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“No?” he asked.
His lips were so close to hers that she parted them on instinct. “I want to get going. I’ll only be a minute,” she said, her voice husky with the desire she was trying not to show.
Parker’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “She doesn’t want my help,” he said through a whine. He was talking to me, even though he never let his gaze drift from her.
“She lies.” I pushed off the door frame and headed across the small living space.
It only took a few strides before I reached the bathroom. I pushed the door open and reached into the tub to start the shower water. “It’s tiny in here, Park. I don’t know if you’ll fit with her.”
“You won't,” Thea said through a gasp.
I tugged at the shower curtain to keep the water in and headed back toward them. His hand was still on her thigh, teasing her into his own form of submission.
“We’ll make it work.” He nipped at her lip, drawing a soft gasp from her.
That breathy noise didn’t tug at my heart. No, it caused an ache in my dick. But I wouldn’t get involved in this. This was an appetizer. Tonight, I’d finally take her while we camped from the edge of a cliff. It wouldn’t be here, rushed before a mountain climb.
I cleared my throat, trying to get out of this suddenly too hot house. “Meet you outside,” I said, grabbing the box before disappearing. As much as I wanted to stay and watch, I knew it was a bad idea. I’d wind up giving over to the desire, desperate to finally be inside of her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thea
Sweat dripped from my forehead. A bead rolled down my nose, then fell to the ground. Why had I thought this was a good idea? Hiking in the scorching sun on the fourth of July with two in shape, very attractive men.
Meanwhile, I was a couch potato turned handyman. My body was changing beneath the clothes I wore. A tight t-shirt fell loose around my stomach. That was mostly from being so busy I sometimes forgot to eat. A little of it may have been from the muscles working on the bar were gaining me. But I wasn’t in shape enough to go on a freaking hike.
I definitely wasn’t ready for a rock climb. Yet, there I was, staring up at the side of a cliff, looking up. Hendrix was already a good six feet in the air, his calf muscles flexing as he perched like a cat.
“Don’t I need a harness or something?” I asked.
Parker shook his head, gripping onto the lip of a rock. “It’s not high, baby. Only about fifteen feet up. You’ll be okay.”
“Fifteen feet?” I asked. “That’s like a roof fall. People die.”
He snorted, resting a hand on either of my shoulders and squeezing. “You’re okay baby. I’ll catch you.”
I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. We hiked for about an hour before we came across a beginner course Parker said he gives classes on regularly.
Hendrix reached the top, then climbed to the flat surface and peered down at us.
“Jesus, how did you make this look so easy?”
He shrugged, that sexy smirk tugging on one corner of his mouth that I wanted to kiss off his face. “Just think of it as an upper body workout, kitten. Come on. Parker will be right behind you. Get your sexy ass up here and check it out.”
I turned to our gear, that was piled on a large rock nearby. “We have to come back down?”
Parker nodded. “There’s a natural path to walk down. We’ll come that way.”
“A natural path to walk along the cliff? Great. I’ll just take that and meet you up there.”
He snorted, shaking his head. I turned to head to wherever this secret pathway was, but he gripped me by the elbow. “You asked for this, remember?”
He pulled me into him, back to the boulder, and positioned me so he was standing behind me again.
I swallowed, my throat thick with nerves. I wanted to do this, I truly did. But all I could think about was if Paisley wanted to climb a giant rock—or even a tree—I’d tell her no. Absolutely not. No way it’s possible to get to the top of this thing without her breaking something. And if I wouldn’t let her do it, why should I?
“I thought I’d be attached to a rope,” I said.
