“Almost?” she asked, her eyes widening.
He laughed again. “Just kidding. One hundred percent. Never lost anyone. I learned from the best and I won’t let you fall. You won’t even break a nail.”
Penny snorted, lifting her hands up to show him her ragged nails. “Too late.”
He chuckled and pulled her hand forward, kissing the tips of her fingers. “Will you trust me?” he asked softly, moving closer. “I guarantee you will love it. No scrapes. No falls. Maybe a few muscles strained, but I’ll take you down slow and easy.” He could see her wavering and moved in closer. “Penny, I promise. Just trust me. When we get to the bottom, you’ll understand how amazing it is.”
Penny looked up into his eyes and shivered. “Why do you want to do this?” she asked, confused by the look in his eyes.
He grinned. “The fact that it is exciting isn’t enough?”
She shrugged, thinking there was something more. “I don’t think that’s all there is to it.”
“Come on. Put this on and let me prove it to you. If you hate it, then I’ll make it up to you by cooking you dinner. Deal?”
“You cook?” she asked, lifting her foot obediently as he knelt down, holding the harness for her to step into.
“Of course I cook,” he teased. “I’m a thirty-five year old, divorced dude. I’ve been living on my own for the past seven years.” He looked up at her. “It was either cook or starve.” He tapped her other leg and she lifted her foot, stepping into the other side. “I actually enjoy cooking. It’s soothing. Cooking dinner at night gets rid of a lot of stress.” He pulled the harness higher, tightening it around her waist and thighs. “My job isn’t just driving around town, greeting people. There’s more stuff going on behind the scenes than most people know.”
“Like what?”
He chuckled. “Secret things,” he whispered. “You’re going to love this!” And he turned around, pulling his own harness up his legs and securing it around his waist.
Penny watched, feeling stupid as the wide, mesh straps made walking awkward. She didn’t want to see what she looked like in the mirror, sure that she looked even more ridiculous than she felt. But as he pulled on the harness and tightened the buckles, Penny thought that he looked…hot. Amazing! Ready for anything.
He yanked on the pulleys and the loops and she saw that they were tight and secure. Then he attached another rope with one of those steel hook-like things and turned to her. “Your turn,” he warned, his hand looping into the mesh band around her waist. She gasped when she felt his fingers against her stomach and looked up at him. He stared right back at her, a challenging look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite interpret but…his look caused her heart to accelerate.
What would Louis do if she had a heart attack out here in the wilderness? Probably carry her back to town. Or call in a helicopter. Or something else that would be all over town like wildfire.
Better not have a heart attack then, she told herself. The town gossips already had enough to chatter about when it came to her sweet, but very curious boys. No need to give them more to whisper about during church services when she stepped into the sanctuary.
“What are you thinking about?” Louis asked, his voice deep and husky.
She smiled, unaware of how her eyes sparkled with her expression. “I was telling myself not to have a heart attack, actually.”
Another husky laugh. Another shiver. “Yeah, that would be bad. No heart attacks.”
“What would you do if I did?” she asked, out of curiosity.
“I’d save you, Penny,” he said, looking into her eyes. And she saw…something. Something that made her heart yearn. For him? For his strong hands? Or was it something else? Something more powerful?
He leaned closer. She wondered if it was because he needed to attach the other thingamajiggy or because of…other reasons. She held her breath, wondering if he might think of the other reasons. What would it be like to kiss Louis? Would he…?
“There,” he said and stepped back. “You’re all set.”
He turned around and the moment was gone. Penny stood there, feeling foolish. Why in the world would Louis want to kiss her? Why would any man?! She was a single mother of twin, rambunctious boys. Ninety percent of her adult life to date, she’d been too tired to think, she was a horrible cook, a mediocre housekeeper and…well, men just…they didn’t kiss her. She served men beers and crazy foods. That was her life.
“You ready?” Louis asked, smiling down at her with an eager expression.
“Sure,” she mumbled.
“Hey,” he stopped, moving closer. “What just happened? A moment ago, you looked happy and excited. Now you’re…well, you seem sad.”
Penny shrugged. “Let’s just get this over with,” she mumbled, walking over to the edge where she assumed she needed to be.
Louis stepped in front of her. “Talk to me, Penny.”
She looked up into his grey eyes, thinking he was just…he was handsome, with a good job, and a ready smile. Why would he be even remotely interested in someone like her?
“It’s nothing, Louis. Let’s go. Show me how to fly.”
He remained still for a long moment, but Penny just looked up at him, her eyes resigned.
“Okay. Fine. But soon, you’re going to trust me.” He reached out and Penny again held her breath, thinking about that kiss. But he only checked her harness one more time.
Shoot!
“Come on,” he said gently, then walked over to the contraption he’d rigged up with the ropes. One side of the rope was over the cliff, the other end was tied in an intricate knot around the tree at the top. “Let’s go.”
She eyed everything warily. “Just…what do I do?”
He smiled and held out his hand. “You come here and trust me.”
