Even as he clomped in the water to fetch her, he was mentally shaking his head. There was a reason hed paired Lexie with Slim this morning for this particular problem-solving exerciseand blast it, the reason was that she couldnt fail. The only logical way to cross the creek was to make a bridge of branchesand the terrain had the whole winters worth of down pine branches to make that easy. And theyd done that. Made a darn secure little bridge across the water. And Slim Farraday, with no problem at all, even with his arthritic hip, had made it to the other side with no difficulty.
But then there was Ms. Klutz.
Cash! Help me! Im going to die of hypothermia! Its so cold I cant breathe and I cant move and I cant
Youre not going to die and its not that cold. He bent down and grabbed her. For a drowned ratand a miniaturesized drowned rat at thatshe weighed a ton. The branches and mud in her hair didnt help. And when she hurled her arms around him in a monkey-hold, she almost tipped both of them back in the waternot to mention that her soaked, clinging body completely drenched his in two seconds flat.
God knew why he had the sudden, desperate urge to kiss her. There wasnt a hormone alive that could conceivably wake up in these temperatures or conditions, and his mind wasnt on sex but on frustration. The first exercise he gave clients was always intended to give them a feeling of success and confidence, and hed wanted that even more for Lexie, because shed been so damn clear that she already expected to fail. Only damnation, no one had trouble with this exercise. Ever. Before. Her.
Im freezing, Im freezing
He knew. He could feel her tight, wrinkled nipples, through his drenched shirt and hers. He could feel her fanny under his hands as well, maybe even feel her goose bumps. God knew, she was clutching him tighter than glue. I know youre cold. But youre going to be back at the lodge and climbing in warm, dry clothes in ten minutes, tops, I promise. And after that, you partner with me, he said irritably. Hell, his teeth were starting to chatter now, too.
With you?
Yeah. With me.
She lifted her chin so she could look in his eyes. Um, Cash? This was my fault. Not yours. I told you I wouldnt do well with the program, didnt I? I dont do well with anything physical. Its just reality
Maybe it was her reality, but it wasnt his. Any other client whod taken a tumble, hed give them the morning off, let them soak up some sunshine with their feet up. But a principle was on the line here.
Cash wasnt sure what the principle was, but there had to be one. He hadnt built Silver Mountain into a first-class executive retreat by letting clients fail. That was part of it. His whole program was based on making sure every dad-blamed exhausted executive got something good out of it, and he sure wasnt breaking that record for her. And somehow shed done something to him so that he couldnt get his mind off her. That had gotten tangled up in the principle, too.
Bottom line was, an hour later, Keegan had been sent out to handle the program for the others, and Cash was fresh-showered, dry-clothed and pacing the front lobby, waiting for her. Spare minutes after that, Lexie bounced down the stairs, wearing a new pastel pair of jeans and another cute little pair of tennies and what looked like a raw-silk shirt to himeven if the pattern was a country plaid. Her hair was dry alreadyhow long could it take to dry a couple of inches of bouncy curl? And she was smiling up at him before hed even had a chance to erase his scowl.
Okay. Im warmed up and ready for the next torture, she said lightly.
Good. He didnt fill her in on the next plan until theyd hiked a good distance up the mountain. She spotted the outside climbing gym, but obviously had no idea what it was.
He unlocked the storage shed and started gearing up, first choosing the right helmet and harness for Lexie, then sorting through the obvious hexes and cams and lobster claws for the exercisebut he kept a wary eye on Lex. He knew she wasnt going to go for this easily. Temporarily, though, the view just seemed to both bewilder and confuse her. Shed perched her hands on her hips and kept spinning around.
This is the strangest thing Ive ever seen. What on earth are all those ropes and poles and boards for? It looks like a playground in the sky, she joked.
Thats exactly what it is. A playground in the sky. Its where we teach the ropes course, the basics of mountain climbing. He motioned to various sites over their heads. There are about thirty different exercises you can do up there. The climbing wall is just what it looks like. So is the rope ladder. But then there are other spots, where you can practice using anchors and belaying techniques
Whoa. Her smile died faster than a switched off faucet. Double whoa. Cash, didnt we talk about this yesterday? Id never have come here if I wasnt serious about giving your whole program a go. Just because Im lousy at athletics doesnt mean Im not willing to try almost anything. But climbing is honestly different
Yeah. So you said yesterday. Climbing was the only thing you didnt want to do. He tried fitting a white helmet on her head, only to discover that it was way too big. He clipped back to the shed for the childrens sized helmets.
Yes. For real. Because Im afraid of heights.
I understand. The red helmet fit her perfectly, even if it did smoosh down the riot of dark curls. Those soft dark eyes staring up at him were bleak with dread. Thats exactly why I want you to do this, Lexie. Because youre scared. When you came here, you agreed that Id be the boss, remember? And Im not asking you to try climbing to make you miserable. Im asking you because of what happened this morning.
You mean my falling in the creek? she asked in confusion.
Uh-huh. I gave you the easiest exercise we have. And you flunked it. So now were going to try the oppositegiving you something thats tough for you. And youre not only not going to flunk this one, youre going to ace it.
Uh, Cash. I dont think so. In factsee my hands? Theyre already getting sweaty. And my stomach. Even thinking about heights is making my stomach turn over. The thing is
She never finished that sentence. She stopped talking when he started fitting the climbing harness on her. There was nothing suggestive about putting a helmet on her headbut the harness was necessarily more intimate. She was fully clothed in jeans, of course. But each leg had to be fit in a stirrup, and secured around her upper thighs. He did the securing.
