Nine Kinds of Naughty

by Jeanette Grey

  Her phone chose that second to buzz. She glanced down to find Evan’s name scrolling by. Frowning, she pulled up the message, then couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What?” Dane asked.

  She tapped out a quick reply to the picture he’d sent of himself, giving the thumbs-up with his broken hand over a line of Jell-O cups in all the colors of the rainbow—except red.

  “Just my brother being a dork.”

  She studied the picture for another second. She’d checked in with him a couple of times so far today, and everything seemed to be going well. He had friends coming to keep him company through the afternoon, and she took some solace in the fact that the picture didn’t look like a selfie. Sure, it could have just been taken by a nurse, but she was giving him the benefit of the doubt here that he really wasn’t trying to tough it out and do it alone.

  Not that she would know anything about that.

  She shook her head at herself, switching back to the map, and just in time. “Whoops—left, turn left.”

  He shot her a questioning glance but didn’t hesitate, hitting the brakes and making the turn with sharp confidence. She grabbed on to her seat against the motion of the car. It was a tiny road, probably paved at some point, but it was hard to tell now.

  “Where—” Dane said.

  But the sign was right ahead. She pointed at it. “There.”

  “Oh.”

  Her heart rose into her throat.

  Last night, she’d been so overwhelmed with gratitude for this man. He’d stood by her through so much. He’d taken care of her and he’d given her this whole new way to see the world. To get out of her own head. She’d wanted to give him something in return. Under the pretext of checking her computer for work, she’d scoured the internet for some idea, some clue.

  What she’d ended up with was this.

  Without saying a word, he parked in front of the building, and she held her breath. He turned off the ignition.

  And then finally, finally, he twisted his neck to look at her. “Zip-lining.”

  “Surprise?”

  “You want to take me zip-lining.”

  Oh, hell. Maybe she’d miscalculated. But the way he’d talked about the great outdoors and bungee jumping and all the other crazy things he liked to do to get out of his head—it had sounded . . . romantic, almost. In its own way. She wasn’t quite ready to throw herself off a bridge, but with a harness and a helmet, she thought maybe. Maybe she could do this.

  Or maybe she’d completely screwed this up. Right. He liked to do the really rugged stuff. This was probably child’s play—an insult, even.

  She scrambled. “I know, I know, it’s too basic, right? But I looked at all the reviews and things, and this place is supposed to be legit. Like some really long lines, and you get going really fast, and—”

  He cut off her babbling with a kiss. She couldn’t quite relax into it, her eyes open and her body rigid, her hand still clutching her phone. But his palm rose to rest against her jaw, gently stroking.

  When he pulled away, it was with this intensity behind his eyes she couldn’t read, but it sure as hell wasn’t rejection. “I love it,” he said.

  “You do?”

  “Hell yes.” And she could see it now. The kind of fever in his gaze he got in passionate moments. His knee jerked up and down. He was practically chomping at the bit. But he took a moment to check in. “Is this something you want to do, though?”

  She was nervous as hell, honestly, but she nodded. “You made it sound fun. I thought it was something we could do, you know. Together.”

  The depth to his eyes only grew. He leaned in for another kiss that she was able to give more freely. “I love that idea.” He grasped the handle for the door. “So what are we waiting for? Can we go?”

  She nodded, and he bounded out of the car. She stared in wonder for long enough that he cast a questioning look back at her that prompted her to let herself out and follow.

  She’d seen him excited about things before. She’d seen him really, really excited. But this was different. As her Dom, he carried this extra weight on his shoulders—one he claimed he needed. That he loved.

  But right now, he looked light in a way that startled her. It changed his whole face, making him look younger somehow.

  She liked it. And it scared her all at the same time.

  Dane could hardly remember the last time he’d been on a zip line. It would have had to have been with Jake, one of the camping trips the two of them had gone on out toward Yellowstone. Shit, he’d hero-worshipped the guy so badly then. Forget the safety equipment and the reinforced steel cable. Dane would’ve jumped off a cliff for him at the slightest hint that that was what he wanted.

  He wasn’t sure he remembered the last time, but he sure as hell remembered the first. The world flying by and the wind on his face, the scream that bubbled up in his lungs. He’d been ready to go again right after, and he still couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

  With Lexie trailing after him, he led the way from the car to the door of the little shop where they were supposed to check in. It was just a tiny bit shabby, and that excited him more than it had any right to. No tourist trap line—this was going to be good. He couldn’t wait. While Lexie got them registered, he strode on through to the back of the place, off onto an observation deck. His chest puffed out, lungs filling, that humming sensation in his blood rising as he gazed off at the cliff in the distance. The lines strung out from the top in stages.

  This was going to be awesome.

  The door opened behind him, and he didn’t even have to look. He extended his palm, and Lexie fit hers into it.

  “They’re ready for us any time.”

  And he was ready now—so ready. But he stopped, glancing away from the sky ahead to look at the girl right here, and his heart felt fit to pound clear through his chest. “This is amazing.”

