An Extraordinary Match (The Match Series Book 3) (5 page)

“Show me.”

“Show you what?”

“Shoot something. Or climb something, either one. I don’t care. Impress me with your outdoorsy-ness.”

“I didn’t bring my climbing gear along.”

“Boxers or briefs?”

“Excuse me?” The question was so unexpected, he didn’t know how to respond.

She gave a careless shrug. “If it’s boxers, you can swim in them. If you can swim, you can kayak.”

“I’m not shooting the river in my boxers.”

“Did I call your bluff?”

“It’s not a bluff. It’s September.”

She straightened to face him again, her smile all sass and provocation. “That’s your excuse? The water’s too chilly? I didn’t take you for a big talker, Logan.”

It was tempting. He couldn’t deny it was very tempting to give in to his ego and show her what he could do. But, did he want to freeze his ass off to prove a point? Did he want to plunge into the frigid river for bragging rights alone?

Hell, yes.

He snagged her hand, tugging her firmly toward the trail. “Come on then.”

She let out a little gasp of surprise, and she skipped a couple of steps. “You’re going to do it?”

“I’m going to do it.”

She laughed and bumped her shoulder against his. “This is going to be fun.”

“Maybe for you.”

It took about five minutes to get back to the main lodge. There, Logan’s friend Hans Fiedler lent him a pair of shorts and a windbreaker. Logan buckled into a life jacket and carried the kayak to the top of Garvey Rapids. It was the only class-four section within sight of the lodge. Most paddlers portaged around it, but Logan had been kayaking for years, and he’d done this stretch of water numerous times. Hans and his wife, Monica, took Jade to a rocky beach where the view was best.

Logan knew why he was doing this, and he accepted it for what it was. He was in high school all over again, trying to impress a hot girl. Though, now that he’d made up his mind, part of him was looking forward to the adrenaline rush.

Balancing his paddle across the front of the kayak, and stabilizing himself on a rock, he settled into the seat, fastening the skirt around the opening. He checked his helmet and goggles. Then he pushed off into the river, paddling hard to take up the best line at the head of the rapids.

He hadn’t been in any really fast water since last summer, but he wasn’t worried. He knew this stretch of the river, and his balance was sharp, kept in practice through rock climbing and clambering around on airplane floats. The water boiled and churned around him as he paddled, then it disappeared from beneath him, and his weight fell away.

He landed with a thud at the bottom of the first drop, a wave washing over him as he took a hard right line, dragging himself around a boulder, through an eddy, picking up the main current, then keeping himself straight over the next drop and heading into the left-hand shoot.

Body humming with exhilaration, he pulled hard on the paddle, fighting for the best angles. Spray splashed up in his face, waves rolling over him. The eddies tried to spin him around, but he powered through, keeping his momentum up. Then he was over the final, longest drop, bobbing into the pool below, where the river widened and the current smoothed out.

He heard Jade’s excited whoop along with Hans’s and Monica’s shouts of congratulations. His goggles cleared, and he could see them all on the shore. He turned the kayak and paddled into the little bay, beaching the craft and clambering out.

“You weren’t exaggerating,” called Jade, awe in her tone. “That was amazing.”

“I don’t exaggerate,” he informed her, pulling the kayak fully onto shore and setting down the paddle.

He battled an urge to pull her into his arms for a celebratory kiss. It was ludicrous, but he felt like he’d earned it.

Then suddenly, he came up with a better idea. It was silly and reckless, but it seemed utterly appropriate. He moved closer to her.

“What?” she asked, obviously reading something in his expression, her eyes going wide on alert.

He peeled off her jacket, tossing it to Monica.

“What are you—”

He hoisted her into his arms.

“I don’t under—”

He paced toward the water, stripping off her boots, dropping them to the ground as he walked.

She shrieked.

“It’s cold,” he warned her.

“You
wouldn’t
.”

He waded in to his thighs. “You think the water’s too chilly? I didn’t take you for a big talker, Jade.”

She glanced wildly around, wriggling in his arms. “I never talked. I never bragged about anything except my brain. You want me to think about something for you?”

He coughed out a laugh, letting her go.

She shrieked again, clinging to his neck while Hans and Monica gaped at them from shore.

Her legs were dangling in the water, but her arms were wrapped solidly around his neck, and it was clear she wasn’t going to let go.

He sat down.

She gasped, eyes like saucers as the water engulfed her chest.

“Chilly, isn’t it?” he asked.

“I
can’t
believe you did that.” But her expression of shock turned into a reluctant grin.

“I can’t believe you goaded me into kayaking.” He rose, scooping her up in his arms to carry her back toward the shore.

She was light, easy to hold, fit perfectly curved against his chest.

“Did I mention I was good with my brain?” she asked as he made it to shore.

“Did I mention I was good with my body?” Though he didn’t intend it, the tone of his voice went reflexively deep, sexy, suggestive.

“You got her soaking wet,” Monica admonished, meeting them at the water’s edge. “You come with me, Jade.” She took Jade’s arm along with control of the situation. “I’ll find you something dry.”

Logan reluctantly gave her up, missing her as soon as she was out of his arms. Endorphins, he decided. Endorphins, adrenaline and exhilaration combined with a very pretty woman. His body couldn’t be blamed for wanting a certain conclusion.

Hans slapped him on the back, admiration clear in his tone. “Nice one.”

“She’s pretty sporting for a girl.”

Logan suddenly realized it was lucky for him that she was sporting. He’d taken a chance there. How crappy would he have felt if she’d been genuinely upset by the stunt?

