“Could you stop doing that?”
“I’d love to go hiking with you. But apart from being short of time, you need to plan these things.”
“No you don’t.” I sneered, unsurprised. “You get in the car. You drive to the river and walk up a mountain. Easy.”
“Why don’t we do something else?” he suggested. “I have a couple of hours. If you’re still talking to me afterward, we can walk upriver next time.”
“Will that be before or after you take me ice skating in hell?”
His lips twitched. “You won’t find out unless you give me a chance. What will it hurt?”
He was far too smooth for his own good. And I was falling for it. Van’s boyish insistence wore at my resolve, tugged at my willpower.
The problem was, I wanted to spend more time with him.
Wasn’t that the perfect reason to do it? Because, any amount of time spent with Van would soon remind me of all the reasons why I should stay away from him.
I sighed. No wonder Tash called me the Queen of Bad Ideas. “You pick then,” I caved under the pressure. What was the bet he’d pick something lame, like basket weaving, or making teddy bears…
“There’s a rock-climbing place not far from here. How about we try that?”
I took a step back. “You want to take me rock climbing?”
“Sure. Why not?”
I searched Van’s face, waiting for the catch that didn’t come.
Okay. I’d play along. “Rock climbing it is, then. But this is not a therapy session. You don’t get to tell me how to do things. No helpful tips. No suggestions on how I should use my balance or redistribute my weight to compensate for my bad leg. You let me do exactly what I want.”
“Deal.”
I snorted. “You won’t be able to help yourself.” I knew exactly how Van would act. Like Cole. Being a Nana was inbred.
“Do you want to make a bet on that?” Van was still smiling, but his easygoing demeanor had disappeared.
I tipped my head. “What? That you won’t say anything?”
“That’s right. Not a peep.” Van’s eyes gleamed. “You think I can’t do it. I want to prove you wrong.”
“And if you do?”
Van rubbed at his lip as if he was giving the outcome real consideration. Back and forth. Back and forth. The brush of his thumb against his mouth caused me to bite at my lip. While I enjoyed the cut and thrust of a good argument, sparring with Van had another effect on me too. One that had me envisioning all different types of punishment, involving a bedroom. Or a couch.
I tore my gaze from his mouth. “Well?”
“Why don’t you pick?”
I stifled a moan as my mind went into overdrive. It was just too tempting. Which meant there was only one thing I could do.
“One word of advice and you have to leave me alone,” I said firmly. “For good. No deals. No negotiation.”
Van had me tied up in knots. I needed to go into this exercise in insanity with the sole purpose of it being the last thing I did with him. Anything else and I was flirting too close to danger.
“Fair enough.” Van looked disappointed, but not surprised. “And what do I get if I don’t say anything?”
“What? The pleasure of my sparkling company isn’t enough?”
Van let out a sexy chuckle. “More than enough. Let’s do this.”
The rock-climbing center was in an old warehouse, ten minutes’ drive away. I had been to the clip-and-climb area before, at the front of the complex. Walls stretched up three stories high and were fitted with climbing frames of wood, metal, and plastic. All the climbs had a basic clip-and-climb auto belay system with big, chunky pegs. A range of people, kids mostly, clambered over the walls, racing the clock to see who could make it to the top the fastest.
I rubbed my hands together. I knew I could do this.
Except Van didn’t stop there. He led me past that entrance to the back area of the building.
“I told you we were going rock climbing.” He opened the door and took me through to the side I had only caught glimpses of.
This was where the serious rock climbers hung out. Tiny colored holds covered every wall and false ledge, some at least thirty feet in the air. A handful of people were negotiating the walls, clinging like spiders to a web.
I stopped just inside the door. “You expect me to do this?” I spluttered.
“Yes. Unless there’s a problem?”
I closed my gaping mouth. Okay. I would play his silly game. If he was waiting for me to beg off…
“Okay then. Let’s do it.” I lifted my chin.
Van went to talk to the supervisor while I studied the climbers. It didn’t look so hard. Not.
He came back with harnesses and held mine open so I could step into it. Van had obviously done this before. He was secured into his harness while I was still struggling to work out which straps went with what buckle.
Van stood by patiently as I redid the fastenings twice before getting it right, then he checked me over, pulling on the attachments to make sure they were tight and secured. My heart started pounding when he fixed up the leg loop around my thighs. I jammed sweaty palms into my armpits so I didn’t give in to the temptation to touch or lean into him.
“Now you check mine.” Van stepped back, spreading his legs and lifting his arms, inviting me in.
I tried to hide the tremble in my fingers as I tugged on the straps and checked each buckle. The heat of his body seeped through his clothes and the beat of his heart accelerated as I moved over his harness.
“Turn around.” My voice came out coarse and husky. I cleared my throat and got on with looking over his attachments. “You’re done.” I let my hands drop, fingers curling at my sides. Climbing Mount Everest would be less dangerous than laying my hands on Van right now.
Looking up at the high, imposing wall was an instant cure for my libido. A knot gathered in my chest. The longer I looked, the smaller the holds appeared.
