Stuck on You (15 page)

Maybe that explains the nickname.

Every time he dipped the oar into the water and pulled it back, every inch of his upper body tightened. And every time he withdrew the oar from the water and reached forward for another stroke, she’d let out the breath she hadn’t meant to hold.

Between the awkward breathing, the sway of the canoe shifting her back and forth in her seat while the inseam of her increasingly uncomfortable denim cut-offs rode up higher and higher between her thighs, and her budded nipples rubbing against the soft cotton of the Miles-scented shirt, she thought she might actually faint. Add in a half-naked Miles for eye-candy and it was all too much. All too good.

By the time Miles had rowed them back to shore, into the wind the whole time, they’d both worked up a sweat. It was all she could do not to jump across the two feet separating them in the canoe and tackle him right then and there.

Best. Canoe ride. Ever.

When she’d finally gathered up her discarded shirt and bra and climbed out of the canoe onto solid ground, Zoe and Ben had come back to the shore to greet them.

“Well, what do we have here?” Zoe smirked. “I never thought about doing it on a canoe before, but I guess you’ve proven it’s possible.

“We didn’t … ” Paige trailed off, too embarrassed to speak a full sentence.

“I loaned her a dry shirt, that’s all.” Miles stood confidently as if he had no reason in the world to be embarrassed about his shirtless state. Of course, he didn’t. No one that hot would be embarrassed. “So where are we off to next?”

Back to business as usual. Good. That was good. Wasn’t it?

The thought of the canoe ride still caused her head to swirl, but that wouldn’t do her any good now. Best to move on and forget that moment. Like Miles did so easily. Apparently a half-naked canoe ride was no big deal to him. Maybe she wasn’t a big deal to him either.

“Can I have the keys?” she asked Miles, holding out her hand. “While you guys figure out where we’re going next, I’m going to go defrost myself.”

She jogged to the truck and cranked the heat on high, then laid out her shirt and bra across the dashboard over top of the vents near the windshield. Maybe if she blasted them with heat for a few minutes they would dry off enough to slip back into. She couldn’t let Miles walk around shirtless for the rest of the day. And stopping back at base camp for more clothes would take up way too much time.

As her skin started returning to a normal temperature, the back hatch opened and Miles popped his head inside, rustling around in a backpack for something. A moment later, he pulled open the driver’s side door and leaned in toward her.

“Feeling warmer?” he asked.

Her gaze roamed down his still naked chest. She nodded. Much warmer. “My stuff should be dry in a minute and then you can have your shirt back.”

“Keep it,” he said with a sexy smile. “It looks good on you.”

“You’re just … ” She swallowed, her throat feeling parched. “You’re going to be comfortable like … that … for the rest of the day?” She nodded toward his chest — his very naked, very muscular, close-enough-she-could-touch-it chest.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I might. How would you feel if I did?”

“I, um. That would be, um, fine.” She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before opening them again. Yep. Hot, shirtless guy still inches from her cold, needy body. Damn.

Where the hell was the confident Paige she’d been trying so hard to channel?

That Paige had gone on vacation the second the shirtless hunk showed up and left behind super un-flirty Paige in her place. Well, that wasn’t going to fly with a guy like Miles.

“You wouldn’t hear a complaint from me,” she said, dropping her tone to something that hopefully sounded seductive and not like she suffered from a throat infection.

He stood frozen for a few minutes as if thinking about what to do next. “Maybe another time.”

For a second, she thought he might lean in and kiss her again. Oh God, if he did, she wouldn’t be able to keep her hands off him. His chest had felt amazing with clothes on. With nothing separating her skin from his, she might not be able to control herself. If only he’d kiss her again so she could find out.

But he didn’t.

“Today we have caches to find and the other halves of our teams are waiting for us to hurry up. So you scoot into the back and I’ll drive. I can’t risk your shivers veering us off the road.” He paused leaning closer, running his fingers along her jaw and across her lips. “I can’t risk being distracted by you either. And enjoying this look in your eye because I’m bare-chested will have to wait until another time, or I’m afraid we won’t make it out of the parking lot.”

