by Bex Dane
Thinking of him reminds me I forgot to ask about his eye. "How's your eye?" I peek out of the bathroom and see his gorgeous body still sprawled out on the bed, one knee bent, arms up behind his head. He's all tan skin and muscles. A true Hawaiian Jesus with his hair spilled on the pillow like a crown of thorns. The sheet covering his private parts is like a shroud around the mystery of life.
"It's okay." He rubs his eyes and sits up in the bed.
I turn my attention back to the bathroom and attempt to focus on getting ready. He walks in behind me and leans down to look in the mirror. The red has faded to a light pink. "It looks better."
"Yep. I'll survive another day," he says casually.
"You could've lost your vision."
"But I didn't. You want breakfast? I make a killer pancake."
"Wow. I'm surprised. Okay. Knock yourself out."
"You wanna?" He tilts his head toward the toilet.
"Oh, sorry." My gaze darts to his shorts and away again. Mace is all man, and it's undeniably obvious when he's walking around in his underwear.
I leave the bathroom and grab my laptop. Mace has a chair and side table set up next to his fireplace, and that'll work fine as a workspace for me until we leave for the hike.
Thirty minutes later, Mace has thankfully put on some clothes, and I've managed to get started on collecting Diablo's private info so I can answer his security questions and get his phone transferred over to a burner.
Mace sets two plates with large, thin pancakes on a small kitchen table with benches built into the wall. "Those look more like crepes than pancakes."
"You could call 'em crepes if you want to. Just don't tell anyone I made you crepes." He winks and grins.
I laugh and take a seat. "Secret's safe with me. If anyone asks, I'll tell them Mace made me a huge stack of thick, fluffy pancakes."
He adds powdered sugar, syrup, and frozen fruit to the table as toppings. "Maybe it's best we just keep the whole cooking thing between us."
"All right." I scoop some fruit onto my crepe. He did a good job too. Not burned, evenly cooked. "I like to cook too."
He smothers his pancake in syrup and butter. "What kind of food?"
"I like to try things from all around the world. Italy, Spain, Thailand, Greece."
He nods and cuts into his pancake that's really a crepe. "How'd you learn that?"
"Well, mostly I traveled with my father and took notes then tried it myself. Once we took a slow boat from Thailand to Laos. We had these lemongrass rice noodles with vegetables. Every time I make that dish, I remember how my father and I cuddled in the chilly morning air on the boat."
Oops. I brought up my dad again. He's quiet and looks down. Last night he jokingly mentioned that I promised to forgive him, but we didn't really talk about it.
"I miss him, Mace, but I don't blame you for his death anymore. I forgive you. I understand why you arrested him. I still don't think you needed to seduce me to do it, but the other part I forgive."
He winces and nods. When he looks up at me, the heat in his eyes steals my breath. "I didn't have to seduce you. Your dad would've been easy enough to catch. I wanted to touch the blue sky, so I did it." His deep voice rumbles and sends a zing down my spine. Mace keeps giving me these signs that he likes me, and it's getting harder to resist.
"Okay then." I brush my hands together like I'm wiping off bread crumbs, even though we just had crepes. "Shall we go on a hike so you can push me off a ledge?"
He chuckles and stands to clear the table. "Yeah. Get ready."
***
We drive in an old Jeep up to a trailhead. Mace is less fidgety today, and he seems comfortable on these roads. "I take it you've hiked this trail before?"
"Only a thousand times. My brothers and I basically grew up here."
"But I thought you were adopted when you were a teenager."
"I was. But I became a man here."
"Ahh." If there is any place to become a man, it's here among these towering coastal redwoods that have survived so many challenges. Storms, fires, droughts, lightning, logging. Hundreds of years and here they stand.
We park in the one space marked by a log. As he's pulling the gear from the Jeep, I check the place out. Water rushes in the background, lots of critters peeping and chirping. The air is incredibly fresh and smells like pine. The sign has a lot of warnings, but the biggest one is danger of falling from rocks, and there's a picture of a stick figure plummeting into the abyss.
