Rising, Freestyle

Chapter Six

Gumby: A novice climber.

Melanie rolled her head, stretching the tight muscles in her shoulders in an attempt to loosen them. After the drive to the trailhead, the hike, and setting up in their remote campsite, she’d thought they’d take it easy for a few hours, but no… Immediately after lunch Nathan hauled out his camera equipment and started gushing about the light being perfect.

Three hours later, she was praying for clouds.

“Freaking slave driver.”

Derrick laughed and dropped his hands on her arms, rubbing in more sunscreen while at the same time pressing so perfectly on her muscles he dragged a groan from her lips. “Nathan’s not a bad guy. Not when it comes down to it.”

She gave him the evil eye. “You’re not the one doing one-hand hangs for half of eternity here, dude.”

“Yeah, yeah, life sucks, doesn’t it, sweetheart.”

She swung at him, and he ducked, grabbing her around the waist and twirling her in a circle until she shrieked with laughter. “Put me down, oh my, Derrick, stop it.”

Nathan peeked from behind his tripod, broad grin firmly in place. “Okay, recess is over, children. Time to get back to work.”

Melanie gave him her middle finger, then stuck out her tongue. He retaliated by snapping a picture, and she rolled her eyes. “You did not take a picture of that.”

“Got one of you flipping me the bird as well. I think I’ll blow it up to portrait size and give it to your parents for Christmas.”

She stuck her fists on her hips. “Hey…”

He clicked off another shot and she gave up.

“Jackass.”

“Monkey.”

Melanie spun on the spot and returned to the rock where they were bouldering, her chin held high, letting her hips wiggle as she walked.

She couldn’t believe it. Aching muscles or not, she was having the best time ever. It was like a flashback to her climbing days. Joking around and just hanging out with her buds. Nothing serious to accomplish and lots of new routes to try.

While he’d made her pose and not simply lounge around camp, Nathan had been pretty low-key about the whole picture-taking thing, compared to how closely he’d directed them back in the climbing gym. She’d even forgotten he was there as she and Derrick worked one section of the new route—arranging where they had to touch in order to go along the same path. Following a route had always been her favourite climbing activity.

This afternoon, she and Derrick were bouldering. No ropes, nothing farther off the ground than six or seven feet—low enough to stop her anxiety levels from flaring. Just a wonderful, tough physical challenge.

They’d started at the bottom edge of the huge rock, where a section of the base had caved away years ago. The first hand and footholds they chose placed them face up toward the overhang, butt and back only twelve inches off the crash mat they’d brought with them for safety.

If she fell making the first moves, she wouldn’t fall far. And she had lost her grip, a couple times, until she’d figured out how to use the proper leverage to get around the corner and cling with her fingertips to a protrusion that had barely enough space for two fingers. That allowed her to use her stomach muscles, haul up one leg to a hold, cantilever herself to the side and finally make it to the vertical wall to work the next section.

Nathan cut in. “Hurry up, guys. I’ve got all the pictures I need of you on that hunk of rock. How about getting to the new territory?”

Melanie wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s not as easy as it looks, Nathan.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

Oh really? His smirk lit a spark inside—one that wanted to challenge his cocky grin. She had aches in all the right spots, her muscles nice and warm. Melanie paused as she realized she hadn’t thought about her scars once in the last couple hours, not even when she’d heated up enough she’d stripped down to her sports bra. The rush of excitement that washed over her made the dare burst out. “I bet you can’t do it.”

He lowered the extra camera he’d been playing with while waiting for them to carry on. “You’ve made all of three moves, monkey. Not like it’s a huge challenge yet or anything.”

“Oh, brother, are you in for it now…” Derrick muttered.

Melanie set her fists on her hips and smiled sweetly. “Put your money where your mouth is. I bet you can’t do this route, not even if we show you an easier way.”

Nathan sneered. “I’ll offer chocolate if I can’t.”

Oh God, he was so going down.

“Right this way.”

Derrick stepped aside and Melanie gestured Nathan forward. He crawled under the overhang willingly and grabbed the handholds.

“Your feet go to the right… Yup, that one. And the other over here.”

“Here?”

She giggled. Nathan was tall enough once he did touch the holds he was going to have a hell of a time getting his ass off the mat. “Perfect. Now, lift your hips.”

He flexed his muscles and managed to get into the first position.