He stepped back from the door and pulled on a new, clean shirt. She passed in front of him with barely an inch of space between them. Her knees had never been shakier and she couldn’t blame a single quiver on her chill. Nope.

“Where did that come from?” she asked, referring to the new shirt as she settled into the backseat, thankful there was great second-row venting in the vehicle. And also thankful she didn’t have to give back Miles’s shirt yet. She wasn’t ready to part with it.

“Years of mountain climbing and hiking taught me to always come prepared. Anything you need, I probably have either in my backpack or on my person.”

Oh, I bet you do …

Miles braced himself in the backseat, cursing his poor lack of judgment for letting Zoe behind the wheel. He knew better than that. Her driving history was proof. She spooked easily behind the wheel and drove as if her life depended on getting where she was going as quickly as possible. If he ever made it back to base camp in one piece, he’d never let her drive him anywhere again. Ever.

Even without her driving, they were incompatible for a road trip of any length. Always had been, always would be. They’d been forced into a few road trips as children and the hours in the car, sharing a backseat had always been grueling. Torturous.

“I can’t believe I let you have the keys,” Miles griped as his seatbelt tightened. If she slammed on the breaks one more time, he was going to lose his mind. And possibly the granola bar he’d gulped down at lunch.

“Stop your backseat driving,” Zoe snapped.

“I’m not sure what you’re doing is called driving so how could I possibly be commenting on it?”

“Just because you’re a pansy behind the wheel, doesn’t mean I am. Besides, if you want to get to the finish line before the check-in time cut off, then we need to hurry the hell up.”

“True, but I’d still prefer to get there alive.”

Zoe didn’t respond. Probably just as well. Her snotty comments would only succeed in getting them into yet another argument. And distracting Zoe while she drove like a complete maniac would only make the entire situation more dangerous.

Nope. He’d sit back and pray.

Then after they were safely checked in at base camp, he’d pull Zoe aside and give her a piece of his mind. Not that it would make any difference. She never listened to a thing he said anyway. But it would make him feel better to get his aggravation with her off his chest.

He leaned back and closed his eyes. Maybe if he didn’t look, they would magically transport themselves to base camp and he could stop staring down the freeway of death from the backseat. Yes, eyes closed were better.

Miles let his mind wander out of the game and over to Paige in the other SUV with Ben. He’d had an awesome day with her, driving in comfortable silence or chatting about the game while hunting caches all day. He would have much preferred being in her SUV for the return trip too if they hadn’t been in such a rush after the last cache and jumped into the wrong trucks. He’d thought for sure he’d slipped into the backseat of the one Paige had revved the engine of, but sadly no.

“I think it might be time to tell Paige the truth about us,” he said, trying to take his mind off the car ride from hell.

“About time. It’s really not that big a deal.”

“Not to you, but you’re not the one who gets picked on by the tall bitchy blonde girl all the time. Paige might care if she knows she has to spend more time with you if she chooses to be with me.”

“Hey, I’ve been nice lately. I’ve hardly teased her at all and you have to admit, I’ve had a lot of material to work with.”

True, Zoe hadn’t teased Paige as much as she could have lately. As far as he knew, she hadn’t said anything to Paige about sliding down the hill and today she’d barely said anything about the fall into the lake. Maybe things were settling down enough between all of them that it wouldn’t matter anymore if Paige found out the truth.

Paige … Damn, that girl looked hot in his shirt. And when she’d gotten too hot on the last walk and had rolled up the sleeves and twisted the bottom hem into a knot just above her hip … well, shit. He’d never felt so knotted up inside. He was the one who needed a dip in a cold lake after seeing that.

Didn’t matter that the knot in his shirt would probably leave it stretched out, even after washing. Nope. What did matter was the strip of lightly tanned skin peeking out from between her denim cut-offs and the now knotted edged of his soft cotton shirt. Not to mention the lack of a bra beneath it.

Just the thought of her bare skin rubbing against the fabric of his shirt made him hard.

