The wheels of the jet touched down at Hobart International Airport in Tasmania. The flight from Perth to Melbourne and then from Melbourne to Hobart took just over seven hours. Justin used the time to work. If he didn’t, he’d be thinking about Danielle, which had become a habit. Since she requested a timeout, for lack of a better word, until they made it back to the States, he’d had more than enough time to think about her. Hell, he’d thought about her in the shower—three times. It did absolutely nothing to satisfy his need for the woman. He could not get her scent and taste out of his mind. The teasing smiles and looks she’d taunted him with the last two days had tested his resolve to honor her request. He didn’t realize Danielle was such a little minx…or perhaps he just hadn’t noticed before. Damn, he’d been searching for someone when, quite possibly, that person had been right under his nose.

He waited for the aircraft to approach the terminal. The small airport meant there wouldn’t be much, or in fact, any, wait on the tarmac for other aircraft to jockey for position. Thankful for the short taxi, he settled back into his chair and waited.

The only problem he could foresee in their relationship was his unquenchable desire for extreme adrenaline highs. They had a solid working relationship and friendship. Inevitably, the women he’d dated wanted things he couldn’t provide. Stability, a home life, all wrapped in the cloak of respectability his money and businesses had given him. The thing they would never understand was while he was proud of his business accomplishments, the restaurants alone weren’t enough. There would never be enough money, belongings or accolades to make him feel…alive. The hard, cold fact was he wasn’t sure any woman could hold his attention like the rush of adrenaline did. Danielle was in a league of her own because he’d been obsessing about her, rather than the abseil he’d scheduled. Gordon Dam was supposed to be a quick abseil, not taking more than three minutes, but with over two hundred hours logged at rappelling, both on and off the night job, he’d scheduled a time slot so he could make a rap jump to the bottom. It was an extreme rappel. He’d drop off the dam face-first in an Australian rappel position and bound down the dam in giant leaps.

Those were the thoughts that should be on his mind right now, not wondering what Danielle was doing on her flight back to New York. The stairway lowered onto the Tasmanian tarmac. Justin was first off the aircraft. The heat from the summer wasn’t the intense heat of Australia. He’d liken it to a nice spring day with temperatures in the mid-sixties to seventy. The walk through the small airport took only a couple minutes. Justin had to veer around a group of tourists taking photographs with a statue of three Tasmanian devils playing on luggage. He headed straight for the rental car agency, presented his credit card, international driver’s license, and his passport and was on his way to the wilderness lodge near Gordon Dam within fifteen minutes of his arrival.

The drive to the lodge was uneventful, which didn’t give him any relief from his thoughts of Danielle. He parked his car in the guest parking area and grabbed his small overnight bag out of the back seat. As his flight was the last one into Hobart, darkness had long since fallen. The lodge was sturdy and boasted exposed timbers, a cavernous foyer, and warm earth tones. The yellow jewel tones of the gas lighting and the roaring fire in the fireplace made the lodge feel warm and inviting. The chill from the outside night air stalled as soon as he stepped across the threshold.

“Good evening, sir. How may I help you?” The clerk behind the counter was dressed in what was no doubt the lodge’s uniform—a black polo and khakis with cargo pockets. Justin glanced at the woman’s name tag. Abbie smiled up at him.

“Reservation for King.”

“Yes, sir, one moment.” She started tapping on her computer and nodded to herself. “Yes, sir, right here. We have a note that states the package you sent ahead was placed in your room.”

“Good, thank you.” The crate held his rappelling gear. Not that he didn’t trust the company he contracted through to abseil the dam, but his equipment was the best. He’d need to inspect it to make sure nothing had happened in transit. Justin handed over his black Am Ex and waited for his key card.

“Our restaurant is open until ten o’clock, after that there is limited room service. I see you are leaving us tomorrow. Will you require one or two keys?”

“One.” Justin glanced over at the intimate dining area. There was a freestanding fireplace in the middle of the tables. He noted the time. He wouldn’t be able to dine down here if he wanted to do a thorough inspection of his equipment. He’d had some spectacular food at small mom-and-pop type establishments and lodges were known for their use of local proteins, but he had equipment to check so a sandwich from room service would have to suffice.

