Between Darkness and Daylight (21 page)

"So what brings you down?" he asked.

"We decided to meet you and all go for a bite to eat."

"We?"

"I hooked up with Ransom at the apartment and brought him over."

"I'm glad you warned me."

"Did you have something in mind?"

"You sure you want to be starting trouble, Ms. Foxx?"

"It's my middle name."

"I can believe it." He leered and slid his hands from her waist down to her butt, firmly cupping each cheek, filling his palms as he lifted her from the floor and drew her close. He sucked and nipped her full lower lip before thrusting his tongue deep to couple with hers.

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Gracie C. McKeever

She didn't know why, but his boldness took her off-guard, his tongue mimicking the lazy sinuous motion of his lower body, rhythmic and hard as he held her tight and moved against her.

Nova slid a hand between their bodies, eliciting much satisfaction from the hiss that escaped through his teeth when she caressed, then palmed his hard cock.

Zane gave her lips one last nibble before pulling up for air. "Thanks for thinking of me, for thinking of Ransom."

"Don't thank me yet. I needed reinforcements to ask you about rock climbing Saturday."

Zane chuckled. "You're something else, you know that?" He leaned in before she could respond, snatching one more kiss for the road, crushing her mouth beneath his as if this small act could convey how deep his appreciation went, how much she meant to him.

His radar must have been as potent as hers because he stopped ravishing her only seconds before Ransom rapped on the doorjamb and stepped into the room.

Nova barely had enough time to put a hand to her bruised lips and catch her breath when Ransom said, "C'mon guys, I'm starving. Aren't you?"

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Chapter 13

Nova felt his gaze on her back, hot and steady, making the fine hairs stand up on her neck and prickles of excitement dance in her belly, inspiring her to perform at peak levels.

She was always careful with her equipment, but she found herself taking special care with her preparation this morning, slowly checking her harness, locking carabiner, and belay device. She took thirty minutes to explain and secure her and Ransom's gear when usually she would have taken ten minutes. She made sure he repeated everything back to her when she was done, that he understood how important good communication was and that belaying was the most important skill to master.

He smiled. "Yeah, but climbing's the most fun."

Even after everything that had happened to her, Nova had to agree.

This climb was important, and not just because she wanted to show Ransom a good time and exhibit her skill and physical prowess to Zane, maybe get him hot bothered enough to want her afterward. Most importantly, she wanted to prove to herself once and for all she still had what it took to make a great climber, that she still wanted the sort of exhilaration that scaling afforded her.

She'd been climbing since the accident, at Rock Groove in L.A., when she'd gotten back her legs, and at the sports center and several other indoor climbing facilities around New York. She wanted to keep her edge, as small as it was, because she hadn't gone rock climbing outdoors yet, hadn't worked up the courage for that ultimate test.

She didn't know why it was so important to keep doing this. Anyone else, especially someone only in it for the sport and not the thrill of competition, would have given it up after such a serious injury. Not her.

She'd never been a quitter. Had she been, she would never have met Zane and his nephew.

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Peeking over a shoulder mid-lecture, she winked at Zane, standing several feet away with his arms folded across his chest and an intent expression on his face as he watched her and one of the center's trainers go through their paces with Ransom. He looked delicious clad in a burgundy rugby shirt, which was tucked into a pair of relaxed-fit blue jeans, and matching running shoes.

"Sure you won't give it a shot?"

"You're persistent, but I'll pass." Zane chuckled. "Burn some calories for me, though!"

She licked her tongue out in a raspberry and received a grin in return.

At least he was consistent. She liked a man who stuck to his guns. But she'd still rather he were accompanying her and Ran up the wall.

All through their discourse during the drive over, Zane had claimed climbing wasn't "his bag." She'd prodded him more insistently once they'd arrived at the sports center, but not even her best sales pitches swayed him.

"How do you know it's not your bag? Have you tried it?"

