by Milly Taiden
Wow, he thought, falling back against the pillow. What a night. Not only had they made love within inches of the rolling camera—a feat hotter than any other sexual experience he could remember—but he’d managed to sleep all night in the tiny, claustrophobic cocoon Madelyn deemed a tent.
He waited for the feeling of panic to envelop him, but it never came. He ran a hand over his stubbled jaw and bit back the smile threatening to spread over his face. Headache be damned, he felt good. He felt really good.
He could get used to waking up next to the fiery, stubborn, lovely woman sleeping beside him, and if he played his cards right these next two days he’d get at least a year to convince her to make it a full time gig. Maybe it was insane to think he’d found the woman for him after only three days, but he felt sure about this in a way he hadn’t felt sure about anything that had to do with a woman before. He felt around with his toes, found his boxers wadded up near the base of their bedding and tried to surreptitiously pull them on. Crawling out from under his covers, he pulled on a pair of sweats, stuck the evidence of last night’s shenanigans in his pocket and headed out of the tent to the bushes where he hoped to dispose of it.
Aware he desperately needed a shower, he disappeared into the forest, doing his best to clean himself thoroughly once he was away from prying eyes. He was still damp when he returned to the campsite, but felt a good deal more presentable.
Soon Bella pushed her way out of the tent and headed for the woods, as well, carrying a small bag of toiletries with her. When she returned, he caught her gaze and winked. She flushed, but said nothing, making her way to the logs around the dead campfire to await breakfast. He wished they were alone, and he could show her just how alive he felt this morning, and just how anxious he was to pick up where they’d left off. They’d made love not once, but twice, Bella surprising him with her desire for a second round.
Heck, he’d better stop thinking about it, or the whole world would figure out where his mind was at. These sweatpants weren’t going to hide anything.
He turned away and thought about his last business lunch with a particularly boring member of the Board of Directors of Mortimer Innovations until his ardor cooled and the evidence of it disappeared. He turned back just in time to see the influx of SUVs that heralded another exciting day of Can You Beat a Billionaire.
“Let’s get cracking!” Madelyn called. As Evan and Bella slowly approached, she tapped her foot. “And let’s get one thing clear today. We’re not having a repeat of yesterday’s yawn-fest. I want some action. I want competition. I want something my viewers have never seen before!”
Evan tried not to look at Bella. Failed.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
“Today we have two challenges that pit you in direct competition. Maybe that will get your competitive juices flowing. And since the two of you have become such good friends,” she emphasized the last word with a smarmy inflection that made Evan stiffen—had they betrayed themselves in the tent last night? “Let me remind you of a few things.” She glared at Evan. “You won’t get the wife you need if you don’t get yourself together. And Bella,” she pointed to her, “kittens.”
“Kittens?”
“Fluffy, sweet, helpless, dead kittens.”
Bella jerked and a glance told him Madelyn’s words had hit their mark, undoing all the goodwill between them since their interlude under the covers.
“Eat your breakfast, grab your gear, and we’ll take you to the start of this day’s hike. Get going and give us some good television,” Madelyn said.
*
Today she’d take the lead, Bella told herself as she munched a carrot muffin and tried not to watch Evan doing warm up lunges to get ready for the day’s hike. Every time he moved, though, his sweatpants moved with him, molding themselves to his muscular thighs and incredible ass.
Last night was incredible, she had to admit. Truly incredible. Although in the light of day she couldn’t believe she’d basically consented to having sex on national television. Twice. Had the camera been able to make any of it out? So far no one had said anything, or acted weird around them, except Madelyn’s one remark about them being such good friends.
She hoped like crazy there was nothing to see on those recordings.
Would they do it again tonight?
Biting into her carrot muffin, she struggled to concentrate on the events of the day ahead. More hiking first, obviously, followed by head-to-head challenges.
When it was time to set out down the path, Bella realized she felt terrific. After their shenanigans the previous night, she’d slept soundly, and her feet and muscles weren’t as sore today as they had been yesterday. She felt stronger than when she’d started the show, and she kept finding herself humming as she walked along.
Evan walked behind her, and she could swear she heard a snatch of melody from him now and then, as well. As the morning went on she stopped worrying about what the future would bring and decided just to enjoy the day.
And she did enjoy it, up until the point she rounded a bend in the trail and came upon their first challenge.
“Oh, my God.”
A pond lay ahead of her, but that wasn’t the problem. Stretched over it like twin suspension bridges were two thin strips of a metallic material about ten feet apart. They couldn’t be bridges, though. They were too narrow, for one thing, and they lacked any railings at all.
At intervals alongside each of them were five posts that reached high above the bridges. Dangling from them were more of the stuffed animals that seemed to be this show’s trademark.
“Do we have to walk across those?” Bella asked the crew member who strode up to greet them.
“Yep,” he said. “I’m Louis, by the way. You get a point for each stuffie you grab.”
“That shouldn’t be hard,” Evan said.
“Once you fall off, you’re out,” Louis said.
“That won’t support my weight,” Bella said, pointing to the nearest bridge.