“Impressive. Now go for it.”

Nathan tried, and while he had the strength, he didn’t have the technical experience to make the moves. He slipped off the rocks and smacked into the mat, flat on his back.

“Well done. Not. Where’s my chocolate?”

Nathan blew a raspberry at her. “Patience, monkey. That was only my first attempt.”

She shrugged. “First, tenth. Same result.”

He set up again, and again. The fifth time his ass hit the mat, she snorted. This was getting more and more entertaining.

“Damn it.” Nathan growled.

“He’s got the wrong foot pressure.” Derrick pointed out.

Melanie checked Nathan’s position. “Oh, you’re right. Nate, this time, push off with your right foot completely, but keep the left foot on the wall. It will give you the extra reach you need to make the catch.”

He leaned his head back and flashed that deadly grin, and something else warmed inside, not quite so competitive in nature. Damn, the man was a walking advertisement for testosterone and how to use it well. “You’re going to have to give me a little help, darling. I was watching through a camera lens before. Where am I reaching?”

She touched his outreached fingers with her own. “You’re here. You need to slip your fingers this direction—” She connected with the hold, keeping her elbow in contact with his hand. “See, it’s only a few more inches. Course, you should just let me know where the chocolate is now, so I can enjoy it while I watch you fall on your ass another dozen times.”

“Ha, ha. I can do this.”

“Suit yourself.” She stepped back, slipping next to Derrick where he leaned on the neighbouring rock face. He snuck his hands around her waist and tugged her closer, fingers caressing the bare skin at her side with delicate strokes, and her heart rate accelerated.

Nathan fell twice more, but her attention was drawn away by the increasingly intimate caress Derrick applied, sneaking his hands casually higher to brush the sides of her breasts.

“Stop that. You’re getting me all tingly,” she whispered.

“That’s the idea.” He chuckled and tugged her directly in front of him, aligning her so the length of his erection pressed between them. “You’ve been driving me mad. Your ass looks marvelous in those climbing pants.”

So much for worrying about needing sexy, skin-revealing outfits to turn him on. “Animal.”

“Snaaarl.” Derrick nibbled on her neck and Melanie sighed with happiness.

“Damn it, Mel, how the hell did you get around this corner?”

The pitiful question from Nathan interrupted the direction her thoughts were heading—which was fine, since there wasn’t going to be much opportunity to get naked with Derrick for a while anyway. Not with them all camping for the night in a single four-man tent.

“Hang on, Nathan, Mel will show you how.”

Melanie glanced at Derrick, pulling a mock pout. “I will? Why would I do that?”

“Sportsmanship?”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Come on, give Nathan another chance. He’s not as experienced as you are. Go under and demo again.” Derrick patted her on the ass.

Melanie planted a quick kiss on his cheek before slipping onto the mat and grinning at a frowning Nathan. “You really think you can do this?”

“I’m close, but I’m missing something.”

Five years of practice? “Try again and I’ll watch from here.”

Lying beside him allowed her to see exactly what he was doing wrong as he extended his torso and attempted to catch the next hold. It also let her see every muscle in his body flex—and while he wasn’t as cut as Derrick, it was still a fine view.

He’d been working hard, both earlier in the sun and now, and a fine layer of sweat made his skin shine. She breathed in deeply, the musky scent less dirty and far more arousing than she hoped. Melanie tilted her head back to see Derrick squatting outside the cave area, watching, and she shivered. Why did it feel as if he wasn’t keeping an eye on her to make sure nothing happened, but almost as if he hoped something would?

She cleared her throat. “You still aren’t using the muscles in your left leg right.”

“I pushed off,” Nathan complained.

“You did. But it’s not a push you need, it’s an extension, and you have to employ your full toe and calf muscle.”

Nathan dropped to the mat and groaned. “Show me again.”

Mel nodded. “I will, but first, try once more in slow motion, and I’ll point out the muscles you need to use.”

Nathan set up as she wiggled toward the base of the wall, planting her hand on his thigh before she thought it through.

Oh my God, he was solid. Unyielding muscles flexed under her fingers, and she forced herself to concentrate. “This is where you need to push off, then you can…”

She traced down his calf muscle, caught hold of his ankle and tugged slightly. “Up on your toe. There. That will give you an additional three inches, and that’s all you need to reach your goal.”

