Page 16 of Exposed

“Sure. Whatever,” Eric finally said, an edge to his voice now. “I was going to say the same thing to you this morning. Last night was fun and all, but I’m not looking for anything more than a one-night stand.”

The coldness in his tone pinched her heart. Which was totally stupid. This was what she’d wanted. No strings. No messy emotions. No distractions from the job she was here to do. So why did his words hurt so much? She couldn’t explain that, but she also couldn’t let it show.

“Glad we’re agreed on that. It’s for the best.” If she worked hard enough, she could almost convince herself that was true. So why did she want to apologize for her words, take them back, and fling herself into his arms?

Thankfully, the therapy session started before she could act on that impulse.

“Welcome to day three of the LoveFix Retreat, ladies and gentlemen,” Hart said, drawing everyone’s attention. “We hope that you’re growing closer together as couples and working through the issues that brought you here to regain the intimacy you’ve lost. We’re so glad to see everyone here after yesterday’s incident.” He gave Beth another apologetic look before continuing. “And now, let’s get started. Today we’ll be working on rebuilding trust between partners. We’ll start with trust falls. This requires both partners to fully trust the person they’re with to catch them.” Hart demonstrated with a woman from his staff. The woman closed her eyes and fell straight backward armsextended at her sides. Hart stood several feet behind her and caught the woman under the arms before she hit the floor.

Eric tensed beside her, and Beth exhaled slowly. Great. After what she’d been through the day before it was asking a lot of her to free fall, but she’d do it. If for no other reason than to prove to herself she wasn’t afraid. Fear was the enemy of success and Beth refused to allow it to get in the way of her goals. It helped that she had faith in Eric to catch her. He had yesterday in much more challenging conditions. This would be easy for him. Despite what she’d just said to him, she had faith that he wouldn’t let her down. He’d proven that.

“Let’s find a mat in the center of the room,” she said, moving through the crowd without looking back. Yesterday, she’d have taken his hand to prove to anyone watching that they were a couple. Today, that kind of physical contact seemed fraught with too much meaning, so it was best avoided. She stopped at a mat where they were surrounded by five couples. “This is good.”

“Why here?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“I’m hoping to listen in to other participants’ conversations. Might find a lead there.” She tuned in, but all she heard was nervous chatter about the activity. She understood that. Trust was tough.

“Are you sure you’re okay doing this?” Eric asked her as they moved into position. “You could catch me instead.”

She almost laughed. “Oh, I doubt it. I’m in good shape and strong, but you’re at least two hundred pounds of solid muscle. You fall backward at me, we’ll both hit the floor.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’m good with this. Really.” She had to be. She wouldn’t let herselfnotbe.

She moved in front of him and waited while he positioned himself on the mat behind her. Truth was, she was scared after yesterday, but she wouldn’t let that hold her back. Best to get right back in the saddle again, as her dad had always said.

“All right,” Eric said from behind her. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Beth inhaled deeply, forcing her tense shoulders to relax. Worst case scenario, Eric missed catching her and she hit the mat. It was a good three to four inches of foam. She’d get bruised and maybe strain something, but she’d survive. It was all good. And he wasn’t going to miss. “Falling…”

The world tilted as she let her weight rock back onto her heels and then tipped over into free fall. For a second, the fear from the day before rushed back, clogging her throat and tripping her pulse. Then Eric’s hands were there, warm and safe and steady, supporting her weight easily, catching her under the arms. She opened her eyes and stared up into his troubled brown gaze. Shadows lurked there—hurt, confusion, loneliness—and something tightly coiled inside her unfurled. She’d done her best to convince herself that her attraction to Eric wasn’t anything serious. Just a fling, no big deal. Circumstances, hormones. She could rattle off a list of what caused them to end up in bed together.

But now, as their eyes locked and he gently lowered her to the mat, it felt like a whole lot more than that. A whole lot more than just a fling. A whole, very big deal indeed.

11

“No, no. Not that way. Listen to me. Follow my voice,” Beth said an hour later.

“I’m trying,” Eric said, growing more frustrated by the second. Between the fact that he couldn’t see because of the blindfold over his eyes and the distraction of the other couples bumping around and laughing, it was all more than a tad disorienting. Honestly, he’d known he was in trouble the second that therapy dude had explained this second exercise. Lead your partner from one location to another, just with the sound of your voice. No touching.

He’d actually done this a million times on missions. Night ops were a given as a SEAL and while many times they had night vision goggles to help them see where they were going, other times, they went in hot, with no time to do anything other than grab their weapons and go. At those times, the sound of their commander’s voice was their only road map back to safety.

It kind of felt the same way now, except Beth was doing the guidance—and around her, he felt anything but safe,emotionally. She’d blown that out of the water with just a few words earlier. He didn’t know what he’d expected from her, but it hadn’t been her rejection. He’d clammed up immediately, pretended like it didn’t matter to him, but it had—more than he cared to admit.

At the same time, he was kicking himself because he’d started to trust her, to let down his guard around her. He’d so rarely done that in his life since surviving all the shit his father had put him and his mother through. Now, he and Beth were stuck together for the rest of the week, playing these stupid games. It was all like one of his nightmares come to life. Part of him wanted to rip the damned blindfold off and say to hell with all of it. But the other part of him, the part that was so attuned to every nuance of Beth after their steamy night together, couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing her like that. The roles they had assumed were important to her because they would aid her investigation. She was chasing a story, and he wasn’t going to be the one to stand in the way of that.

“Where are we going?” he asked when the din of the rec room lessened and a warm breeze tickled his skin. The sounds of sea gulls pierced the air and Eric breathed a bit easier. She’d led him outside. Nature always helped ground him and get him out of his head, which was good.

“Can’t tell you, but you’re doing great,” she said from a short way in front of him. “Good. Good. Now turn slightly to your right and then walk straight ahead.”

He did so, the pavement of the sidewalk warm beneath his bare feet. That felt solid. Comforting. Maybe he could do this. Maybe he could trust her, at least for a little while. Maybe he could let her in a bit. At least until this session was over. And then…then, he’d see. He swallowed hard and continued on the path she’ddirected, hands out in front of him to avoid colliding with any unidentified objects.

“You can drop your arms,” she said from closer than he expected. “I won’t let you walk into anything. I promise.”

Promises. They hadn’t made any to each other. Still, he’d lied to her earlier about last night. Last night had been amazing, even for an experienced guy like him. At first, he’d tried to tell himself that it was only the adrenaline rush of her accident that had boiled over into passion. And maybe that partly accounted for that first time in the tub. But later, when he’d woken up with her in bed and they’d made love again in the pre-dawn gloom, it hadn’t had anything to do with a crisis. There had been no danger or urgency to account for their desire. There’d just been the two of them, exploring each other, experiencing each other. His body tightened with the memories of how she’d tasted, smelled, sounded as she’d come apart around him.

“Okay, step up,” she said, and he did. “Good. And again.”

The temperature dropped slightly, and Eric’s skin prickled with coolness. The sounds of nature died away and he realized they were in another building. Not the rec room, since this space was silent, except for the squeak of her rubber flip flops on the floor.

“Just a few more steps straight ahead and we’re there.”

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