“Sure it will. It’s an aluminum alloy; tough as anything. You don’t have to worry about it breaking; you just have to worry about staying on it.”
Bella bit back an oath and approached her bridge slowly, willing Evan to go first so she could learn from his mistakes. With a glance in her direction he did so. Sliding one foot out on to the narrow span, he fought for balance as it tipped and swayed. “Hell,” he said.
He tried again, inching first one foot, then the other, out onto the bridge. Swaying and swiveling, he fought to keep upright. He’d almost made it to the first pole when the bridge tipped and his arms wheeled for balance. He hung on for an instant before he landed with a splash in the water below.
Bella shrieked, then clapped a hand to her mouth and hoped no one had noticed.
“Keep going,” the crew member yelled to Evan, pointing toward the far shore. Evan struck out with an overhand crawl and reached it a few seconds later. His camera crew skirted the perimeter of the pond and joined him on the other side.
“Let’s see what you can do!” Evan called back to Bella.
If she had her way, she’d follow the cameraman’s example and walk around the pond. Still, she couldn’t do worse than Evan had.
She approached her bridge with caution, but decided not to emulate Evan. He’d inched his way out and gotten nowhere. Instead, she’d move as fast as she could and try to reach the first pole and cling to it while she retrieved the stuffie. Even one animal would help her catch up to him in points.
Standing on the pond’s bank, she took a deep breath, fixed her eyes on the prize and dashed forward.
Her foot slipped and a split second later she hit the water with a tremendous splash. Coming up soaked and sputtering, she heard Evan’s laughter from the far side of the pond. “Swim for it,” he called out and beckoned her on.
“Well, that’s going to make some riveting television,” Chris was saying to Andrew when Bella staggered out of the water. “You think we should call Madelyn?”<
br />
“And spend the rest of the day waiting here while someone rebuilds those to be more stable?” Andrew said.
“Hell, no,” Evan said.
Chris shot him a dark look, but after a moment he agreed. “Let’s keep moving.”
They’d only walked a half-dozen steps, however, before the roar of helicopter rotors had everyone turning in their tracks. As they watched, the helicopter touched down on the far side of the pond and Madelyn hopped out, followed closely by Ellis.
“Shit,” Chris said.
“Double-shit,” Andrew said.
“Are you trying to kill me?” she hollered as she stalked around the perimeter of the pond, Ellis trailing her as fast as he could. “Are you collectively trying to give me heart failure? That’s not television; that’s a train wreck!” She puffed up to them, out of breath and flustered in a way Bella had never seen her. “No, scratch that—a train wreck would make great television. That was as watchable as leaves rotting on the ground! Now get back there and do it again!”
Bella just stared at her. So did Evan. What had happened to the perfectly-in-control director?
“Madelyn…?” Chris said. “Everything all right?”
“No, it’s not all right. The producers are livid. First yesterday’s fiasco, now this. We’re over-budget, our ratings nose-dived last quarter…”
“Madelyn, calm down. It’s going to be okay,” Ellis said, catching up and trying to hand her a cup of coffee.
“No, it’s not!” She batted the coffee out of his hand and it splashed to the ground. She pointed to Evan and Bella. “You heard me! Get back on those bridges.”
“No,” Evan said. He stepped in front of Bella in a protective gesture which she appreciated given the crazy look in Madelyn’s eyes.
“Ellis! Get me Legal…”
“I’m not bailing on my contract; I’m just saying those bridges are impossible to cross.”
“Baloney!” Madelyn said. She whirled on her assistant. “Ellis, cross that bridge.”
Bella looked to Ellis with the rest of them, assured the assistant would do just that. He always jumped when Madelyn barked an order. But instead, he took a deep breath and said, “He’s right, Madelyn. We both saw what happened; the bridges aren’t stable enough.”
Madelyn’s face grew paler and the scarlet of her cheeks intensified. “Cross. That. Bridge.” She punctuated each word with a stab of her finger.
The rest of them held their breath, mesmerized by the director’s rising tones. Ellis stood his ground, his dark eyes inscrutable, before he extended his hand toward her. “I’ll cross it when you cross it.”
Bella blinked. She didn’t think the assistant had it in him. But as he and Madelyn glared at each other, a thought insinuated itself into her mind. There was more going on here than met the eye. This wasn’t just a contest of wills between boss and underling; something else sparked between them.
Lust.
Were Ellis and Madelyn a couple? Bella raised an eyebrow at the thought. Or…did Ellis want to be a couple, but Madelyn remained unconvinced?
Ellis was daring Madelyn; daring her to climb down off her director’s high horse and roll in the muck with the rest of them. Bella couldn’t believe he thought she’d do it.
But to her surprise—and everyone else’s, judging from the collective intake of breath—Madelyn took his hand and allowed him to lead her back around the pond. Bella trailed after them, tugged as if by an invisible cord.
She had to see this.
Evan followed close behind her, and they stood together as director and assistant took their respective spots at the beginning of each bridge.
“Not stable enough, my ass,” Madelyn hissed at Ellis.
“We’ll see, won’t we?” He set a foot on his span and sent a ripple of motion down the strip of metal.
