High Risk (5 page)

Or Becki grinning as he tossed her onto the bed and crawled after her, pinning her
in place with his body as he kissed the living daylights out of her.

The water warmed, slipping over his skin, chasing away the slight chill in the room
but intensifying his need. He grabbed the soap, scrubbing hard in a feeble attempt
to distract himself. This wasn’t only about sex. About his attraction to her. Yes,
they had a past—but it had been so brief. Fleeting. No matter how impressive the details
were of the weekend they’d shared, he wanted her around for more than just another
fling.

But goddamn if he didn’t just
want
.

Another memory assaulted him—Becki on her knees, taking delight in lapping and licking
his cock until he’d captured her head in his hands and held her in place. She’d stared
at him and opened wide to suck him deep.

It was no bloody use. Marcus gave up and wrapped his fingers around his dick.

Her mouth had been softer than his grip. Wetter—slick with saliva . . .

* * *

He rested his cock on her bottom lip and slid in slowly, relishing the heat, the way
she rolled her tongue along the sensitive ridge.

“Suck hard,” he commanded, and she pursed her lips, drawing tight around him as he
withdrew nearly all the way. His cock glistened in the dim moonlight shining in the
window, moisture painting him. “Oh, yeah. That’s it. So sweet. So good.”

He pressed in again, controlling her position, maintaining a smooth rhythm. Only feeding
her a portion of his length as he delighted in the intoxicating draw of pressure.

Becki dropped her hands between her legs, fingers moving steadily, little gasps escaping
her as she played with her clit.

“You want to come?” he asked.

Her green eyes opened wide, answering without words. But she also tilted her head
slightly and relaxed her neck, allowing him to press forward and bury his cock so
deep the crown bumped her throat.

“Fuck, yeah. That’s it. Take it all. I’m going to come, and you’re going to swallow
everything. Every drop, understand?”

Becki nodded as much as she could, her half-lidded gaze focused on him, her face flushed
with passion. Her nostrils flared as she breathed slowly and accepted his increasingly
erratic thrusts.

Her body shook.

“So close. God, I love watching you come. You are so beautiful. So fucking beautiful.”

Becki squeezed her eyes closed and shuddered hard, the hand between her legs slowing,
the other gripping his hip with bruising pressure as she wavered, fighting to keep
her balance.

All through her orgasm he supported her. Watched her. Held on to his control by sheer
willpower until she was done.

Then he went wild.

He pulsed forward. Again. Again. Balls tight, pressure building until he buried his
cock as deep as he could and his climax tore from him. Pulse after pulse filled her
throat and he drew back, his cock still jerking, seed escaping to splay over her lips.

* * *

His balls were empty, his cock spent, and Marcus leaned his forehead against the wall
of the shower stall and tried to calm his breathing. Holy fucking
shit
—he hadn’t had that violent an orgasm since . . .

Yeah. Pretty much since the last time he’d imagined Becki was sucking him off. Or
under him as he fucked her hard. Or otherwise being submissive to his sexual commands.

He twisted, leaning his shoulders on the wall as he stared into the steam. He was
old enough to keep work and pleasure separate if necessary, but damn if he wanted
to this time. If Becki agreed to help train the team, great. But one way or another
he wasn’t going to stop pursuing her.

He wanted her. He was pretty sure she wanted him, too. And if there was one thing
he hadn’t lost, it was the ability to pursue a goal. Becki James had briefly, yet
powerfully, impacted his past.

Rebecca James? She was going to be a very pleasurable part of his future, and he’d
make damn sure it was more than pleasurable for her as well.

CHAPTER
4

She was awake far too early. By eight
A.M.
Becki had already stretched, showered, and tossed together a few notes regarding
training ideas for Lifeline.

Considering she’d already been preparing a course syllabus for the upcoming semester
for David, the idea of working with an elite squad for the short term was a great
opportunity. They’d be able to take her lessons and provide feedback during recap.

Her fingers cramped on the pencil, and she shook them. Crazy to think she had lost
that much strength. Since the accident she’d been running and swimming, but she hadn’t
climbed.

Something held her back. The psychologist who’d worked with her had told her to listen
to herself. Not to push it. That her body and mind would know when it was time.

Her thoughts returned to the climbing wall in the gym, and her anticipation rose.
Yeah, it was time.

As long as she had a job when this was all over.

She picked up the phone. His line was ringing before she realized it might be too
early to call Marcus. Hanging up or waiting it out—which was better?

He answered on the second ring and stole her choices. “Good morning, Becki.”

“Umm, morning.” Right away flustered and on edge. Not to mention instantly battling
the shiver that had raced along her spine at the sound of his voice. “Neat trick.
How did you know it was me?”

“Call display says Banff Search and Rescue Dorms. You’re the only one there right
now.”

“Gotcha. Hey, sorry for calling so early.”