“Why don’t you go first?” I offered, still looking up. Maybe watching Van would make it easier. I could pick up a few pointers, not make a complete fool of myself.
“Have you belayed before?” He held out a coil of rope, all business now. Super serious.
“Ah. No.” I wasn’t exactly sure what belaying was, but if he wanted me to act as an anchor while he climbed… I shuddered. Doing that would be worse than attempting the wall.
Van must have thought so too. “I’ll grab someone else then, if you don’t mind.”
“What. Scared I’ll drop you on your head?”
“Yes.”
He returned my frank look and I laughed. I found a seat on the couches set up for spectators in the middle of the warehouse while Van approached the supervisor who’d helped him earlier. They examined the wall before choosing a section in front of where I sat.
I took advantage of the time to gawk at Van. He had rolled up his pants to mid-calf. What I could see of his legs was lean and corded with muscle. As he stood there, he arched his shoulders, drawing attention to the definition of his back, the way his T-shirt rippled in tight curves, the breadth of his shoulders. A pool of warmth gathered low in my belly as everything inside me tightened in appreciation.
Van clipped a small bag to his hip and dipped in his hands. Chalk. He rubbed his fingers together. I wished it was me he was rubbing his hands over…
Van threw me a quick look before reaching up to grab at one of the holds, testing his grip. Satisfied, Van nodded to his partner and started to climb. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. There was nothing flashy about the way he climbed. He didn’t try to lunge at the holds, or skip up the wall to show off. Every move was measured. Van took risks, but they were well thought out. I admired that.
The guy at the bottom fed out rope and he too, was quiet and watchful as Van gained momentum. Every limb played a part, Van’s toes digging in, nearly curved in half, or his fingers white with strain as he hung on by the tips. Then he would s
wing with an easy grace to the next hold where he would stay, his gaze always upward, searching, planning, assessing, until he was ready to make his move. Not a foot wrong. Not a finger out of place.
He neared the top and only the overhanging ledge remained to be conquered. I stood up to get a better look. My heart rate picked up pace as his muscles tightened, poised to shift.
Van’s gaze met me for a split second before he lunged upward.
His fingers slipped and he fell.
I swallowed a scream as he plummeted from twenty feet down the sheer wall. The person anchoring him was pulled forward and he dug his feet in, leaning back against the rope to stop Van’s fall. Van came to a halt ten feet from the floor. I caught my breath, blood thundering through my veins as he dangled in his harness.
“Sorry, got distracted.” Van laughed and clapped his belayer on the back when he was safely on his feet, thanking him for the save. He was still smiling when he came over to join me where I had slumped bonelessly onto the couch.
“What did you think?”
I hid the tremble of my fingers in my lap. “It was okay.” I shrugged.
Van’s eyes crinkled in amusement.
“Why don’t you show me how it’s done?”
Chapter Eleven
Van
I checked over Jess’s gear one more time before I attached the rope to her harness.
She was worried, and I wondered again whether bringing her here was a good idea. I’d intended to take her to a nice, safe coffee shop, or perhaps a restaurant. Nothing scary in that. But when Jess had challenged me to take her hiking in the mountains, I’d had to pull out something special.
Now she was standing in front of the wall, like a lamb in the slaughterhouse.
I almost bit my tongue in half not asking her if she’d prefer not to climb. I knew what her answer would be. A resounding fuck off. I loved that she kept her chin raised high, her lips curled into a devil-may-care attitude. No matter how uncomfortable it made her, Jess would do this.
My touch lingered on the karabiner at her hips. Standing close, I could feel her breath against my cheek, the flare of heat swelling between us. Her fear turned me on.
What kind of sick fuck did that make me?
Jess expected me to jump in and tell her what to do, but I had no intention of doing that. I wanted to see what she was capable of. Pushing the limits was exactly what my new program was based on.
“What do these colors mean?” Jess studied the wall. She touched a yellow hold, then a blue. “You only used blue.”
“They denote how hard the climb is,” I answered, surprised she’d picked up on that. I pointed to a chart in one of the small niches hidden in the wall. “See. It starts at brown. Red is the hardest.”
“Blue’s in between?”
“Yes. You don’t have to do the same climb as me, though.”
It was a challenge. One I wanted her to take. I waited for her comeback, wondering for a moment whether she’d outdo me and go for red.
“I’ll do the same as you.” She reached out to touch the blue hold again, then looked back at me, as if to see whether I would say anything.
I kept quiet. Blue would be hard for someone who’d never climbed before, harder still with a damaged knee, but not impossible. That was why I’d picked it.
“Okay.” I nodded toward the wall. “Have at it.”
Jess held out her hand. “Chalk? Or aren’t I allowed any?”
I unclipped my chalk bag and attached it to her hip. She dipped her fingers in and rubbed them together, giving her palms a good coating.
“Ready?” I asked, bracing myself to catch her in my arms if she fell during the first few feet.
“Ready.”
Jess started off well. Better than I expected, although it didn’t surprise me. I hid a smile. She’d been watching me, it seemed. She followed my pattern of progress. Slow and steady.