“We certainly will.” Madelyn set a foot on her own bridge. “Ready. Set. Go.”
Bella didn’t know what she expected to happen, but the sight of Madelyn and Ellis lurching out over the slippery, wobbling metal spans, then simultaneously losing balance and pitching headlong into the pond brought her hand to her mouth to cover a shriek of laughter. She dashed to the side of the pond, ready to wade in and help them back out of the water.
But when Madelyn broke the surface and found her footing, she didn’t head for the bank. Instead, she launched herself at Ellis and bowled him over as he stood up, so both of them sunk beneath the water again.
“What the hell?” Evan said from behind Bella.
They came up locked together this time, Madelyn pounding her fists into Ellis’s chest. “We’re going to lose the show. I’ll be back on daytime television. I can’t do that!”
“It’ll be all right. It’s going to be all right, Maddie,” Ellis said, taking what she dished out.
“Shit,” Nita said. Beside her, Chris and Andrew stood with slack jaws, their cameras forgotten.
“I think we should give those two a little privacy,” Evan said slowly, taking Bella’s hand. She allowed him to tug her back the way they’d come just minutes before, still looking over her shoulder as Ellis pulled the director to him, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head.
Footsteps behind them told her the camera crews dutifully trailed along behind.
“That…was a little weird,” Bella said, finally finding her voice.
“Sounds like this show is really in trouble,” Evan said.
“What kind of trouble? I thought it was a popular show.” She sat down heavily when they reached the far bank, her clothes still sopping wet and uncomfortable.
“Money trouble. They’ve had to pay out too many times recently, I guess.”
“Oh.” Bella stopped twisting the fabric of her shirt to wring out the water. “So if I win…”
“If you win, the producers might give Madelyn the ax.”
She thought back to the GPS unit and all the time she’d spent wandering around the woods. Had that been Madelyn’s doing? Or was she really just lousy with directions?
“Can I win?”
He seemed to understand exactly what she meant. “I think so.”
“You think so.”
He shrugged.
Back across the pond, Ellis led a sopping Madelyn out of the water and toward the helicopter. Soon its rotors whipped up a whirlwind of dust and water as it lifted off.
“Now what?” Bella asked.
Chris answered. “On to the next challenge.”
***
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The rest of the morning’s hike was far from comfortable. Her wet clothing chafed her thighs and arms as she walked. Water oozed out of her shoes with every step. By noontime her shirt, cami, and bra were dry, but her pants remained damp and she held no hope that her feet would ever be dry again.
Still, when they paused to eat, she untied her shoes and stuffed half of her dry outer shirt into each one, hoping it would draw some of the water out of them. She peeled off her socks and draped them from nearby branches, then looked down at her pants.
“Go ahead—take ‘em off,” Evan said with a grin. “We won’t mind.”
Pursing her lips, she decided to keep them on. She sat down, stuck out her legs to catch as much as the sun as possible, and ate a sandwich.
“I hope the next challenge is a little easier,” she said.
Evan laughed. “If it isn’t, I bet they’re working hard to modify it. Like Chris said—it isn’t good television if we can’t even score a single point between us.” He lowered his voice. “How’re you doing?”
She felt a blush creep over her skin, even though he hadn’t mentioned what happened the night before. She knew he was asking after more than her physical condition. He meant how was she doing emotionally, and she liked him for that.
“Good. I think.”
“You think?”
She shrugged. “I have to win this, you know. No matter if I…” She bit off her words, realizing what she was just ab
out to say. No matter if I’d like to lose. A glance his way told her he’d heard her loud and clear.
“Same for me, you know.” He said, taking a long drink from his water bottle. “I’m not in the habit of forcing women to marry me.”
“Really? I figured you forced at least ten women to marry you every day before lunch.”
“Then divorced them again before dinner? Yeah, billionaires do that stuff all the time.”
“What do you do?” she asked. “I mean I know what your job is, but what do you do for fun?”
She wished that two cameras weren’t recording every minute of this conversation. If only she and Evan were hiking alone, spending time together because they liked each other, not because they wanted to beat each other in some inane contest.
“I like being outdoors, so I run, hike, do a little rock climbing when I can. What about you? What’s your favorite leisure-time activity?”
“Leisure time? What’s that?” She laughed ruefully. “Actually, before the shelter got so out of control, I used to like to go dancing. I haven’t done that in a long, long time.”
“Dancing? Like at a bar?”
“Yeah—line dancing, mostly.” She glanced sidelong at Evan and caught him smirking. “What?”
“Line dancing? Does anyone do that anymore?”
“Are you kidding? It’s huge!”
“In some circles,” Evan intoned and laughed aloud.
“Jerk.” But she didn’t mind his teasing as much as she used to. Maybe only country people line danced; that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun.
“Don’t you take any nights off work?” he said. He was sitting so close she could reach out and touch him. She wondered what the camera crew would do if she took Evan’s hand.
Lots of close-ups.
“Not really. There’s too much to do.”
“You can’t live like that,” he said, turning to her. She read genuine concern in his eyes and her heart warmed.
