He sighed. “Look, if it makes you feel better, we’ll put up a divider so you can have your space—which you obviously want...” His eyes burned into hers.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Look, I’m not a good loser, and I think I remember that you like to succeed, as well, but we won’t if we don’t meet the challenges.”
She clenched her teeth and sucked in a deep breath. “Fine, but we need a thick divider.”
“Fine,” he said, going back to work.
Kendra stared at his ass as he bent to pick up more branches to prop against the main support beam to create walls. God, that ass should be illegal. And what was it about gray, loose-fitting sweatpants on a man that turned her primal? It had to be the wilderness and the fresh air. Though it was really attractive that he seemed to know his way around the forest...
“You going to help or stare at my ass all day?” he asked without even turning back to look at her.
Was he giving her a choice?
* * *
HER “HMPH” ALMOST made him smile. So she had been checking him out. Good. She could get a good look at what she’d casually thrown away.
Unfortunately, he was getting a good look, as well...at what he couldn’t have.
He watched from the corner of his eye as Kendra disappeared into the bush to gather more debris for insulation. The combination of her looking so goddamn sexy in tight blue leggings and a fitted sweatshirt and being so unapproachable with her standoffish attitude had him conflicted with what to say or do. The ride out to Wild River had been intense as he’d tried to maintain a casual conversation with his new boss, but he’d felt her glaring into the back of his head from the back seat.
And she hadn’t exactly been thrilled about them partnering up.
Even if she hadn’t raised a fuss, he’d been planning on having a divider in their shelter. There was no way in hell he could lie in close quarters with her out there in the magnificently beautiful outback, under the promised starry sky, and not be tempted to touch her, kiss her, ask her what the hell had happened after she’d left his hotel room the morning after the best night of his life.
She returned and dropped an armful of leaves and moss onto the ground, then set to work insulating the shelter. She was literally inches from him but seemed a million miles away. Despite the heat of the midday summer sun beating down on him, the coldness radiating from her made him shiver.
Where was the woman he’d met in Seattle? The one who was so warm and outgoing that he’d stayed up long into the night talking with her. The one he felt he knew better after just one week than people he’d known his entire life. They hadn’t just gotten to know each other on a surface level, they’d shared their goals and passions, and they’d had so many things in common.
Now they felt like strangers.
He had to say something. The silence was killing him, but she obviously wasn’t interested in getting personal again...
“So I heard you landed the account.” It had almost given him a reason to reach out—to congratulate her on the win—but he’d resisted. The hurt part of him wondered if that had been her strategy: get close to him so he’d back off the account. But it had only fueled him to push harder, and deep down he knew that wasn’t Kendra’s way. She’d hate to have gotten the account by default. She’d gotten it because she was a kick-ass sales rep and Webber Pharmaceuticals was the best option for the client. That was why Nolan had been so eager to work there himself. “Congratulations,” he added.
“Told you I would,” she said, weaving the moss through the branches to hold it in place.
“So modest,” he mumbled under his breath.
She turned toward him and opened her mouth to say something, but Cassie and Mike moved into the center of the clearing.
“Time’s up!” Mike called, hitting the stopwatch.
“Step away from your shelters,” Cassie said.
The awkward silence fell between them again as they waited for their debris hut to be inspected. Nolan wasn’t worried—he knew they’d crushed the challenge. He and Kendra worked well together, and they would continue to succeed if they could put aside their differences and personal history.
Unfortunately, that was hard for him to do when he knew they were good together, period.
“Great job on the shelter,” Mike told them after his assessment. “You two are leading in points.”
“Yay!” he said turning to Kendra for a high five.
Impulsively, her hand connected with his and she smiled widely. But her smile quickly faded and he was back to wondering if he’d imagined that entire week in Seattle.
“Next up is your simulated emergency,” Mike told them. “Who’d like to be the injured one?”
By the glares Kendra had been shooting him—between lustful gazes at his body—he figured she’d like to give him a real injury. “I think I should be the medic,” he said.
She crossed her arms in annoyance. Of course she had a problem with it. No doubt, no matter what he chose, she would have argued. “Why do I have to be the damsel in distress?”
“Because I have three different first aid training qualifications, so I think we could nail this one.” Of course, they’d all been Boy Scout badges, but he’d keep that to himself.
She hesitated, obviously torn between wanting to win the challenge and not wanting to let him win this argument. “Well, I think that would be cheating.” She turned to Mike. “I’ll be the medic. What’s his injury?”
Besides a broken heart?
Mike scanned the clipboard. “Each team has been randomly assigned something different. Your team has a sprained ankle that leaves one of you immobilized a mile from camp.”
“So we pretend he hobbled here and I wrap his ankle?” She shrugged. “Sounds easy enough.”