His shoulder slammed into the door as the car shifted violently. “Damn it, Zoe,” he yelled, his eyes popping open and the image of Paige vanishing. “Are you trying to take out the competition? We’re supposed to be allies now, remember?”

“While you were having a catnap back there, I got us to base camp,” she said, pulling into a parking spot while the sound of gravel clinked against the undercarriage of the truck. “Now stop your bitching and run. We’re almost late.”

Miles threw open the back door and hopped out, thankful to see Paige and Ben pulling in behind them. Somehow Paige had managed to keep up with Zoe’s crazy driving.

The four of them ran across the parking lot toward the line painted on the front lawn where they started and finished each day during the race. Of course, all of the closer spots were already taken by the other teams. Spencer waited beside the line, glancing down at his watch as he waved them on.

When they hit the grass Zoe swore and fell to the ground. She gripped her ankle in her hands.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked as they all crouched around her.

“Do I look okay?” she shot back.

“Well, at least your bad attitude isn’t broken. Can you walk on it?” Miles wrapped his arm under her shoulders and lifted her to her feet.

She took a small step, attempting to put weight on it, but cried out in pain and went weak in his arms. “You guys go ahead. You’re going to be late.”

“No,” all three of them said at the same time.

“We started together, we’ll finish together too,” Ben said.

Miles scooped Zoe into his arms and started toward the check in line together. Ben and Paige walked beside him. There was no sense in them running ahead since both members of the team had to be present before check in would count. Either they would all make it in time, or they’d all be late. Either way, it looked like their alliance was standing strong.

“You are the last teams to check in tonight and you’re both late,” Spencer said without much showmanship. “As such, both teams have incurred a two hour penalty for tomorrow’s start time. That means you will be able to officially start your search in the morning at ten. I’ll see you back here then.”

Miles didn’t wait around to talk to Spencer about it more. He needed to get Zoe’s ankle looked at by the staff medic as soon as possible. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to go for x-rays. But if she did, they had a few extra hours before they were allowed to start racing again, which would hopefully be more than enough time to get her feeling better.

Just off the lobby of the lodge’s main entrance was a small room normally used for extra supplies. During filming, it had been turned into a makeshift first aid station. Miles set Zoe on the tiny cot inside the door.

“What happened?” the medic asked Zoe.

“I twisted it running for the check-in. It’s just a sprain. Give me a couple Ibuprofen and a tensor bandage and I’ll be good to go.”

The medic ignored her while he twisted her ankle gently one way then the other. It was obvious she tried to keep her poker face on but it wasn’t working. Every time he moved it, the color drained from her cheeks.

“You need to have this x-rayed to make sure it’s not fractured. I don’t think it is, but I can’t let you race again without knowing for sure. Some of these caches are too dangerous if you have a bad ankle.”

“It’s fine,” Zoe protested, moving to get off the bed.

The medic put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. “Do you want me to kick you out of the race?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then you’ll do as I deem necessary and you’ll get x-rayed. If the x-ray shows no fractures, I’ll let you race tomorrow. No x-ray, no race.”

Damn it. Why did Zoe have to wear those stupid heels all the time? She was asking for something like this to happen. And now she’d gotten Paige to start wearing them too. It was a miracle they both weren’t in ankle casts by now.

“Fine,” Zoe said quietly, looking distinctly pale and worried. Not at all like the tough girl she usually was. “Let’s get this over with.”

Miles could tell she was trying her best to be strong, but it wasn’t fooling him. “Maybe we should go with you?”

“Only room for one more in the ambulance.”

“I’ll go,” Ben said, stepping forward and putting his hand on Zoe’s shoulder before anyone else had a chance to speak.

“No, it should be me. I’m her teammate,” Paige said. Paige didn’t appear to like the idea of going to the hospital any more than Zoe appeared to.

“You still stink like the lake. I don’t want you in my ambulance, thanks.”

Always the kind and appreciative Zoe.

While the three of them bickered about who should go with Zoe, Miles followed the medic around the corner to where the wheelchair was stored. “How bad is her ankle?” He couldn’t help but worry even if she put on a strong face.