* * *

The sun warmed the top of the vast concrete expanse, but the breeze down the cut of the canyon that housed Gordon Dam was cool. Justin walked toward the middle of the dam carrying his rappelling gear. He noticed a small cluster of people standing around the abseil anchors and glanced down the sheer drop of the dam. The one-hundred-and-forty-meter drop guaranteed a good time. The hundreds of stairs leading back up to the top and his exit, not so much, but it would count as his cardio for the day.

His guide spotted him and waved him forward. Not that he was hard to miss. At his height, carrying rappelling gear, he was an easy mark. Justin lifted his chin acknowledging the man and continued at his leisurely pace. He wanted whoever was on the anchor to start and finish their rappel so he was unimpeded in his descent.

His guide came over, extending his hand. “Mr. King?”

“That would be me.” Justin took the man’s hand and nodded over at the people gathered around the anchoring devices built at the middle of the dam. “I assumed I’d be alone.” He’d actually paid so he would be.

“Yes, sir. As soon and my partner’s guest finishes her descent we will clear the bottom, and you can go. I got your certifications. Impressive. Do you abseil for a living?”

“More like moonlighting. How much longer?” He moved his chin toward the people they were approaching.

“The woman is a little nervous, maybe a couple minutes. Or, if she is still working up the courage, you could go before her.”

“First timer?” Justin knew the spike of fear and need to conquer it. He almost envied the woman her first rappel.

“At this level, yes. She has smaller abseils, but you have to admit our little descent is amazing.” The guide threw his head back and laughed drawing the attention of the small group. Justin laughed along with the guide until he saw who was on the anchor. Danielle Grant. The woman’s eyes grew wide before a radiant smile broke. “Funny meeting you in a place like this.”

Justin swallowed hard. The sight of her in rappelling gear went straight to his cock. “I thought you were flying back to the States?” Justin’s feet moved one in front of the other until he was beside her. His presence pushed back the smaller men who were working the anchor.

“I may have fibbed.” She winked at him.

“Really? You think?” Justin laughed and reached to her gear, inspecting her equipment. “You enjoy rappelling?”

“I do. But this is the highest I’ve attempted.” The pause and huskiness in her voice gave away her nervousness.

“Do you want me to go down it with you?” Justin’s plan to rap rep solo down the face of the dam disintegrated. Reality as he knew it had been redefined as of ninety seconds ago. If he hadn't been infatuated with Danielle Grant before, he was now.

She snorted and shot him a glare of independence. “I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

“Fine, do it yourself, but wait for me at the bottom.”

She lifted an eyebrow and smirked at him. “I have a flight to catch. I can’t wait long.”

Damn, that attitude when straight to his cock, too. If he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t be able to wear his rappelling harness without flashing his hard-on to the entire staff. He watched as her handlers got her out onto the face of the dam. He let the staff give her last minute advice. Her intense concentration and determination as she nodded and gave them a verbal ‘go’ was a beautiful sight. Justin moved up onto the rail after she disappeared down the side. She had good form and steady descent. About halfway down he heard her laugh—a full, joyous, delightful laugh. He smiled and gripped the fence line, watching her to the base.

Justin turned and put on his gear. It was a practiced dance he could do in his sleep. The mandatory safety briefing completed, Justin stepped over the railing.

“Sir! You can’t do an Australian rappel! It’s against policy!”

The shock of his guide’s voice made him smile despite himself. He glanced over his shoulder and spoke, “It’s a good thing I’m not doing an Australian rappel.” A laugh from deep inside him emerged at the look of instantaneous relief on the guide’s face. He leaned forward so he was at ninety degrees facing the ground. “I’m doing a rap rep.” He yelled the words as he crouched against the wall, pushed forward and launched, letting the rope fly through his gri-gri. The ground sped toward him. The only sound he could hear was the hiss of the rope against his equipment and the buffeting of the wind through his helmet. The thrill of the rappel was quadrupled because the woman of his fucking dreams was waiting for him at the bottom.