“No,” she sighed. “Don’t make me go. Please. I hate shopping. And you obviously have no problem picking out gifts for your sister.”
“Yeah…about that.” He shot her a smile. “I have a confession to make.”
There was that look again, the one that wavered between trusting him and walking away. Before she could make good on the silent threat, he continued. “I wasn’t gonna take you shopping.”
“Why am I not surprised?” She folded her arms, which only accentuated her amazing curves.
Eyes up, cowboy.
“So,” she said all haughty and fired up again. “Where were you planning to take me?”
This oughta be fun. “Paragliding.”
She laughed. “Paragliding. Seriously. You’re crazy. You. Are. Crazy.” Her arms flew up. “You can’t just go paragliding. That requires a certification.”
“I have it. Got certified here last summer.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did.”
He tested out his footing by moving a step closer. “Come on, Paige. You like adventure.”
“Yeah. Adventure with a safety plan.”
“You’re afraid,” he taunted with a grin.
Her back went as straight as the lamppost next to them. “I’m not afraid.”
“Then come paragliding with me,” he challenged. “Tomorrow morning. You come with me, I won’t bother you again. We’ll go on the rafting trip, be all professional like you want. I won’t ask you out anymore.”
Now that seemed to get her attention. Her eyebrows perked up. “You promise?”
“Swear on my daddy’s grave.” He forced his eyes to stay in hers, even though they were tempted to drift down to the point of her V-neck shirt. Man, the woman knew how to wear a shirt.
“Fine. I’ll go.” She stabbed a pointer finger into his chest. “But only if you swear to stop making passes at me.”
“I swear.” Did it still count if his toes were crossed?
“And you’ve gotta stop looking at me like that, too.”
“I have to look at you. And you can’t blame me for liking what I see.”
She shook her head and sighed like a diva, but a smile played with her lips. “Fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“See you then.” He watched her walk away, admiring the tight curve her backside. With any luck, this shared experience would open her up.
It was a gamble, but then again, he’d never lost a bet.
Chapter Fifteen
She was going to hurl. Seriously. Everything that had gone down so easy last night—Elsie’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, the chips and guacamole, and the margaritas she’d consumed for dinner (in that order)—might come back up all over Ben. It would serve him right.
Wrapping a weak arm around her stomach, Paige gave the man a sideways glance. He bent over the steering wheel, focused on navigating the Jeep along the rugged road that switchbacked up Aspen Mountain. Once they reached the top, they would run and jump off a cliff with a flimsy nylon parachute attached to their backs. And to think…he got his graduate education at Stanford University. She’d always thought smart people didn’t do stupid things like jump off a cliff, but then again Ben didn’t seem to hold up to any clichés. Cowboy, yes, but he was more refined than the typical ranch hand. Politician, sure. He could talk his way out of a paper bag, but he also had an underlying genuineness that most people didn’t. Casanova, definitely. She had to remember that today. He was also an adrenaline junkie, apparently. But he wasn’t antsy like most of those types she’d dated.
He was hard to peg, that was for sure. And she didn’t like when she couldn’t peg someone. So the prospect of jumping off a cliff was scary enough, but doing it attached to Benjamin Noble seemed to carry an exponential risk. Because she was a woman, after all, and he was warm and solid and he looked so good in those worn Carhartt work pants.
“You seem nervous.” He peered over at her and she had half a mind to smash her hand in the side of his face and direct his gaze back to the road. Hello! Watch for rocks! The cliffs! Tree limbs!
“I’m not nervous at all.” Terror earthquaked through her and cracked her voice.
He eyed her with suspicion. “You good with heights?”
“Sure.” She was perfectly fine dangling a hundred feet above the ground off the side of a rock face, firmly secured in a harness and belay. Soaring thousands of feet above the ground, though…that wasn’t heights. That was extreme madness. But it would be worth it, right? He’d leave her alone and she wouldn’t have the distraction, the tension with his mother. She could do her job and prove to Bryce she was a professional in even the toughest situations.
