High Risk

CHAPTER 2

She set one foot on the railing and stretched as she waited, wondering again if her instinctive urge to blurt the first thing she thought of would ever lessen.

Asking Marcus to join her? Fine—they had years to catch up on. They hadn’t had much of a relationship before he’d disappeared, and even casual acquaintances could enjoy a spur-of-the-moment workout. A get to know you better outing.

But join her on a run?

She’d have to stop the post-training images from distracting her. The ones where he stripped off his shirt as they stretched, the slick of sweat on his skin highlighting his muscles. He had aged well. She wanted to know if his abdomen was still rock solid, and if when he pressed his body over hers if he’d be able to hold her trapped with one hand—

And that was exactly where this wasn’t supposed to go.

She sighed. Taking control of her rampaging thoughts, she leaned against the side of the building and stared into the forest, skimming her gaze over the bits and pieces of the city visible in the distance. As if someone had taken a snapshot of her years ago, and she’d stepped back in time. It was familiar, and yet she wasn’t the same person. This wasn’t about going home, not really. It was a new beginning.

The door beside her opened and Marcus walked out, his head snapping toward her as a sexy melt-her-panties smile lit his face.

Starting new? They’d had only one weekend. Who was to say they couldn’t simply have another sometime?

He held out water, condensation glistening on the surface of the plastic. “I grabbed you a cold one from the staff fridge.”

Becki accepted it happily, pouring the icy water into the bottle that fit in her belt holder. Marcus threw the empty into the gym and tugged the door shut behind him.

“How long and how hard?” she asked. The question escaped before she could consider the innuendo. Her face must have been beet red.

His grin widened. “An hour, and I’m game for hill repeats, if you are.”

The old training routes around the school were still etched into her mind. “Heartbreak Hill?”

He nodded, and they moved in unison to the relatively level warm-up path. The wide trail wove through the forested area, small rises and dips, nothing too imposing.

The temporary silence between them felt easy, but her curiosity needed to be answered. “You returned four years ago? So that means you got back a year after I left.”

Marcus dodged a fallen branch. “I needed a home base. David was still happy here in Banff, and I figured, why not?”

“Are you teaching, then?”

“No, I organized a private search-and-rescue company. The federal government can’t keep up with the demand to haul people’s butts out of trouble, so I stepped in.”

Becki nodded. It was exactly the kind of job she’d expected him to be involved in. “I hear you. I’ve been doing something similar in Yellowstone for the past couple of years.”

They fell silent as the incline increased. Marcus enjoyed the pump of blood through his limbs, the sense of energy he always got when pushing his body. Becki ran with an effortless gait, her muscles firm as they flexed and extended in rhythmic rotations.

“Five repeats?” she asked, and Marcus swore.

“Glutton for punishment?”

Becki jogged on the spot as they eyed the steep slope of the hill before them. “Preventive maintenance. It’s been years since I set foot in the candy shop, and I’d far prefer to pay for my overindulgence prior to devouring the fudge than after.”

Flashbacks to drizzling chocolate sauce over her skin and licking her clean weren’t going to help him finish this workout. “Fine. Set number one.”

He took off immediately, thinking to get the jump on her, but she’d turned as he’d spoken, and he found himself staring eye level at her ass. The curve of where her long legs met her gently rounded cheeks flexed right there in front of him.

His goddamn dick got hard.

Fortunately the incline they headed up was enough that the pain setting into his muscles offered distraction. It was a near-vertical sprint, like racing a set of stairs in the fire hall, although without the hose over his shoulder. Together they dodged the rough footing, the massive exposed rocks creating a maze to weave between. They crested the summit of the hill and slowed. Breathing heavily, chests rising and falling, they sucked for oxygen and jogged the cutline back to the base for round two.

“You’re in good shape,” he managed, without sounding too much like a pack-a-day smoker.

Becki gave him a grin. “One of the rules you taught me. Give one hundred percent.”

“Ha, you remember those lessons?” A flush of desire swept him. What was he saying? He remembered in freakish detail everything she’d taught him that weekend.

They were at the bottom of the hill, and Becki turned toward him. Her chin went down slightly, and she stared from under her lashes. “Those lessons were very memorable.”

Goddamn fucking yes. He wasn’t sure whether he should smile or run like a scared little girl as her expression grew more sultry by the second.

Did he want a repeat of their wild fling? Hell, yeah, but he wasn’t sure of the big picture right now, and if she was going to talk about rules, then he was going to go back to the first one he’d insisted on teaching her so long ago.