"No, but my mother used to use
that
line on me when she wanted me to eat Brussels sprouts. It didn't work then, and it ain't going to work now."

Nova had smiled, liking his repartee. "You've got the perfect physique for it." She'd circled him, squeezing the biceps on one arm. Based on how he’d looked in nothing but pajama bottoms, "perfect" was an understatement. He had the consummate athletic build—well-muscled but lean, like a runner. She could just picture him swinging from crack to crack, biceps and calf muscles taut and working in concert as he pulled himself up. "C'm
on
, it's perfectly safe."

"I wouldn't let you take Ran up if I didn't think so."

Nova felt a twinge of guilt at his confidence in her, his belief that it was "perfectly" safe.

She wasn't being perfectly honest, truth be told, and knew had Zane been aware of her accident, he would have had second, maybe third thoughts about letting her take his nephew up. Convincing herself that she knew what she was doing, and that any sport—any
thing
in life—had some risk attached to it, didn't assuage the flickers of shame as she continued with her spiel. "I know you're a risk-taker, Zany Zane. It's in your blood."

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"Could be."

"Well?"

Zane shrugged and for a moment Nova thought maybe it would be better if he didn't go up with them, that his presence would be too much of a distraction, which was the last thing she needed. She took one more shot anyway. "The worst thing that could happen is a pigeon might get loose in the building and poop on your head."

The laugh this elicited was worth the price of admission.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"No go, huh?"

"I think I'd rather just enjoy the view." He'd slapped her butt, encased in close-fitting biker shorts, to emphasize exactly which view he was referring to.

"Are we going to get this show on the road or what?" Ransom huffed now and Nova turned back just in time to see him rolling his eyes.

"About to do that now." She laughed and stepped closer to check his gear one final time before she sent him on his way, letting the center's trainer check her gear. Then she anchored herself just below Ransom as he began his ascent.

Chelsea Piers boasted the biggest and best wall in the city. It had great long routes with good sport leads and long over-hanging climbs. The Bouldering was a weak spot, but with such a tall wall, not too many people noticed. The wall was Nova's main reason for joining the sports center. Half the climbers here were hard-core. The rest were gym members who wanted to "try climbing." Nova knew it wasn't the best place for beginners, but she had faith in Ransom and her ability to guide him.

She had gone over everything that could go wrong the night before, as she always did before a climb. She’d visualized making a particular move, visualized the feeling, the momentum, and the balance, visualized only correct climbing technique and form.

Going through her pre-climb ritual with Ransom, she’d tried to convey her personal mantra without putting the teenager to sleep with boring rules and protocols, stressing that he should keep his head together. She used her tools of sports psychology on him, especially the ones about developing self-confidence and controlling doubt and negative thoughts.

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This meant she had to let him go up alone; it was the only way to gain his trust, the only way to give him hers.

She'd never been as nervous—not on her very first climb, not tackling her highest peak in The Sierra Nevada—as she was watching Ransom get his footing and grip on those first two cracks. Perhaps because she was responsible for another's wellbeing—a child, all bright-eyed, excited, and totally dependent.

Nova watched Ransom's progress, admiring his agility and

concentration. He was a natural, climbing smooth and controlled, taking proper rests, shaking, clipping, breathing. Most importantly, he remembered to maintain contact throughout his ascent, spouting verbal commands—give, take, climbing, clipping, tension—like an old pro.

Nova tried to keep up with him, to stay alert and focused. Belaying, though necessary, wasn't her favorite activity. She had to stand in the same position with her head tilted back for a long period of time. The only activity she had was to feed out rope in half-meter increments every twenty seconds. The inactivity, combined with standing in an uncomfortable position, caused her attention to drift away; that, and she felt the ripples, warm and exciting, traveling through her head until there was nothing but a steady whir in her brain.

The route suddenly went around a corner and Nova lost sight of Ransom, just for a second. And that was all it took for the unexpected to happen.

