“We can’t get naked up here,” she reminded him. “I’m not having my nipples pop off from frostbite.”
“They wouldn’t actually pop off,” Easton replied. “They’d more turn black and sort of slough off.”
Gagging at the image, she asked, “Is this really your version of sexy talk?”
A warm chuckle rumbled through his chest, vibrating against River’s fingertips. “You started it.”
Somehow her hand had found its way from his neck, down his muscled chest, and was lingering on granite-hard stomach muscles.
“I need your exercise regimen,” she murmured.
“I shiver. A lot. It burns a ton of calories.”
“Maybe I can help with that?” Smiling, River ran her fingers up his arm, feeling his bicep contract despite the layers of fabric between them.
Easton’s gaze dropped to her lips.
As River bit her lower lip, watching Easton watch her, there was something raw, something powerful in how she felt. She didn’t know what she wanted, but she knew why she wanted it. Something was missing in her life, some fundamental part of herself that she’d lost or maybe never had to begin with. And only up here, with the bitter winds on her face and reflected in the heated gaze of a stranger who already knew her too well, did River feel like she was close.
Whatever it was that she needed so badly, it was right beneath her fingertips.
She’d paused, overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through her.
“Are you changing your mind?” Easton asked. “Because that’s okay.”
Could that low, soft rumble be any sexier? River’s mind was constantly changing, but not about this. Not about him.
“This would be easier without fifteen thousand pounds of fleece and puffy jackets between us,” she decided.
“Hmm…I like a challenge.”
“Oh really?” She giggled as he pressed his cold nose to her neck, what little of it was still accessible. Then River burst out snickering as Easton started making playful noises against her throat.
“I’m glad you didn’t murder me in your torture barn,” River decided.
Easton’s eyes crinkled with humor. “I’m glad you didn’t murder me when I picked up a hitchhiker.”
“I wasn’t hitchhiking—” River started to protest, indignation making her wrinkle her nose at him. Easton took her face in his hands and kissed her. A long, slow kiss that made the wind and the cold and the effort of this climb disappear into white fluffy clouds shaped like unicorns.
With a contented sigh, she snuggled in. “If this were a commercial, I’d have bubble heart emojis floating over my head.”
Easton’s beard twitched on one side. “My thought process. Point A.” He touched his thumb to her breastbone. “Point B.” Then to her lower lip. “Point C.” This time it was a chaste, soft kiss.
“Your thought process.” Easton placed his thumb back to her breastbone. “Point A. Point—let’s go over here. And over here. And what’s over there?”
As he teased her, Easton drew random patterns back and forth over her torso, fingers tickling into sensitive parts. Dissolving into giggles, River wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back in. Easton was more than willing to indulge her.
At some point, she needed to try to sleep, but River was lost, tangled up in his arms, coming completely undone.
“River! Easton!”
Even in their tent, River could hear Jessie yelling. She’d never seen Easton move so fast as he hoisted himself to his feet and jerked his boots and jacket on. River was still scrambling to catch up when Easton unzipped the tent. Face as white as the snow around them, Jessie rushed over, breathless from his sprint through the thick powder.
“Breathe slower,” Easton instructed, putting a hand to Jessie’s shoulder to steady him. Ben hustled over as River finished getting on her gloves. “What happened?”
“Bree…we were filming out on that outcrop…she slipped…”
“How far did she fall?” Ben demanded as alarm filled River.
“I’m not sure, but I think she’s hurt. I told her not to move, that I’d get help.”
When Easton told River to stay at camp, he should have known she’d ignore him. One of her people was hurt; she wasn’t going to stand around and wait. Instead, she stayed hot on his heels as Easton followed Jessie away from camp. To River’s horror, he led them straight to an outcropping beyond the area Easton had said was safe to film.
“What the hell were you two doing over here?” With a snarl, Easton scaled down the rock. “There’s a reason I didn’t want us on this path. It’s too steep. You have to stay tethered to each other.”
Jessie didn’t answer, face strained as he descended behind Ben and River. She caught a flash of a brightly colored snow jacket on the ground, then the rest of Bree curled up in a ball. River’s heart leapt into her throat at the sight of her friend not moving. Despite how fast Easton and River were climbing, Ben reached her first.
“Hey there,” Ben said as he swept the snow off her nose and mouth, her eyes blinking away the powder in them.
“Well, that was interesting,” Bree managed to pant. “I think I learned to fly.”
“I think you learned the opposite.” River took Ben’s position by Bree’s head, supporting her neck as they worked to clear her. “What were you thinking coming all this way out here?”
“We got up and wanted to get some shots,” she wheezed. “Knew Easton had us on a tight schedule, so we went out here alone. We should have said something.”
Yes, they absolutely should have said something to someone. But River wasn’t going to kick her while she was down and clearly in pain.
“Hey, Bree,” Ben said as he checked her neck for injury. “In case you were wondering, I’m still waiting for you to ask me out on a date.” He flashed Bree a flirtatious look to distract her.
“Hey, Ben, you’re probably going to be waiting for a while,” Bree quipped back, but her face was ashen. When they were sure it was safe for her to move, Bree sat up slowly, hunched sideways and arm tight against her side.