“Additional three inches, hey? Never been told I needed it.”

She flushed instantly. What was she supposed to say to in response to that? “Move over and I’ll show you one last time.”

Nathan dropped then slipped to the side to let her access the first holds.

Melanie dragged her gaze off Nathan, wondering if she’d caught some kind of a flu that made her insanely hot and feverish. There was no excuse for this. She’d told Derrick she found Nathan attractive, but that didn’t give her the right to fantasize about the guy right there in front of him.

She lifted her hips and got into position.

“Nate, you’ll never see what she’s doing from over there. Come over to this side,” Derrick ordered.

Melanie’s hands nearly slipped off completely when instead of crawling out to come around to her left, Nathan wiggled under her. There wasn’t enough room for him to pass by without brushing their bodies together, no matter how close to the rock face she clung.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one feeling the heat. He was most definitely hard more places than his arm and leg muscles. Melanie held her breath as he passed, glancing at Derrick to see just what the hell was going on.

He winked.

Winked?

“Okay, Mel, do a slow-motion reach. Nathan, put your hand on her left thigh and feel how the extension starts—it’s not only the thigh, it’s the calf as well and the toe as a final move.”

Nathan wrapped his warm fingers around her leg. His palm cradled the back of her thigh as he stroked downward.

She tried to concentrate on the climbing move, but her focus was gone. A burning sensation skittered along her nerves in direct opposition to the path of his hand, heat flaring into her core. Melanie slid off the rock and lay still for a moment, heart pounding. This was insane. Impossible. Nathan stared into her eyes, his gaze fixed on her as he flipped his grasp to cover the top of her shin. Inch by inch he smoothed his palm upward. The new grip meant his fingertips tickled the inside of her thigh, edging closer to her sex. Fiery shots raced ahead of his touch, and she bit her lip to stop her panting breaths from escaping and revealing exactly how turned on she was.

Maybe she should ignore him. He was going to stop any second—this was a totally innocent move on his part, and she shouldn’t make it dirty simply because she was horny enough to want to strip and crawl all over him—

Sudden energy flashed to her muscles, and she scrambled out from under the rock, crawling crablike away from Nathan. Escaping, retreating. She stood, teetering briefly before a broad body made contact with her.

She spun, squeezed her face tight to Derrick’s chest, wrapping her arms around his torso like a tangling vine. If she didn’t look at either of them, she could pretend she hadn’t just considered letting Nathan King touch her intimately. Fake that the issue was her scars, when this time her damaged body had been the last thing on her mind as she’d lain in the arms of her teenage fantasy.

Derrick stroked her head, his solid body tight in all the right places. Including—oh my. He was hard? That in itself wasn’t unusual, but now? The timing seemed improbable. He reached under her hips and lifted her, allowing her to cling tighter to his neck, their faces now level.

“Derrick, I—” How to explain? Make an excuse or tell the truth?

He kissed her. So, so tenderly. The moist heat of his mouth as he nuzzled her cheek, her temple, made tears spring to her eyes. One brush passed over her lips. One landed on the tip of her nose before he tilted his head to recapture her gaze. “I think you’re a very beautiful woman.”

She flushed. He thought she’d freaked over her scars. For a moment she debated taking the easy way out, letting him continue to blame this on her past fears, then guilt hit. If she truly cared about Derrick, and that was the way her heart seemed to be heading, she would not lie about something this important. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

He’d turned them so her back was to Nathan. What was he doing? Had he followed them? “This whole picture-taking thing is getting to me. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Derrick’s dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “Because you feel attracted to Nathan? As well as me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The confession was barely audible. She might have shared about her past interest in Nathan, but it was the past. She didn’t want to do anything to screw up her future with Derrick.

He shifted position, adjusting until he found a comfortable rock to sit on. She was in his lap now, resting on his strong thighs. His broad shoulders under her hands were strong and yet relaxed.

“I’m not upset with you.” He wrinkled his nose. “I am at a loss for words though, so excuse me if this sounds stupid.”

Melanie wiggled upright. “What?”

Derrick’s smile had a guilty twist to it. “Mel, you know I find you attractive, but I’m not the only one. Nate thinks you’re pretty incredible as well.”

Air stuck in her throat. “You… How do you know that?”

The guilty expression spread, becoming more obvious. “We talked about it.”