“You’re gonna love this, Paige.”
“I love walking. Flying has never been on my list of fun experiences.” Best for him not to get his hopes up.
“Oh, this isn’t flying. It’s more like floating.” He rubbed at the stubble on his chin—the sexy few days of growth that had lightly scraped against her neck when he’d kissed her…
Goosebumps pricked at her arms, but she rubbed them away with her hands. Focus. She had to focus.
Ben’s eyes turned upward toward the royal-blue sky. “It’s like you’re weightless. Completely free. You won’t believe how peaceful it is up there.”
Huh. Not it’s a rush but it’s peaceful. Interesting philosophy about falling out of the sky. Her heart jackhammered until the pulse of it jarred her vision. She crossed her arms tighter and tried to wrangle it into a normal rhythm. “You know what I think is peaceful?” she asked, because she couldn’t resist.
He raised his eyebrows in a silent question.
“Waterfalls. Wind whispering through the evergreens. Babbling brooks.”
“Ha.” He gunned the engine and they shot up a steep incline.
Paige gripped the Oh shit handle with a force from somewhere deep inside. She could’ve ripped that sucker right off the ceiling. “Seriously. Where did you learn how to drive?”
“On the ranch.” He jerked the wheel this way and that, bouncing her head. “We didn’t have roads. Not really, anyway.”
Steadying a hand against the glass, she stared at her hiking boots. Much safer than staring out the windshield or at Ben’s face, gorgeous face that it was. “Well, we do have roads. Can you slow it down? I’m sure you don’t want to have to explain to the rental guys why there’s vomit all over the dashboard.”
“No worries. We’re there.” He gunned it up one last hill and hit the brakes.
She remained still, trying to regain her equilibrium, while he jumped out of the Jeep and unpacked a huge bundle of stuff from the back. She watched him lay out the gear, harnesses, ropes, helmets—because, great, if something goes wrong and you find yourself barreling out of control toward the earth at least you’ll have head protection.
What the hell was she thinking?
“You okay?” Ben came back to the Jeep and unloaded another bundle—the parachute presumably—and rolled it out on the ground.
“Great.” The words scraped her throat, which seemed to have swollen shut. She got out of the car and wandered to the mountain’s edge. About two feet from her boots, the earth dropped off into a ravine that no one in their right mind would want to float over. It was rocky and steep, unforgiving even for a simple fall. She inched her toes to the edge and peered down. Whoa. The earth seemed to shift under her as the beginnings of a panic attack made her heart palpitate. Breathe. Breathe. She lifted her gaze. Don’t focus on the rocks. Focus on the beauty.
Normally, she loved the view from up here. The town of Aspen looked like rows of dollhouses from so far up, a miniature city with a quaint mixture of brick buildings, manicured streets, and old Victorian homes nestled safely in the lushness of an emerald-green valley that rolled and stretched between granite-studded mountain peaks. She drew in another calming breath, closed her eyes, let the high-mountain breeze stabilize her inner chaos. The wilderness was where she always found her true self. It was
vast and unforgiving but also serene and beautiful…
“You ready?”
Her eyes popped open. She spun. At some point Ben had crept up behind her, though she had no idea how long he’d been standing there.
“Sure.” She stumbled to him, and oh-Mona-Lisa, she couldn’t feel her legs. Energy buzzed through her and made everything shimmer like waves of heat rising from the ground. Or maybe from Ben. He stood with his back to the sun, a surreal glow hazing around him, solid build filling out the fleece pullover he wore, polarized Maverick sunglasses glinting, and that all-American smile flashing.
Yes, there was heat. It flowed to uncharted regions inside of her. Parts of her that had been locked up, blocked off, barricaded by constant disappointment.
Ben plunked a helmet on her head and strapped it under her chin. “In order for this to go well, you’ve got to trust me. Okay?”
