Vivian Arend - Rising, Freestyle

Okay, he could be pacified for a moment or two.

They slowed the frantic kisses as his need to taste her skin grew beyond restraint. While he licked and nipped his way along her jawline, her fingers skipped over his back, tugging his shirt upward until she reached bare skin. Her short nails weren’t enough to scratch, but her strong fingertips dug in and pulled a groan from him.

He wanted to be naked with her. He wanted to strip off the long-sleeved shirt and sports bra she always wore, and suck on her firm nipples until she screamed. Then he’d—

A buzzer went off and they both tensed. They glanced toward the clock on the wall and Melanie let out a huge sigh. “Opening time.”

The after-school crowd was waiting for him to open the door to the climbing gym. Screw it. They could all wait for a few minutes.

It took an extraordinary amount of time to untangle themselves and find their feet. Derrick held her close for longer than he needed to, pretending it was to make sure she had her balance. He just didn’t want to let her go.

The damn buzzer went off again, this time accompanied by banging fists on the doorframe.

“Your students are eager to get started.” Melanie stared away from him, all her concentration centered on untangling the knot tethering her to the rope.

He wasn’t going to leave it this way. A wild tumble on the climbing mats and nothing more? “Would you like to go for dinner with me?”

Her head snapped up, a small smile appearing. “Tonight?”

Derrick nodded as he headed for the door. “I can get away around six thirty. Seven if you’re okay waiting that long.”

Melanie paused and he held his breath. “I’d like that. You want me to come here?”

Excitement raced through him to rival any teenage boy planning a first date. “That would be great.”

“Okay.”

They were grinning at each other like fools, he was sure of it, but he really didn’t give a shit. Not about the continued protesting at the door behind him, or the faces peering in. Not about his lack of finesse. She turned and headed for the change room, and he watched her ass with a growing conviction that fate had intervened today and that tonight was going to be the start of a fine relationship.

Melanie wanted to relearn how to live? He could help her with a lesson or two, and if somewhere along the way they happened to get involved in some heart-pounding, body-aching sex?

He was good with that as well.

Rope Gun: Slang title for the climber who does all the leading.

Melanie pivoted in front of the mirror, frowning in dissatisfaction. She smoothed her hands down the second T-shirt she’d layered on. Unless a person knew exactly where to look, no signs of her accident showed. Of course, that equaled no skin visible anywhere, which meant she wasn’t very sexy, and therein lay her dilemma.

There had to be some kind of rulebook she’d neglected to read that could guide her through this situation, but the feverish heat pulsing through her veins and the ache between her legs continued to distract her. A girly-girl she wasn’t, but surely even she could manage to pull together one outfit that was a little less “here I am, I’m covered” and a little more “here I am, want to uncover me?”

She changed clothing five times before she forced herself to stop.

In a few short minutes, Derrick James had turned her on and left her revving on high. Although she was embarrassed at her emotional outburst, it hadn’t seemed to bother him. On the contrary, he must have had getting close to her on his mind before that moment. Guys got turned on fast—she knew that from too many years of close contact in confining quarters when her co-ed team had traveled to competitions. But Derrick? He had struck her as far more mature than the trigger-happy youths on her climbing team.

And the way he’d kissed her? Okay, the idea of being in someone’s bed hadn’t been on her agenda for a long time for a lot of reasons. After her last horrifying experience, she was not only afraid of his reaction, but her own. She didn’t want it to all be a bunch of motion with no grand finale. The fear she wouldn’t be able to relax enough to enjoy sex haunted her, and she wasn’t the type to fake an orgasm for anyone, especially herself.

After the lust-inspiring grope they’d shared, she wasn’t that concerned Derrick wouldn’t be able to get a response out of her.

But would he be able to handle what her body looked like under her clothing? And was she really ready to let anyone see the scars? The lingering pulse of interest said she might be willing to find out.

She walked back to the climbing center, the air warm enough she didn’t need a jacket with the long-sleeved shirt she wore like protective armor. Hiding from the stares of other people on the street had become second nature to her by now—and took far less energy.

Five minutes later the pounding pulse of a rock beat shook her before she even laid a hand on the door. She slipped inside and leaned on the wall, taking a slow look around to see who was climbing on Thursday night.

Families, youths and couples all filled the place with noise and laughter. Derrick had done a great job making the center somewhere for more than the elite to gather. She smiled as a dad belayed his son up the closest wall, the little guy maybe five years old and clinging like a gecko as he chatted excitedly.

Except when the kid breezed past the marker line where she’d frozen, Melanie turned away in disgust. Yeah, whatever. Next time she’d force herself to go higher. There had to be an end to fear at some point, right?

She spotted Derrick roped into a harness, lead belaying one of the stronger climbers. The biceps in his arms showed nicely as he fed out the rope a portion at a time, watching his partner closely. Adam swarmed up the wall, smooth and rhythmic in his motions. She was far enough to the side Derrick must have seen her, at least in his peripheral vision, but he did no more than wave a finger, his gaze fixed on the climber.

Adam reached to clip his rope into the hook of the next carabiner on the overhanging wall and missed. Melanie’s stomach tightened in a rush as the young man fell. A split second later she fought for breath—the rope Derrick held that attached to Adam’s harness had jerked him to a safe stop well above the ground. Good-natured laughter rang through the room as Adam was lowered the remaining distance, shaking his head sheepishly.

Derrick clapped hands with him and pointed at the holds, probably suggesting something different to try the next time. Adam nodded and the two unroped and separated. Derrick headed directly for her.

“You okay?” The concern on his face was touching and annoying at the same time. God, even watching another person fall made her stomach roll.

“Just a little shaky. Think I need some food.”

He undid the straps securing his waist belt. She tried not to stare in fascination at his hands working directly over his groin. Part of her wanted to reach out and volunteer to help him, any way she could. When she dragged her gaze higher, he tossed her one of his spine-melting smiles, his own interest shining in his eyes as he looked her over.

“I need to wash the chalk off my hands and put my belt away, then we can head out.”

It wasn’t that much later they were on the sidewalk, forced into close side-by-side proximity as newcomers brushed past them to enter the facility.

“You sure you can get away?” Melanie asked. “It looks busy tonight.”

“I’m fine. There’s enough staff on, and I usually take off Thursdays and work the late shift Friday and Saturday.”

“That must interfere with your social life.” Oh, that was smooth, Mel. Not. Way to sound as if she was digging for information. Which she totally was, but still. She didn’t think he had a regular girlfriend, not with the way he’d kissed her. He had asked her out, but before she dove into anything, she’d like to know a little more about the big picture. Their private lives were not a subject they’d discussed over the past weeks.