by Trudi Jaye
Missy reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry. About the accident, I mean. The fact that you’re walking, that part is pretty cool.”
He’d been looking out over the view, but he turned his face to hers as she spoke. His eyes were ablaze. “Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Missy. I worked hard with the rehabilitation and I’m better now. I’m not going to give in.”
“I didn’t mean…” Missy paused, gathering her thoughts. “I don’t feel sorry for you. I think it’s amazing.” He’d overcome incredible odds to be standing here in such a short time.
“Well then? What are we waiting for?” he said. He’d lost some of his easygoing charm since the climb, but Missy almost preferred this darker version of him. Shadows marked his eyes, where before he’d seemed so simple to understand.
She slapped her hand against a tree branch, making it shudder. “We climb out to the branches that go over the quarry.”
Zee’s eyes went to the massive trunk of the tree and then to where the outermost branches hung precariously over nothing. His eyes narrowed.
“Out there?” he said, pointing.
“Exactly.” Missy smiled. That was more the kind of reaction she’d been expecting from him. “I’ll go first, show you the best way. Then you follow.”
Zee nodded slowly, his eyes still caught on the branches out over the pit. “Anyone ever fall?” he asked.
Missy didn’t answer his question, instead reaching up her arms and pulling herself up into the tree, feeling a stir of her magic at this small exertion. It wouldn’t hurt for him to be a little worried. It might make him concentrate more.
As she climbed, she wondered for the first time about the bet they’d placed on this adventure. What would Zee want as a boon if he won? Her first thought was sex, and a shiver worked its way down her spine. Did she want to have sex with Zee? There was definitely some part of her that did, although doing it as a dare seemed… risky. She glanced back and saw him grab the first branch and haul himself up using his powerful arms, all grace and dark focus.
She swallowed. Somehow, she didn’t think Zee needed to trick women into having sex with him. He was too attractive and oozed too much charm to need help in that area.
What else might he want from her? She didn’t have money, or at least not in the way most other people had it. She could get anything she wanted through the Carnival and didn’t really need much of her own cash. Maybe he would make her do something even crazier than climbing a tree in the dark over a cliff. He was an adrenaline junkie after all.
She grinned. Not that she would have to actually worry about it. There was no way he was going to beat her at climbing out here, especially with his recent injuries. She would just have to remember to make sure he didn’t push himself too far just for the sake of the bet. Maybe just keep him close to the trunk where he’d be in no danger of actually falling. She glanced back. As long as he stuck to the main branches, he’d be fine. That’s why they’d always come up here to practice—there was some sense of backup because of the lower branches close to the trunk, despite the huge drop beneath the outer branches.
She shook her head and reminded herself to concentrate. The other reason they came out here was to focus on their magic, to learn how to bring it forth in any situation.
She slowed her breathing and centered her attention down into her body, the way she did in a performance. Each hand hold, each movement became part of a carefully calculated dance, guaranteed to garner the required results. Softly, slowly, she felt the magic emerge, rolling along her body like a lover’s hand. She forgot about everything around her, forgot about the dare, and let the swell of power take over her every thought. She was part of the tree, able to flow over the branches like a river spilled downstream. A primeval part of her reveled in the pure physical ecstasy of it, of using her body as it was intended to be used, pushing herself past the limits of the average person’s physical endurance. Every life-giving breath she inhaled intensified her strength; every thought she had was on the next movement, the next placement of hands and feet.
She glanced distractedly behind her and saw Zee struggling to climb, trying to find decent footing for his weaker leg, his movements jerky. Her gaze sharpened on his face, and a pang of doubt made her stop. Moving quickly, she backed up and made her way to where Zee was clinging lengthways to a branch.
“You okay?” she said from her position in front of him. The magic buzzed around her like an angry bee, but she ignored it.
He nodded but closed his eyes, and she realized his whole body was shaking. Her doubt turned into remorse. She’d pushed him too far, daring him out onto the tree. The guy was still in recovery mode from a serious accident. Missy tightened her hand into a fist and struggled for a moment to retain her composure. Yet another example of her lack of judgement. What the hell did she think she was doing?
She leaned over and touched his arm gently. “We’re going back. Just move your right leg to that branch. It’s going to be fine.” She moved along the branch to position herself to help him.
Without warning, a bright light beamed directly into her eyes from the cliff top, blinding her. Momentarily disoriented, Missy jerked back in surprise, her other hand pulling away from where she’d been gripping the tree. She lost her balance, her body slipping around the branch. Desperately, Missy clung on upside down with her legs, staring down into nothingness. The magic added strength to her limbs, and she managed to pull her torso up and grasp hold with her hands. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she had to remind herself to take deep, calming breaths.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing out there?” an angry male voice asked from the cliff top.
“Me? What about you? You almost killed me!” yelled Missy as she pulled herself up. She let her legs go before swinging them back over the branch. In front of her, Zee watched her with one part amusement and one part fear. At least it hadn’t been him that had fallen in fright.
