An icy cool wall of relief hit. “You’re serious? How did you pull that off?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Part of my negotiations. I can’t talk about the details, but I don’t want you to fuss, okay?”
“Do you miss working for Rave?” She didn’t want to have ruined his career.
Nathan snorted. “Not at all. The freelance I’m doing pays just as well, and now that I’ve bought a camper, I’m mobile and can work anywhere. Amazing how being able to travel freely makes it easier to get some assignments.”
“Sounds as if you’re even more footloose and fancy-free than usual,” Derrick teased. “Going to take advantage of better weather in the south and get away from the coming snow?”
Derrick continued to quiz Nathan on his plans, and Melanie simply soaked it in.
With her lover’s arm around her, Melanie was anchored in the warmth of her surroundings. She enjoyed the chatter as Nathan filled in the missing gaps from the past months, and his optimistic hopes for the future. Knowing that Nathan was going to be okay, finding a place in Derrick’s heart—her happiness was almost complete now.
There was only one more thing she wanted to accomplish, and it was time.
Somehow they ended up back at the gym, Chinese takeout boxes scattered again.
“Why do I feel like we’ve entered a time warp?” Derrick stroked her hair as Melanie leaned against his chest. He hoped she wasn’t going to suggest another round of sex in front of Nathan. He wasn’t willing to share her ever again, not even that way.
She giggled. “Sorry, no wild sexcapades this time.”
“Well, damn,” Nathan complained. “I had this new rope trick I wanted to show you.”
She stuck out her tongue and he instantly clicked a picture. “Will you stop that?” she demanded.
“Monkey.”
“Jackass.” Melanie scrambled to her feet. “I want to climb. Derrick, belay me?”
That wasn’t what he expected. “Right now?”
She was already scrambling into her harness. “Now.”
Derrick exchanged a confused shrug with Nathan, but went to grab his belt. Nathan gathered the remains of their dinner and cleared the floor, stepping out of the way to allow Melanie access to the wall.
She grabbed him by the arm on her return journey, hauling him close and hugging him fiercely. Nathan was stiff at first before returning the salute.
They were both grinning like fools when he stepped away.
Derrick was in the middle of checking the straps on her harness when Melanie caught him unaware. The gentle touch of her lips to his cheek was accompanied by her fingers tangling in his hair. She tugged until their lips connected, then continued the light blessing of their mouths together.
It would be easy to do this all night long.
When she pressed her hands to his chest, it was to both push them apart and to keep them together, her fingers clutching the front of his shirt. “I love you.”
A rush of happiness hit like a rockslide, making his knees weak. “I love you too.”
“On belay?”
Oh man. Would he ever get used to her high-energy mood swings? Derrick adjusted the rope, taking up the slack and pulling his head back into the game. “Belay on.”
Melanie grabbed the wall, stepping up to lift both feet clear of the floor. “Climbing?”
He’d support her as high as she wanted to go. “Climb on.”
One move followed another. Deliberate. Cautious, yet not. She tested her grip before releasing each previous hold, but she didn’t take the simplest route up the wall. She reached and stretched, using her muscular legs and flexible core to attempt challenging holds.
Nathan stepped behind him and spoke quietly as if afraid to disturb her. “What’s she doing?”
Derrick shrugged but kept his eyes locked on her rising body. “Proving something to us? Something to herself?”
“She doesn’t have to prove anything to me.”
Melanie didn’t even hesitate as she passed the fifteen-foot marker, progressing one hold at a time. Pride swelled inside Derrick at her fearlessness. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Halfway up the wall she paused. “Take.”
“Got. Fabulous work.” The poise she showed highlighted how far she’d come in the past five months.
“Oh, I’m not done.”
Derrick waited, watching her peer down at him from her perch. “What’s up, sweetheart?”
She flashed a grin on them both. “Give me slack. I’m climbing the rest freestyle.”
Shit. “Melanie…”
“Do it. I’m good. Really I am.”
He paused. Assessing. Looking into her bright eyes, her confident face. It took a lot for him to release his own fears. “As you wish.”
She blew him a kiss before facing the wall resolutely. “Climbing.”
Derrick forced himself to obey her request—mostly. She wouldn’t get hurt. Worst-case scenario, if she did slip off a hold, the rope he still controlled would halt her before she’d fallen far. He wasn’t strong enough to let her completely free, so he cheated, just a little. Gave her a loose rope, but took up the extra slack to make sure the most she could fall was less than five feet.
It wasn’t a case of not trusting her skills, but loving her enough to care even when she didn’t ask him to.
“She’s beautiful when she’s climbing.” There was a note of awe in Nathan’s voice.
“She’s beautiful all the time,” Derrick corrected.
And when Melanie reached the top of the wall and sounded the bicycle horn mounted on the ceiling, Derrick fought back tears.
“Take.” Sheer delight tinged her voice as she called out.
Derrick tightened up the extra rope to secure her in position. “Got.” For now. Forever.
Far above them, a loud shout echoed off the walls as Melanie cried out her victory, both hands raised over her head. She spun in a lazy circle as he lowered her to the ground and into his arms.
“I did it.” The words brushed past his cheek as she whispered in his ear. “I really did it.”
Derrick squeezed her close in spite of the ropes and harnesses tangled between them. She’d more than accomplished her goal. She’d risen above her fears, and he was going to enjoy every moment of watching her face the future.
Together, they could rise above any challenges that came their way.
About the Author
Vivian Arend has hiked, biked, skied and paddled her way around most of North America and parts of Europe. Throughout all the wandering in the wilderness, stories have been planted and they are bursting out in vivid colour. Paranormal, twisted fairytales, red-hot contemporaries—the genres are all over.
Between times of living with no running water, she home schools her teenaged children and tries to keep up with her husband—the instigator of most of the wilderness adventures.
She loves to hear from readers: vivarend@gmail.com. You can also drop by www.vivianarend.com for more information on what is coming next.