"Let's go." He's wearing shorts with big pockets and a tattered white T-shirt that looks well-loved and worn. He throws a small pack over his shoulders and walks toward the trailhead with confidence in his step.
The path isn't steep, and it's fully shaded by redwoods. Ferns and sorrel bushes make a pretty understory in the decaying leaf litter from the trees.
After about five minutes on the slowly ascending trail, I'm settling into the relaxation only nature can bring. Mace seems more tranquil too. "So tell me one secret no one else knows about you," he asks over his shoulder.
"Oh. Hmm. Well. I've never been to Disneyland."
"That's a shame. Star Wars Land is the bomb."
Now he has me wondering why my dad didn't make the arrangements to take me. "The life of a celebrity's daughter is different. You don't just wake up and decide to go to Disneyland that day. You have to make arrangements. It's just not something we ever did." We could have gone. What was his excuse? He's not here for me to ask anymore, so I'll never know.
"Mmm."
I can hear Mace judging my dad and not buying my excuses. "Tell me something about you no one else knows," I throw back at him.
"My dad was a deadbeat dad who got arrested by a bounty hunter."
My step falters, and I'm staring at the back of his head. "Are you kidding me?"
He doesn't break his stride or look back. "Nope. The bounty hunter was named Wayne. He's a bail bondsman now. Still work with him."
So Mace went through what I did? He knows how it feels to have your family ripped apart? "Tell me more."
"I was in Hawaii. My dad left us. My mom couldn't work, had mental problems. Wayne arrested him, and I ended up in foster care in Georgia. That sucked."
All these years I've known and hated Mace, I never knew how he ended up being a Twist or where he came from. I expected to hear Hawaii, but not Georgia. "What happened there?"
"I didn't fit in. Bounced around group homes. Ended up with a religious family that didn't like the way I was. Sent me to a boarding school to retrain me. Assholes there tied my wrists to try to get me to stop moving. Got the hell out of there and ran away to California. Met Cutter, Sutton, and Remy. We all got lucky and got adopted by Foster and Mila."
I catch up to him and take his hand. "Oh my gosh. I swear I didn't know any of that."
He twines his fingers in mine and pulls me forward to walk side-by-side with him. "How would you know? And does it change anything?"
"Yes. It does because I see now why you might've become a bounty hunter yourself. You go after deadbeat dads?"
"Mostly. Exceptions for assholes that hurt women." He shrugs. "Tell me another secret."
I take a moment to collect my thoughts and listen to the sounds of the forest. "I only hated you because I liked you so much. I was obsessed with you and jealous. Hated that I couldn't be like you."
He stops and stares down at me with his cobalt blue eyes that look so stunning against the forest canopy. His tentative grin spreads into a full-blown smile that creates wrinkles around his eyes. "My turn. I never hated you. Was always intrigued by you. When I followed you, it wasn't because you were a threat. I wanted a glimpse into your life."
"And what did you see?"
He looks up into the trees before answering. "I saw the beautiful girl I knew had grown up to be a gorgeous lioness, but she was lonely. She needed someone to protect her. I stepped in to make that happen, and when I did, it felt right." He shrugs like it's not a big deal, but it means everyt
hing to me.
Mace is blowing my mind with this talk. It's hard to believe him, but there's no stiffness in his shoulders, nothing in his eyes tells me he's lying.
The tree canopy opens up, and we're staring at a peak with big boulders at the base. He hops up and offers me a hand. "This is the fun part."
As we climb, the rocks get steeper and narrower, and I have to watch my step as I battle the fear of heights that threatens to ruin this awesome day. We're high above a ravine now, and one mis-step could be deadly. Whenever the path gets really narrow, Mace turns back to watch me and gives me a hand when I need it.
We come across a huge rock plateau, and my stomach pitches when I look down at the valley below. "I take it this is Hopper's Ledge?"
"This is the hopping part. The ledge is up there."
He steps out to the edge and jumps across the gap. My heart lurches up into my throat.
"Mace!"
