Page 66 of His Mansion

“I’m close, but I’m missing something.”

Five years of practice?“Try again and I’ll watch from here.”

Lying beside him allowed her to see exactly what he was doing wrong as he extended his torso and attempted to catch the next hold. It also let her see every muscle in his body flex—and while he wasn’t as cut as Derrick, it was still a fine view.

He’d been working hard, both earlier in the sun and now, and a fine layer of sweat made his skin shine. She breathed in deeply, the musky scent less dirty and far more arousing than she hoped. Melanie tilted her head back to see Derrick squatting outside the cave area, watching, and she shivered. Why did it feel as if he wasn’t keeping an eye on her to make sure nothing happened, but almost as if he hoped something would?

She cleared her throat. “You still aren’t using the muscles in your left leg right.”

“I pushed off,” Nathan complained.

“You did. But it’s not a push you need, it’s an extension, and you have to employ your full toe and calf muscle.”

Nathan dropped to the mat and groaned. “Show me again.”

Mel nodded. “I will, but first, try once more in slow motion, and I’ll point out the muscles you need to use.”

Nathan set up as she wiggled toward the base of the wall, planting her hand on his thigh before she thought it through.

Oh my God, he was solid. Unyielding muscles flexed under her fingers, and she forced herself to concentrate. “This is where you need to push off, then you can…”

She traced down his calf muscle, caught hold of his ankle and tugged slightly. “Up on your toe. There. That will give you an additional three inches, and that’s all you need to reach your goal.”

“Additional three inches, hey? Never been told I needed it.”

She flushed instantly. What was she supposed to say to in response to that? “Move over and I’ll show you one last time.”

Nathan dropped then slipped to the side to let her access the first holds.

Melanie dragged her gaze off Nathan, wondering if she’d caught some kind of a flu that made her insanely hot and feverish. There was no excuse for this. She’d told Derrick she found Nathan attractive, but that didn’t give her the right to fantasize about the guy right there in front of him.

She lifted her hips and got into position.

“Nate, you’ll never see what she’s doing from over there. Come over to this side,” Derrick ordered.

Melanie’s hands nearly slipped off completely when instead of crawling out to come around to her left, Nathan wiggled under her. There wasn’t enough room for him to pass by without brushing their bodies together, no matter how close to the rock face she clung.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one feeling the heat. He was most definitely hard more places than his arm and leg muscles. Melanie held her breath as he passed, glancing at Derrick to see just what the hell was going on.

He winked.

Winked?

“Okay, Mel, do a slow-motion reach. Nathan, put your hand on her left thigh and feel how the extension starts—it’s not only the thigh, it’s the calf as well and the toe as a final move.”

Nathan wrapped his warm fingers around her leg. His palm cradled the back of her thigh as he stroked downward.

She tried to concentrate on the climbing move, but her focus was gone. A burning sensation skittered along her nerves in direct opposition to the path of his hand, heat flaring into her core. Melanie slid off the rock and lay still for a moment, heart pounding. This was insane. Impossible. Nathan stared into her eyes, his gaze fixed on her as he flipped his grasp to cover the top of her shin. Inch by inch he smoothed his palm upward. The new grip meant his fingertips tickled the inside of her thigh, edging closer to her sex. Fiery shots raced ahead of his touch, and she bit her lip to stop her panting breaths from escaping and revealing exactly how turned on she was.

Maybe she should ignore him. He was going to stop any second—this was a totally innocent move on his part, and she shouldn’t make it dirty simply because she was horny enough to want to strip and crawl all over him?—

Sudden energy flashed to her muscles, and she scrambled out from under the rock, crawling crablike away from Nathan. Escaping, retreating. She stood, teetering briefly before a broad body made contact with her.

She spun, squeezed her face tight to Derrick’s chest, wrapping her arms around his torso like a tangling vine. If she didn’t look at either of them, she could pretend she hadn’t just considered letting Nathan King touch her intimately. Fake that the issue was her scars, when this time her damaged body had been the last thing on her mind as she’d lain in the arms of her teenage fantasy.

Derrick stroked her head, his solid body tight in all the right places. Including—oh my. He was hard? That in itself wasn’t unusual, but now? The timing seemed improbable. He reached under her hips and lifted her, allowing her to cling tighter to his neck, their faces now level.

“Derrick, I—” How to explain? Make an excuse or tell the truth?

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