had been right when he said that it was easy. The cliff face was pocked and marked from years of weathering, years, and climbing, which made all of the handholds and footholds easy to spot and to grab. And since Reid was taking care of our safety lines, I didn’t have to do anything but concentrate on climbing up.
As I reached the halfway point, I was beginning to feel confident. I felt good, actually, like I was doing something not everyone in the world was capable of. I was climbing up a sheer cliff face using only my hands and feet and it was incredible. I felt free and excited for the first time in a while.
That was when I looked down.
“Oh shit,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Reid called, concerned.
“I looked down.”
He laughed. “Come on, Becca, you scared me.”
“I scared myself! Holy shit we’re high!”
“Yeah. I guess I should have warned you.”
“How high exactly are we climbing?”
“You really don’t want to know.”
“Reid.”
He grinned down at me. “Let’s just say that after this, you’re officially a climber.”
I groaned and held tight to the wall. I wasn’t really afraid of heights, but it was hard not to have a small moment of panic.
“Becca, listen to me,” Reid said. “You’re fine. You’re with me. I’ve climbed more walls than I can count. Even if we’re high up, I’d never, ever let you get hurt. Do you understand?”
“Yeah,” I said softly.
“You’re fine. Say you’re fine.”
“I’m fine.”
“Say it loudly.” He let go of the wall and cupped his mouth with one hand. “I’m fucking fine!” he yelled out.
I laughed. “I’m fine!” I yelled, but kept my hands firmly on the rock.
“Yell it until your lungs hurt.”
“I’m fine!” I yelled as loudly as I could.
“There you go. Now let’s climb this bitch.”
I laughed again. I had to admit, it was fun yelling out over the forest below. And although I was still scared, I believed one thing with absolute certainty: Reid would never let me fall.
We continued that way in silence, Reid moving up ahead and working the safety lines, me following him up the best I could. My limbs were beginning to burn from the exertion and sweat rolled freely down my back, but I could see how close we were to the top.
And it felt good. The moment of panic passed and I felt exhilarated again, like I was the freest person in the world.
Without thinking, I climbed. I moved up and up and ever up, following Reid because I knew he’d keep me safe.
And suddenly, he was gone. I gaped for a second before his head popped over the edge of the cliff. “Almost there,” he said, grinning.
I laughed and moved faster. I was five feet away, then two feet, then inches. His hand appeared over the edge and I grabbed it. He leaned back and hauled me up, up, up over the edge, and my feet were planted on solid ground.
We stumbled back away from the edge as I threw my arms around him, laughing wildly from excitement.
“Great fucking job, Becca,” he said, laughing along with me.
“I climbed that bitch!” I said.
He cracked up. “You’re damn right you did.”
I looked him in the eyes, a smile plastered on my face. The sun made him seem to glow up here, and the view that spread out around us was amazing.
Then he kissed me, his arms wrapped tight around my body.
And I kissed him back.
It felt right, like it was the exact thing we needed to do in that moment. His taste flooded my mouth as our lips and tongues met, his strong arms and hands pulling me tightly against him. Some small voice in the back of my head said something about it being wrong, but I ignored it.
I wanted him. I wanted him badly and always had. On top of that cliff, after following him up there, after he talked me down from my panic attack, I knew I was his. I knew I needed to kiss him.
After a minute, he pulled away, smiling softly.
And that voice came screaming back. The voice that kept saying, over and over, he’s your stepbrother.
“Reid . . .” I said.
He shook his head, cutting me off. “We don’t have to talk. That was all I wanted to say anyway.”
I sighed. “It looks amazing up here.”
He began to strip off his gear. “You looked amazing on the wall.”
“Yeah right. I probably looked terrified the whole time.”
“Seriously. You looked like you belonged up there.” He paused and looked at