Be patient.

They were here now, and adults—they had more to explore than simply the brain-melting physical attraction they’d shared. If things worked out, the sex would come later. He wanted to know more about where she’d been, and what she was doing now. Since David had persuaded her to join the school, she’d be around for at least a year. Time enough to reignite the sheets.

So he took the easy out.

“Round two?”

She was gone without a word, and once again he faced the torment of staring at her ass the entire sprint up the hillside.

The gym had been renovated since the last time she was there. The mats were sparkling new, super-cushiony, and an incredible selection of auto-belayers lined the south wall. The entire face of the east wall was also covered from floor to ceiling in climbing holds, including a lovely overhang section that made her fingers itch to test them.

She finished admiring the renovations from her relaxed position flat on her back. With one leg raised to the ceiling, she flexed her ankle, pulling the limb closer and groaning at how good it felt to stretch the tight muscles.

Stony silence greeted her from her left.

“Did I wear you out?” she asked, hiding her amusement. Marcus had been less talkative the second half of their run, and she didn’t think it was because he was exhausted.

The mats squeaked as he rolled farther away from her, rising to face the wall as he stretched his hamstrings. “A little.”

Liar. Every move he made screamed she was driving him crazy. She’d been the center of focused attention before, his and other men’s. She knew when someone was checking her out, and the tingle inside was no less inspiring than it had been years ago.

“I’m impressed with what David has done to the place. You ever stop in and help with the classes anymore?”

This time he turned to face her, and the heat in his eyes was enough to send a streak of fire through her core. Oh God, she was going to melt right there on the crash mat. She debated squeezing her legs together to ease a little of the throbbing in her clit, but that would be as obvious as rubbing a hand over herself.

He cleared his throat and glanced away. “I’m usually too busy to come and deal with the students. I’ve got my team in place—don’t need anyone new right now.”

The steam building between them was borderline tangible. Touchable, boiling-point hot, making her needy and aching all at the same time. The weariness in her limbs had been replaced by another sensation altogether, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d be jumping him right here and now.

She took pity on him, and herself, and rocked to a sitting position. His stare remained locked on a spot a few feet from her body, and she had to assume it was so he’d stop stripping her in his mind.

Too bad.

Good lord, she was pathetic. This wasn’t the way to make an impression. Not to mention she would be working for his brother—this wasn’t the time to do anything stupid. She had to slow down, at least a little.

She casually pulled on her jacket and switched positions to a less provocative stance, even as she continued stretching. “Tell me about your team. You said you have six on the squad?”

Marcus nodded. “Pilot, winch man, paramedic, and the rest on ropes or whatever else it takes to get to the emergency. I work the call centre, or there’s a trained EMT who assists. Couple of them are water experts, with scuba skills and such, but we don’t get many of those calls—it’s mainly winter avalanche or rock disasters outside the Forestry and RCMP abilities.”

She would have died to get onto a team like that out of school. “Incredible. Where were you when I was first looking for work?”

He hesitated. “Probably getting in trouble overseas.”

Shit. A wash of sympathy and dismay struck. How stupid of her to not have realized. “Oh, Marcus, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

He gave her a wry grin. “Forget it. It was a joke, but obviously a poor one. You would have enjoyed the first team I assembled—you would have been the only woman.”

She followed his lead and ignored her blunder, partly because she was shocked at his admission. “You don’t hire women? I’m surprised.”

He shrugged. “I hire the best. That year, none of the successful candidates were female. There’s been a little turnover, and now I’ve got two ladies on the squad. You’ll like my lead rope hand—she’s as cocky on the wall as you were.”

Their eyes locked again—and memories of how her brash attitude had brought them together for the brief fling surged up like some pornographic lust track.

His dark head between her legs, tongue doing indescribably wonderful things. She buried her fingers in his hair and tugged until he was in the perfect position. Tension building, her limbs shaking . . .

Becki tore her gaze away and contemplated upending her water bottle over her head. Sweet lord, it was hotter in the gym than she remembered. She scrambled for something to say. Anything, now desperate to switch her mental track to safer topics. What had they been talking about?

The team. His team. Right.

“Your squad is based here in Banff?—Hang on, I have heard of you.” There’d been a news article she’d read in the past couple of months. “Didn’t you recently win some kind of award?”

A long, weary sigh escaped him.