“I think I banged my ribs up.” Bree leaned into River’s shoulder.
“Don’t be too tough,” River told her, wrapping her arm around Bree’s waist to support her upright. “If it hurts, tell us.”
“It hurts.” Closing her eyes, Bree drew in a hard breath.
“I’ve got her, River.”
Ben might not have been Bree’s type, but she sure had a hold on him. Even at the elevation and the exertion of fighting through the powdery snow, Ben still bent over and took over for River. Careful not to put pressure on Bree’s rib cage, he lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to their camp. It was a long trek, but Ben was strong. Still, despite how gentle he was being, Bree yelped as he laid her down on a blanket in the dining tent.
“East, my pack.” But Easton already had it, having anticipated what Ben would be asking for. Easton pulled a small metal tank out of his pack and a hose attachment. He placed the face mask of the hose over Bree’s mouth and nose.
“She needs oxygen,” Easton explained to River. “It’ll help her warm up.”
As Easton and River wrapped every spare sleeping bag around Bree, Jessie hovered, an expression of worry on his face. “Is she going to be okay?”
“We won’t know for a while.” Ben frowned, eyeing Jessie. “Why don’t you sit down, man? You’re looking wobbly.”
Jessie ignored him, visibly shaking as he pulled Bree into a hug.
“Be careful of her ribs,” Ben admonished gently, sharing a look with Easton.
Bree pulled the oxygen away from her mouth, turning to River. “What happened to my camera?”
“It’s gone,” Jessie told her. “When you fell, it did too. Unlike you, it didn’t stop.”
River’s heart instantly sank.
But as upset as she was at losing the camera, it was better to lose a camera than her friend. Bree must not have felt the same. She let out a string of curses, only pausing when she needed to take a breath of oxygen.
“The tripod too?” Bree asked.
At his reluctant nod, Bree unleashed a second round of curses more creative than the first.
“Well, you’re not dying,” Ben murmured in appreciation before catching her eye. “Bree, Easton and I need to check you for injuries. Do you want River to stay with you? If not, we’re too crowded in here.”
She tried to be patient and not interrupt Ben and Easton, but the best River could do was pace outside the dining tent, listening for any scrap of info drifting her way. Shaken from the accident, Jessie joined her.
“How’s Bree?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” River shook her head. “I’m still waiting for them to come out and tell me.”
When they’d started all this, River had never truly considered what would happen if things went wrong. Now, with the Old Man’s summit looming over her, reminding her of her smallness, her insignificance in comparison, River felt her heart shrinking in her chest.
Jessie and Bree were her responsibility.
Closing her eyes, River tried to take a deep, steadying breath. She couldn’t stay there any longer, so River walked to the edge of camp, staring out into the panoramic scenery and for once not appreciating the view.
A heavy arm wrapped across River’s collarbone, drawing her back into a strong form.
“I dated this guy before coming here,” River murmured. “He told me that I was driven to the point of recklessness. Both professionally and in my own personal life.”
“What did you tell him?”
“To kiss my ass. I am who I am, and I wasn’t going to apologize or change for anyone.”
Warm breath against her temple was the only thing warm about her anymore. “Sounds like he didn’t get you at all.”
River rested her chin on his arm. “For a long time, I didn’t think anyone got me. But Bree and Jessie have been the closest. I never thought twice before pitching this project to them. And they never thought twice before saying yes. I barely got the words out before they agreed to be a part of it. And now…”
Trailing off, River swallowed hard.
“Things happen on climbs,” Easton told her, voice quiet as the wind died down to a whisper. As if the Old Man himself were listening. “You can’t plan it, and you can’t avoid it. You can only survive it.”
“Which is why we brought you.” Turning her head, she looked up at him. “So far, you haven’t let any of us eat it, no matter what we’ve thrown at you.”
“And you won’t now, not if I can help it,” he told her firmly. “Which is why I need your help.”
“Uh-oh.” River dug the heel of her palm into her tight neck muscles. “As reassuring voices go, that one isn’t making the grade.”
Dropping his arm to wrap around her waist, Easton drew her in closer to him. “I’m calling the climb as over, River. Jessie’s a midlevel climber at best, and he’s spooked from this. Bree’s accident got in his head. That happens sometimes. Not his fault. He did his best, but Jessie’s climb is done. He needs off this mountain.”
There wasn’t anything River could do to argue that.
“And Bree?”
“Ben thinks two broken ribs. Maybe more. She’s tough, but that kind of pain up here…” Grimacing, he glanced at Bree’s tent, where Ben was still tending to her. “You’re going to need to talk to her. She’s insisting on summiting and won’t listen to us. She doesn’t want to let you down.”
“You think she’ll listen to me?” River wasn’t so sure.
“I think those two are as loyal to you as they are to this film. Jessie’s going to go where we point him for now, but Bree’s determined to go up. If she falls and one of those ribs punctures a lung, she’ll be in trouble.”
