AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He tips his head back at my harsh words. “You do wonders for one’s confidence.”
“Just follow my lead.” Most locals stopped offering this tour because of how difficult it is. But I love this climb. The summit is the top of my world, it’s the place I go to fantasize about what’s past the infinite water—the world my father hates. I shake the thunderous thoughts away. Those are his views. I want to form my own opinion someday.
As I lead Ryker up the steep trail, I peek back frequently to make sure he’s following. My heart sinks when his hand slips on a wet branch, but he catches himself on the branch below.
“Good?”
A smug smile rests on his lips. “You’re very distracting.”
“Me?” I rest on a steady rock protruding out of the mountain. He steps next to me on the narrow rock. Our sweaty bodies are centimeters from each other. Both our grips on surrounding trees. Why did I stop right here? A quick climb from here is a resting spot. With plenty of room.
“I’m supposed to watch every step you take, but I can’t stop staring at your gorgeous ass.”
I gasp, surprised by his confession. And then irritation sets in. “Ryker, you’re supposed to be paying attention.”
“Whiskey, there is nothing I’m paying attention to more than your ass. You have a great ass, by the way.”
Rolling my eyes, and without thinking, I give him a slight shove on the shoulder.
“Merde!” My voice gets lost behind the lump of panic lodged in my throat as I frantically grip his shirt. He teeters backward, losing his balance, and reaches for another branch to catch himself. He slams into the side of the mountain, grunting. “I’m so sorry.”
“Damn, woman, I’m not groping your ass. No need to kill me.”
When I’m certain he’s back on solid ground, or rather, safely on my rock, I release his shirt and busy my hands with the dangling rope resting between us. We use it to continue the climb. My face burns with embarrassment and I focus on the rope. Here I was lecturing him to be careful and I practically knock him down the mountain.
“Well…” I fist the first knot in the rope, needing to put distance between us as quick as possible. “… just pay attention,” I blurt out awkwardly. He agrees with a wide toothy grin and we’re back to square one.
“To my hands, Ryker. My. Hands.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you ever feel trapped?” he asks mindlessly, staring out as far as the eyes can see, lost in his own thoughts. At the top of Mount Pahia Summit, we’re relaxing from our two-hour climb. We’re so high up, a sense of freedom lives in the air, as if we were birds relaxing our wings from our journey. But Ryker’s words remind me I’m not free at all.
I roll my head to face him, wondering why a guy like him feels trapped. He has money, looks, and the freedom to go anywhere. “You’re kidding, right?” Crossing my feet, I continue. “If you were to drive eighteen miles, would you hit the end of your world?”
His eyes soften, and I regret my words. I don’t want his sympathy. “Whiskey, what’s your story?”
I sigh. “You’re assuming I have one.”
“Everyone has a story. What do you do every day? What brought you here? Do you ever plan on leaving? Do you have a boyfriend?”
“You jumped right into the personal stuff, didn’t you?” Moisture clings to his forehead. He pulls out a water bottle from his backpack, taking a long gulp then emptying the rest over his head. “You’re paying a lot of money to learn about the island girl. How about we head down and I’ll take you to the next spot?” I pop up, dusting the dirt off my shorts, but he stays put, staring up at me behind his sunglasses. I can’t help that my eyes travel down his bare chest, sweat and water glistening all the way down over the muscular ridges in his stomach, right to…
“We can cross off boyfriend.” I jerk my eyes up, meeting his knowing grin.
Why can’t I stop doing that?
It’s like he has a magnet there.
Shuffling from one foot to the other, and squeezing my arms across me, I shake my head. “No boyfriend.” If I had one, I would be a horrible, horrible girlfriend.
“What’s dating life like here?”
Nonexistent.
But I keep that to myself. “My answer wasn’t enough, huh?”
Sure, I’ve dated a few guys, but I’ve never had that spark with any of them. Maybe because I’ve known them my entire life and they’re more like brothers to me. And there’s not a large pool of available men. For now, my focus is my business and making enough money to leave here. On my own.