He chuckled, and the skin on her forearms stood on edge. “Trust me, you didn’t wake
me. What’s on your mind?”

“Could we meet for breakfast? I’d like to talk to you a little more.”
I need to confess something before I get my hopes up.

“What about lunch?” he asked.

Shoot. “I promised to meet Alisha at the gym at ten o’clock. We were going to climb,
then have lunch together. I don’t know how to get hold of her to change that.”

“No worries. Breakfast it is. I’ll come get you.”

She stared at the phone after he hung up like it was haunted, the echo of his click
carrying through the dorm room and fading into an eerie silence. It was crazy how
listening to him brought back such an intense rush of emotion. Of physical longing.

This had to stop if she was going to work with the man. So she’d just haul out the
lessons and force them to work for her this time, in this situation.

Lesson number two—
move decisively
. In this case, she was going to make it all about work. That was how she’d talk,
how she’d act. And most definitely how she’d think. No more wondering how Marcus looked
stripped to nothing.

She could control herself. She’d had years of training.

Walking to the parking lot to meet him, though, gave her enough time to regret having
to put her thoughts on hold, because
damn
, the dreams she’d had the previous night had been lovely.

A bright red truck was already waiting at the curb. She peered in the passenger-side
window cautiously. Marcus waved at her and she hopped in, the smooth leather of the
seats warm under her fingers.

“That didn’t take long.”

“I was in the area.” He smiled, and the dark stubble along his jaw did its best to
break her mental resolve to stop objectifying him. His hair was wilder than last night,
and she busied herself clicking the seat belt closed before she did something stupid
like reaching out to straighten the unruly strands.

Decisive, remember? She firmly kicked her imagination in the butt. “Just a coffee
shop is fine with me. If I’m climbing in a little over an hour I don’t need anything
big.”

“Bagels okay?”

He signalled a turn at her affirmation, taking them down the hill and back toward
the city centre. Becki watched as he drove, his right hand firmly holding the wheel,
his shorter limb on the left resting briefly against an extended shaft attached to
the turn signal. Marcus wore a long-sleeved jacket, and if she hadn’t known his left
hand was missing, she never would have suspected.

“Driving is simple,” Marcus said.

She blinked, trying to figure out where his comment came from. “Pardon me?”

“You’re checking to see how I drive with one hand. Driving is easy—try it sometime.
I bet you use mainly one hand on the wheel. If you drive an automatic, most people
take all kinds of liberties after they get comfortable. Maybe if my limb were completely
gone it would be different, but with as much forearm as I still have, there’s not
much change in my technique.”

He pulled in front of a shop and parked, shut off the vehicle, and turned toward her.

Oh God.
“I’m sorry. That was rude.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, I think we established what you’re doing isn’t rude. You’re
curious. I get that.”

Becki dragged her fingers through her hair, pulling strands off her face. “But I’m
not a five-year-old who doesn’t know curiosity can still become inappropriate.”

He raised a brow at her, the smooth arc combining with his wry grin and turning his
face into mesmerizing art. “Frankly I’d far prefer to have you asking questions than
staring at me on the sly. Gets so damn old so fast.”

She nodded, following his lead when he exited the truck. He pulled open the shop door,
and a rush of heated air hit her, the aroma of fresh baked goods washing them both
with sweetness.

“You are evil, Marcus Landers.”

He pointed to a table in the corner that was free. “Evil?”

Becki slipped onto the padded cushion of the booth and took another deep breath. “I
swear I’m going to put on weight just living in Banff. I might be back at school,
but I don’t need a freshman fifteen, thank you. Cinnamon buns?” She moaned in mock
ecstasy.

He laughed. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll put in our order.”

“I suppose if I said all I wanted was a coffee and a plain bagel, you’d know I was
lying.”

Marcus shrugged. “Lying, but understandable. Maybe we can split a cinnamon bun between
the two of us later if we’re good.”

He strode to the counter and spoke with the attendant. Becki stared at his profile,
his dark hair long enough it was curling at the back of his neck. The edges of his
lips lifted in a smile as he finished, and the girl across from him turned pink-cheeked
as she rushed to fill his order. Becki removed her coat and hid her own grin. Marcus
definitely knew how to charm them.

She glanced up from slinging her coat over the back of the booth to find him settled
in the opposite booth. He’d opened his jacket and leaned back comfortably, his sharp
gaze taking her in. He kept his left arm tucked against his side, casual, yet somewhat
hiding his missing limb.

She was pretty sure that was for other people’s sake more than his own.

Marcus, through and through. The qualities that had attracted her to him in the first
place had been long, even if lust appeal had been the strongest. Putting aside the
weekend they’d spent together, she concentrated on the other things she remembered
about him. His confidence, his wisdom.

She leaned forward and pulled in her courage. If she had to spill the beans, this
was the man she wanted to share them with.

“I’ve been considering your offer.”