Mike laughed. “No. The four of us hike out a mile and then he fakes his injury. Cassie and I will assess the challenge by how the two of you deal with it from that point.”
Her eyes widened with panic.
“Care to change positions now?” Nolan caught his choice of words a second too late. No doubt they were both thinking of a lot of different positions they’d tried during their night of passion. His cheeks flamed as he remembered one in particular. “I mean, can I be the medic?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve got this.”
He sighed. “Kendra, stop being so stubborn. I’m like two hundred pounds.”
“Well, lucky for you, size isn’t everything,” she whispered with an evil grin.
Wow. The blows just kept coming...
Fine. If she wanted to lose this challenge, it was on her.
CHAPTER THREE
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Kendra was rethinking her decision, made purely out of spite and pride. They’d completed their one-mile hike away from camp and she was already winded. A mile on a treadmill did not prepare someone for a mile of uneven wilderness trail. She drained the contents of her water bottle and turned to Nolan. “Okay, let’s go.” The faster they completed this one, the better.
Nolan nodded and then immediately launched into his award-worthy performance. “Ow...oh, the pain!” he said dramatically, falling to the ground, holding his ankle.
Cassie smirked as Mike made a note on his clipboard.
Kendra hid a grin. He was funny. That was one of the things about him that she hadn’t been expecting, but she was totally attracted to humor. He had an endearing goofy side that she suspected he didn’t reveal to everyone and that had made her feel special. He’d had her laughing all week and it had made the conference so much more fun.
But his rejection wasn’t so hilarious, and she needed to remember that anytime she let her guard slip. This man just wasn’t into her and she needed to protect herself this time.
“I said, ow, I think I sprain
ed an ankle.” He lifted his leg in the air when she continued to stand there, lost in her memories.
“I thought it was the other ankle,” she said.
“Oh, right,” he said, switching legs.
Game time. Game face. Focus on completing this challenge better than the other teams. “Can you stand?” she asked. If he leaned on her, she could support his weight back to camp. Of course, that would require touching him.
He glanced at Mike, but the guide shook his head.
No? What the hell did he mean no? What was she supposed to do—carry him?
Oh snap.
Nolan looked equally as nervous, but also a little smug as he said, “Apparently, I can’t stand.”
Okay, don’t panic. Do not let them see you sweat.
She crouched on the ground in front of him and glanced over her shoulder. “Give me your hands,” she said, reaching over her shoulders.
“You’re going to piggyback me?”
“Well, I can’t exactly toss you over one shoulder, now, can I?”
“Okay...” He reached forward and took both of her hands in his. Immediately, her flesh tingled at the contact. His were warm and slightly sweaty—the only indication that he might be nervous.
She was. And not because of the challenge. In seconds, he’d have his arms around her neck and his legs wrapped around her waist. Not exactly the sexiest or manliest of positions, but they’d be body to body. Full contact. Maybe she should switch with him. Let him take over on this one. The mile hike out there had nearly killed her; this wasn’t going to be any easier.
Mike and Cassie were watching. Waiting. Assessing.
She wouldn’t wuss out now. She could do this. Mind over matter.
“Kendra, are we doing this today or...?” Nolan asked.
Right, time to get moving.
She linked her arms beneath his thighs and stood, lifting him off the ground and shifting her weight forward so as not to tumble backward. She swayed to the right and took a few quick steps to regain her balance. Damn, only two hundred pounds? She couldn’t remember him feeling this heavy when he was lying on top of her.
Nope, not going to think about that now.
“You sure you got this?” he asked.
“Yes,” she grunted. Unfortunately, his arms around her neck, his hands falling in front of her chest were throwing her off a lot more than she’d expected. Those hands had explored every inch of her body...over and over and over. Strong and confident. Pleasuring her and leaving her wanting more...
“We can switch.”
“I said, I got this.” As long as she didn’t think about how sexy his hamstring muscles felt beneath her hands or think about how his chest and abs were pressed against her back.
Sweat instantly pooled on her forehead and she wished for a third arm to wipe it away.
Damn, this was a lot harder than she’d expected.
“Want me to sing or something?” he asked.
“I want you to stop talking,” she said, hoisting him a little higher. She picked up her pace, allowing his weight to propel her forward down the slightly sloped trail. They were at least smart enough to walk out in a direction that was uphill—it made the trek back easier.
But the hot sun was relentless with little tree cover and she was panting pretty good by the quarter-of-a-mile mark.
Water would be helpful, but her bottle was empty and she’d die of thirst before she’d ask him for some of his.
“You doing okay?” he asked, and the concern in his voice was almost enough to weaken her to the point of admitting defeat. But only almost.
“Totally fine,” she said, her inability to breathe making a liar out of her.
Halfway there. She could do this. If only her mouth didn’t feel like a desert. If only that sun would fuck off behind a cloud or something.
