Patriots, and Shar was doing great with her restaurant on Tybee Island outside of Savannah. She was glad they were still close in proximity and friendship.
“You moved here when you … finished acting?” he asked.
She nodded, realizin
g he probably had no clue where she’d been the past five years.
“That was brave, relocating to a foreign country at twenty-two.”
“Thanks.” She glanced up at the green, mossy cliff to avoid his gaze. “I had to get away from my stalker … and you,” she admitted. Risking a glance back at his face, she saw a flash of pain.
“Aw, Kim,” his voice lowered, and it was hard to hear him over the splashing water. However, she could easily read the anguish as his blue eyes darkened, and his brow furrowed.
Kim shouldn’t have said that. She started to swim back to the rocks, but Colt’s strong arms came around her from behind. It was all she could do to not lean back into his muscular chest. He was treading water with only his legs, and he gently spun her in his arms so she was facing him. He kept one arm around her waist and kept her body flush against his, using his other arm to tread water.
“Will you please forgive me for hurting you, love?” The words, said so sincerely in this picturesque spot while he held her close, about did her in.
Kim couldn’t go there with him, not yet, maybe not ever. She stopped kicking and dropped down into the water, slipping through his arms. When she surfaced he was close by, but she ignored him and swam quickly to the boulders. She kicked a rock that was underwater and grimaced, but kept moving, scrambling over slick rocks back to their shoes.
Colt was right behind her. Kim wanted to get away from him. She couldn’t handle much more. She slipped on a mossy rock and went down hard. She reached out to catch herself, but her knee banged against a rock.
Colt lifted her onto her feet.
“Thanks,” she muttered, but he didn’t release her.
“You okay?” His warm breath brushed her forehead, and she looked up. His blue gaze was sincere and concerned. His dark hair was wet and a lock fell across his forehead. All the manly protection that Colt Quinn had always exuded toward her seemed to surround her, warmer than a fleece blanket fresh out of the dryer.
Kim’s heart raced, and the water that should be cooling her skin evaporated with a tingly sensation. Colt’s warm hands were on her back, heating through her wet shirt, and his bare chest was irresistible up close and personal like this.
“Hit my knee,” she managed to push out, but it sounded all breathy like she was some desperate teenage girl speaking to the school stud for the first time.
His eyes swept over her face, lingering on her lips. “Do you want me to check it out?” he asked.
Kim tried to remember what reality she was living in. It was definitely an alternate reality from the past five years. In this sphere she and Colt were together, he was her entire world, and she fell deeper in love with every fun conversation, soft touch, and look. It was exhilarating, but it should be terrifying. She knew where she went from here … rock bottom.
Pulling away from his grasp, she tested her leg. It only hurt slightly to stand on. “It’s fine. Probably just a bruise.”
Colt’s body was filled with tension, every glorious muscle flexed. His tanned skin sparkled from being wet, and the morning sun hitting it.
“That’s good,” he muttered, but he looked like he wanted to pull her in close again.
She wanted the same thing, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall under his sneaky spell so quickly. She nodded and took another step back, needing distance from him. Her foot came down on an uneven boulder, and she lifted her hands to balance. Colt reached out and steadied her with his hand. Kim should’ve pulled back, but as his hand wrapped around her bicep, tremors raced through her. His blue gaze was steady on her, and she was lost. She’d tried to be strong, but it hadn’t worked out. There was simply no reality where a mere mortal like herself didn’t succumb to the glowing Zeus in front of her. He was her protector, her comforter, her everything. His gaze was magnetic, his body was perfect, and his lips were calling to her.
“Kim,” he said in a low, sexy groan that made her body flare up with desire.
Kim took an unconscious step toward him, and he gave her a brief smile before running his hand up her arm to cup her chin gently. His other hand wrapped around her lower back and guided her closer to him. She let herself rest her hands on that glorious chest of his, reveling in the lean muscle and smooth skin.
His gaze was steady on her as he slowly lowered his head. Her heart was thudding in her ears, and there was a rational piece of her mind screaming that she was allowing herself to succumb to him, and it would be another huge regret. But being held so tenderly by the man she still loved was like putting a chocolate-addict into Willy Wonka’s chocolate river and telling her not to taste it. There was no world where she could resist Colt Quinn.
His warm breath brushed over her lips first. Kim sighed and her eyelids fluttered closed. She waited in breathless anticipation for his lips to cover hers and her world to upend. It was absolute stupidity, but she could not resist him any longer.
