“Keep going. You’re doing great.”

Brooke had only climbed ten feet, but she was terrified of falling. She’d never climbed trees or ladders as a kid. She preferred a good book. She was only doing this because she wanted to further understand Robert and thought that maybe learning about climbing would help her do that.

“Find your next hold,” he said from below her.

Brooke searched the craggy rock face of what Robert had assured her was an easy climb. She tested a couple of places, but she didn’t think they’d hold her. “There aren’t any. How am I supposed to go anywhere? How do I get back down?” Her stomach soured with fear.

“Don’t panic. I got you. I won’t let you get hurt,” Robert said. “Close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath.”

Brooke clung tighter to her current holds, but her left calf threatened to cramp. “Close my eyes? Are you crazy? No way. I don’t want to fall.”

“Brooke, close your eyes.”

His firm tone made her roll her eyes. “Fine.” She shut them. “Now what? Picture my happy place?”

She couldn’t resist smiling when she heard the warm chuckle she was coming to love. “No. Just let your mind settle and tell the mountain that it’s not going to beat you.”

Brooke’s brow wrinkled. “You want me to talk to the mountain?”

“Yeah. Believe it or not, rocks, trees, plants; all of them have energy and are capable of sensing ours,” Robert said. “There are forces at work against us, including nature sometimes. We can’t let these other forces defeat us. So, tell the mountain that it’s not going to win.”

“You said that you’re not religious.”

“I’m not. I’m more spiritual, I’d say.”

Brooke snorted. “You sound like Chase.”

“I guess so. Anyway, focus and do what I’m telling you.”

“Okay.”

Brooke took a breath, inhaling the cool morning air, redolent with jasmine and pine.

“Feel calmer?”

Opening her eyes, Brooke said, “Yes, I do. Thanks.”

“Good. Now, look around for your next hold, but take your time.”

It took over a minute before Brooke spied a likely handhold, but she saw a good hold for her foot right away. Growing excited, she stepped up a couple of feet.

“Way to go. Find a crack for your next nut.”

Brooke couldn’t help giggling. “Doesn’t that sound funny to you?”

“Of course, it does. Kate and I make jokes the whole time we climb,” Robert replied.

Brooke took a nut off the ring at her waist and tested out a couple of small fissures until she found one that worked.

“Good girl. We’ll make a climber out of you yet.”

Brooke smiled and found her next hold. Foot by foot and sometimes inch by inch, she made it to the top of the low rock wall. Elation swept through her and she almost let go of one of her handholds to throw a triumphant fist in the air. She settled for letting out a rebel yell.

“Woohoo! I did it, Rob!”

“You sure did! I knew you could. Great job.”

Robert’s praise made Brooke glow with pride. She looked around, amazed at the view her vantage point provided. The winding dirt road they’d come up disappeared into a copse of evergreens and elms that stretched towards the horizon. In the far distance, white peaked mountains stood out against the powder blue sky.

A few houses were partially visible through the tree branches and a hawk floated on updrafts over the shallow valley. It was gorgeous and so far from her everyday life that Brooke almost felt like a different person. With a flash of insight, Brooke understood why climbing appealed to Robert and Kate.

Adrenaline flowed through her, giving her a euphoric, natural high and she wanted to go higher. “Can we keep going?”

She looked down and laughed when she saw Robert’s heart-stopping grin.

“Not here we can’t. There aren’t any more holds up there. This is just a training place for beginners. Besides, I think you’ve had enough for one day. You’ll feel this tomorrow,” he said.

Thinking of the way her calf had almost cramped a few minutes ago, Brooke decided not to argue with him. “Okay. How do we get down?”

Robert expertly guided her and soon she neared the ground. She felt Robert take hold of her waist.

“I got you. Just let go,” he said.

Her trust in him was so complete, that she immediately complied. She found herself in Robert’s arms, held tight against his hard torso. The sun turned his eyes a wonderful toffee shade. Golden flecks danced in their desire filled depths. Carnal hunger made her stomach drop pleasantly and she wanted Robert so much that she couldn’t think of anything else.

Wrapping her legs around Robert’s waist, she cradled his face in her hands and lowered her lips to his. She gasped into his mouth when he grasped her thighs and let her slide down his body a little. The friction against the V at the juncture of her legs created a faint ache inside.