  Her cheeks pinkened up. She never did look down or avoid his gaze, but she had tricks to not look at him all the same when she was embarrassed. Fitting herself in against his side, she directed her gaze toward the lines. “I got us a private tour. They have tandem lines, though, so we can do most of them together.”

  “Perfect.”

  She might not be willing to look at him right now, but he swore to God he couldn’t seem to pry his eyes off her.

  And then, fifteen minutes later, he really couldn’t.

  “Stop it,” she groused, fiddling with the helmet on her head.

  “Stop what?” The grin that had spread across his face the minute they’d stopped the car seemed permanently attached now.

  “Staring at me like that.”

  He leaned in close. “Like I want to eat you alive? I thought you liked that.”

  Grimacing, she batted him away. “I look ridiculous.”

  Yeah, honestly, she kind of did. The guy who’d be leading their trip had taken one look at Dane, raised an eyebrow, and then stepped aside while Dane explained all the safety stuff to her. He’d helped her into her harness and secured it around her hips, tracing his hands discreetly over the curves of her breasts before fastening the strap across her chest.

  And now here she was. Brilliant, powerful, sexy Lexie Bellamy looking like an adventure sports enthusiast’s wet dream.

  Like his wet dream. Fuck him if he didn’t love her in her boardroom best and her sky-high heels, but he’d never imagined what it would do to him to see her in a casual top and jeans, ready to fly down a mountain with him.

  “You look perfect,” he said, voice gruff. Betraying too much.

  She tilted her head to the side, but if she heard what he wasn’t saying, she didn’t let on. Good. They were going to have to talk this all out and soon, but for now, he just wanted to enjoy this. Here. With her.

  Lexie may have made a minor miscalculation. She stood at the top of the platform, watching as two of their guides took the plunge, careening out across a fucking ravine without a net.

  “Okay, step on up.”
The remaining guy beckoned her over with a smile.

  She moved mechanically, climbing the couple of steps. As soon as she was within reach, he grabbed at her gear and clipped her in, and oh shit. This was real. She was actually going to do this.

  She couldn’t feel her hands. Fuck. What if the cable snapped or her harness broke? The metal connector he’d used to secure her to the rig could hold five hundred pounds, but accidents happened, right? She should have looked into this more carefully, or bought more life insurance, or stayed in her nice safe hotel room or the hospital. How long would it even take an ambulance to get out here if something did go wrong? She could be lying at the bottom of the valley for hours, bleeding out and—

  “Lexie? Lex.”

  She snapped out of it at the feeling of a warm palm against her cheek. Her vision swam for a second, the long, awful, dangerous fall in front of her all she could see, but then Dane was turning her head, physically forcing her to look at him instead.

  He wasn’t clipped in.

  “You should—” she said, but the words wouldn’t come out right. Her teeth were chattering too hard. Helplessly, she gestured at his harness. Up here on the platform, he was supposed to be tied in. “’S not safe.”

  “It’s fine.” He rubbed her cheek with his thumbs, but it didn’t help. “I promise I won’t jump until everything’s up to code.”

  Her stomach, already twisting, gave a harder lurch. Dear God. Here she’d been freaking out about falling to her death, but what about him? Sure, he did this all the time. He bungee jumped, for fuck’s sake. How had she never realized the kind of risk he was taking?

  What the hell would she do without him?

  “I think I made a big mistake.”

  But instead of chiding her or making fun, he just smiled, the calm, smooth curl to his lips he got when he was ready to take control of a situation. She was still shaking like a leaf, but deep down, some tiny, scared part of her eased.

  Leaning in close, he pressed his lips to her brow. “Just say the word, and we get right back down off this platform.”

  Her mouth opened, and she was this close to taking him up on that, only . . . it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, was it?

  She’d done this for him, but it was just like she had told him in the car. It was something for them to do together. She wanted to feel the rush he said he felt jumping off mountainsides. She wanted to see that giant sky.

  He’d led her into so many things that terrified her already, and every one of them had been worth it in the long run. She just needed him to lead her into this one, too.

  Clenching her eyes shut tight, she buried her face against the warm solidity of his chest and shook her head.

  “Tell me what you need then.”

  “Just . . .” Her voice still carried a tremor, but it was better now. It always was when he was near. “Talk to me. Tell me what it’ll be like.”

  She could actually hear his smile. “Like nothing you’ve ever felt before. You’re gonna push off that box, and the world’s going to come rushing at you, like you’re flying. It’s incredible, Lexie. Your heart pounding and the wind on your skin. It’s like . . .” He swallowed, throat bobbing against her temple. “Like you’re free. You can be anything you want. Do anything. King of the world, you know?”

  Yeah. Yeah, she did know. The terror unwound just a tiny bit more. “And it’s safe?”

  “Safer than driving, by a long shot. I promise. You just have to hold on and trust.” He leaned back, hands coming to rest on her shoulders, and they were so grounding.

  He was grounding. He was safe.

  He was exactly what she needed to be able to fly.

  The steely blue of his eyes bored into hers. “Can you do that for me, beautiful? Can you trust that I won’t let you fall?” His thumb stroked over her collarbone. “Can you let go?”

  How many times now had he invited her to do just that? Every time she’d reached out and taken his hand, placed herself into his care, it had been terrifying.