“Ma’am, you’re trespassing on private property. I’ve called the police.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Zeph clung to his branch, unable to think of anything to say to the flashlight holder that might help them. His usual charm was missing, gone AWOL because of the effort he was putting into staying on the branch. The fact that he was sweating like a pig and his whole body was shaking didn’t help either.
Missy cleared her throat into the silence. He could see she was struggling to stay calm after her fall.
“We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to trespass. Just checking out the view,” she said, her voice a mix of contrite and innocent.
Zeph shook his head. Climbing the tree hadn’t been any effort at all for Missy. She looked as relaxed out on the branches as she had in the bar. Maybe more so. Meanwhile, he felt like he’d been pulled through a bush backward. He’d ripped his jeans and managed to cover himself in grime from the tree.
It’d been insane to think he’d be able to compete. His bad leg was too weak, and the rest of him was still recovering. Worst thing was it was his own fault for trying to impress a girl.
“The police’ll be here any second,” said the flashlight holder sternly. “You need to get out of that tree immediately. It’s dangerous up there.”
Zeph turned his head and squinted toward the light. He could make out a burly figure in a uniform. He tried to think it through. “You’re security?” he said. It seemed the only likely scenario.
“For Madison Quarry, yes, sir. Now get down from there.” The voice was starting to sound slightly panicked. Zeph hoped the man didn’t have a loaded gun.
He glanced over at Missy. They just needed to keep talking to the guard. “We’ll be right down,” he said. Zeph managed to calm his shaking, despite the pain pulsing from his leg, and began the slow reverse climb. Missy clambered down to one side of him, graceful and obviously in her element, helping him when she could.
When his foot finally touched the ground again, Zeph considered throwing himse
lf to the dirt and kissing it but managed to keep his cool, despite his shaky legs. He turned his gaze to the security guard, who was still pointing his flashlight in their direction as if it were a weapon he could use against them. All that was visible was a large round shadow behind the light.
The guard cleared his throat and shifted nervously. And then he stilled. “Hey! You’re that motorcycle dude! The one who had that crash a few months back.” He peered at Zeph a little more and nodded his head. “I saw that on YouTube. Man, it was carnage. You were lucky to survive.”
Zeph took a breath, the images of the crash slashing through his mind. “Yes, carnage is probably a good word for it.”
“So you back into it now, dude? I used to watch you before the accident. You were awesome!” The guy was suddenly all relaxed. He stopped shining the flashlight in their faces and pointed it toward the ground.
Zeph blinked, unable to believe this was all it took for someone to change their whole demeanor. A little bit of recognition and he was suddenly their best friend.
The only problem was he couldn’t charm this guy the way he’d always charmed his fans in the past. The accident was still too recent, and he hadn’t had time to mend himself physically, let alone mentally. He couldn’t discuss it the way this man wanted to.
“That video went viral, man. You’re famous. Everyone’s seen it. I do some riding on the weekends myself, so I know what it’s like.” The guard nodded sagely and puffed out his chest.
Zeph clenched his fist and reminded himself to keep calm. “Yeah, it was pretty bad. My leg’s still recovering.” The words were simple, but it took a lot to get them out.
He glanced over at Missy. She was watching him intently, not missing a second. He knew this was their ticket out of this particular mess and had to force himself to concentrate, to get past the pain of knowing hundreds of thousands of people had watched him crash and almost die. That they watched it and thought, Wow, cool. They didn’t think about the pain and the horror of almost dying.
“Aw, that sucks. I’d hate it if something like that happened to me,” the guard said wisely, nodding.
Zeph struggled to stay calm and focus. “We were just messing around up here. We didn’t think we might actually cause a problem. We didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“Oh, no, man, you didn’t freak me out. Just part of the job.” He glanced behind him to the path that led to the clearing. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to explain this to the police chief. He’s not into bikes like I am.”
“Then can you let us go? Maybe tell him you missed us? Or it was just birds or something?” Zeph paused and took a breath. “I’d really appreciate it.”
The pained look on the guard’s face showed he was torn. Catching trespassers would probably be a big deal for the guy. “I don’t know…” he said.
“I promise we won’t do it again.”
The guard wavered, looking between Missy and Zeph. “On one condition.”
Zeph tried not to grin. “What’s that?”
“I get a photo with you.” The guard pulled out his phone from his pocket and handed it to Missy. She made a face at Zeph behind the guard’s back.
“I’ll have to hold the light so it’s on your faces,” she said.
Zeph stood next to the guard and put an arm around his shoulders. The guy was a good couple feet shorter and a lot wider, so it was an odd match, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Wait ‘til I tell the guys about this. They’ll never believe me.”
“Which is the best way to go down again?” asked Zeph. “So we miss the police?”
The guard nodded, his attention on the photo on his phone. “Just go back down to where I saw your bike and try to be as quiet as you can. I’ll just tell Harrison I didn’t catch you, but I don’t think you were troublemakers. Just kids mucking about.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Zeph reached out and grabbed Missy’s hand before the security guard could change his mind and pulled her back to the path through the trees. “You first. And hurry,” he said.