Holy shit. The guys she’d hung around with on the climbing team had talked about girls all the time, but it was locker-room talk. Conquests and game plans. Surely Derrick and Nathan were above that kind of thing. And why was Derrick looking so sheepish?

“You talked about me? What specifically did you discuss?”

A hand brushed her neckline, and she startled, nearly falling off Derrick’s lap. Two sets of hands caught her, Derrick’s familiar touch on her hips.

Nathan’s firm grasp on her shoulders.

“We talked about the fact I can’t keep my eyes off of you.” Nathan stood close behind her body, heat from his torso making her insides squirm. He loosened his clasp and slid his fingers down her arms, the light stroke causing a reaction in her core similar to putting flame to kindling.

Derrick pulled her hips in tighter until her sex rested against the very apparent ridge of his arousal. “I told him how important you are to me, and he shared how much you’ve meant to him. As a friend, and someone he greatly admires.”

Melanie wasn’t sure if she was holding her breath, or if her body was incapable of performing the simple tasks necessary to survival. When Derrick dipped his head, brushing his lips against hers, his kiss gave her something to cling to. She accepted the worship of his mouth even as her mind spun.

The vulnerable sensation rippling through her body had nothing to do with her past injuries. It had everything to do with the rising lust she seemed helpless to resist, the yearning to be caressed by the two men who mattered the most.

A warm hand slipped across her belly, palm in full contact, and she froze. Nathan was touching her. He delicately circled her bare belly button—she had taken out the ring for climbing—before pulling his fingers back to wrap them around her waist. Settling directly on top of her scarred skin.

Oh my God.

Instant fear surfaced, even though she had buried it under layers and layers of barriers. Bile rose to her mouth, in anticipation of the coming agony. Any second now Nathan was going to recoil in disgust, and his response would rip her soul in two. A blur passed in front of her eyes as she waited for the dagger to stab into her heart.

“Breathe, Mel. Come on, I’m here, holding you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Derrick’s voice dragged her back from the wall of anxiety that had rushed up, blocking all possible escape routes but sheer panic. She took a deliberate breath of air through her nose before lifting her gaze to his.

He remained waiting like a rock, something solid to cling to. Still, the mixture of terror and desire clouding her brain made concentration difficult. “He’s t-t-touching me.”

Derrick nodded. “If you like it, he’ll continue to touch you. But only if you want.”

“You’re a very desirable woman, Melanie.” Nathan swept his hand over her abdomen again, ranging higher this time. The tips of his fingers brushed the underside of her breasts and sent jolts of excitement to her nipples, her core.

In spite of the ache in her body, she needed to know. Her heart was fragile—even more fragile than her body had been three years ago as she lay crumpled at the bottom of the hill. Melanie spoke her fears. “I don’t understand. Derrick—what’s happening? Are we not a couple anymore?”

“Oh, Mel.” Derrick cupped her face in his hands. “No, that’s not it at all. I need you, I want you, and have no intention of letting you go. But I also care enough about you to give you what you need.”

“What I need?” Another gentle pass of Nathan’s hand over her sensitive skin caused a shiver that consumed her entire body. “You think I need…Nathan?”

Derrick soothed her, hands and lips petting her softly. “You tell me.”

Sunlight wavered around them, the tall trees swaying in the breeze making the shadows dance around the clearing. It was the most peaceful of settings, and she closed her eyes and soaked in the serenity around her to force out the fears rocking her world.

Sexually aroused, emotionally anxious—and stunned by what she grew more certain was love shining in Derrick’s eyes.

Melanie twisted until she sat sideways in his lap, both legs dangling to the side. She glanced behind them where Nathan squatted. There was no mistaking the heated interest in his expression as his gaze roamed over her body.

Derrick thought she needed Nathan. Did she? Her first response to him touching her scars had been worlds apart from her reaction earlier in the gym, and on the bouldering wall. Instead of a rush of desire, she’d felt dread.

Why? Why the change?

Because he’d made actual contact. That’s when she’d been rejected before.

She touched Derrick’s face. “You want me to let him touch my scars. To prove that they don’t mean anything.”

“To prove your attractiveness is far more than skin-deep.”

Even as fast as her heart fluttered, there was a twist of irony in the setup. “This seems a radical form of therapy.”

