Stuck on You (23 page)

After they’d finally given up planning for the next day, their teams split up for the remainder of the evening. Paige and Miles would grab hot chocolate and cuddle on the couch in front of the huge stone fireplace, chatting about their lives outside of the game, and Zoe and Ben would usually go stretch out in the girls’ room where he could rest his leg and they could talk. About what, Paige had no idea, since talking to Zoe usually meant lots of sarcasm. But Ben didn’t seem to mind at all.

In fact, Ben seemed happier now than he had at the beginning of the show. If Paige had to wager a guess, she’d say Zoe was too. Odd how the two of them suddenly got along so well. After their hospital excursion, they seemed to have bonded in a way Paige and Zoe hadn’t. Come to think of it, Zoe was calmer, more polite, and hadn’t said one sarcastic thing to Ben in all the times Paige had seen them together.

Ben and Zoe’s newfound — whatever it was — also left lots of time for Miles and Paige to be alone together. Most nights it was
all
night since Ben ended up falling asleep while talking to Zoe in the girls’ room.

And yet Miles insisted Ben was faithful to his wife Tammy without question. Paige couldn’t help but wonder why someone like Ben would want to spend so much time alone with Zoe. He must see something in her that the rest of the world was blind to.

Paige didn’t mind giving up her bed at all. Miles’s bed was way more comfortable for sleeping anyways … well, after he finally let her sleep each night. The other teams didn’t even bat an eyelash in her direction during her walk of shame each morning anymore either. Their blooming romance — “showmance” if you asked the Frat Boys — was old news with the end of the show nearing and everyone so focused on winning.

Miles’s fingers trailed down her ribs and back up again, her bare skin tingling with the sensation. She hadn’t bothered to bring pajamas with her to Miles’s room each night since she wouldn’t have stayed in them for long anyway. The appreciative smile on his face each night when she climbed into bed in only her panties was worth the lack of clothing. And she was never cold wrapped in his arms.

His hand slid down her side and slipped under the material of her panties, coming to rest on her rear. He squeezed and she tried to wiggle away from his wandering hand. She needed to get up and get to her own room, not fool around with Miles. Fooling around would lead to a late start and none of them could afford that.

“Miles, stop. We have to get up.” She turned her head and yawned away from him. “We don’t have time for any of that this morning.”

“Still too tired? I let you sleep all night to recoup.” He kissed her head while his free hand found her breast, caressing it until her nipple peaked into a tight bud. “You seem awake enough.”

She rolled onto him, kissing his neck then his collarbone and chest. Oh, yes. She’d love to stay and play this morning, and judging by the tenting in his boxer briefs, he’d love it too.

Paige stopped kissing his body and stared into his eyes, hovering over him. Every morning she woke up in his bed, she felt herself fall a little harder, a little deeper. It wouldn’t take much longer before she was a total goner. Seeing his beautiful eyes stare back at her with lust and something that looked an awful lot like love in them, she didn’t mind falling further. As long as he fell with her.

Was he falling for her too? Or was she the only one losing her head in this arrangement?

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, his voice raspy as if there was more than the early morning making his voice sound that way. “I think this might be the best alliance ever.”

“So it’s all about the game, huh?” she teased, but her insides twisted with fear that she might be right. “I’m just an ally, nothing more.”

He flipped her over and was suddenly hovering over her, his eyes serious and full of heat. “You’ve never been part of the game to me.”

Miles kissed her hard on the mouth, the intensity full of passion and something more she couldn’t pinpoint. With his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth, his hand pressed between her thighs — her worries about the game vanished from her mind. He wanted her and damn it, she wanted him too. There was nowhere else she wanted to be right now than in his arms where she felt desirable, confident, and in control.

The show could go on without them if need be.

• • •

Miles hadn’t been able to wipe the grin off his face all day. Going to bed with Paige each night and waking up with her each morning for the last ten days had been amazing. And every time they’d been together, his connection got deeper.

Deeper than he’d ever felt with anyone.

