Wynn checked out the next set of moves. She had another ten minutes to the top, if everything went right. By the way the clouds in the distance were starting to gather, things may not be all right. Ranger Kade Gentry had a long hike around through the bush to catch her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
“Browynn South, and you
are
?” She couldn’t hide the mocking tone from her voice or the southern Kentucky drawl that was common around here. Not that she was from around here at all.
“Ranger Kade Gentry. I’d like you to come down where we can chat.”
“Can’t down climb the Arrowhead easily. It’s safer to keep going up.” She was about ten feet from the top. “It was nice meeting you… uh…”
She groaned into the next hold, and Gentry stepped closer to the cliff as though he intended to try and catch her if she fell. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
“Lightning can strike up to fifteen miles away from a storm. You need to hurry up this rock,” he said.
There was genuine concern in his voice. A ripple of panic vibrated through her body, but she kept it in check. It was going to rain. She hadn’t considered a lightning strike, but he was right. “I better get up this rock, then, or I’m going to get wet.”
“Wait for me at the top. We can hike back together. This storm is supposed to be a bad one.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance again. “And if I don’t?”
She edged her fingers between a crack and got a comfortable hold as she leaned back to look down. Across the distance, her eyes locked with the ranger’s. Wynn became suddenly breathless and aware of her choice of clothing for the day. Her navy climbing pants were skintight on her legs, and her T-shirt came just above her navel. Normally, she wore baggy climbing pants. Today, she wasn’t even wearing her bright-pink cotton workout thong. She’d purposely worn something tight to draw his attention.
There was something erotic about a man watching a woman working out.
He moved his big body around like he was pacing down a kill. He wasn’t so bad to look at far away, she decided right then. No, it was safer to look at him from far away. The ranger put his foot on a boulder and leaned forward as though he had all the time in the world. Maybe he did. Maybe he had enough money from his drug running to do that.
Still, his hiking boots wouldn’t get him up this cliff.
“We’ll have some problems, then,” he said.
“I don’t see any problems on this end.”
“Watch the left. The rock’s loose on that outer rim. Angle right!”
A zip of fear spiraled through her blood. She wanted to go left. It was the easiest way to the top. The right was almost out of her league. Wynn was a few feet from the top. Topping out was always the most dangerous. The ranger pulled himself up to stand on one of the smaller boulders.
“You got this! There’s a foothold just above your right knee. There’s a nice pocket for your hands just under the lip. You can’t see it until you commit. Trust me. It’s there!”
Wynn calmed the racing of her blood. No, the ranger’s voice was calming. She tested the rock to the left. The rock
was
dangerously
loose from the mud slid over the side. Debris fell down to the ground. She angled away and was almost to the upper ledge he spoke about. She took the leap and found the hold. She laughed.
“You’re right! It’s a good one,” she said.
“You’ve got it.”
Yes, she did. Wynn didn’t want to think about the possibility of what could’ve happen had the ranger not taken the bait and shown up. Providence. The word whispered through her mind before she could stop it. “It’s been a nice distraction…but I really need to focus, or you’re going to have other problems to deal with.”
“Wait for me at the top. Don’t take off!” he warned.
“Are you going to chase me if I do?” she called down.
Silence echoed back. Wynn was too busy concentrating on the next hold to notice the extended length of airtime. She took a quick peek to see that the ranger had taken off, running to the trail nearly a country half mile away. He was fast, too. A zip of fear rushed through her blood as she saw the stacking of the dark clouds in the distance. This was not a normal summer thunderstorm pushing through.
She did not want to deal with her greatest fear today.
She scampered up the crack to the top, not taking time to enjoy the rush of a good, hard climb. Wynn swung her legs over the top, scraping the insides of her ankles in her haste.
Down the trail, she heard the heavy footfalls that came with a man running with gear over rough ground. There was just enough time for Wynn to slip out of her tight climbing shoes. She hooked them to a carabiner on her belt and took off running barefoot in the opposite direction.
She wanted him to chase her down. She wanted him to feel like he won when he caught her.