“Sure,” she muttered in a robotic tone. She forced her stiff arms to her sides because she was torn between shaking some sense into him and yanking him against her so she could feel his hard body once more before she plunged to her death. One last sensuous kiss before death…maybe more than a kiss? Maybe that was how she could distract him…
But before she could seduce him, he galloped away and put on his gear. “I’ll be steering, braking, reading the wind currents. All you have to do is hold on.”
“I’ll try.” It would be a lot easier if she could actually open her fists, but they seemed to be stuck.
“You’ll also be harnessed to me, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Nothing to worry about? Was the altitude getting to him? Not only did she have to worry about equipment malfunction, a rogue wind current, a freak bird accident, she’d also have to worry about him brushing against her ass. That would comprise her judgment, make her think things, maybe do things…
“Here. Let’s get you into the harness.” He knelt in front of her and held out the leg holes of the contraption. She stepped into them like a little kid. Then he got busy tightening the straps against her upper thighs. And, oh yes, his hands brushed against places they had no business touching.
“There we go.” He slid his fingers in between the straps and her thighs and tugged gently, which was the most action she’d gotten in some time.
“Seems about right. How does it feel?”
How could she possibly answer that question? Everything in her traitorous lower hemisphere was clenched in anticipation. “Great,” she squeaked.
He clipped something that looked like a small pad to the back of her harness. “You’re gonna sit back into this little chair and relax.”
She stretched her neck to look over her shoulder where his hands worked. There was definite touching. Quick electric pulses worked through her. Yeah, there would be no relaxing out there, not with him spooning her from behind.
“The conditions are perfect,” he said. “Got the wind report on my phone. It’s now or never.”
Never. Please? Was that an option? She remained silent as he strapped himself into some crazy harness with too many ties and pulley things to count. Then he came up behind her, stood so close his breath warmed her neck, and strapped her to his chest and waist so that they were one entity, so she couldn’t escape.
Ben reached down and clipped some carabiners into place, attaching them to the parachute that would carry them across the clear blue sky.
Her fists pulled tighter. She had no control, nothing to hold on to except for him. And maybe that was his plan all along. To take away everything else so it was only him and her.
“Ready?” The depth of his voice vibrated against her skin.
Her chest felt full and warm and she didn’t know if it was because he was there, so close, or because they were about to step into oblivion.
When his arms encircled her, she couldn’t help it; she leaned back into him, breath suspended, heart aching.
He leaned his chin on her shoulder, slipped off his glasses, and gazed into her eyes, steady and clear, like he saw everything. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she murmured.
His big, manly hands came to rest on her shoulders. “You’re shaking.”
“Rrrrrreally?” Her teeth chattered.
His arms slid around her, not to secure a clip this time, but to hold her. “I know this isn’t easy. Letting go of control.”
“What are you saying?” She tried to joke.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” His voice quieted into a somber challenge. “It’s not too late to back out.”
Yes it was. It was too late to go back. Ben was too good at prying her open, too good at probing those places no one else had ever bothered to touch. “We had a deal,” she said, stronger than she felt. “If this’ll really make you leave me alone, I’m in.”
“Okay, then.” He gave her that wicked hot grin. “When I say go, we’re both gonna run straight for the side of the cliff.”
“That’s not crazy at all,” she managed to wheeze between heart palpitations. Because they were really doing this. They were really running straight off the side of a cliff…
“Go!”
Ben’s legs, his strength, pumped behind her, propelling them forward. She tried, she really tried, but her own feet stumbled and scraped the ground in a drunken jog. In her peripheral, she watched the chute mushroom over them. Then there was a serious drag, yanking back on her—on them. Ben’s legs fought through it, but hers failed. The drag pulled harder, stronger, until the solid earth vanished and she dangled from Ben.
