Page 41 of Pure Temptation

She swallowed, waiting, trying to hold back the swell of hope inside her. She had asked so many what-ifs since she tossed herself off that cliff, but each scenario ended in disappointment. Had he thought of a path she hadn’t?

“I was thinking how much I’d love it if you came to Utah with me.”

The sentence deflated every bit of hope that she had let fizz inside her just moments ago.

But Daxon took her silence as a prompt to press forward. “Maybe, if you have a few vacation days, you could come stay with me. I know living out of a trailer isn’t quite Kalani standards, but Zion is incred—”

“The trailer’s not the problem, and you know it,” she whispered, cutting him off before he indulged in that idea for one more second. If Daxon thought that she was going to follow him around while he scaled mountains without ropes, maybe he really was crazy.

Kendall shifted to sit up, but Daxon’s arms were tight around her. He heaved out a sigh and let her go. She turned to face him. A frown tugged down at the corners of his mouth, as if she were the one who was disappointing him. Kendall couldn’t believe how angry she suddenly was. It was as if she had saved up all her feelings about his recklessness all week, just for this moment.

She drew in a shaky breath. “You want me to watch while you risk your life, just for another stunt? For another adrenaline rush?”

Daxon’s jaw tightened. “You don’t have to watch the climb. I just want you there with me. We could spend some time together there, and maybe you’d understand this part of me.”

“But—”

“I won’t be doing this forever,” he said. “After the El Cap climb, I can rethink what I want to do. We can think through what comes next for us. Together.”

There was no hint of Daxon’s usual playfulness, that easygoing side of him that he showed the world. What was left was the person who always lurked underneath, serious and determined.

“You knew who I was from the beginning. That’s the reason why Calvin sent me to the Kalani in the first place,” he said, his voice harder. “So that I could do this climb.”

She was so frustrated she could scream. Yes, this was true, and she had reminded herself of this at each step. But hadn’t everything shifted since he arrived? She wasn’t just his physical therapist anymore, and he was no longer here solely to heal his calf. Or at least she had hoped this was true, but apparently, in the end, it still came down to his goddamn stunts.

Daxon probably meant what he said about finding something that worked, but she had seen a version of this scenario play out between her parents, and she knew that quitting was complicated. How many times did her father talk about taking a less dangerous job only to hop back on a plane the next fire season because they needed the money...or his buddies needed him...or whatever excuse he found? How many fights had she listened to? Enough to know that for someone who loved the rush, quitting was highly unlikely. Her father had waited until his body began to fail. Any failure on Daxon’s part would have the ultimate consequence.

All Kendall could think about right now was that one misstep meant he would die. And he was willing to accept the consequence of falling from a sheer wall of stone. They’d never have a chance to really be together. She didn’t need to say any of these things aloud, because she was almost sure he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Daxon blew out a breath. “Did you think this would end any other way than me doing these climbs?”

Kendall closed her eyes. Yes, she had hoped. Against all better judgment, all past experience, the hope had formed during the week that there was a way this could end well.

“Where does it stop?” she whispered. “Do you just keep doing these stunts until you die?”

“Either of us could get hit by a car tomorrow, too,” he said, scowling. “That doesn’t mean we should stop ourselves from living today.”

“It’s not the same,” she said quickly. Was it? Maybe there was some truth in what he said, but the scale of risk wasn’t even close.

His gaze softened a little. “The next six months will be intense, and, yes, I’ll be doing a lot of the kind of high-consequence climbing that scares you. But after that, we can take Pure Adrenaline in a new direction. I’m just asking you to hang on until then.”

Until after he free soloed two mountains, including the elusive El Cap, the mountain face where experienced climbers died, even with ropes? And he’d climb them without any safety net?

“You’re not willing to try?” he added, his voice quiet.

The words hurt. Kendall massaged her temples.

“Let’s just say that I accept this crazy premise, that I can stomach knowing you’re doing these two insane climbs. What happens next?” She had lived this life as a kid, watching her father run right back into the fire zone, over and over, even after he promised to quit. It was getting harder and harder to keep her voice calm. “That drive to do things like this doesn’t just go away. I’ve seen this firsthand.”

His mouth was a hard line, grim and determined. “We could find a compromise if we both want this to work. I know we could.”

Right now, he probably believed he’d truly meet her halfway, but when it came to actually quitting, it wouldn’t be that simple. Where would all of that energy go? Would it churn inside, curdling into resentment and restlessness? Then the next time that siren song of a new adventure called, he’d find a way to talk her into it.

Kendall swallowed, knowing she had one last card to play. Goddamn him for making her play it, for bringing her to the point where she was desperate enough to ask for it. It wasn’t fair of her—it was straight-up manipulative—but this was hislifeon the line. If she didn’t ask him and he did die, she’d never forgive herself for not trying.

So she took a deep breath and said it. “You promised to follow exactly what I said. What if I ask you not to do this climb?”

Daxon’s expression went hard as stone. He didn’t move, but now there was anger in his eyes. “You can’t really mean that.”