"I've done this jump a thousand times. Now, you." He holds out his hand.
The gap is about five feet wide, but it's not the width that scares me. It's the depth. We're at least five hundred feet up with nothing but rocks and trees below. I feel like I'm the stick figure about to fall into the abyss. "I can't."
"Yes, you can. I've got you."
"This is crazy."
"You don't have to jump. There's another way around. This one is more fun."
This does not feel like fun, but he's challenged me, and I'm not giving up.
"Think of how good it's gonna feel when you make it. You can sail over that thing. Stop worrying."
My gosh. Mace is actually convincing me to jump off a cliff. And the insane part is I'm thinking of doing it.
"If I die…"
"You won't."
"If I do, I support my three half-siblings. They get everything I have. It's not much, but…"
He freezes for a second. "You support them?"
"Yes! If I die, they won't have anyone. Please, send them all my money."
He bites his bottom lip and nods his head. "Can I have the Maserati?"
"Mace!"
"Fine. The kids get the car too."
"Can we stop talking about this?"
"If you would jump, we could."
I take a deep breath. Okay. I can do this. I'm a cop. I've been in dangerous situations before. I just need to call on my inner Wonder Woman detective skills. What if I was chasing a perp and had to jump? I'd do it no problem.
My father had me walking on coals every weekend at his retreats. It's all about conquering the fear and pushing through.
I close my eyes, bend my knees, and imagine myself flying over the gap.
"That's good." He's smiling on the other side, his big arms spread out to catch me. Can I really trust him? What if he really did plan all this to get me out here to kill me?
No, the smile on his lips is too innocent for that. I trust him.
I swing my arms out and launch myself in his direction. My face plows into the fabric of Mace's shirt, and there's a terrifying moment where I'm tumbling down. His strong arms wrap around my back, and he breaks our fall as we hit the granite together. "Overkill, babe."
I'm laughing and looking down at his gleaming smile. "I did it."
"You were awesome." His eyes sparkle, and his hands rub up and down my back. Not in a friendly way. In a sensual way that tells me he's clearly checking out my curves.
I lean down and plant a hard kiss on his lips. His mouth opens and our tongues tangle in a hot, wet, out-in-nature kiss. I end it to proclaim, "I conquered the ledge. I can't believe it."
His gaze sweeps up to the steep rocks next to us. "Nope. That's next."
"Oh my Lord, save me."
He pops up and offers me a hand. "You can do it. I believe in you."
I don't know where Mace gets all this faith in me, but I'll take it and use it for motivation. We climb to the base of a huge exposed granite face. At the top, a thick ledge cantilevers out from the formation.
"Is that the ledge?"
"Yep."
"And we're going to climb it?"
"Yep." He's way too happy about the fear on my face.
"I'm not climbing that."
"There's a rope." He points to an old worn rope anchored into the rock.
"Just a rope on the rock? That's going to keep us from falling?"
"It's safe. People hike this rock all the time. Follow me."
He takes off up the rock without missing a step. I'm frozen to the spot. The thought of falling has me paralyzed.
"You comin'?"
I shake my head. "Not this time."
He rolls his eyes and hops back down to me. "Like this." He stands behind me and wraps his hot, warm body around my limbs. He folds us forward and places my hands on the rope, forcing me to take hold and accept we're doing this. "Good. Now one step." His foot pushes on mine and somehow I manage to do it. It's so steep we're almost standing up but we're bent over enough I can feel every inch of him moving against my skin. His voice caresses my ear. "If you fall, I fall."
The confident rumble in his voice is exactly what I need to relax. Suddenly the fear is gone, and my thoughts zero in on Mace's thighs rubbing the back of my legs, his hips against my butt, his long arms resting over mine, his breath wisping by my ear. He has me caged in a giant bear hug that warms my soul and eases my insurmountable fears.
As we climb, more of the gorgeous tree tops in the valley come into view. Crisp fresh air fills my lungs and exultant freedom washes over me. I feel like I could sing. What was I worried about before? Mace made this so fun and so worth it.
