“What do I need to do?”
“That’s my girl,” he whispered, grinning. Then louder he said, “Let’s get started. Do you want to use the gear you’re trialing or one of the training sets?”
I shrugged. “What do you recommend?”
“Normally I would say to start with the training kit, but since I know you’re trying to review a specific harness we can just cut to the chase and use it.”
“Okay.”
I was so nervous. Wolves don’t climb. I was terrified of heights. My paws rarely left the ground unless you count the two inches while running fast. And in my human form, I avoided it at all costs.
Not able to explain to him while everyone was watching and listening, I walked over to the box I had brought with me and opened it to take out the harness I’d been sent. I had tried to put the thing on, but I honestly couldn’t figure it out.
This was going to be humiliating.
“Zoey, put it back in the box and take it out again. I didn’t realize we were shooting already,” Bryan said. “Everyone,prepare to go live. Remember, it’s just raw footage of her lesson. No retakes for this one. Instructor, please do your best to ignore the cameras.”
Monte muttered something under his breath, but even I couldn’t quite make it out.
“In three—two—one,” Bryan said also signaling with his hand for me to proceed.
I did another countdown from three in my head, took a deep breath, smiled, and opened the box once more to pull out the harness.
“Rock Steady was kind enough to send me this new harness to review. But I’ll be honest, I’ve never been rock climbing before. This is all new to me.”
“There’s nothing to be worried about, Zoey,” Monte said.
“I know I’m in good hands.” For just a moment my eyes locked with his and the rest of the room faded away. I couldn’t help but smile. But then he turned to look straight into the camera with a grin that would have all my followers swooning.
“I’m Monte. Rock climbing is a hobby and a bit of a passion for me. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit jealous of this newest harness from Rock Steady. It promises safety and comfort, engineered for climbers who refuse to compromise. Built with premium, weight-distributing padding and a secure, no-slip fit, this harness keeps you comfortable on long climbs and steady when it matters most. Whether you’re scaling your first wall or tackling advanced routes, Rock Steady delivers the safety, support, and freedom of movement you need to focus on the climb and not worry about your gear.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. “Sorry. You sound like an infomercial for this thing.”
He scowled at me and then grinned. “Too much? Can’t help it. I really have been looking forward to getting my hands on this one.”
Without a word I held it up and passed it over to him.
“Honestly, I can’t even figure out how to put it on. Maybe you should do the review on this one.”
“Happy to, but they sent it to you, not me. So, ladies first.”
Next, he went through some basic safety instructions and verbally walked me through what I was going to be doing.
Then he helped me put it on. As he ran his hand up my thigh to ensure it was properly worn, I blushed furiously. And the way the team was sniggering I knew my face gave away everything. Gail’s eyes were nearly bugging out of their sockets, and she started to fan herself when he knelt down before me and repositioned things until he was confident everything was set right.
My jaw dropped when he smacked my ass with a mischievous smirk.
“Oh, my word,” Gail said. “Wait, edit that out.”
The guys burst out laughing.
“No retakes, only raw footage,” Bryan reminded us.
“Uh . . .”
“Zoey?” Monte said while checking the harness one last time. “Are you okay?”
It dawned on me that his wolf was a bit on edge. I didn’t really need to steady myself, but I reached out to grab his arm anyway, hoping that it would calm him some.