Derrick bumped his nose against her cheek, breathing from the vee of her neck. The warm puff of his breath slid down her skin like a delicious secret. He spoke for her ears alone. “Doing is much better proof than discussing for hours. I’ll be right here, and you can say stop whenever you want. Kiss him if you want, touch him, allow him to touch you.” He pulled back, staring possessively at her lips. His tone dropped, thick with lust. “And when you’ve had enough, I’m making love to you until you lose all doubts about how desirable you are.”

She squeezed her legs together at the instant response his promise created in her body.

“Do you understand?”

Melanie nodded slowly. It was preposterous. Fantastic. Slightly mad.

Derrick paused. “If this is what you want, it’s up to you to take it.”

Brilliant. There would be no chance down the road she could claim this was something she’d felt pressured into. If she wanted, she could act. Make it her decision to step forward to prove herself attractive to more than just one man.

A rush of self-reproach hit. Why wasn’t being attractive to Derrick enough? He’d been so consistent and caring, and she still hadn’t been able to move beyond her limitations. Melanie lifted her lips to his and accepted his kiss. Hard for a moment, both of them affirming their connection, needing proof of it. Derrick eased back, a questioning expression on his face as he waited for her decision.

Having Derrick in her life was the start of healing, but she still felt caged. And it was past time to fix this problem.

This offer—to try and break the final chains that wrapped her in bondage—it was as if a lifeline was being stretched to her. Even though her limbs trembled, she turned to face Nathan, because she damn well needed this for her soul.

“Monkey?” Nathan’s knuckles were white where he’d dug his fingers into his thighs as he waited a few feet away. The grass lay crumpled under his knees, a smear of dirt along the edge of his shorts. Patient, and oh-so masculine. No longer the young man she’d lusted after before she even knew what lust was.

She shook her head, casting aside all her childish connections. “I’m not a monkey anymore. I grew up.” And the grown-up woman had needs the teenage fantasy couldn’t answer.

But the man before her could.

Nathan’s response was a skin-tingling, body-melting smile. “I noticed.”

She shuffled forward on Derrick’s lap, the firm base of his thighs giving her a chair-like base to rest upon that allowed her feet to touch the ground. With one hand she reached for Nathan, and he moved to accept it.

His fingers were less callused than Derrick’s. Not soft, but not the hands of a climber. With her wrist captured, Nathan rotated his hand, delicately holding her palm upward in the circle of his fingers.

“Derrick is right. You can say stop at anytime. I find you very attractive, Melanie Dixon, and I can’t wait to prove it. In detail.”

She couldn’t tear her gaze away. He seemed fascinated with the tendons in her wrist, tracing them with the fingertips of his other hand, inching his way up the sensitive skin of her arm until he made contact with the inside of her elbow. Traveling in conjunction with his touch was a freaky sensation somewhere between being tickled and being held at the edge of a rocking orgasm.

Was it possible to climax without a single sexual touch?

“I want to kiss you, Mel.”

He waited for her response, his long dark lashes that she’d envied as a teen lazily fluttering as he stared at her mouth.

A kiss would be good. If she remembered how to talk, she would tell him that. Instead, she managed a nod, and his smile arrived right on cue. He released her wrist, slipping one hand all the way up until he cradled her neck. His other hand dropped to rest feather-light on her thigh.

Nathan leaned in until his mouth made contact with hers, tracing his tongue over her bottom lip tentatively. Even as she pressed closer for more, Derrick’s firm grasp reassured her, his thumbs stroking slowly back and forth over the curve of her hipbones, adding to the desire rocking her core.

The situation was bewildering, but the actual increase in her pulse had everything to do with arousal instead of fear and she could have cried because it felt so wonderful.

She crushed her lips against Nathan’s, not allowing him to remain delicate. His response was immediate—passionate and demanding. He held her head in place and took her mouth by storm. Thrusting with his tongue, biting her lips, rocking the pleasure in her to a higher level in a split second. It was unlike any childish fantasy she’d clung to and, oh God, it was good.

The heat behind her confirmed Derrick was still there. That when she’d had enough of Nathan’s caresses, her lover was going to make her body sing like he had proven over and over he could—

The line between panic and pleasure blurred further. It might have been fear that started her heart racing in the first place, but it was the sensation of Nathan’s hand moving on her thigh that pushed a needy cry from her throat.