Long seconds passed, and she felt him pull back slightly. Kim’s eyes flew open. Colt sheltered her with his arm and whispered, “Someone’s coming.”
Kim was jolted back to reality, slammed back truly. In this reality Colt was here to protect her like she’d always loved, but he wasn’t here to kiss her and reconnect with her.
He released her and bent down, scooping up his t-shirt and a gun. He’d had a gun on him this entire time? Her heart started racing for a different reason. Did he think her stalker had followed them and was going to attack them right here and now? She did this run and swim almost every day, and no one had ever bothered her.
Chatter and footsteps grew closer. Colt slid into his shirt and put the gun at the back of his shorts.
“The tourists are here,” she said.
Colt’s gaze flickered to her instead of the path. “They come about this same time every day?”
“Yes.”
Sure enough a group of tourists appeared at the overlook, chattering excitedly and taking pictures of the waterfall. Americans, Europeans, Asians, it was always a diverse, friendly group.
Colt blew a breath out and muttered, “Let’s get our shoes on and clear out.”
She nodded, sitting down and wiping her feet dry with her socks before putting them on and then her shoes. Colt was quicker than her and watched the tourists warily as they started infiltrating their quiet spot. Kim wasn’t concerned with the tourists, but she was completely wigged out with her inability to resist this man. What if no one had come? What if she’d kissed him? The thought made her warm all over, but instead of giving into her desires and grabbing him, she called herself all kinds of stupid and prayed for heavenly intervention. Her own self-control was not up to the task of keeping her away from Colt Quinn’s seductive powers.
Chapter 5
Colt and Kim made it back to the house, jogging mostly in silence. Colt’s mind was spinning. Kim had almost kissed him, which made him irrationally happy and frustrated at the same time. The main problem was … he’d completely forgotten he was on a job. What if the stalker had come while Colt was swimming in the waterfall like a tourist? What if Colt had kissed her? He would’ve gotten lost in her and put her in danger. He’d begged for this assignment, and now he had to keep his head on with Kim next to him. At least in public, vulnerable spots when Sutton’s other men weren’t around to keep a lookout.
Kim unlocked the door, and Colt held it while she walked through. She typed in the code for the alarm and then re-armed it.
“Wait here, please,” he said.
She nodded shortly. Colt hurried through the house. When he was certain it was secure he pumped down the stairs to the entryway. Kim waited exactly where he’d left her. He strode right into her space. She looked up, so appealing he found himself losing his head again. At least they were in a safe spot.
“Kim …” There were so many things he needed to say.
“You can use the shower in the spare bedroom,” she cut him off quickly and effectively.
He pushed out a breath then muttered, “Thanks.”
Kim took her time showering, styled her dark hair, and put on mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick, grateful her skin was tan and only needed some translucent powder. She slipped on a flattering t-shirt style dress that cinched at the waist. She knelt and said a prayer for help but she didn’t even know what she needed help with, and she probably confused the good Lord as much as she was confused. Help to resist Colt, help to understand Colt? The only help she was certain she needed was finding the stalker, and finally, putting that chapter behind her.
She stood with a sigh and forced herself to exit her bedroom and face Colt, hoping her Heavenly Father was on her side and not Colt’s. That thought made her laugh. Of course He was on everybody’s side. He saw the good in all. Kim saw a lot of good in Colt, and eventually she might even forgive him, but that didn’t mean she should put herself in his arms, and allow him to break her all over again.
The smell of pancakes floated up the stairs, along with Colt’s singing. Kim’s legs turned to jelly. Colt used to always sing to her. His brother Kaleb was a famous country singer. Colt had a good voice too. As she slowly descended the stairs the words came to her, and she froze halfway down, “You’re my-y brown-eyed girl …”
He used to sing that song to her all the time, and she’d loved it. They’d dance, and he’d sing, giving her those significant glances that she felt all through her body. Then he’d kiss her. Warmth and desire battled within her before reason and frustration took their rightful spots. How dare he?
Her legs found renewed strength from her anger, and she rushed down the stairs, through the foyer, and into the large great room area. Colt was still singing as he flipped pancakes off the griddle, and then stirred scrambled eggs in a separate pan. He glanced over his shoulder at her, obviously knowing she was there. His singing faltered, and his mouth dropped open.
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