She cut off the trail, knowing it was never a good idea. It was too easy to get lost and turned around in the woods. Thunder rumbled through the gorge like an angry animal marking its territory.
Browynn didn’t get far before she heard him. She jumped over a downed tree and slipped in a pile of leaves. She was able to get on her feet, only to be caught from behind. She was breathing hard as the ranger pulled her around by the elbow. His rough hand was a shock of heat that seared her damp skin. His silver badge glinted hard on his belt. Up close, he was just over six feet to her five-three-inch height. He made her feel vulnerable, and she wasn’t a woman easily intimidated.
“Running from a law enforcement officer investigating a crime is punishable by six months in jail,” he said.
A snap of lightning echoed like a whip crashing through the gorge. Wind howled through the trees, and all the sunshine winked out. “I don’t know who the hell you are, and I’m alone in the woods.”
The ranger’s velvet-blue eyes widened in surprise. She could see that his mind hadn’t made that leap at all. His gaze dropped to the slight gap in her front teeth. Over the years, she’d considered getting the flaw fixed, and now she wished she had. That thought brought her up short.
Up close, she discovered his hair wasn’t brown at all. It was midnight black. The red highlights had made it look dark brown in the sun. Black hair and blue eyes were a warning she couldn’t ignore. Men with black hair and blue eyes always bruised her in the end. She knew she couldn’t trust him.
Fear rippled down Wynn’s spine. Storms didn’t kill, she reminded herself. Why couldn’t she remember that when the fear struck her like a punch to the face?
Wynn couldn’t hide her fear from her eyes. The ranger’s hold gentled, but he didn’t let go. Questions formed within that knowing gaze. He wanted to know what had her spooked. Well, too bad. She wasn’t going to tell him.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
Big, fat drops of rain started falling through the trees. She shivered from the slump in temperature in the air and the crash of her adrenaline. He came in closer to shield her with his big body from the rain.
Wynn untied her KEENs from the side of her chalk bag and slipped them on.
“Are you parked down by Pebble Beach?” he asked.
She couldn’t look up without getting hit in the face with rain. “Yes.”
“We’re not going to make it back in time. Follow me. I know a safe place where we can ride this out.”
Dominant men had a way of turning Wynn off, but she supposed it went with his job. He led the way, and she had no choice but to follow behind. It didn’t take long for the storm to turn violent.
Runoff from the hillside quickly muddied the path. Wynn slipped and instinctively reached out to grab the first thing nearby. It turned out to be ranger Gentry’s ass. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to think. Gentry’s arms came around to lift her over the runoff. Wynn’s eyes widened as Gentry used his hard chest to maneuver her over.
Heat spun out between them, taking Wynn off guard. Gentry slowly lowered her to her feet, and she slid down the front of him. The hard edge of his badge pushed open the folds of her pussy and made a direct hit to her clit. Wynn sucked in a hard breath as want spiraled through her core. Those long forgotten feelings made her feel entrapped. Her thighs locked onto his leg, making her suddenly feel wanted.
“Steady now.”
It was more statement than question. Could he see that she wanted to run from the heat of his embrace? He held her a few extra seconds longer than he should have, and it immediately had a wall of Antarctic ice forming around her body. Targets were not to be trusted.
Wynn pulled away and led the way back down to Pebble Beach, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. Wind kicked through the trees. The storm was getting bad.
“Whoa...this way.”
“We can make it to the beach. It’s not that far,” she said.
“Not the way the runoff is going,” he countered. “Trust me.”
She stared at him for several beats. She needed him to trust her if she was going to find out if he was involved in the drug running. “Okay.”
They hit the south side of the trail where the cliffs weren’t as high. There was a cut in the cliff that stair-stepped downward. Kade led the way and instinctively reached back to help her down the wet rock. Wynn lost her footing and slid into Kade. Her hands held tight to his shirt as her body molded to his. He steadied her and moved down the next set of rocks. He turned at the bottom to grab her waist to aide her down over the craggy floor. Wynn’s hands went to his shoulders as she slipped through the rocks.