His warm, firm lips and insistent tongue stoked the sparks of passion, coaxing them into embers. Brooke couldn’t hold back a whimper as he shifted her so that he could hold her with one arm. His free hand came around to cup her breast, his thumb finding and circling her hardening nipple.

Brooke moved restlessly against him and felt his erection nudge against her sex. Pulling back, she ran a fingertip over his bottom lip. “I need you. Now.”

A knowing grin lit his face as he started carrying her back to the SUV. The rope line was still connected to them and dragged the ground as he walked. As they neared the vehicle, Robert let her slide down until her feet touched the grassy earth.

She let out a startled yelp when he spun her around and pinned her against the car. She laughed when he started tugging her old gray Aeropostale T-shirt out of the waistband of her baggy cargo shorts.

“I’m so damn horny for you,” he practically growled. “I’ve had a hard-on the whole time we’ve been climbing from watching your ass. I wanted to climb right up and bite it.”

That image released even more laughter. “It’s a good thing you didn’t. I’d have fallen for sure.”

“Which is why I controlled myself. Safety before sex.”

A laughing groan escaped her when Robert’s hands pushed up under her sports bra, cupping her breasts. “Sounds like a slogan that Chase would use to sell sporting goods.”

“Yeah, it does.” Robert’s voice against her ear made Brooke shiver and the way he caressed and kneaded her breasts fanned the hot embers of need into flames. “I had a very erotic dream about you this morning.”

“You did?”

“Mmhm. We were swimming in a secret underwater cavern. It was lit from a hole in the rock ceiling and the water was so blue and clear,” Robert said, kissing the side of her neck. “We were naked and your skin glistened in the sunlight.”

She went a little weak when he teased both her nipples. “I’m loving this dream so far.”

“There was a little beach and we got out of the water there. It was just like now; I could hardly wait for you. I laid you back and kissed you everywhere. You tasted salty from the ocean water,” he murmured in a rough timber.

The snap of her shorts had gotten undone at some point. Brooke had been so caught up in the pictures he created in her mind that she hadn’t realized that he’d been undressing her. His rough palm scraped lightly over her lower stomach and then her mound.

“You kissed me everywhere?”

“Everywhere.” He slid a gentle finger between her folds and electric pleasure arced through her when he grazed her clitoris. “Even here. Especially here.”

Brooke moaned and pressed against his hand. “Please, Robert. I can’t wait.”

His hand left her and then he tugged her shorts and flimsy, lace panties down to her ankles. “I know exactly how you feel. I don’t think I can get any harder.”

Brooke would’ve turned around so she could see him, but he kicked her legs as far apart as her pants would allow. He took her wrists and placed her hands on the car window. She heard the faint sound of a condom packet being ripped open and almost went insane from the short delay.

Robert’s left hand ran over the dip of her waist and then grasped her hip. She bit her lip when he ran the tip of his cock along her damp slit. Robert’s deep groan as he filled her elicited an answering moan from her. He stretched her in the most delicious way. Her fingers and toes curled when he withdrew and thrust into her.

“Yes. Fuck me, Robert. Hard.”

He fisted a hand in her curly hair and turned her head so that he could capture her lips in a hot kiss that left her panting. “You asked for it.”

* * *

Watching Brooke climb was no hardship, the view was spectacular. With her rounded behind moving above him, his temperature soared. He’d had to think hard about proper climbing technique to keep his focus on the short climb.

So, while his dick had kept thinking about Brooke one way, the brain in his head with two eyes had instructed the woman he loved with the utmost care. He’d ignore a hard on forever to keep her safe.

But he let his desire for her run the show now. Holding Brooke’s hips, he bent his knees a little and kept her still as he drove home. Her gasp of pleasure made him smile. She felt so good that he was glad that she was in a hurry since he wasn’t sure how long he’d last.

She pushed back against him and he growled as his excitement escalated. Gripping her tighter, he started moving faster until he was pounding into her.

“More! Oh, God, don’t stop,” she groaned.

“I don’t think I could,” he said. “I want you too much.”

“I want you, too. I couldn’t sleep last night because I wanted to be with you.”

“You should’ve told me. I’d have come over.”

She threw her head back and he felt her pulse around him. “You sounded a little busy.”

“I’m never too busy to come over and drill you into your mattress.”

“Damn, Superman. You say the nicest things.”

He laughed. “Like how much I want to make you come?”

“Yes!”