She nodded and walked ahead down the path, her long legs eating up the distance. He followed after, trying to keep up and gritting his teeth over the pain in his leg. He gave one final wave to the security guard, who was too busy texting his friends to wave back.
When he got to the bottom, Missy was already climbing into the sidecar. “I didn’t realize you were famous,” she said, raising her eyebrows in his direction.
Zeph ducked his head and rubbed one hand through his hair. “I’m not really, not to most people. Just occasionally, you get someone like that who knows a little bit about bikes and gets excited about meeting me.”
“So your accident, it was more than just dirt biking on the weekend?”
Zeph nodded. He didn’t really want to talk about it and usually deflected when people asked, but for some reason, he’d told Missy the truth earlier about what had happened. He just had to be careful not to let her know he wasn’t really a mechanic. “It was a stunt. It didn’t work properly, and I paid the price.” He shrugged. It felt like a high price, but he knew he was just being whiny. At least he was alive.
“That sucks.” She glanced around. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind,” Missy said.
***
When they arrived back at the hotel, Missy stood looking at the main entrance for a moment, wondering what she was going to do. She looked at her watch. It was well past one o’clock in the morning. She hadn’t planned out this part.
Zee climbed off the motorbike and came to stand next to her. “You wanna come up to my room?” he asked softly, his eyes sparking with heat.
Missy shivered, staring up at him for a moment. She didn’t say a word, didn’t smile. Didn’t react really. But Zee just waited, like he had all the time in the world and the outcome didn’t matter to him either way.
Then she smiled up at him, and for the first time, she let her eyes promise him something more than sharing an adventure. Zee looked like he’d been punched in the stomach. She swallowed over her suddenly dry throat. Did she want to go up to his room?
She nodded. “Sure.”
Zee grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the entrance. “That’s good enough for me. I’ll take it.”
It wasn’t until they’d walked up the stairs and he’d unlocked the door to his small room and led her inside that Missy really started to wonder what she was doing.
She narrowed her eyes at his back, trying to recover her bravado. He was sexy as hell; that was for sure. His tall, lithe frame was made awkward by his limp, but even that couldn’t hide his natural athleticism. His large hands dwarfed hers, and his handsome expression dared her to back down. Missy shrugged. She wasn’t going to back out now.
Aside from the fact he was just passing through, he didn’t come off as the kind of guy who would stick around, and Missy appreciated that. She didn’t want a boyfriend, hadn’t really bothered for the last few years. She was too busy, too consumed by the Carnival to want a man in her life.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked, heading for the small fridge.
“Sure.” Missy sat on the edge of the bed that took up most of the room. She smoothed her hands across the duvet cover, appreciating the soft feel of the material.
Zee handed her a small glass filled with a clear, bubbly liquid. “Vodka lemonade,” he said.
Missy nodded. She didn’t normally drink, and she’d already had a couple downstairs earlier in the evening, but it was a night for breaking her usual rules. She took a big gulp and made a face as the taste of alcohol slid down her throat.
“Not to your taste?” asked Zee softly.
She shook her head.
He sat next to her and lifted one hand to her hair, pushing it back off her face. His thumb brushed gently across her cheek, and Missy shivered.
Zee’s eyes gleamed in the low lighting of the room. Even sitting still, even injured, he was so alive, so
energy-filled that Missy could feel the electric buzz coming off him. It was so tangible she felt like she was absorbing his energy and had it pulsing through her veins. What had he been like when he was fully functioning?
Irresistible was the word that came to mind.
He leaned in and kissed her softly, his lips just barely connecting with hers. It was a light brush, designed to make her want more—and she did. Missy reached up with her spare hand and grasped him around the neck, deepening the kiss, pulling him hard against her so she could feel him properly. She wanted to touch him everywhere, to be skin to skin with him.
After a while, Zee pulled back and grinned, leaning his forehead softly on hers. “I need a shower.” He glanced down at his body, and Missy saw the dirt and grime and even a few rips on his clothes from their adventure. There was also a whisper of pain on his face. He probably needed the heat from the water to help his leg relax.
She sighed. “Hurry up or you might miss out.” Her hand caressed the skin on his back.
He leaned in for another scorching kiss, heating her until she didn’t care whether he was dirty or not.
Then he pulled back and headed to the shower.
Missy looked around the empty room. It seemed bland without him there to provide the color. She took another sip, then a big gulp of her drink, finishing it off. It gave her a nice buzz, a feeling of floating. She saw Zee’s almost full glass on the bedside table and swapped hers out for that one. Now that she was alone, she felt the need for a bit of courage. Gulping back the drink, she blinked and tried to steady the room.
She looked down at her clothes. She needed to get rid of some of the layers. She was still in her outside jacket, for crying out loud.
She took off her jacket and then her sweater. Then she looked down at her jeans. Yep, she was gonna take them off too. And her shoes. That left her standing in the room in just her panties and top. She shivered. It was cold; she needed a bit more warmth and some extra courage. Peering into the fridge, she found another small bottle of vodka. Blearily, she tried to find the lemonade Zee had used but couldn’t see it. She looked down at the small bottle and shrugged. She’d just have it straight.