A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,48
past and the difficult challenges that loomed ahead. “What do you do in the months when you’re not climbing?”
He drained his glass. “I coach at a parkour gym.”
“Do you like that?”
“I don’t mind it. The owner is great. Better than great. He’s sort of like a second father to me. And the kids are awesome. Anyway, it gets me through the winter.”
“Do you ever worry that your lifestyle might be...I don’t know...a little hard on your relationships?”
“Not really.”
“You never intend to marry and settle down?”
When she glanced up at him, she saw that his lips were slanted into a self-deprecating smile. “I doubt there’s a woman out there who could put up with me.”
“It wouldn’t be easy to tolerate your wanderlust,” she admitted. “But you never know. Alex Honnold is with someone. Or he was when I interviewed him. I can’t say if they’re still together.”
“Maybe I’ll meet the right person someday,” he said, but he spoke noncommittally.
Emery spread the blanket out so that she could lie on it. “I’m getting tired. What about you?”
“I’m not too bad, but thanks to all the wine we’ve drunk, I’m not ready to drive.”
She patted the blanket. “Let’s take a nap, sleep it off. This night has been so fun. I don’t want it to end quite yet, do you?”
He eyed the spot next to her with obvious reluctance. “No, but... I don’t know if lying down together would be wise.”
The scent of the fire filled her nostrils as she stared up at the black velvet sky. She’d had too much to drink, all right; the world was beginning to spin faster and faster and faster. “In what way?” she asked, covering a yawn. She thought she could guess. She wanted to touch him, too. It was the alcohol, she told herself.
But he didn’t explain. “Never mind,” he replied and curled up with her.
* * *
Dallas wasn’t sure who started it. He only knew that by the time he came fully awake, he and Emery were kissing. Her hand was up his shirt, touching his chest, and he had a raging hard-on.
He tried to come to his senses, to gain control of the situation, but they must not have been sleeping long because his thoughts were still fuzzy. “Emery?” he said, trying to pull away.
“What?” she murmured, her mouth moving down until he could feel her tongue on his neck.
He struggled to catch his breath—and to resist the urge to slip his hand up her shirt. “Did I start this—or did you?” he managed to ask.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But you feel—” she bit his neck “—and taste—” she kissed his jawline “—and smell—” she nuzzled her nose up under his ear “—better than anything.”
He felt every muscle tense with the desire to respond in kind. Instead, he swallowed hard and resisted the impulse. “I appreciate that, but you’ve been through a lot. We don’t want to make it any worse.”
She jerked her head up and looked around. “How? There’s not another soul out here. Even if we weren’t alone, it’s so dark someone would have to literally stumble over us to realize we’re here.”
“That isn’t it,” he said. “We’re still drunk. At least I think we must be.” With the sudden injection of so much testosterone, as well as the jolt of the surprise, his thoughts were growing decidedly clearer. Was she sobering up, too?
“That could be true. But it’s been a really horrible month, and I need to feel something good. A second ago, you seemed to want the same thing.”
She hadn’t misread what his body was telling her. He was trying not to be selfish. “I do. It’s just...this is sort of sudden and could possibly ruin our friendship. You might want to reconsider—”
She sat up so abruptly he swallowed the rest of that sentence. He assumed he’d talked some sense into her and what had started so quickly had ended just as fast. Although he’d done the right thing, losing the satisfaction he craved created a sharp pang of disappointment.
But she didn’t stand up to go; she pulled off her shirt.
“Holy shit,” he whispered when she guided his hands to her full, soft breasts. “You’re not making this easy. Will you...will you stop and think for a second? Can we make sure this is going to be all right?”
“I won’t think,” she said. “I refuse.”
“But you might regret this later.”
She was already working on the buttons of his shirt. “Do you have birth control?”