He softly kisses me, brushing his lips back and forth over mine. It’s a teasing kiss. A kiss with a promise of more. He gives a gentle sweep of his tongue over my lower lip, eliciting a soft moan from me. My hands grip his waist. He grazes his teeth over that same bottom lip, and then all too soon, he’s moving his lips from mine. I almost grumble in displeasure.
“Your turn,” he says, a husky lilt to his voice.
“For what? More kisses? Because I could totally go for that.”
He laughs softly and rubs his nose over mine. “More parkour.”
“Oh, that.” I give an exaggerated groan. “You sure you don’t want to kiss some more?”
He presses his lips to mine again. “If I kissed you as often as I wanted to, I’d never get anything done,” he murmurs against my mouth.
“I could live with that.”
His laughter rumbles against my lips. I smile, loving the sound and feel.
“Come on.” He gives my butt a light slap, making me jump, before he releases me.
“So, what am I doing?” I ask, following him over to the pommel horse.
“I want you to jump this.” He taps the pommel horse with his knuckles.
“Um”—my eyes go to the pommel horse and then back to him—“are you insane?”
He laughs. “Not certifiably but quite possibly borderline.”
“Funny,” I deadpan. “But no bloody way am I jumping that thing.”
“Why not?”
“Because I like breathing. And I’d like to see Jesse finish school and go to university and graduate, at the very least.”
He laughs again, and it rumbles through his chest. “You won’t kill yourself from jumping this, Daisy.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Maybe not kill myself but very likely break my neck.”
The laughter starts back up again, his whole body shaking with it.
And, now, I’m fighting a smile because of the infectious sound of it.
Bastard.
His shining eyes meet mine, and he walks over to me. “You won’t hurt yourself, gorgeous, I promise.”
He called me gorgeous.
I puddle.
Yeah, I’m that girl right now.
I clear the simpering girl out of me and stare up at him with a slight frown on my face. “Well, if I do break my neck, I’ll expect sick pay for the rest of my paralyzed life.”
I can see he’s fighting a smile.
“Deal.”
“Fine. Let’s get this over with then.”
I drop my bag onto the grass and walk toward the pommel horse. Kas follows behind me.
“What do I need to do?” I ask him.
“Just take a good run at it. Then, when you reach it, put your hands on the top, and vault yourself over.”
I glance over my shoulder at him, giving him a skeptical look. “That easy?”
“Yeah.” He smiles. “That easy.”
I take a deep breath and walk backward, putting plenty of space between the pommel horse and myself.
Kas steps off to the side, smartly not saying a word.
I stare at the pommel horse like it’s Mount Everest. My heart has stepped up its tempo, and my pulse is beating in my neck. I can feel my hands starting to sweat.
I clench my fists in and out, and then I press them to my pants to dry them. I take a deep breath and set off running. I make good speed, but too quickly, the pommel horse is on me, and I can’t do it.
I skid to a stop in front of it, hands pressing to the top.
“For God’s sake!” I grumble, annoyed with myself.
I glance back at Kas, who is standing, watching me.
“You can do it,” he encourages.
Turning away, I take another deep breath. Then, I jog back to my previous starting point.
Come on, Daisy. You’ve faced worse than this stupid pommel horse. You can do this. Just imagine it’s Jason; you’re running at him, and you get to smack your hands on his head and jump over the bastard.
And then maybe go back and kick him in the nuts.
My little pep talk seems to have ignited something in me. I start running, like I did before, but this time, a determination builds in me as I go. When I reach the pommel horse, instead of wimping out, I plant my hands on it and vault myself over, landing safely on the other side.
I did it.
I bloody did it!
I spin back to Kas. “I did it!” I throw my hands up in the air, doing a little victory dance.
Smiling wide, he walks over to me. “I knew you could.”
I stop my victory dance. “Yeah, you did.” I smile softly at him.
Something shifts in my chest, and warmth spreads throughout my body, making me tingle.
“Want to try it again?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I smile. “But will you film it for me on my phone?” I walk over to my bag and pull my phone out. “I want to show Jesse. I think he’ll be impressed.”
“Sure.” He smiles, taking my phone from me.
“You need me to set the camera up?” I ask.
“No, I got it.”
He walks over to the spot where he watched from before, and I put myself in place, ready to run.
“Let me know when you’re ready to film,” I tell him, eyes fixed on the pommel horse.
He doesn’t respond, so I glance over to him, and something in his expression makes my heart pause.
He’s staring down at my phone. Confusion and anger and pain are all clearly etched on his face.
What’s wrong with him?
Then, a thought slams into my brain.
Oh, fuck…no…
Twenty-Seven
I’m moving quickly toward Kas.