“Remember our deal. I want to hear you orgasm,” he rasped out. “I want—”

Another ripple ran through her and a quiet moan grew into a full-throated scream as she climaxed. Her legs trembled and her fingers made squeaking noises on the window glass as they curled. Robert wanted to make it last for her, but his body wouldn’t be denied any longer.

Robert embraced her and pulled Brooke back against his chest as an intense release made blood roar in his ears. He kissed her cheek and neck. “Feels so good, babe. You’re incredible.”

His legs weakened a little, but he locked his knees so that they didn’t topple over. She hugged his arms against her stomach. They stood there like that for a full minute, enjoying the closeness while their breathing slowed.

At length, Brooke said, “If we do this after every climb, I’ll go every day.”

“That sounds like a great idea. I say we do that during the summer, but in the winter, we just stay in bed every day until noon,” he said, parting from her.

The sound of tires on the dirt road startled them. They rushed to put themselves back together. It was easier for Robert since all he had to do was pull his Spandex climbing shorts up. Since he finished first, he stepped in front of Brooke to shield her from view and give her a chance to fasten her shorts and yank her shirt down.

Robert’s heart lurched when he saw the insignia of the Cooper’s Creek Sheriff’s Department on the door of the white four-door sedan. This is bad. Very bad. Stay calm.

The cop car stopped and the driver’s side window rolled down. A blond man wearing Ray-Bans peered out at him. “Hi, folks. Everything all right here?”

* * *

Brooke put her hands on her hips in disbelief. “Simon Bodine? What the hell are you doing here?”

He arched an eyebrow. “My job?”

Forcing herself to act like she hadn’t just had mind-blowing sex, Brooke approached the car on legs that shook a little. “Is this a joke?”

“Nope.”

She took a tissue out of her shorts pocket and blotted sweat from her face. “I thought you were still in the Navy.”

He took off the sunglasses, his vivid green eyes roaming over her. Brooke noticed the way Robert tensed and held back a smile. “No. My time was done and I decided not to re-up. Turns out I have a little problem with assholes being in authority. Figured it was time to get out before I wound up in jail.”

Brooke frowned. “And now you’re working for the cops?”

“Not working for them. I am a cop. Just got hired last week, but this is my first day,” Simon said.

Further confused, Brooke asked, “Do Ty and Emily know about this? They never said anything to me.”

Simon shifted his gaze to Robert than back to her. “I’d love to catch up, but I came out here on official business. The people right down the road said they heard a woman screaming like she was being murdered. Did you hear anything like that?”

Mortified, Brooke’s face burned with embarrassment, but she covered it with a laugh. She gave a little wave. “That was me. Robert is teaching me to climb, and I froze when I got up to the top. He was trying to talk me down, but I panicked. I started hollering my head off because I thought I was going to fall and die.”

Robert put an arm around her and patted her shoulder. “You did great, honey. Don’t be so hard on yourself. All first-time climbers get a little scared.”

Simon’s keen gaze took in the climbing equipment and their clothes. Apparently, he believed their story because he nodded. “Climbing can be scary, especially for people who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Robert cocked his head a little. “I know who you are, but we’ve never met. I’m Robert Chambers, Kate’s best friend. I’m sure you know that I’m a certified climbing trainer and that I work with the Rescue.”

Listen to her Superman toot his horn, Brooke thought as she saw understanding dawn on Simon.

“That’s great. At least I know that you won’t let Brooke here go splat like Wile E. Coyote,” Simon said. “Brooke, I’d ask you not to mention me to Tyler or Emily, but I won’t waste my breath.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?” Brooke asked.

Simon’s strong jaw tightened. “I have my reasons. Well, it was good to see you and nice to meet you Robert.” One side of his mouth lifted in a sarcastic smile. “Do me a favor and keep it down to a dull roar when you’re climbing out here, okay?”

He rolled up the window and pulled away before they could answer him.

“So that’s the famous Simon Bodine,” Robert commented.

“Yeah.” Brooke blew out a nervous breath. “Emily is going to freak out and Tyler is going to blow a gasket. Tyler is very protective of his niece. He still blames Simon for his sister’s death. Hayley lost her mother, never knew her father, and then lost her grandmother. She doesn’t need someone entering her life who might not stay. Emily and Tyler are trying to instill some stability in her life.”

Robert nodded. “Yeah. I don’t understand his motives. What is he after?”

Brooke got her cellphone out of Robert’s car and hit Emily’s icon. “Me, neither. Prepare yourself for a shit storm.”