Page 5 of His Savage Longing

I'm a businesswoman, more accustomed these days to designer shoes and conference room showdowns than hiking boots and rock climbing. Am I supposed to just give up all of that, everything that I've worked for, on a whim?

Am I supposed to trust my future to a man who abandoned me once before?

Zane reaches out to grasp my elbow, his large palm searing a brand into my flesh through the thin cotton of my shirt. "Come with me."

He guides me onto a narrow side trail I don't recognize. The forest thickens around us, sunlight filtering through the dense canopy in shimmering shafts of gold. I find myself leaning into Zane's solid warmth as we pick our way along the uneven path, my pulse quickening at each subtle brush of his body against mine.

We round a corner, and a familiar sight makes me freeze—the old aerial ropes course, its wooden platforms and netting obstacles miraculously intact.

Zane turns to face me, a lopsided grin playing across his lips. "You remember this?"

A flood of memories rushes back in that instant. The first time Zane and I dared to try scaling it, both of us cocky teenagers convinced we could handle any challenge. How he'd scrambled up first, whooping victoriously from the highest perch as I struggled to keep up.

How, when I'd reached the pinnacle, he'd suddenly leaned in close, the warm brush of his lips against mine igniting a firestorm of desire unlike anything I'd ever experienced. We'd nearly plummeted to the ground below, lost in our frantic, desperate kiss.

I can still hear the counselor's shrill whistle, the furious tirade about inappropriate behavior and lack of focus. But Zane and I barely heard a word...

"Race you," Zane growls, snapping me back to the present.

Before I can react, he darts forward with the same lithe agility and power I remember so vividly from our youth. I watch, momentarily paralyzed, as his muscular frame scales the first few platforms with ease.

Then something inside me reignites—that same competitive spark that always made me chase after him, that drive to push limits and shatter boundaries alongside my fearless partner. With a defiant grin, I lunge forward, scaling the first few platforms in a series of swift bounds.

"Get ready to eat my dust, Bishop!" I can't resist calling out as I gain on him.

He glances over his shoulder, eyes glittering with amusement and something darker, more savage. The challenge in his stare sends another delicious jolt of desire coursing through me, and suddenly, I'm that same reckless, fearless teenager again.

I pour everything into scaling the next few obstacles, my focus narrowing until all that exists is the rush of adrenaline and the tantalizing glimpses of Zane's chiseled physique ahead of me. My fingers grip the worn rope netting, thighs propelling me upward as I clamor across the swaying wooden slats. Every fiber of my being is electrified with the thrill of the climb, the euphoric surge of freedom and abandon I haven't felt in years.

Zane glances back again, surprise registering as I draw closer to him. "Not bad, Red. For an out-of-practice city girl."

"Who are you calling a city girl?" I taunt back, relishing the playful banter that's always come so naturally between us. I surge ahead, twisting through the obstacles until I'm neck and neck with him.

We're both laughing like maniacs now as we race for the summit. I don't think, I don't hesitate, I simply react. In this moment, I'm utterly, gloriously alive—free of the shackles of my corporate world, free of expectations and responsibilities.

Just me, the woman I've always been at my core.

I scramble up the final platform, heart pounding as my fingers finally grasp the last slat of netting. Hauling myself up, I brace for a triumphant gloat, already savoring the look on Zane's face when he sees I've won our little contest.

Instead, my breath catches in my throat as I come face to face with him. Somehow, he'd surged ahead in those final strides, his powerful frame balanced with feline grace at the pinnacle. Our bodies are inches apart, chests heaving with exertion as our gazes lock.

Then his gaze drops meaningfully to the glistening hollow of my throat where my pulse thunders erratically. A low rumble escapes Zane's chest as he leans fractionally closer, the tip of his tongue darting out to wet his lips in an unconscious gesture that damn near makes me come undone.

"Still as reckless as ever, I see," he murmurs, his voice a gravelly caress against my flushed skin. "You never could resist taking things to the edge..."

The words are thick with unspoken meaning, and I feel my knees practically buckle with need. God, just being here with him has reawakened every primal desire I've fought so hard to suppress over the years. I want to throw myself into his arms, to let him consume me utterly the way only he ever could. To finally surrender control and allow the wildness within me to reign free once more.

But just as quickly, my rational mind slams back into focus.

I can't—not again, not after how devastated I was the last time I let Zane Bishop's spell ensnare me so completely.

Wrenching my stare away from his smoldering gaze, I force a tight smile and scramble down from the summit before he sees the naked yearning written across my features.

"You win," I toss over my shoulder as nonchalantly as I can manage. I refuse to look back, to let him glimpse the war raging inside me.

Because as much as my body and soul may crave Zane's wildness, my battered heart knows all too well the dangers of treading that path again.

I can't let myself forget how deeply he shattered me once before.

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