Then the harness had to be worked over her hips and secured at her waist.
He did that securing, too.
Hed done it for a zillion women. And men. It was part of his job, for Petes sake. It was one of the ways he could guarantee a clients safety, because he supervised the equipment use every step of the way. Only thats what he was always thinking about. Safety. Not thighs and fannies. Not specifically the way her slim thigh tensed when he buckled the harness snug. Not specifically the way his knuckles accidentally brushed against her pelvis. Not specifically the way his fingers curled around the harness as he adjusted the leather around her hips and fanny. Not the way her eyes suddenly shot to his when he adjusted the buckle at her waist.
Since Lexie seemed to have quit breathing altogether, Cash figured hed better finish that sentence for her. The thing isrock climbing is about trust. Not blind trust. Proven trust. There are different kinds of rock climbing, Lex. What were doing isnt free climbing. Its called technical climbing.
Since Lexie seemed to have quit breathing altogether, Cash figured hed better finish that sentence for her. The thing isrock climbing is about trust. Not blind trust. Proven trust. There are different kinds of rock climbing, Lex. What were doing isnt free climbing. Its called technical climbing.
She didnt answer. When she looked down, though, to where his hands were still fumbling at her waist, she very likely saw his zipper jutting out as if someone had stuck a long, smooth rock in his jeans. Well, hell. It was a knee-jerk biological response. Nothing a guy could help. How could a man possibly touch a woman like Lex and not feel a volatile response?
Technical climbing is especially about trust, he said gruffly. Because Im going to be attached to you with equipment the whole time. Youre afraid of falling, right?
Suddenly she was looking straight in his eyes and not an inch lower. Yes.
So thats what were going to do, Lex. Youre going to climb up a bit, and then were going to make you fall. Only Im going to be attached to you with equipment the whole time. Nothing dangerous is going to happen. There is no possible way I would let you get hurt, do you hear me? And Im going to prove that to you. Because when you fall, Ill be there for you.
Somehow anything he said seemed to be coming out wrongas if he were talking about falling in love instead of falling off rocks. And there was this look in Lexies eyes that amounted to a violent no no matter what he was talking about.
Its not that I dont believe you, Cash. I do. I met you and I trusted you on sight, she assured him. Only Id rather eat snails than be suspended from any height. Look. Maybe Im just not cut out to even try your program. Dont take it personally. Its notits me. Im fabulous with money, its my thing, but get me around anything physical
He never meant to kiss her. Didnt even know he was going to do it. It was about her trying to be funny about being scared. It was about his feeling bad about her falling in the creek. It was because shed gotten Sammy to talk to her yesterday, and because she looked so cute in the helmet, and because he was already turned on from fitting her in the harness stirrups, andhell. He didnt really have a clue why he reached for her.
He just did.
She must have guessed a millisecond before it was coming because her lips partedas if in shock. Or as if she planned to say something. As far as Cash could tell, Lexie had something to say about almost everything.
That was about the last coherent thought he had for quite a while.
She tasted like something expensive and forbidden and desired. Her lipsnothing was that soft. Nothing in this life. Although the morning had been cool, now there was the barest breeze in the air, sweet and heavy with spring scents. The scent of longing. The scent of young dreams. The scent of yearning.
It wasnt that Cash forgot that every single damn woman in his life had caused him nothing but trouble. It was justhe didnt care right then.
There was a hush in the air. It was coming from her. There was a drumroll of need pounding in his pulse. It was coming from her. There was a willingness floating through his bloodstream, a willingness to do something damn stupidlike get involved with her, a woman who was leaving no later than four weeks from nowand that was rashly assuming she made it four days. But the desire punching him in the gut suddenly made all that common sense seem no-account foolishness.
Amazing. That hed needed her all this time and hadnt known.
Amazing. He pushed off the helmet and got his hands in her hairamazed that hed survived this long before giving in to such a fierce need. The texture of her wily, unruly curls, the look of the silky sunlight on her cheek, the sound of her sudden yielding sighah, hell, there was no analyzing any of it.
He took her mouth and then again, tasting her, sampling her, then coming back for the whole feast. Tongues touched tongues, then tangled. He swooped her closer, half lifting her, not trying to be crude, not wanting to be, but if he couldnt feel her breasts and pelvis layered intimately against him, he wasnt positive hed managed to survive another second.
Those small, slim hands suddenly willingly slid around his neck. Another sigh whispered from her throat, caught between kisses, trapped between kisses. She was still wearing the leather climbing harness, which in no way inhibited movement but only protected her from danger. Only they werent climbing now, and he had no harness to protect himself, not when she surged up on tiptoe and robbed him of a kiss that he wasnt necessarily planning to give away. She could convince a saint to take up sin. And oh, man.
She was good.
Sunlight speared in the middle of the forest, washing them in that magic light. He didnt give a damn. His workforget that, too. The two clients finished their morning exercise, the lodge, the bills, his missing sister, Hannahhe didnt care about any of it. When he finally yanked his head up to haul in some air, he wasnt sure where hed just beenwhere theyd just beenbut it sure as hell wasnt his Silver Mountain lodge in Idaho.
He was going to worry about that kiss. A lot.