His chin dropped slightly as he waited.

“Last night was wonderful. You’ve got an amazing team, and I would be honoured to
spend time with them. Working with you.”

Marcus’s gaze lowered to her fingers. She consciously unclenched them from where she’d
grabbed hold of the table edge.

“Why do I hear an unspoken ‘but . . .’ in your words?” he asked.

Becki took a deep breath. “Because before you hire me you need to know that the accident
last year? When Dane died?” She swallowed hard and forced herself forward. “I remember
going climbing. I remember camping that night, and the next memory I have is of walking
the final stages of the trail with the governor’s daughter and her friend in tow.
Nothing else.”

All his casual relaxation vanished. Marcus leaned forward, elbows resting on the table
as his concerned gaze took her in. “Nothing?”

She sighed. “I figure there’s about a twelve-hour gap, maybe fourteen. We bivouacked
on a spur when the weather turned on us. I remember setting up camp and crawling into
my sleeping bag. I don’t remember packing in the morning, even though we had to—I
was still carrying most of my gear when I met the rescue crews at the base of the
mountain.”

“Why didn’t anyone—oh hell, okay. Dane.” He nodded slowly. “You can’t remember the
accident.”

“No. And it’s . . .” Shoot, she refused to break down again. Becki took a quick breath,
the sticky sweetness in the air soured now by having to share this. She fought for
control. “I was cleared of negligence. The reports the girls gave confirmed that while
I was competent enough to get them out of the mess they were in, I didn’t talk to
them normally. I rescued them like I was on autopilot. That was their term for it.”

Marcus leaned back and made room for the plates being lowered in front of them. Coffee,
bagels. He stirred sugar into her cup and pushed it across the table. She snatched
it up, the heat of the mug warming her cold fingers. She’d already taken a swallow
before she realized he’d remembered how she drank her coffee.

“Why do I need to know this before I hire you? Does David know?”

Becki paused. “David doesn’t know yet. I was planning on telling him, but to be honest?
The position he hired me for requires no direct contact with the students. I’d be
working through the instructors. If there were any questions of my abilities, having
that—”

“Good God, you think anyone is going to question your competence?” Marcus snapped.
“If anything, this proves your skills are impeccable. Even half out of your mind,
you still rescued the girls.”

She snorted. “Half out of my mind is the problem, Marcus. I don’t know what happened,
and it’s more than a frustration. I’m serious. Maybe I am strong enough at what I
do to kick into automatic when presented with an emergency situation. Just because
it happened once, I don’t dare trust it will automatically happen again. You need
to know.”

“Because you’ll be dealing directly with the team?”

“Yes.” She lifted her cup and drank deeply, hiding behind the fragile ceramic. Funny
how much she suddenly wanted this job. Wanted to be able to work with the crew. “What
happens if I’m on the end of a rope belaying Alisha and something goes wrong?”

“But you were planning on climbing with her today. . . .”

Implying she’d already made one bad decision? Becki searched Marcus’s face, but he
was doing his imitation of a stone wall. Impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Yes. Because the room is full of auto-belayers. I thought I could easily get around
having to rope up with her.”

He took another bite of his bagel, pointing toward her breakfast. “Eat.”

Damn man. She added jam and ignored him for a minute. Maybe he needed time to process
what she’d shared. Heaven knew she’d have to think for a bit in his circumstance.

They finished their food quickly, the last dredges of her coffee cold as she swallowed
the crumbs. Still waiting for him to talk.

She wasn’t expecting him to reach over the table and catch hold of her hand.

“I have no problem with you working the team. It’s your expertise and experience they
look up to. And your situation, if you’re willing to share, can be both a warning
and an inspiration.”

He was right—she had to tell the team so they knew the risks as well. “I kept it out
of the media. Secrecy was a hard slog to achieve, but if you think I can trust your
team, I’m willing.”

Even saying the words had tension filling her belly. The climbing community was like
family. Which meant for every person who would support and be there for her, another
would step forward and willingly rake her over the coals. Revile her, because the
assumption had to be that she killed her partner.

No one knew how to hurt quite like family did.

He was still holding her hand, his fingers curled protectively around hers. “You can
trust them. You can trust me.”

Becki nodded.

He squeezed tighter before releasing her, shifting back in his seat. The unreadable
expression was gone, revealing something close to embarrassment. “I have a favour
to ask.”

This time she waited.

He twisted a grin at her. “I want to train with you as well.”

Oh really.
“With the team?”

* * *

Marcus coughed into his fist and gazed at the ceiling for a moment.
God
, was this stupidly awkward. “No. Yes, maybe later.” He shook his head and laughed,
an ironic deprecating laugh. “I climbed after the accident. Got a couple attachments
adapted for the prosthetic, but I’ve gotten out of the habit.”

Her eyes went wide for a moment before she nodded. “Okay. We can do some time together.
If you’re sure—”