Her stomach lurched into her chest as they soared, wind whipping her ponytail, the chute dragging them higher, higher. The land beneath swirled into greens and browns and grays, then everything glowed blue and surreal, the white-hot sun above them, or maybe next to them…
Ben whooped, his forearms bulging as he pulled down on the handles gripped tightly in his capable hands.
A pain shot through Paige’s chest and she realized she wasn’t breathing. The air came out of her in a long groan. She sucked in new air as they lifted higher.
Ben leaned forward, his stubble scraping that tender place right beneath her ear. “What’d ya think? Pretty incredible, huh?”
“Incredible,” she repeated in an aching whisper. And it was. Beautiful. More beautiful than anything she’d seen in her life. She was so small, a mere mark on the earth compared to the vastness, the wildness of what stretched out underneath her. It was a painting, a wash of colors and textures all flowing together in a divine harmony. She soared above it all, above every heartache, above every ugliness that confined her, that tried to define her. Oh, god, oh, god, oh god. Ben was right. She felt completely weightless. Free. “I love it.” Her face turned to his. “I love it.”
He laughed against her cheek. “Do I still have to leave you alone?”
“No,” she whispered. Because up there, suspended above reality, Ben seemed possible. Anything seemed possible.
“Good,” he murmured, then pressed his lips to her neck. “Because I don’t know if I can.”
That touch, the smoothness of his lips on her skin trembled all the way through her. She closed her eyes and waited but he didn’t kiss her again. He’d gone back to his steering, his watching, his command over the skies. So she went back to making sense of everything below. There were the mansions on the east side of town, their pointed eaves poking through the canopy of trees. Then there was the river, small as a grayish blue ribbon, bending and meandering through the green valley. They were lower now, but it was still all so far away, so small and insignificant compared to the views that filled her eyes and made them burn with tears. Though the wind pressed against her and pinched her cheeks with life, Ben’s chest against her back kept her warm. His sturdiness kept her grounded.
The white chute that plumed above them dipped and pulled in a gentle rhythm that could have lulled her to sleep. She closed her eyes. Peaceful. Yes. She understood. So much—
A jerk twisted her upper bo
dy. What the—
With a start she opened her eyes and looked back at Ben.
He yanked hard on the strap again and again, lips twisted with the effort.
Then a series of jolts made her heart race. Something was wrong. Oh, god. They were still so high. Five hundred feet?
“Paige?” Ben sounded like an impostor, his tone no longer deep and soothing, no longer in control. “Paige, hold on. Okay? Hold on.”
“Wh…why?”
“The wind shifted. It’s picked up. We’ve gotta land. Now.”
“Now?” She looked down. Oh, god. Don’t look down. Never look down. The ground came up at them so fast. So damn fast. Her eyes fixated on the valley floor, coming into focus with each passing second. Trees dotted the river. Rocks littered the meadows.
Above them, the chute flapped madly in the wind like a balloon losing air. It shook her hard. Or maybe she shook. Her hands were too sweaty to catch a grip of the bar in front of her.
They were gonna die. They were both gonna die. “Ben.” Her stomach swelled and her mouth went dry. “Please. No.” Exactly what she’d feared stared her in the face, ugly and consuming, looming in front of her. What about her family? Would they care? Would anyone care? Maybe Elsie. Probably Elsie. She took loss hard…
“We’ll be okay,” Ben shouted at her. “But brace yourself. It’s gonna be rough.”
Oh, god. Their momentum sped up. It felt like that time she’d flown to Costa Rica and the plane had gotten caught in massive turbulence. They were falling but somehow Ben was slowing the force of it.
Pressure built inside her head.
On the ground, she could make out the individual trees, cars. The homes didn’t look small anymore. Nothing did.
“Brace yourself!” Ben yelled. “Tuck your head!”
But she couldn’t move. She could only watch the ground zoom up, up, up. Raw fear squeezed her lungs and expelled all the air. What should her last thoughts be? Her last words? Nothing came. Nothing! Her brain filled with the clouds that were now so far above them.
Something Like Love Page 14