There was a wide overhang for them to take shelter under. They ran for it. Wynn ducked under the small alcove and sat onto the sandy floor. There was a campfire ring with a pile of half-burnt wood.
“Kade Gentry.” He offered his hand, and she accepted his.
“Wynn.”
“You’re freezing.”
Both of his hands smoothed over her hand to warm hers. Their eyes locked, and Wynn pulled away when her heart started to beat a little faster for the wrong reasons. Kade immediately went to work on the fire pit. He pulled off the bark from a twig and made a pile of dried leaves and kindling. He lit it and got the fire going.
It was then that she saw that he was buttoned down with a radio, too. He pressed the clip on his shoulder. “43-50, 10-12. I’ve taken shelter with a climber to ride out the storm near Arrowhead.”
“10-4, be advised I have an update from the weather service. Expect wind gusts up to seventy miles per hour. They’re also indicating wind shearing south of Mountain Parkway. It’s headed your way.”
“10-4. We’ll stay put.”
The storm was getting wild. She shivered and moved closer to the fire. Kade came around to sit beside her, blocking out the wind blowing the rain under the archway. The trees whipped. They were really well protected under the half cave. The drum of rain had them moving closer to talk.
“Do you normally climb alone?” he asked.
“Lately I do.”
Wynn looked at his calloused hands and knew he was a climber, too. He stoked the fire, getting the flames to go higher.
“You shouldn’t.”
“No one to climb with,” she said.
“You’re local?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m off Mountain Parkway, in the Barrens,” she lied.
He nodded. “I haven’t seen you around before. I tend to know everyone who climbs around here.”
“I’m new to the area.”
“That must be it.”
Wynn stared at the way his muscles flexed with the veins in his forearm. Slowly, she moved her eyes upward over his uniform to his face. He was watching her closely. Wynn didn’t know what to make of the sexual tension spiraling between them or the fact that she couldn’t look at Kade for very long without getting nervous, so she looked away. What was wrong with her? She was on the job.
She stood up to walk to the edge of the alcove. “My car isn’t far. I can probably make it with the rain easing up.”
“Not a chance. Sit down.”
A zip of annoyance flexed over Wynn’s mind. “Do you get off on telling people what to do?”
“Actually, no. It’s the keeping people safe that kicks it into high gear for me.” The corner of his mouth lifted as he looked at the fire.
The slow taper of rain wouldn’t last long. Off in the northwest, purple clouds were headed their way. Wynn took a step out into the rain, then another. She glanced back to see if the ranger was taking note of her defiance. He wasn’t. She took one more step. His dark hair spilled over his forehead as he looked up.
“It is a free country,” she said.
“Wynn…”
“It was nice meeting you, Kade!”
She took off running down the trail. She heard the ranger curse as he gave chase. She ran harder but didn’t get far. She yelped when Kade snatched her around the waist, taking her feet from the ground. Both were breathing hard. Lightning struck nearby, cracking open the sky with another downpour. Wynn jumped within his arms, pressing closer to him. His lips were pressed hot against her ear as though he wanted to savor the moment of connection.
“Are you going to behave, or do I have to cuff you to my wrist to keep you safe?”
She swallowed hard. The thought of being tangled with a man like Kade for personal reasons gave her pause. “Let go of me.”
“So you can break your neck getting to your car two miles away? I don’t think so. We wait until the storm passes.”
Wynn was settled onto her feet, and she took off again. She made it two steps before Kade spun her around and backed her up until she was pressed against the cliff. She looked away. A flash of something dangerous echoed in the erotic set of his dark-blue eyes. Tension shivered through her belly. His full lips were inches from hers. Kade ran his hand up the side of her neck and used his thumb to tilt her chin.
“Why are you running?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you frightened of me?”
She was. Deep down she knew that there was something dangerous and forbidden happening between them. There were clear boundaries when working undercover. Right now, she couldn’t even remember what the rules were. This was something she knew she shouldn’t explore. It was searing hot, and in the end she knew she’d get burned. Lightning splintered across the sky. Wynn saw the hair on Kade’s forearm stand on end.