When Easton hugged her waist tighter, River accepted his silent offer of comfort. Allowing herself to rest her weight against his, River closed her eyes. She wouldn’t say it, because no movie would ever be worth more than her friends were to her. But to come so far, with the summit so close she could almost taste it…
“I’m sorry. I know how important this was to you.”
River turned in his arms, shaking her head. “Not as important as they are. I’ll talk to Bree.”
The soft pressure of his mouth to her own was exactly what River needed. Then she followed Easton back to the others.
As soon as River ducked into the tent, Bree let out a sigh of relief. “Good, you’re here. River, talk to them. These two are convinced we have to go back down. Tell them I’m fine. A couple of bruised ribs—”
“They’re probably broken,” Ben spoke up, earning himself an annoyed expression from Bree.
“A couple of bruised ribs never stopped me before,” Bree continued, ignoring him. “I’ve had worse on a climbing wall.”
Settling down at Bree’s side, River took her hand. “It’s not only your ribs, Bree. Jessie’s exhausted. It’s not safe for him to keep going.”
Exhausted was nicer than saying it the other way: his nerves were shot. Jessie shot her a grateful look, and River nodded with an understanding smile.
“We were close, okay?” River said. “We got enough footage, and it’ll be good enough.”
Bree didn’t answer for a long time. “Then it’s done.”
Heart in her throat, River nodded. “Yeah. It’s done. We tried.”
“No.” Bree shook her head. “One of us can get up there. You, River. You’ve been outclimbing everyone this whole trip. You look like you could run circles around the rest of us. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t summit.”
“There’s two great reasons, you and Jessie.” River added softly, “And, Bree, I’m tired too.”
“But you don’t really want to go down. If you tell me, right here, right now, that you want to go down, I’ll shut up. But don’t lie to me, River. You know I’ll believe you, so don’t lie.”
River opened her mouth…then she shut it again. Outside the tent, the summit hung above them. A visceral need to reach the top had her even now. Saying she didn’t want to summit would be an untruth of epic proportions.
Bree knew River’s silence for exactly what it was. “I’ll go down with Jessie if you go up. And you take the handheld. Otherwise, I’m staying right here, and when I feel better, I’m crawling up there myself.”
River wouldn’t look at Easton, because she could already feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. This was not what he wanted. This was not why he’d asked her to come talk to Bree. But right now, this wasn’t about him or her. It was about all of them.
Finally, River nodded. “I’ll summit. But you and Jessie are leaving.”
Squeezing her hand, Bree finally relaxed back on the bedding, sucking in a deep breath of oxygen.
“Deal.”
Chapter 15
River was going to summit.
There was no fighting her when that stubborn look was in her eyes. Which meant Easton’s options were limited to knocking her over the head and dragging her forcibly down the mountain or abandoning her to do it alone. Asking Ben to descend alone with both Bree and Jessie wasn’t even a possibility. It would take both of them to help the pair through the Veil.
Ben joined him, the other guide looking as worried as Easton had ever seen him. “Do you think she means it?” he asked.
“Which one?” Easton kicked the snow. There was nothing else to kick.
“Both of them.” Ben grimaced. “Bree needs off this mountain. We have to break camp and move. Can you talk to River?”
“River made her decision. She’s going to stick with it.”
“I mean, you and her have been a thing this whole trip. You ca
n’t…” Ben drifted off, waggling his eyebrows.
“You think I can seduce her into not summiting?”
“You could try.” A quick grin, because Ben never stayed down for long. “Take your hair down. Bree says River has a thing for your hair. Flex your biceps, quote some poetry. Work your magic, man.”
To Easton’s knowledge, he’d never actually successfully worked his magic. But he supposed he could try. Easton didn’t have the ability to drag River down against her will. If there was anything the Old Man stole without remorse, it was one’s strength, one’s speed, and one’s ability to convince fiery redheads to give up.
“I’m not sure she has any quit in her.” If he didn’t respect her so much, he’d be furious with her for agreeing. “I’ll try to talk to her, but I don’t think it’s going to do any good.”
River had started to break down Easton’s tent when he returned. “I think we need to abandon the dining tent,” she told him. “Bree can’t carry any weight, and Jessie looks exhausted. He should have as little as possible. We can fit two in your tent and two in Ben’s.”
“River…”
With no other choice, Easton did it. He pulled out his hair tie, and he let his hair fall down his shoulders.
Now, for the record, none of them had showered since stepping foot on the mountain, which did not make for a good hair day. But River paused midsentence, staring at him.
“You really do go in slow motion,” she mumbled. “Can you do that again?”
“If you’ll go back down with me, I’ll do a strip tease for you every time we stop to hydrate.”
River laughed, a soft, breathy sound that he loved. It had only been a couple of hours since they’d curled up in his tent, tangled together. Too bad they weren’t still there, acclimating for a summit instead of trying to get an injured climber off the mountain.
After a moment, River turned back to her task. “The weather is as good as it’s going to be,” River told him. “You need to leave. I’ll summit tomorrow, and then come back down after you.”
“River, you don’t know the way.” Hunkering down next to her, Easton took her hand, silently asking her to pause in her work to focus on him. “The only safe way up is along the southeastern spine, and it’s a sheer drop on both sides. You need to be with me.”
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