He wasn’t a settle down and get married kind of guy. He liked variety and the freedom to come and go as he pleased. But there was something about Paige that made him believe he’d never get bored with her. Maybe it was the way she only had to glance his way and he got hard. Or maybe it was the fact that they could talk about anything together. He didn’t feel like he had to hold back what he felt or thought with her. Like how he’d finally been able to confide in someone about the accident and how much it still bothered him. He hadn’t been anywhere near ready to tell someone that before.

Because Paige wasn’t just anyone.

She was completely amazing in every way. And feeling that way for her scared the shit out of him.

He hadn’t expected to get involved with anyone while on the show. He’d been here for Ben only. Then he’d met Paige and all that changed. Every kiss seemed to throw him further over the edge and pretty soon there’d be no coming back.

Not that he really wanted to come back anyway.

He watched her hips sway as she walked in front of him down the path, feeling almost hypnotized by the movement. The grin on his face grew. If he could take her into the brush to steal a few more kisses right now, he totally would. He glanced to the side and surveyed the nearby foliage. Maybe he could take her behind that bush for a few minutes without being missed.

“We’re here,” Zoe said from beside Paige.

He pulled his mind back from where it had wandered off to do dirty things to Paige in the bushes and focused on the path ahead of him. Except there was no path anymore.

A wall of rock went straight up. Miles tracked a path from the bottom to the top, mentally noting all the notches to grip with his fingertips and the tiny cracks and crevasses to tuck his toes into the wall. Years of climbing made it easy to spot the best route up the cliff.

An easy climb. A couple of minutes up, a couple of minutes down. No sweat.

Small rocks fell from above, showering down the side of the cliff.

“Watch out below,” Dean called from the top ledge, swinging his leg over and beginning his climb down. A few minutes later, he and Chuck stood in front of them.

“You guys going up?” Chuck asked.

“Yeah,” Zoe said, squaring her shoulders. “We’re all going up.”

Chuck and Dean elbowed each other laughing. “Sure you are,” Dean said. He turned to face Miles. “Too bad you’ve got so much dead weight on your team. This would be an easy climb for you. For the others, not so much.”

“Watch it,” Miles said, balling his hands into fists at his sides. He wasn’t a fighter, but hearing some jackass call his friends dead weight could make even the most even-tempered person irate.

They ignored his comment and laughed again, jogging down the trail.

Miles clenched his jaw. It wasn’t true. Neither his teammate nor the girls were dead weight. He took in the others who stood there watching him, not saying anything as if they waited for him to admit he felt that way about them.

“Those guys are jackasses. Don’t listen to them.” But even as he said it, he couldn’t stop himself from evaluating them. Paige in her heels with the open toes. Zoe with her ankle still bandaged and weak in her sneakers. Ben with his prosthesis, still unsure of whether he could climb or not.

And his fear that something would go wrong if they tried to climb the cliff.

“So let’s get going then,” Paige said, moving to stand right in front of the cliff. She grabbed hold of the rocks with both hands then tentatively put the ball of her foot on a small ledge. As she pulled herself up to find a place for her other foot, Miles watched as her arms quivered a little at having to hold the majority of her body weight.

Damn it. He couldn’t let her do this.

“Come on back down, Paige,” he said, taking a step toward her.

She glanced over her shoulder, “No, I’m good. I can do it.”

She reached up a little further then looked for the next place to put her feet. He could see where she should step, but instead of her choosing that spot, she placed her foot on a precarious looking outcropping.

“Not that one,” he said, coming up behind her, raising his arms to catch her if she fell. “Put your right foot over one spot further.”

“This one is fine, Miles.”

Paige put her foot where she wanted instead of where he suggested. As soon as she shifted her weight to move her hands again, her foot slipped. Paige shrieked and stumbled to regain her footing while clinging to the wall. Her arms and legs shook as she looked back down to him, fear in her eyes already and she was only a few feet off the ground.

He reached up and grabbed her by the waist, guiding her as she climbed back down to solid ground. When her feet hit the trail, she turned and buried her head in his chest. Her entire body trembled in his arms.

“It’s okay. You’re on the ground now.”