Mace's focus has narrowed in on me, and his intensity is hitting me full blast, making my knees weak and my tummy flip. Normally I would stop him when he gets this close, but I can't bring myself to say it. "This feels different."
"Mmm." His lips press to my neck as we reach a flatter area close to the peak of the rock. He presses his fully hard cock against my back and I gasp.
"The view is fantastic." I move to stand up fully but he keeps his strong frame wrapped around me so I'm bent forward.
"Uh-huh." Mace opens his mouth on my neck and sucks hard. It sends shivers through my spine. His hands, now free of the ropes, move to my belly and press flat. His hips slide down and press me to the hard granite that is still warm from the day's sun. He undulates his hips against my butt and I'm gone. I have no willpower to fight him off. I want this as bad as he does, and I'm not dumb enough to keep saying no. When am I ever going to get another chance to make out with Mace on top of a mountain like this?
I twist my head, and he plants a kiss on my lips over my shoulder. His entire body presses me into the rock, his hard dick sliding between my butt cheeks and making me hungry for him. He removes his hands from my stomach and massages down my legs, up my arms, and into my hair. "I'm gonna take you right here," he whispers in my ear. "Make you come so hard you'll never forget."
A whimper is all I can manage back. I'm pretty sure he can have anything he wants right now, and I'll remember it forever. I raise my hips and push against his hard cock. He presses back and pins me to the rock. He keeps me like that for a long time, just kissing my lips, my neck and upper back. It's torture being face down because I can't reach him or truly kiss him back with my head at this angle. I'm forced to relax and enjoy it, so that's what I do.
He hums with pleasure as his wet tongue traces every inch of my neck. Finally, he raises his torso slightly and turns me to my back. He dives in and his mouth kisses all the parts he couldn't reach when I was on my stomach. My hands are free to grab him now.
Our kisses are greedy like we want to gobble down the first few bites of a delicious meal. His thick curly hair twines between my fingers. I've wanted to get my hands on it for so long, and now I have free rein to touch it. My other hand snakes down to grab his butt which is round and firm. His perfection that taunted me all these years is within my grasp and mine to enjoy. I can't believe he's as eager for me as I am for him.
He reaches for my shirt and tugs it out of my shorts. Looks like we are getting naked. I'm not stopping him.
He grunts and works the buttons open while I'm pushing his shorts lower on his ass. My fingers explore his tempting butt dimples. Amazing. I've lost all my fears of privacy or someone seeing us. This is too urgent to care about things like that.
He gets my shirt open and continues kissing me from my neck down to the curves of my breasts. He kisses down my belly and works my shorts open. This is all happening so fast, but I want it. I couldn't stop him if I wanted to. This train has left the station and has no brakes.
I'm struck by a delicious mix of cool air and the heat from his lips caressing my skin as he yanks my bottoms down. He lowers his head, laving his tongue from back to front before dipping it deep, drawing a raspy hiss from the back of my throat. His mouth, tongue, and hands all work together in harmony and steal my breath. It doesn't take long before my stomach clenches and a thunderous pressure builds between my legs. My orgasm crashes through me like a giant earthquake, the initial shock and lingering pulses shaking my entire body. My cry echoes into the canyon below.
He groans and continues to dine on my lower half. I grab his hair and pull him up. He's grinning like a mad man with shining lips and messed up hair. "So good. So sweet. Like honey. You're goddamn beautiful." He lowers his head to kiss me, and I taste myself on his lips. "I'm taking you up to the ledge."
Deep in my brain, I know I should be afraid, but I seriously trust Mace to take care of me. He scoops me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist as we clomp up the last bit of slope to the top of the ledge. We don't bother to take in the view. We're too busy ripping each other's clothes off.
I reach down and grab his dick and do the twist and pull he liked before. "You like that?"
"Love it." He grits his teeth and closes his eyes.
My hand works his huge shaft, and I love watching the pleasure on his face.
"Not waiting anymore. Taking you now." Mace surges up and positions himself between my legs. After a moment of lining up, he pushes in and groans.