She couldn't blame him—she was the teacher, he was the student depending on her experience and knowledge to get him to the top. But he didn't say anything, didn't telegraph his intent—perhaps too caught up in his upward motion to think about who and what was going on below. By the time Nova realized what Ran was doing, he was totally out of sight.

She felt sudden pressure on the anchor point and tried too late to compensate and take rope, prevent slack, so that the anchor point would take the force of Ransom's fall. Not as close to vertically under him as she could have been, she tried but couldn't prevent a pendulum, clenching her jaws and holding as tight as she could when Ran lost his grip and swung out from the wall.

God, she hoped she hadn't hurt him!

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Nova heard the teen scream and for an instant flashed back to her own fall, knew just how Matt must have felt right at the moment she'd lost her footing. Then she realized that Ransom was whooping in excitement, not fear or pain.

"You can open your eyes now." Zane stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and gently held her.

Nova opened her eyes to see Ransom swinging above her, a wide grin on his face as he saluted then gave her an okay sign. She grinned weakly and returned his salute, jaws still aching from gritting her teeth so hard.

Zane slid his hands down her shoulders, massaging her muscles. "Ease up. He's okay."

Nova wasn't so sure, and she wouldn't be until Ransom made it back to the ground and was standing beside her, whole and real again.

She and the trainer got control of the ropes and safely lowered him to the ground. He ran to her as soon as he hit terra firma. "That was a cool trip, yo!" He threw his arms around her in a firm hug, then pulled back to grace her with a wide grin. "Can I do that again?"

Zane looked at Nova behind Ran's back and rolled his eyes at the boy's talk of soon taking up bungee jumping and sky diving. He mouthed, "See what you've started," then balled a hand and playfully shook his fist at her.

"I'll get you for this."

The threat was pointless. He'd gotten her already—lock, stock, and barrel.

Nova stopped short of mouthing that to him, just laughed and squeezed Ransom tighter to her bosom, glad he'd escaped injury and she, total disaster.

* * * *

I know you're a risk-taker…

She knew more about him than he knew about himself, for Zane hadn't realized that before, hadn't thought of himself as anything close to a risk-taker, especially since he'd become an "adult." He had responsibilities, a teen to take care of. He couldn't afford risks, at least not too many, not risks that were avoidable.

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The risks involved in his job were peripheral, uncontrollable and unanticipated, risks he was willing to take in order to get out his message and help humankind in any way he could, if only in a small way. He didn't have a choice; it was just something he had to do.

But rock climbing? He had every choice in the world and it wasn't something he wanted to try. Besides, he was having way too much fun watching Nova work her magic on Ransom, work her magic on everyone around her with her quick wit and instant smile.

Not to mention the magic she worked on
him,
wiggling around in those biker shorts that hugged the inverted-heart shape of her behind the way
he
wanted to.

After Ransom's fall, she initiated an impromptu race between herself and Ransom and an adjoining mother and son team. The kid was about Ransom's age, but with much more experience, from what Zane had witnessed.

The mother-son pair beat out Nova and Ransom by only a hair, which was miraculous considering Ransom's newness to the sport. Nova had been right. The teen was an instinctive climber, adjusting to the sport as a newborn adjusts to an all-water environment.

Watching them interact filled Zane with a certain measure of relief and tranquility. He was like a man who'd brought home a prospective new mother for his child's perusal, and the child heartily gave his stamp of approval.

Right before the end of their session, he finally saw Nova in her full glory when she allowed Ransom to act as belayer for her climb. Zane knew this was an extreme act of trust on her part and couldn't figure out whether to praise her for putting so much faith in his nephew or scold her for being foolhardy. He finally settled for something in between as he watched the pair in action.

He hated to admit it, but he felt excluded, almost jealous of his nephew, envious of the bond the teen shared with Nova and of the easy rapport and camaraderie they exhibited as Ransom expertly fed her rope and played the anchor. Their connection went beyond the climbing; it was almost as if they shared a secret.