Her vision started to blur slightly and the trees around her started to move...coming closer, then looming overhead... Then they disappeared completely, along with her consciousness.
* * *
IF THERE WAS an award for stubbornness that weekend, Kendra would win it.
Nolan applied the ice pack to her forehead and waved a smelling salt under her nose as she lay out cold on the trail about a quarter mile from camp. To her credit, she’d almost made it, but he wanted to ream her out for passing out instead of quitting.
Never in his life had he met a woman so determined to succeed. Her no-quit attitude was hot as hell even if in this case it was a little misguided.
Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled up at him. “Hey, you.”
Shit, had she hit her head when she’d collapsed, sending them both falling to the ground? There was no sign of her annoyance or irritation with him now. Instead, there was the woman he’d started to fall for. Beautiful, warm, open...deceiving.
Must remember that last one.
“Hey...you passed out.” He handed her a water bottle and her eyes widened as she sat up quickly and scanned the trail.
Mike and Cassie watched on carefully from a distance. Turned out their simulated emergency had turned into a real one and they were assessing his actions now instead.
“No, I didn’t,” Kendra said.
“Are you narcoleptic, then? Otherwise you passed out from dehydration because you overdid it,” he said, pressing the water bottle to her stubborn, sexy-as-hell lips.
She glared at him over the rim of the bottle, but she drank. Then she shook her head and started to stand. “Okay, I’m good. Jump back on,” she said, crouching in front of him again.
She wasn’t a quitter, he’d give her that. Too bad that trait obviously didn’t apply to her relationships. Instead of accepting her outstretched hands this time, he quickly scooped her up and into his arms.
Her mouth dropped when her face was just inches from his. “Do you want to get punched?”
“Not particularly,” he said, readjusting her in his arms. She was light, but she was hard to hold onto when she was squirming to get down like a toddler throwing a fit.
“Well, then, put me back down.”
His grip on her only tightened as he started walking toward camp. “Change of challenge—they are assessing us on this new situation.” He nodded toward Cassie and Mike, who looked more interested in this turn of events than evaluating. “We need to do what we would actually do in this scenario. We’re being judged, remember?” But, shit, could he actually carry her the rest of the way back to camp when the familiar smell of her was filling his senses now? When her neck was this close to his face and making him remember everything he shouldn’t be? He’d been able to hold his breath when she’d been carrying him. He couldn’t now. Both of them passing out in the one challenge would surely cost them a few points. In fact, they really needed to impress Cassie and Mike to make up for Kendra’s blunder.
“Fine,” she grumbled. She turned her head and refused to look at him the rest of the way back to camp. It was fine by him, because if he had to look into those gorgeous brown eyes this close up or see her absentmindedly lick her lips, he just might say screw the challenge and kiss her to remind her what she’d been missing these last three months.
In record time, Nolan set her onto the ground at their campsite and struggled for breath. Sweat dripped down his forehead and he could taste it above his upper lip.
“Out of shape?” she asked.
“Says the woman who passed out carrying me,” he said.
“I made it most of the way and you’re definitely sweating more than I was.”
Ignoring the temptation to be lured into her verbal sparring, he bent next to her and removed his shirt.
Her eyes widened. “Why are you getting undressed?”
“We need to finish the challenge. Sit still and give me your foot.” He could feel her eyes on his body as he worked to wrap the “injured”
ankle and secure the fabric with sap from a nearby tree.
She caught him noticing her stare and instead turned her attention to his handiwork. “Did you learn that from a first aid course?”
“No. I’m just quick-thinking and logical,” he said with a grin.
“I refuse to be impressed by you,” she said. “And for the record, if this was a real injury, I could have taken care of it myself.”
His grin vanished as he released her foot and stood. “Don’t worry, you made it quite clear that you definitely do not need me,” he said and walked away before he could say anything more.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE ALASKAN WILD after sunset was no joke. As the sun disappeared over the mountains, it took the day’s heat with it, and the cool chill in the air mirrored the cold shoulder Kendra had gotten from Nolan for the rest of the afternoon after completing the simulated emergency challenge. They’d rejoined the other groups to gather berries and refill their water bottles in the designated stream, and had the option to take a hike or just relax around the central campsite fire—the guides had made one to help them all get their own started. All the while, Nolan had made sure they weren’t together, instead chatting with Roger or the other team members.
It was important for him to get to know everyone... He already knew her far too well, but Kendra couldn’t help feeling jealous as he continued to avoid her. She wanted to avoid him, obviously, but it annoyed her that he, too, was pulling this attitude.
What the hell had she ever done to him?
“Okay, everyone, time to get a good night’s rest, because tomorrow we have another full day,” Mike said, standing up from a log near the fire.
A Wild River Retreat Page 3