Point one to Jess. I had thought she’d attack the wall in a frenzy. That was what most first-time climbers did. Not Jess. She looked comfortable in the holds and there was real strength in her arms and her good leg.
She moved above head height and I fed out the rope, watching as she latched the karabiner to the hook above. She had to stop a few times and adjust her holds to take the pressure off her bad leg, but she was managing well.
Until she got to a particularly gnarly hold. Jess would have to lunge off her left leg, gripping the hold to the right, just out of reach above her head. Without the strength in her knee, getting enough momentum was going to be tough. There was another, easier way, but it wasn’t the route I had taken.
When Jess fell on the first try, I pulled against the rope to lower her slowly.
Without a word, she got back up and climbed back to the point she’d fallen from.
She tried again.
Fell again.
And again.
Still, I said nothing, although I was practically chewing on words of advice. I admired the grit of her teeth, the determination in her eyes as she hauled herself back to the same spot above my head. Tried again and failed. Each time only a fingernail’s breadth from the grip.
“Aren’t you going to help?” She blew hair out of her face, sweat beading her brow as I lowered her to the floor for the fifth time.
I shook my head. Her arms had to be getting tired. And she was angry. Her breath huffing out in short puffs of frustration, her face dark and stormy.
“Fine.” She turned her back, shook out her hands, and started to climb. She was definitely slowing down.
“If it’s not working, try a different way,” I finally offered.
Jess stilled and looked down under her arm. Her face was red with exertion.
“Is that what you’re doing?” she asked. “Trying it a different way? Showing me how hopeless I am so I’ll beg to go on your program?” She let go of the wall suddenly and my fingers dug into the rope as the weight of her fall took me by surprise.
Her accusation was a slap in the face. I let her dangle just above the floor and stepped in close. Close enough to feel the tremble of her breath, the vibration of anger radiating from the tight clench of her jaw.
“I brought you here because I like you.” I spat out the words between my teeth. “I liked fucking you. I was kind of hoping we might get to do that again.” My own anger drove me on until I didn’t care what I was saying. There was no point hiding the fact I wanted her.
Jess’s nostrils flared. She gripped my harness and used it to swing herself in, planting a lip-smacking kiss on my mouth. Shock stole my breath and my grip on her tightened, the rope falling to the floor as I yanked her close. She stumbled as her feet hit the floor. I tried to stabilize her, but she stepped back, wiping at her mouth.
“Okay then.” She looked back up at the wall, studying it before climbing back up again.
I picked up the rope, wondering what the hell had just happened. One kiss and I felt like I’d just taken the twenty-foot tumble all over again. I gripped the rope tighter, fighting to get my head back in the game.
Jess had paused below the area she was struggling with. She took a deep breath, then shifted to the right. Just like she needed to do. A quick adjustment and Jess moved past the point she’d failed on time and again.
“Nice.” My lungs expanded and I wanted to let out a whoop of joy. Fuck. I was proud of her.
“Are you perving at my butt?” She grinned down at me.
“You know it.”
Jess started giggling and lost her grip. I held fast to the rope and lowered her until she was in front of me again. I pulled her close.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
“Time to go,” I said, dropping her to the ground reluctantly.
Her legs were a little shaky when I helped her to her feet. She stripped out of her harness, dusting off her chalky hands, leaving smudges of white powder down her legs.
“I’ll make my own way home from here,” she said, handing back her climbin
g gear.
“No. I’ll take you.”
“You said you’d leave me alone if you offered any advice.” Jess threw me a sly look. “Telling me to try a different way was helping.”
“No, it wasn’t. If I were coaching you, I’d have told you to shift your leg to the right from the start.”
Jess settled one hand on her hip. “Then maybe you should have.”
Frustration gnawed at the lining of my gut but I reined it in.
“Have you always struggled to do what you’ve been told, or do you save this for me?” I asked sweetly.
“I never used to be like this at all.”
I caught the edge of rawness clouding her voice. “I don’t believe that.” I shook my head. “You’re like a live wire. You’re determined and independent. No one tells you what to do.”
“But they try to,” Jess said. She leaned back, tilting her head to appraise me. “You say you don’t like people who are dependent, but that’s what you want me to be. You want to make me rely on you by shoving me in your program.”
“No I don’t,” I disagreed, wondering where the hell she’d gotten that idea from. “It’s your body. You take care of your own recovery.”
“Bullshit,” Jess came back vehemently. “Oh, you’ll start by saying that, but then it’s the fifty things you have to do each day and the three hundred things you can’t.” She stepped right up to me, shoving her face in mine. “That’s not living.”
“Why are we even talking about this?” I threw up my hands. “I didn’t bring you here to discuss my program. I just wanted to spend time with you.”
“Because you can’t help it.” Jess gathered up her jacket, scrunching it into a ball in her hands. “Don’t you get it? That’s who you are.”
I watched her walk away and wondered whether I should laugh or punch the nearest wall. She was annoying as hell. And she also turned me on more than any other woman I’d ever met.
I shook my head. I couldn’t win. Not yet, anyway.
Good thing tomorrow was another day.
Chapter Twelve
Jess
Her Release (One Night Stand Book 3) Page 7