She pulled away and glanced back to the wall, freeing herself from his protective arms. What he wouldn’t do to keep them safely wrapped around her for the rest of the show. “I’m okay. I just got freaked out. You tell me where to put my feet and I’ll listen this time.”

He smiled and kissed her. “Good. Leave them right where they are.”

“What?” She took a step back. Not the reaction he wanted, but unfortunately the one he expected.

“Stay right here, both feet on the ground.”

“No. The cache is up there and I’m going to get it.”

He shook his head. “No you’re not. None of us are.”

“What?” This time it was Ben’s voice with a touch of disbelief mixed with annoyance.

Miles prepared himself for the fight he was about to have on his hands. Ben wasn’t going to like him very much in another minute or two. “I think we should skip this one. Go back to the trucks and find another cache to hit. We still have lots of time left today.”

Ben threw his hands up. “I can’t believe you. Why did you bring me on this show? Just so you could keep telling me what I can and can’t do? Just to keep proving to yourself how much better you are than me?”

Ben’s words stung like acid. “No. That’s not it at all. I can’t believe you think that.”

“What else am I supposed to think? All you’ve done this whole time is tell me what I’m not strong enough to do. So thanks for bringing me on national television just to point out my shortcomings.”

Miles shook his head. That wasn’t what he’d meant to do at all. It was the exact opposite of that. “I didn’t. I wanted you to remember how much fun we had climbing together so maybe you’d start doing it again. I wanted you to realize that you can still do all the things you used to so that when I ask you to join me for a climb, you’ll actually say yes for a change.”

Ben folded his arms across his chest. “Well, if that’s your goal, you’ve been going about it ass backward.”

Miles didn’t know what to say. Had he screwed up that bad? One glance around at the unhappy faces greeting him and the answer was clear. Yep. He’d screwed up big time. But how could he fix it now?

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to make you feel weak.”

“Then let me do this. You know as well as I do that this is a baby climb compared to the mountains we’ve conquered.”

He wanted to say yes, but what about Paige and Zoe? Paige obviously couldn’t climb in those heels and seeing her try once was more than enough. And Zoe’s ankle would never be strong enough to make the climb.

“Great. So it’s settled then. Let’s go.” Paige moved toward the cliff again.

Miles grabbed her arm and pulled her back against his chest. “I can’t let you do that again,” he said softly. “You can’t climb in those heels. You’ll fall and get hurt.”

“No I won’t. I’ll be fine.”

“If you guys can do it, we can to,” Zoe said.

No way. He couldn’t watch all three of them on the rocks at once. Certainly he couldn’t catch all three if they fell.

“No way. I’m sticking to my original plan. We all go back.”

Ben swore and looked as if he wanted to punch something. Probably he wanted to punch Miles. And after everything, he probably deserved it.

“I’m going up that cliff and you’re coming with me. We’re a team and as an equal half of that team, I’m making a decision for us. Finally. We’re climbing up to that cache and if the girls can’t come too, then we’re going without them.”

Ben turned to face Zoe. “You know why I have to do this, right?”

She smiled and nodded, stepping away from the rocks and heading back down the trail. “Come on, Paige. Let’s go find another cache to do.”

“What? You’re not going to put up a fight about being equally as strong or capable or anything?” Paige called after Zoe, looking disappointed. When Zoe didn’t stop or answer her, Paige turned back to Miles. “You coming with us? Wasn’t this an alliance where we do all the caches together or we don’t do them?”

Miles looked back and forth between Paige and Ben. What was the right choice? He didn’t want to walk away from Paige or break his alliance, but he had come on the show to prove to Ben he could still climb. Now they were in the position to climb and he couldn’t very well say no. He knew Ben was strong enough to do this. Maybe it was the thing that would really convince him to start climbing again. If he didn’t take this opportunity with him now, he may not get another one.

“You know climbing is all about trusting your partner,” Ben started. “How can you expect me to trust you on a mountain again if you can’t even trust me to climb this?”

Ben was right. Miles had to trust Ben to make good judgment calls if he wanted a climbing partner again. And he needed to start proving to Ben he did trust him. Starting today.