Page 14 of Kissing Danger

I couldn’t help but laugh as I finished pulling my clothes back into place. “End of the week? Ha. I’ll be planning out new ideas on the journey home. You’re...” I gave him what I hoped was an alluring smile. “Quite the creative inspiration, Mister Sterling.”

While my smile had been flirtatious, his returning grin was pure sin.

“Happy to lend a hand, Mister Millar.”

CHAPTER 7

Deacon

I was hanging in mid-air,fifty feet off the ground, when my phone started ringing. Making sure that my feet and my left hand all had secure purchase on the rocky cliff-face, I let go with my right hand to press the button on the Bluetooth speaker in my ear.

“Kiki. What’s up?”

She didn’t answer immediately, and I took a moment to find a new grip for my right hand on the cliff.

“I can hear you panting,” she said, after a moment. “Which means you’re either having sex, or rock climbing, and I’m not sure which idea I hate more.”

“What’s wrong with rock climbing?” I whined, completely ignoring her comment about sex. She obviously knew what I’d done with Nathan on the day of my interview, and we had both silently agreed not to bring it up.

Through the phone, her voice took on a nagging edge, like a mother berating their wayward child. “Rock climbing is going to mess up your hands. You’re an artist. Your career is defined by what you can make with your hands.”

I laughed, while at the same moment spotting my next handhold a few feet up the cliff. It would be a stretch, but I should be able to reach the promising crack in the rock.

“You’re acting like I’m some world-renowned concert violinist. I promise, after this, I will still be able to hold a pencil and work a sewing machine.”

She huffed loud enough to be heard through the phone. “There’s no point arguing with you. You never listen to me.”

Pushing up with my legs, I reached for the next grip that I’d spotted, but it was farther away than I thought. Even stretching all my limbs to their full length, I couldn’t quite reach.

“Are you kidding? Half my time is spent doing whatever you say.”

“Which means half your time is spent disobeying me. All my work won’t matter when you end up undoing it all anyway.”

No choice. I was going to have to jump for the next grip.

“So sorry, Master. Your humble servant will aim to do better.”

Pushing off with my legs, I flew weightless through the air for a moment before my right hand found the grip in the rock I’d been aiming for. The full weight of my body strained against my shoulder, and I felt my muscles fighting against the pull of gravity, but my grip held strong, and I was able to find new purchase on the cliff for my feet.

“Please tell me you didn’t just fall,” Kiki’s voice whispered through the speaker in my ear.

“All good. No falling. I’ve been rock climbing since I was a kid. I know what I’m doing.”

“Hmmm.” She obviously didn’t want to argue, but I could tell just from the sound of her noncommittal noise that she was still questioning my overall sanity.

“Just finish up with your thrill-seeking and get yourself back to the studio. We still have work to do to get ready for this new job.”

“As you command,” I agreed. Twisting away from the cliff wall as much as I could, I cast my gaze over the beauty of the Nevada horizon. “I was going to finish up soon anyway. It’s almost sunset.”

Brilliant oranges and reds streaked through the sky, turning the landscape into a portrait of fire and rock. Nothing could beat the radiance of a desert sunset.

The quickly fading sun beat down on the back of my neck and sweat beaded along my hairline as I pulled myself over the top of the cliff. Heaving for breath, I lay on the ground and stared up at the sky, reveling in the deep-seated exhaustion that set into my muscles.

After my “interview” with Nathan, I’d been on edge for days. The man was an addiction. Now that my libido had been awakened, I couldn’t get enough, but I didn’t know when I would see him again. So, I was left strung-out and twitterpated, like ants running around under my skin, I couldn’t sit still long enough to stitch two pieces of fabric together, let alone create an entire line of new outfits.

I needed to burn off the excess energy, and so I’d turned to my tried-and-true method. Rock climbing, or some similarly extreme outdoor activity, usually helped to settle my nerves when I was feeling on edge. This time was no exception. Already, as the sky darkened above me, I could feel my mind calming down. Like navigating a kayak down a river full of rapids and finally reaching the safety of calm waters, I could breathe normally again.

The sky had turned mostly purple by the time I finished storing away my climbing gear in the saddlebag of my motorcycle. It wasn’t quite night yet, but the first eager stars were already making their appearance.

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