Emma pressed her fingers against her lips as she followed Ryan down a path into the woods.That kiss.Holy shit. Her pulse was still racing, her knees still weak. The chemistry between them combined with the rumble of the motorcycle beneath them was altogether the hottest thing she’d ever experienced.
Her little crush on Ryan Blake had just exploded into something a whole lot more, and she had no idea what would happen next. He wanted to talk, which didn’t sound terribly promising, but unless she’d totally lost her mind, she was pretty surehehad kissedher, not the other way around. Which meant…well, it meant he was attracted to her, whether he liked it or not.
And that knowledge alone was enough to rock her world.
“So how serious are you about living a little dangerously?” Ryan asked, tossing her a wicked smile.
“Totally serious—oh shit.” She stopped dead in her tracks as they came out on the bank of a rushing stream spanned only by a fallen tree trunk lying about five feet above the icy water.
“Looks like the bridge is washed out,” he said. “Feeling adventurous?”
“Um…yeah, sure. Why not?” She’d just kissed Ryan. She was invincible right now!
“The water’s not deep. Sure would be cold, though.” He stepped onto the trunk and walked out over the rushing water.
The trunk was wide, the bark worn smooth across the top where countless other people had crossed. Spreading her arms for balance, she followed Ryan across to the other side.
“You still come here a lot?” she asked as they hiked up a steep incline, headed she presumed for the top of the bluffs, where he and Derek used to cliff jump.
“Not since Derek left.” He extended a hand to help her over a large rock in their path.
“And how many times did I beg you to let me tag along?”
“A lot,” he admitted with a laugh. “You were persistent.”
“Not persistent enough.”
“No offense, but this was kind of a ‘no chicks allowed’ zone for us. Maybe the right girl could have convinced one of us to come up here and fool around under the stars, but…” He drifted off with a shrug.
“Derek’s dorky little sister didn’t stand a chance,” she finished for him.
He chuckled. “Pretty much.”
But she sure as hell stood a chance today. Now that she’d kissed him, she wanted to do it again. If she got into the University of Georgia, she’d be leaving town in the fall anyway so who cared if it didn’t work out between them? She wouldn’t have to stick around to face the fallout.
They hiked in silence for the next few minutes. The terrain had gotten steeper, and although she was a fairly experienced hiker, she let Ryan boost her up and over a few large rocks in their path.
“So what’s the deal with this dare?” he asked.
“Oh, that. Well, my friends were trying to help me shake things up a little at girls’ night, but I had so much fun, and it kind of got me thinking. If Derek had known he’d die so young, would he have done anything differently? If something happened to me, would I be happy with the way I’ve lived my life so far?” She shook her head. “I’ve been holding back, doing what’s expected of me, just going through the motions.”
“So what is it that you want?” he asked, his cocoa eyes locked on hers.
“Excitement.” Her voice sounded breathless…maybe because the trail had steepened again. “Like…whoa.” She paused as they came out at a little overlook, the cliffs dropping straight down below them to where the lake twinkled like a beautiful sapphire. “Likethis.”
“Just wait,” Ryan said, nudging her on. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
“Did you guys really jump from here?” Because the very thought made her light-headed.
“A few times,” he said. “But usually we jumped from up there.” He pointed to another spot above them, andholy shit, that was absolute insanity.
“That is crazy.”
“It’s an adrenaline rush like no other.” He gave her another wicked smile.
Her heart thumped hard against her ribs. “Take me.”
Ryan’s eyes darkened, and oops, yeah, she should have worded that better.
