Page 38 of Pure Temptation

“I’m sure you and your hand will think of something.”

“I’m getting good at coming up with ideas,” he said, his eyes brimming with lust.

“I’m not sure what to say about that.” The laughter bubbled inside her. Lord, this man made her laugh. “We’re on the clock, during a physical therapy session.”

He made an effort to look scandalized, but it quickly dissolved into a smile. Then his smile faded. “Kendall, I’ve been thinking...”

She froze. His voice was quiet and serious, and he was looking at her like he was about to suggest something big, something she wasn’t prepared for, that didn’t belong in a physical therapy session.

“Wait, Daxon,” she said. “Not now.”

He opened his mouth, like he was going to protest, then he closed it and nodded.

“When?”

“Later.”

He frowned but didn’t say anything. She would come later. It wouldn’t be easy, but staying away from him wouldn’t change anything. It would be painful when they said goodbye, no matter what she decided. There was no reason to start that struggle early.

CHAPTER TWELVE

DAXONTHOUGHTABOUTKendall all day. He thought about her as he did his pull-ups on his fingerboard, he thought about her as he did another set of push-ups on the hanging rings that he had installed on the lanai, and he thought about her as he climbed into his private pool and stared out at the ocean. There were times that morning she had been quiet during his physical therapy session, as if she were just as lost in thought as he was. Something had shifted in her at the end of that spectacular day at South Point, but he still wasn’t sure of the direction of her shift.

Either way, he was never one to back down from a challenge. Hell, he thrived on it, testing his limits, seeing how far he could push himself. But this challenge wasn’t a mountain, an impersonal object that didn’t care whether or not he succeeded. This was a woman, with her own wants, needs and reservations. Whose heart could break, and he would have to live with himself if he broke it. He would never be able to rehearse his approach the same way he rehearsed his climbs, putting every move into a well-choreographed routine, a road map for successful execution. No matter how much he planned, this wasn’t something he could master.

The more he thought about this last evening together, the more he realized how unprepared he was for what she might say. Despite carefully hoarding every bit of knowledge about her over this past week, he was only beginning to learn what pleased her and what she cared about, what she wanted. He was so hungry for more, more, more. Every part of him ached for more of her.

But that wasn’t the biggest stumbling block. He was no stranger to the drive to satisfy his own wants, anticipating the adrenaline rush that came with it. He had ignored it before, turned it off to focus on the next climb, the next challenge. This was different. He didn’t just want more from her; he wanted togiveher more. Except...what would make her happy was for him tonotdo what he did. For him not to be the man who free soloed Moonlight Buttress in a week. For him not to cause her the kind of anguish that her father’s risks had caused her.

He knew all this. It was a puzzle with pieces that didn’t belong together, and yet later that night, he still walked along the resort’s path with a packed dinner in his hand, heading for her cabin. Because despite the fact that their hurdles seemed insurmountable, he wasn’t backing down from the challenge. He had done impossible things before. This was infinitely more complicated, and yet even the hint of a payoff sounded infinitely more satisfying.

He had visualized what he wanted: Kendall lying over him in the narrow bed of his trailer in the middle of the night, running his hands over her bare skin. And when he woke up the next day for the climb, she would be right there with him.

It was a selfish vision. He knew it, he knew that was the crux of their problem, and yet he wanted it. There had to be a possibility that looked something like this...right? After the next six months of publicity plans, after the El Capitan climb, after Calvin’s vision for the future of Pure Adrenaline was secure, he could make adjustments, maybe lay off the stunts that had highest consequence. That idea had run through his mind since his injury in Costa Rica, for his mother’s sake. Now he had even more reason to consider it.

But he had months before he could change course. Right now, he had less than a day to convince her that maybe she could hang on in the meantime. His focus needed to be on tonight. He had decided what he’d say and do, and as with any other challenge, he would redraw his route as he made progress.

Kendall’s cabin was lit up, glowing from the inside, but she didn’t answer when he knocked. He followed the little trail around to the lanai and found her on a chaise lounge with a tub of ice cream in her lap. Health-conscious Kendall was eating straight from a half gallon tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Daxon suspected this was a sign of some sort, but he had no idea whether it was a good one.

She turned as he scraped through the large flat leaves of some tropical plant in his path, and he had no idea how to interpret the uneasy look she gave him.

So he flashed her a smile. “Isn’t it a little early to be hitting the hard stuff?”

The uneasy look faded. “You can grab a spoon from the kitchen. You know you want some.”

“I brought some addition to that dinner.” He set the bag next to the ice cream tub and eased into the lounge chair next to her.

She peeked into the bag, then blinked up at him, a little dazed. “Burritos?”

“Alana tipped me off.” It wasn’t the most luxurious meal, but her friend had said that good burritos were one of the things Kendall missed most about Northern California. So Daxon had gone with the recommendation. From Kendall’s expression, he had chosen right.

“Thank you.” She was looking at him, almost guarded, but possibly hopeful. Then a smile curved at her lips. “I still had a good hour of agonizing to go before I came over.”

“Figured I’d save us both some time.” He gave her a playful wink. “There are so many better ways to spend the evening.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course there are. But I just can’t seem to help myself.”

“That’s just you being you. I wouldn’t want to change that.”