“Do I look okay?” She scowled. “Actually, I’ve just puked up my breakfast.”
“Rough night?”
“No. Rough morning. Or it’s soon going to be.” She glanced at the crane behind him and swallowed. “Why the hell did I agree to this?”
He turned slightly and followed her gaze. “Just exactly what is ‘this’?”
“You haven’t guessed? Well, I hope you like heights because we’re going bungee jumping. Off that.” She nodded toward the crane. It looked pretty high. “One hundred and sixty meters,” she said.
“Are you kidding me?” But his gut tightened at the thought. And not in a bad way.
“Wish I was. It’s for one of Dani’s doggy charities. I agreed to do it in a drunken moment.”
“And where do I come in?”
“I just checked, and they’ll let us jump together. They even have a name for it, a tandem jump.” She looked him up and down. “And is that your idea of casual?”
He glanced at his black pants and black sweater. “Yeah.”
She snorted. But he ignored the sound. A grin tugged at his face. He’d never done a bungee jump before. He looked from the crane back to Jess. “Fantastic.”
“Fantastic? You have to be kidding.” She shook her head. “We’re going first because otherwise I’m going to lose my nerve as well as my breakfast. Come on. We need to get weighed.”
She stalked off toward the small crowd and he followed. There were a group of guys wearing black sweatshirts with “Bungee Team” across the back. Jess halted in front of them. “Let’s get this done.”
One man led them to a weighing machine. He weighed Jess twice, wrote a number on the back of her hand, and called the weight out to his friend. He repeated the procedure with Declan and then waved them to the cage at the bottom of the crane.
Declan studied Jess’s face as a second man ran through the safety procedures while he fastened a harness around their waists and ankles. Jess checked each of the fastenings, tugging at the leather.
“Are you sure it’s tight enough?”
The man grinned. “I’m sure. We’ve never lost one yet.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” she muttered.
“Okay, into the cage,” he said, gesturing to the orange cage. Jess bit her lip and then shuffled over, Declan followed.
“Right, for the jump you’re going to be close together. As close as you can get. Jess, wrap your arms around Declan’s waist and tuck your head right in against his neck. Declan you hold her around the shoulders.”
Declan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, felt her arms come around his middle and hold him tight, so she was plastered against the length of his body. She burrowed her face in the curve of his shoulder. A tremble ran through her.
He hadn’t thought she was scared of anything. He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to safety. Then the gate was closing, shutting them in, the cage jerked beneath them, and they were rising into the air.
“Oh God.”
He rubbed a hand down her back, then looked around him. One of the bungee team guys was in the cage with them, but Declan zoned him out as they rose. The view was amazing. Three-hundred-and-sixty degrees over the city. For once the sky was blue, the sunlight sparkling on the dark water of the river now far below them. Jess’s head was once again shoved in his shoulder.
“Come on, Jess, take a look. You’re missing all the fun.”
“Fuck off,” she mumbled.
He chuckled, and she lifted her head and glared. At least her eyes were open, though they fixed on him not the view. Maybe time to try and distract her. He pressed his hips against hers, letting her know his cock liked having her wrapped around him so close.
Her eyes widened. “I can’t believe you can do that at a moment like this.”
He chuckled again, but his dick was becoming painful and he shifted a little away from her.
“So have you done this before?” he asked.
“Are you crazy? Do you think I’d be here now if I had?”
“But you knew you were scared of heights?”
A visible shudder ran through her. “Yes. I’ve jumped out of planes during training.”
“And you were okay?”
“Of course I wasn’t okay. What sort of normal person jumps out of planes? I puked before and after.”
“So why are you doing this if you’re afraid of heights?”
“I told you, it’s for charity. Plus, I was somewhat under the influence when I agreed. But…”
“But…?” he urged.
“I think you need to face your fears head-on. It’s the only way to defeat them. But I swear if the rope breaks, I will never forgive Dani.”
He peered over the edge. “No, probably not.”
She followed his gaze and went a little greener. “Holy shit.”
He smiled. “I’ll hold on to you.”
“You might change your mind if I throw up on you on the way down.”
“You won’t. You’re the bravest person I know.”
The cage jolted to a halt, and she gave a little squeak. She really was scared and he was filled with an overwhelming urge to protect her from her fears. Make them go away. “We don’t have to do this, Jess. We can just ride back down. I’ll match whatever you’re raising from the jump. Your friend’s doggies won’t lose out.”
Her spine stiffened, her jaw clenched. “No way.”
The gate opened, and they were teetering on the edge. The ground looked a long, long way away. He felt a flash of fear and grinned. At least he wasn’t bored. Maybe Jess didn’t fit into his world, but she certainly made it a brighter place.
“Oh. My. God.”
She clung to him like her life depended on it. He liked the feeling.
“You want a push?” the bungee guy asked. “Or are you going to jump?”
“We’ll jump,” he said.
Pulling her even closer, he stared out at the view, the world laid out before him, Jess in his arms. His gut churned; his adrenaline spiked. “You ready?” He felt the slightest nod against him.
Taking a last deep breath, he leaped out into open space. Then he was diving head first toward the Earth. Jess’s arms tightened around him, her fingers digging into the skin at his waist, her scream muffled in the curve where his neck met his shoulder. And in that moment, free-falling through the sky, the hard ground racing toward him, he knew he didn’t want to ever let her go.