Having spent a day at the lake already, Sam was better prepared for the activities of the day. Her fair skin was well slathered with sunblock, that had taken a lot longer than it should have, but she was definitely not complaining about it. Stone had walked into the bathroom, taken one look at her in her bikini, rubbing Sunblock over her shoulders, and promptly grabbed the bottle from her.

"Why didn't you ask me to help you with this?" He asked, his eyes firmly fixed on her backside.

"I can do it myself.” She replied impudently.

"I'm sure you can." He quirked an eyebrow. “But why would you deprive me the pleasure of rubbing you all over? You know how I love touching you."

"Maybe…” She moaned when his strong hands ran up over her shoulders, and down the middle of her back. She met his eyes in the mirror when he pulled the tie of her top loose and grinned as it fell away. "Maybe I didn't ask, because I knew this would be the outcome."

She sighed letting her eyes flutter closed when he pushed his hands forward, smoothed the creamy lotion over her belly, over her hips, and back up to cup her breasts, smearing it over the swell of them. Her toes twitched as he knelt down behind her, applied a handful to each leg, and used long, steady strokes to rub it in, causing her body to pulse in time to her heartbeat. The man was good, very good.

"Need to make sure none of this beautiful skin gets burned." He’d spun her to face him then, working his hands up the front of her thighs.

"Spread your legs." He told her, his voice low and commanding, his eyes warm and firm when he looked up at her.

She couldn't imagine anyone in her normal life who would dare speak to her that way. Giving orders, telling her what to do. It made her hotter than she thought was healthy, but she obeyed because somehow, she wanted to.

She stepped out to the side with each foot, and Stone proceeded to show her the perks that came with listening to instructions. He'd taken her over the edge with his talented mouth and tongue twice before she'd finally begged him to stop. Then he'd chuckled, stood, and pulled her in for a long, slow kiss that had her halfway there again. Then he left. Just turned around and walked away. Calling out that she'd better hurry or they'd be late. All she could do was stare after him, mouth agape.

"What are you thinking about, Sweetness?" Stone asked with a grin while he set out the pieces for the tent they would share that night.

Sam flushed, wishing she could control these stupid reactions.

"What do you mean?” She asked innocently.

"You were smiling that secret, sexy little smile. Your eyes were looking a little glazed.”

"I was thinking about this morning.” She admitted, giving him a mischievous look. “Thinking about this morning and how I’m going to repay you later."

"Gonna hold you to that, Sweetness."

"Mm,” She hummed. “I hope you do."

"You're getting a little comfortable are you? Getting a little sassy? That's just fine." His voice took on that low tone that made her insides quiver. He continued setting out stakes and poles as he said, “I’ve got a job that'll keep that sassy mouth of yours occupied for a while."

Sam wasn't sure where to go from there. She'd been going with it, enjoying this side of herself that she didn't know about. Her mind had gone blank though. No snappy comeback surfaced and she was frustrated, so she just looked over her shoulder where the other girls were gathering.

"Okay. I’m just going to go see what Alex and Bryce and the girls are doing."

Stone watched Samantha walk hurriedly away. He had been happy to see her opening up, loosening up, not worrying so much about what she said and did. He appreciated though, how difficult it must be for her. For someone so young, she had lived and lost more than most people could ever even imagine. He didn't know the whole story behind Samantha Covington, but he knew enough. He knew he wanted her in every way a man could want a woman and then some. It seemed crazy that he'd only known her in-person for a little more than a week, because there were times he felt like he'd known her his whole life. Like he’d been waiting for her for his whole life. With a deep sigh, he pushed up from the ground and set himself to the work of raising a tent.

* * *

Sam was sitting on the little dock with Alex, Bryce and Sunny, dangling her toes in the cool water when Dean, Stone, Zeke, and Jake rumbled up to them in an ancient-looking motorboat.

"You ladies want to join us at the screaming rock?" Dean asked.

"The screaming what?" Sunny asked.

"The screaming rock." Alex answered, grinning from ear to ear. “It's on the other side, up high on the trail.” She pointed to the other side of the lake where a rock face bordered the edge of the water. She jumped up excitedly. “And yes! I do want to join you."

"My little adrenaline junky." Dean smiled up at Alex while she took his hand, lowering herself into the boat.

"Um..." Sam hesitated. “Why is it called screaming rock and why do you want to go there?"

"Because, it's such a rush! We call it screaming rock because people are usually screaming when they jump into the water. Come on, ladies." Alex pleaded with them. "Come and do it. Just once. You'll love it! I promise it'll be an experience you won't forget."

Yeah, Sam thought, and if I plunge to my death, at least it'll be in the name of having fun.

"O-kay." Sam agreed warily. "I'll try it once. This whole trip has been new experiences for me. Why not add another?"

Stone grinned like a kid at Christmas when he took her hand and helped her into the boat. "I promise you'll have a thrilling experience.” He whispered in her ear, and Sam had a sneaking suspicion he was talking about more than jumping off the rock.

Jake and Zeke helped an enthusiastic Sunny and a petrified Bryce into the boat and they set off across the water.

About twenty minutes later, Sam was regretting her agreement to join the crazy people in their jumping off of the appropriately named screaming rock. She had learned to harness her fears and calm her body to achieve a desired outcome, but this was just plain insanity. Why in the world, would a seemingly normal person, faculties intact, throw themselves off the face of a 20ft...? No... 30ft cliff into a body of water?

Apparently, she missed the memo. Sunny and Alex each jumped, literally with screaming enthusiasm. Jake and Dean jumped with them. Stone and Zeke had their hands full, coaxing her and Bryce to take the plunge.

Bryce was looking a little pale, shaking her head at Zeke when Sam had the thought that this could be a turning point for the girl. She knew how debilitating fear could be. She also knew what it meant to gather your courage and become greater than the thing nipping at your heels.

If Sam had to guess, she would say that Bryce was a girl who had been beaten down so much, she no longer knew she was capable of anything. Having a man tell her she should trust him and do it was just not going to work. Women like Bryce and herself would never trust a man's word.

Making up her mind, Sam turned away from Stone.

"Bryce,” Sam addressed the girl whose eyes immediately snapped to hers. “Will you go with me? Stone has done this a million times, so of course it's no big deal for him. I’m pretty sure you and I are feeling about the same, though. If you can be brave enough, I think I can be brave enough too."

Sam held out her hand.

Bryce stared at her.

Sam could see the wheels turning in the timid girl’s mind, struggling with the decision. Finally, Bryce offered a wobbly smile and nodded.

"Okay." Bryce took a couple of choppy breaths. "Okay, Sam. We can do this. We'll do it together."

They did.

Holding hands while they ran to the edge and jumped, knowing that that jump symbolized so much more than anyone else would understand, they screamed until they hit the water and came up gasping. Bryce, with tears streaming down her face, started to laugh. Sam looked at her with a heart full of joy and ache at the same time. She knew, right then. She knew that this, this was what she wanted from her life. This was what she would dedicate herself to when everything else was said and done. She would use her resources to help other women who had been beaten down in the past, other women who just needed a little help to make their own leap.