*

Dressed in a
roomy, scruffy pair of sweatpants and an old, pink flannel shirt provided by Frieda, Jade sat across from Logan in the lodge’s dining room. Their small table was next to the window with a view of the falls, the mountains, and the blue sky beyond. The chef had brought them Kobe beef burgers on homemade buns and sweet potato fries with a creamy sauce. They were also sipping their way through hot chocolate in stoneware mugs.

“You’re right,” Jade breathed. “Food does taste better after a little excitement.”

“It does. Though I’m not sure you earned both a burger and hot chocolate.”

“I got soaked to the skin. And that water was cold.”

“I carried you into the river. You didn’t expend much effort.”

She made a show of popping a fry into her mouth, chewing and swallowing. “There’s a quota?”

“Next time, I’m taking you hiking up the ridge trail.”

She tried to ignore a little flash of eagerness at the thought of spending another day with Logan. She knew he was talking in the abstract, only making a point. He wasn’t truly suggesting they come back here a second time.

“What’s up the ridge trail?” she asked.

“A fantastic view. But it takes you fifteen hundred vertical feet over three miles.”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“I’m trying to whip you into shape.”

“I happen to take the stairs every day at the office.”

“What floor?”

“Fourth.”

Logan smiled. “Twice a day? Three times?”

“Once, anyway.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Well. You’re off to a start.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Do you jog, lift weights, use a home gym?”

He’d lifted her so easily into his arms, as if she weighed nothing at all. She’d felt the strength and breadth of his chest, the solid muscles of his shoulders, and the impressive power of his arms.

“I have fun,” he answered. “I guess my life is pretty active. Honestly, I can’t wrap my head around exercise for exercise sake.”

“You were very impressive out there.” She wasn’t sure what she’d expected class-four rapids to look like, but there were moments during his run when she’d held her breath, worried he was about to come to harm.

“I was showing off.”

“I all but double-dog-dared you.”

He smiled, taking a sip of hot chocolate. “It was rather juvenile, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe a little.”

His eyes warmed. “I had fun.”

“So did I,” she admitted.

“Until I dumped you in the river.”

“Yeah, that part wasn’t very much fun.” Not that she held it against him. She’d learned a long time ago that if she was going to dish it out, she had to be able to take it in return.

Logan glanced at his watch. “We better get going. There’s a system forecast from the north this evening, and I want to be through the pass before things get ugly.”

After quickly finishing their burgers, they headed back down to the sheltered bay. Jade climbed into the Cessna, putting her headset in place and stowing her wet clothes in the back. Logan cast off the plane and made his way along the floats to the pilot’s door, swinging inside and connecting his seat belts.

Jade anchored her hand on the handle, remembering how the plane had rocked and bounced over the waves last time. But the takeoff was quick, and soon they were soaring into the sky, climbing past the huge waterfall, between the peaks, and through the valley back to Mirror Lake.

The sun was setting behind them when they landed on the water, and Logan taxied expertly up to his home dock. He quickly hopped out and tied them off before opening her door. As he had at the lodge, he took her hand while she navigated the small footholds. But this time it felt different, intimate somehow.

She stopped in front of him, and he didn’t back away, searching his way around her expression.

“That felt like a date,” he told her.

She knew exactly what he meant, but she tried to keep things light. “It must have been the lunch. I don’t think it was the part where you threw me in the river.”

“Never done that on a date before?”

“Never have.”

“Upshot is,” he said, gazing down into her eyes, “I feel like I should kiss you good night.”

She wanted that, too. But she couldn’t help but think it was a bad idea. She couldn’t exactly remember the reasons at the moment. But it had to be a bad idea.

“You promised you weren’t going to hit on me,” she reminded him.

“You can rat me out to my sister.”

For some reason, the situation felt complicated. It should have been simple, a good-night kiss from a great-looking guy after a fun and completely unexpected day.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling. “I don’t want this to turn into something weird.”

“It’s a kiss. What’s weird about that?”

Without waiting for her answer, he brushed his lips gently against hers. It was a tease more than anything, but she instantly wanted more.

He kissed her again, more firmly this time, his lips settling against hers with purpose. His hand moved up to cradle her cheek, and she automatically stepped in, touching her body to his.

His free arm slipped around her waist, firming up the contact. His lips parted, and she followed suit, tipping her head back, allowing him greater access. Her hands anchored on his upper arms, feeling the play and power of his biceps.

His tongue touched hers, and passion ignited. Her muscles contracted, hands gripping him tight. He enfolded her fully into his arms, and she instantly felt safe, warm, ridiculously protected. Not that she needed protection from anything. But he was such a rugged, capable man, the feeling came to her anyway.

The kiss lasted far too long. But far too soon, he drew back. She only just stopped herself from begging for more.

His voice was a sensual rumble, but it was also laced with humor. “Okay, now I feel like I should walk you home.”

She tried to think up a lighthearted retort, but she came up empty. “No need.”

He slipped his hand into hers. “I’m walking you back to the hotel.”

“I’m fine on my own.”

But he turned for the shore, drawing her along. “This town is crawling with thieves and conmen.”

She found that hard to believe. “Seriously?”

“Mostly the descendants of my great-great-grandfather. And they haven’t done anything illegal for a few generations. But, with our questionable genetics, why take the chance?”

She should have pulled her hand away from his, but the connection felt too good. “Are you afraid they’ll try to sell me illicit liquor?”

“I’m afraid they’ll try to buy you liquor.”

She gestured to the pink shirt and faded sweatpants. “Dressed like this?”

“My cousins don’t have a lot of taste.” He paused. “Okay, that didn’t come out right.”

“And up to then you were doing so well.” They came to the sidewalk on the edge of Main Street. “Seriously, Logan. You don’t need to walk me back to the hotel.”