Not the reaction she’d expected. She lifted a brow.

He nodded. “Sort of. Media attention’s been a pain in the ass.”

Becki snorted. “Actually, I know a little about that. Getting lots of notice for doing my job? No thanks. Dodging newshounds got really old, really fast.”

Evading the reporters who’d incessantly hounded her for information regarding her rescue of the girls had been bad enough. Worse were the horrid, unanswerable demands for more details of what happened to Dane. A shiver went over her skin, and suddenly she felt a little dirty for flirting with Marcus. It had been barely eight months since her lover died. Why was she acting like a groupie with a feverish crush?

Because you’re not the one who died, her mind taunted.

She scrambled to her feet and covered her unease with a long drink from her water bottle. She lowered it to find Marcus focused on her.

“And that brings me back to you. David said you’re joining his teaching pool—starting the summer semester.”

“June fourth is my first class.”

He was still staring, but now there was a calculated twist to his expression. “I’m running my crew through boot camp for the next three weeks. Need a rope trainer. David says you’re the best. You interested in a temporary job?”

Already? Teaching was what she’d come here to do, but she thought she’d have a couple of weeks to brace up her defenses before actually beginning. “David thinks I’m the best—that’s good to hear. What’s your opinion?”

“I haven’t seen you climb in a long time, but you always had the potential.”

“You want me to take a test? Submit a training program? Anything like that before you offer me a position?”

Marcus smirked. “Nope. Rule three.”

It was the last thing she’d expected him to toss her way. Instant heat flushed her. His words took her back to their weekend fling. To the rules that were burned into her flesh as deeply as they were etched into her brain. “Trust your team? How does that fit into this situation?”

“My brother says you’re the best. He enticed you to join him, and if that picky son of a gun wants you, then I want you, too.”

Oh, the places she could take that comment.

She gathered her things together as she thought it through. “Full squad?”

“Yes. Pilot for basic refresher only—she doesn’t need a full workup on ropes, but she needs to remember people are working like hell on the other end when she’s in the air swinging them.”

Okay, that was impressive. “She? Your pilot is a woman?”

He pushed open the gym door and held it for her, his grin firmly back in place. “Erin’s the best.”

She blinked as she stepped into the sunshine. Deep breaths filled her lungs with more than the crisp mountain air. Filled her soul with a familiar peace she’d been missing ever since the accident.

“Becki?”

His tone had dropped a notch, and she turned to face him.

“I didn’t mean to rush you. I know it’s something you probably need to think about, but the offer is there.”

“I wasn’t expecting work right away, but I’ll seriously consider it.”

He nodded. “Great.”

They were already halfway back to the dorms, her footsteps following the familiar path from so long ago. “You live right in town, then?”

“Found a great place. Big backyard that’s nice and private. Wide-open deck with a hot tub . . .”

His voice died away, and suddenly her sticky sweaty self was back on the sweating for a different reason track. Thoughts of hot tubs and Marcus were not on the current agenda.

He cleared his throat again. “I’ve got an idea. Come out tonight and meet the team. No pressure in terms of the training, but since you’ve moved back to Banff, they’re a great group of people to spend some time with.”

She snatched greedily at the change of topic. “That sounds fun. Anywhere in particular?”

“You know our usual stomping grounds.” He chuckled. “I think you were the one who started the tradition.”

No. Way. “Rose and Crown? The pub is still around?”

“Yeah, and they continue to throw out David’s students on a regular basis, but if you promise to behave maybe you can get away without being arrested this time.”

Drat, it seemed her school–days sins were far too well known. There was no use in wallowing in doubt, though. “I’d love to, only I’ll warn you, I’m not as big on the jalapeño-eating contests as I was back then.”

“Oh God, no. We’ll stick to wings and chips.”

She groaned, her mouth instantly watering like some damn Pavlovian dog. “We should have done ten hill repeats if we’re going to eat that crap.”

He stepped back, full grin in place. “Meet you at six?”

“Perfect.”

Marcus was gone before she’d made it through the dormitory doors. Her body screamed for a shower and a rest, her mind filled with a morass of questions and scattered images of the time she’d spent in the school in her past.

Including shockingly detailed memories of the most intense sexual experience she’d ever had in her life.

Returning to Banff was turning out to be far more complicated, and far more interesting, than she ever expected.

She was removing her bottle holder before she realized that other than when he’d attempted to joke about it, she’d never once thought of Marcus’s missing limb.