  And so completely, utterly, totally worth it.

  Her throat ached. “I can try.”

  His grin lit his face. “That’s all I can ask.”

  Without letting go, he tilted his head toward the tandem line, where their guide stood waiting, deliberately not looking at them. Lexie’s face flushed hot, but she’d embarrassed herself worse than this before.

  “You ready?” Dane asked.

  She nodded. Ready as she’d ever be.

  Clasping her neck, he pressed his lips to hers.

  And then he was pulling away, leaving her alone at the edge of an abyss, but she didn’t take her gaze off him. As she watched on, the guy got Dane clipped in, testing the connection before stepping back.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” he said.

  Dane looked to her, everything about him calm and steady. “On the count of three?”

  “Okay.” She sucked in a deep breath.

  “One . . .” He spoke the word across the distance, and it seemed to reverberate across the valley down below. She mouthed the numbers along with him. “Two . . .”

  Three.

  She closed her eyes before she leapt, and then there wasn’t any stopping it. Gravity had her. It pulled her along, and she screamed, a wall of sound pouring out of her to meet the rush of wind, and holy shit, he hadn’t been kidding. She was flying, was soaring, she was out in the air with nothing but a cable keeping her from crashing, and it wasn’t like dying or falling at all.

  It was living.

  From beside her came a whoop that was even louder than her scream. By sheer force of will, she pried her eyes open to find Dane just ahead of her, his limbs splayed out, fingers open in the wind.

  He was gorgeous. Free.

  And for an instant—just an instant in time, he made her that way, too.

  Because this was what their entire relationship had felt like. Being with Dane was stepping off a platform over an abyss, and she’d always been so terrified to fall. People abandoned her. Just when she needed them the most, they took off and they left her all alone. She’d been so terrified to really, truly fly with this man, but maybe it was exactly this simple. Maybe all she had to do was buckle in and trust him. Give him the control she’d always hoarded for herself.

  Maybe he was right. And all she had to do was let go.

  chapter TWENTY-SIX

  Dane wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when they got to their hotel room. A shower, definitely—they were filthy from the better part of a day spent outdoors, trekking from one zip line to another. Lexie’s skin smelled of sunscreen and wind, and her hair was a tangled mess, and he couldn’t wait to wash it all off her.

  They’d already had sex this morning, so while he wouldn’t say no to getting handsy in the shower, he wasn’t ravenous. They still had hours of free, uninterrupted time in front of them. They could go out to dinner or maybe see a movie. Hit a bar with some music.

  Couple things. Normal things. His heart gave a hopeful squeeze.

  Locking up behind them, he turned to her with the best of intentions in mind, only to find her staring back at him with a brightness to her gaze he knew entirely too well.

  He paused, hand still on the doorknob. “Lexie?”

  With her hands folded in front of her, she peered at him from beneath her lashes. Even without the helmet or the harness—without the tight business skirts and cherry heels—she was the sexiest, most gorgeous, tempting thing he’d seen in his life. And she had to know it.

  He swallowed hard. Whatever was knocking around in that brilliant mind of hers, it was going to be good.

  “Dane. Sir.”

  His already hopeful heart leapt straight into his throat, his cock rising just as fast and hard. The doorknob creaked beneath the force of his grip. “Yes?”

  “Today—it was incredible. Thank you.”

  Letting go of the door, he took a step toward her. “Pretty sure I should be the one thanking you.”

  She
’d been the one to arrange it all. It had been her idea. It had been a gift.

  “I never would have dreamed of doing anything like it if you hadn’t told me how amazing it was.” She rolled her eyes at herself, chuckling under her breath. “Would have climbed right back off that platform if you hadn’t talked me down.”

  He didn’t doubt that. She’d been skittish and terrified, just like she had been in the bedroom at first, but he knew her now. Sometimes, all she needed was a push. Needed someone in her life to tell her she was fine, she was great. She could do anything she set her mind to.

  That he would catch her. And he would never, ever let her fall.

  A smile played with his lips. He reached out to trail his knuckles down her cheek. “My brave, beautiful girl.”

  For a second, her eyes fluttered closed and she turned her face into the touch. But when she looked at him again, it was with steel in her spine, her gaze bright and clear. “I want you to tie me up.”

  His lungs stopped working in his chest. “Excuse me.”

  “Rope or handcuffs or scarves or whatever you think is best. I want it all. So I can’t move, and then I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’ll be so good for you.”

  “Y-you’re always good for me,” he stuttered out.

  “But I want to be better. You—you like it, right? Having a girl trussed up like that.”

  The image hit him with a force like pain, and his cock twitched in his jeans. “I like you any way you are.” He shook his head. “You don’t have to do this.”

  Please do this. Shit, he was such an asshole, but he’d been dreaming of her in full bondage for as long as he’d known her. Since long before she’d told him it was a limit. He’d give anything to see.

  Almost anything. He curled the hand at his side into a fist.

  He wanted this. Desperately. But he’d be fine without it. He got everything he needed from what they did already. She didn’t have to do something she wasn’t comfortable with, just for his sake.