“Just curious what it takes to make you scream.” I sighed.

“You should know—”

“Believe me.” I cut her off. “I do.”

Her eyes heated.

“I just want to cover all my bases, you know, just in case I lose my touch.”

She flushed and looked down.

“But by the look of red on your cheeks I’m not in danger of that happening just yet, am I right?”

“So climbing.” Becca exhaled and put her hands on her hips. “Do I just go up?”

“You can go down too,” I assured her. “I’ll allow it.”

“And then I place my hands on the edges of the rocks and pull?”

“Pulling is always advised,” I said seriously. “Some say that the little tug is the best part.”

“And what? The ropes help pull me to the top?”

“Peaking.” I thrust out my chest. “Think of climbing like an orgasm.”

Becca started coughing wildly.

“What?” I shrugged. “I’m a guy, I use sexual references, sue me. It’s a cliff.”

“The rocks?” Becca placed her hands on the rocks and waited for me to follow.

“Right.” I stood behind her. “And the higher you get, the better it feels, because you can see the top, you can feel yourself reaching it. And I guarantee that the minute you finish your climb, you’ll want to do it all over again.”

Becca’s body trembled beneath mine.

“Or we can zigzag-run through the sand, try to lose the camera crew, and lock ourselves in the hut.”

Becca’s eyes went wide, as if she was really contemplating not climbing.

“I was kidding.” I sighed into her hair. “You’re going to climb. Besides, who knows what’s waiting for you at the top, hmm?”

“But you’re behind me?”

“Baby.” I trailed my fingers down her jaw. “Haven’t you realized it yet? I’m everywhere.” I placed my hands on her hips and lifted. “Now shimmy up so I can get a good view of that ass.”

“You’re an ass!” she fired back.

“Thank you!” I chuckled, climbing up after her. “And if you get nervous just think orgasm.”

“Or,” Becca called back, “I could just slip and you could break my fall.”

“I need my face, Becca, it’s all I have. Men can’t live off of sparkling personalities, you know.”

“You’d survive.”

“Duh, because I’m Max, but I don’t want to have to survive off my wit and charm. Without my looks I’m only half a man.”

“I think you mean without your balls.” She climbed higher.

“You thinking about removing them or something? Because I have to admit, right now, watching you sweat while threatening me, kinda hot.”

“Max!” she yelled, I could tell her teeth were gritting together because my name was strangled.

“Orgasm!” I shouted.

“National TV!” she fired back.

“Say it!”

“I hate you!”

“Almost there!”

“Stop yelling at me!”

I laughed and kept yelling.

Becca started cursing.

But finally she reached the top.

When I joined her and sat next to her on the rock, I didn’t have time to speak, she quickly straddled me and then attacked my mouth with hers. When I was finally allowed air, she whispered, “Was it good for you?”

“The best.” I grinned. “But how about we make it better?”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

BECCA

“What did you have in mind?” I was still trying to get my mind off Max’s bare chest and focus on his eyes when he helped me to my feet. He really was a cocky piece of work but I had to wonder if he truly realized how beautiful he was.

“Oh, you know.” Max wrapped his muscular arm around my body. “World domination and all that.”

“I can dig it,” I agreed.

“Zombie partners for life, yo.”

“So.” I looked around. There was absolutely nothing except for a really pretty view of the ocean. “This is nice.”

“Deep breaths, Little B, deep breaths.”

“I’m fine,” I explained. “I’m not really afraid of heights. I mean, I’m not exactly thrilled that we had to climb, but that was more of me not being a fan of lifting my body a few hundred feet into the air.”

“Fair enough.” Max led me to the edge of the cliff and pointed. “See that beach down there?”

I followed the direction he was pointing. There was a private beach on the other side of the rock. A small bonfire was going and there was a beautiful hut built around it in a half circle. The entire scene looked like paradise, especially since the sun was starting to set.

“Hungry?” Max kissed my head.

“Yes!” I bit down on my lower lip. “So do we just climb down the other side of this giant rock, or . . .”

Max’s eyes teased. They taunted. Shit.

“You see that down there?” Max pointed below. Rocks ringed a large pool that was protected from the splashing waves of the ocean, creating a lagoon.

“No,” I lied. “So about that climb . . .”

“Halt.” Max grabbed my arm before I could walk away. “Now we fly.”

“Can we just maybe . . . climb instead?”