Trust. Right. “Trust is really hard for me, Louis,” she told him. But she walked over to the edge. He pulled her around so that her back was to him, then reached around her and latched her steel hooks onto the other hook-thingys, tightening the closer-thingy so it was no longer a hook but sort of an odd square now.
“Okay, now this is where you trust me,” he said, his deep voice very close to her ear.
She snorted again, but his strong arm wrapped around her waist and…
“What are you doing?” she gasped, starting to pull away.
“Put your hands here. This is your brake, in case mine fails.” And he showed her where to put her hands, how to cinch the brake. “Good,” he said and his arm settled around her waist again. “Let’s go.”
She wasn’t ready. Not by a long shot! She squeaked with alarm as he leaned back, his arm pulling her against his chest. And then they were off.
“What…! What are you doing?” she gasped, grabbing onto his arm. Her whole body rested against his chest, his arm tightened around her waist and he was literally holding both of them on the side of the mountain with one hand.
“Relax, Penny. Enjoy the decent. Look around.”
“No! I’m not going to look around! Bring me back up! I don’t…”
“Penny,” he said softly, his lips dangerously close to her ear. “Look.”
She looked. They were several feet down and he was bouncing slowly down the side of the cliff. For a long moment, she stared at the cliff, the dirt and rock…then with trepidation, she turned her head to the right and…there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“Louis?” she gasped, her fingers tightening on his arm.
“I’ve got you Penny. You’re perfectly safe. Just enjoy yourself.” His voice was steady and reassuring, his arm strong and secure. That didn’t help much, but Penny tried to relax. “That’s right. Just enjoy the ride. I’m taking you down, step by step.”
His voice was so soothing, Penny tried very hard to listen and learn. She didn’t release her death grip on his arm though! But she did look around a bit. To the right, she could see birds flying. Louis pushed away with his feet and released a bit of rope. For a
moment, the two of them were suspended in mid-air and she held her breath again until their feet were against the solid granite of the mountain. A moment later, he pushed away again, repeating the process. With each push, she breathed in, releasing the air in her lungs when the rock was back against the soles of her feet. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Penny looked to the left and…he was there! His face was close to her cheek! Another swing, another floating sensation but this time, it was more intense as she looked into his eyes.
All too soon, he stood up and…they were standing on the ground.
He didn’t release his grip around her waist though. His hands detached both of them from the rope and Penny turned, looking up into his eyes.
“What did you think?” he asked, using that same, sexy voice he’d been using on the trip down.
“It was…incredible,” she admitted. “I…”
His grin widened as his fingers tucked into the mesh around her waist. “Want to do it again?” he asked, his voice deeper.
Were they still talking about going down the mountain? Or something else?
“Yes,” she whispered, still staring up into his eyes.
“Good.” And then he was kissing her. Kissing her! Good grief, it had been so long since she’d been kissed, Penny wasn’t sure she remembered how!
But as he leaned into her slightly, she tilted her head back, and…instinct took over. Her lips moved slowly. Experimenting with the touch of his lips. Back and forth, their lips brushed softly. He deepened the kiss and his tongue darted against her lips. With hesitation and anticipation, laced with a bit of dread, she opened her mouth. As soon as their tongues touched, she knew that she was in trouble. It felt…amazing! Louis…handsome, sweet, kind, and protective Louis could kiss!
When he lifted his mouth, she stared up into his eyes, startled. “Wow,” she whispered.
His hands tightened on her waist for a brief moment before he stepped back. “Okay, so you enjoyed the trip down, but now we have to make it back up. Are you ready for this? It’s not as easy.”
Penny felt…empowered! Louis had kissed her!
Instead of laughing like a silly school girl, she turned around and tilted her head back, looking up at the cliff. “How do we do it?” she asked, even though her mind was still on that kiss.
“Slowly,” he explained. “Come on. We’ll do it together, just as we did going down.”
Penny rolled her eyes. “Louis, I did nothing on the trip down and you know it.”
He grinned up at her as he did something with the ropes. “You made the trip down more fun for me,” he said, squinting up at the sunshine behind her.
His words made her feel good and her stomach did that stupid flip again. “Right.” Bending down, she tried to follow his hands, but he was fast and confident, twisting the heavy rope around and changing the latches. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but wasn’t sure she’d be able to follow. It all looked very complicated.
Then he stood up. “Ready?”
Was she? Penny wasn’t sure. But looking around, she suspected that the only way out of here was up. “I think so. Let’s do it.”
He grinned again and stepped behind her. “Okay, so on the way up, we’re going to pull ourselves up with our arms until the rope slacks, we let the rope slide through the pulley system, then I’ll tighten the break and we do it again.”’
Her mouth twisted slightly. “Is this the point where I tell you that I don’t have a whole lot of upper body strength?”
He laughed. “You’re fine,” he assured her. “Our feet go into the grooves on the rocks and in this area, there are a lot of them.”
“Got it,” she said, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. “Okay, let’s do it.”
The “flight” down the cliff took maybe five minutes. The climb back up wasn’t nearly as fast. It was slow going at first, mostly because she was much more conscious of Louis behind her. Her bottom was literally nestled against his groin and she could feel…everything! Her shoulders were against his chest and she kept trying to pull herself up, giving him more room, but as soon as she did that, he climbed behind her, pressing his chest against her back and shoulders again.
When they’d gone about halfway up, she looked down, startled to see how far they’d climbed. “Wow!” she said, laughing in amazement.
“Yeah, you’re better at this than you think, Penny.”
With his words of encouragement, she pushed herself harder, reaching for the next groove in the cliff that would allow her to pull herself up higher. It seemed like it was an inch by inch situation, but in almost no time at all, they’d climbed up and over the edge of the cliff, standing right where they’d been initially.
She wasn’t even self-conscious of her butt in his face as she curled up and over to the flat ground at the top. Instead, she focused on the exhilaration of reaching the top.
When Louis pulled himself up as well, she was grinning from ear to ear. “Can we do it again?” she asked, jumping up and clapping her hands.
Louis laughed and pulled her into his arms. “Absolutely!” and he kissed her. This time, the caress was deeper. Longer. And this time, Penny put her arms around his neck, kissing him back and showing him how exciting the trip had been. As well as how exciting he was!
When he lifted his mouth this time, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying, “Wow!” again.
“Let’s do it,” he said.
They went down once again, but this time, Penny looked around more, enjoying the experience a whole lot more. And the climb up was easier because she knew what to do and, deep down inside, she really wanted to impress Louis with her upper body strength.
When she checked her watch after they returned to the top, she gasped at the time. “Louis! I’m sorry, but we need to hurry. James and Tyler will be coming home from school soon and today is Dan’s day off.”
“Who is Dan?” he asked, already winding up the rope.
“He’s the high school teenager that watches my kids after school on Wednesday through Friday. He puts them to bed at night too and makes sure they get their homework finished. He’s amazing! I think…” she stopped, feeling self-conscious about her babbling.
He stopped coiling the ropes for a moment, looking up at her. “What were you going to say?”
Penny shook her head. “Nothing.” She’d been about to say that her boys were thriving with a teenage boy in the house, more of a male figure to look up to. But that sounded like she was proposing to Louis and…well, this was just a thing. A fluke. Their kiss…it didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all. Men kissed and had sex with women all the time and it didn’t mean anything to them.
Louis looked like he was going to pursue the question, but instead, he finished coiling the ropes. Penny watched him, then grabbed the other rope and did the same thing. In very little time, the equipment was stowed in the nylon bag and tossed into the trunk of his SUV.
“Thanks for trusting me,” he said as he held open the passenger side door for her.
Penny stared up at him, her throat tightening. He was holding the door for her. Like a gentleman. No man had ever treated her like that.
She blinked, trying to be casual as she slipped into the seat. But Louis, being observant and sweet, noticed the rapid blinking of her eyes and moved closer. “What’s wrong? What did I say to hurt your feelings?”
Penny shook her head, tucking her hands between her knees. “It’s nothing,” she told him softly, bowing her head slightly.
His hand came up, lightly touching her chin so that she lifted her eyes to look at him. “Hey, it isn’t nothing. If I’ve hurt you or offended you in any way, I’m so sorry, Penny.”
With those sweet words, a tear slipped from her lashes down her cheek. “You haven’t offended me in any way, Louis. Today was…” she looked down, shaking her head before lifting her eyes back up to his. “It was wonderful.”
He smiled slightly. “Will you do it again then?�
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She laughed-sobbed, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. But she managed a nod. “Maybe...” she peeked at him. “Do you think that maybe you could teach me to do it…by myself?”
His smile widened and the light in his eyes came back. “Hell yes!” he said, then leaned in and kissed her quickly before closing the passenger door.
Penny watched him walk around to the driver’s seat, a lump in her throat. He was so handsome and…amazing. She’d felt something for him for years. But she’d never pursued it. Her luck with men was less than stellar. A high school boyfriend who had cheated on her. A college boyfriend who had slapped her one night when she’d argued with him. A husband who had disappeared, leaving her with twin baby boys. She’d dated a couple of times since James and Tyler had been born, but most men heard about her sons and ran for the hills. Or they heard that she was a single mother and assumed she was desperate for sex, made a pass, and she quickly had to extricate herself from their lecherous arms.
After a while, she’d just…stopped trying. Dating simply wasn’t worth the hassle. That had probably been around the same time that Louis had taken the job as deputy sheriff here in town. And over the years, she’d sort of…formed a few fantasies around the handsome deputy.
But the reality was…much nicer!
Chapter 3
“You look happy!” Eve quipped as they moved around the bar, taking the chairs down from the tables.
Annie walked in, carrying a tray filled with napkins. “She’s in love!”
Penny smiled, but didn’t bother to deny Annie’s claim.
Eve chuckled. “You’ve been seeing Louis for over a month now. I’m guessing that it’s serious?”
Penny shrugged. “He’s a nice guy.”
Annie groaned. “Nice? That’s the kiss of death for a guy!”
Eve watched her friend carefully. “Maybe nice is exactly what Penny is looking for.”
Carried Away (Sinful Nights Book 5) Page 2