Love Me If You Dare (Safe Haven) (9 page)

After
scraping my elbow, and a lot of swearing, I finally managed to pull myself up enough
to bend at the waist. I lunged forward, rolling over the ground until I lay on
my back, staring up at the early morning sky.

The
blue was so bright it hurt my eyes, the sun a ball of tangerine fire. For a
moment I simply stared and panted, trying to catch my breath.

Swimming
once every few weeks to prove a point was clearly not enough physical activity.

“Kaylee?”
Dylan’s voice sounded from below, slightly alarmed. “Are you okay?”

I
shuffled over to the edge, planting my hands so that I could stare over.

“I—”
My words were caught in my throat when I looked down. I couldn’t have been more
than twenty feet up, but it looked hella high from the top.

“I’m
fine.” I finally managed, slowly climbing to my feet. As I stood and looked out
over the lake, the water calm and familiar, something—peace maybe?—washed over
me.

In
that moment I understood why Dylan did this. I’d only gotten high a time or two
in my life, and I’d certainly never done anything serious, but the results had
been similar to this.

Pure,
floaty happiness.

Raising
my arms into a victory V, I screamed out into the morning air, the sound
dissolving into laughter. When I looked down, Dylan’s expression told me that
he thought I’d lost my mind.

I
grinned down at him.

“I’m
just enjoying myself. I’m not crazy.”

He
nodded, that face sealing itself over with stoicism once again. I would have
paid a lot more than a penny for his thoughts.

“How
do I get down?” I actually kinda wanted to just stay up there, at least for a
while.

I
couldn’t. I had friends in town, friends who were probably wondering where the
hell I’d disappeared to. And I needed to start job hunting. I couldn’t hang out
on a mountain all day.

But
I already knew I’d be back.

“Hang
on to the rope, lower yourself over the edge. Plant your feet on the wall and
walk down. I’ll be lowering you.”

I
was dubious about how easy he made it sound, but this time when the frissons
came, they were excited rather than scared.

Going
down was faster than going up. Before I was ready, I was on the ground, red faced
and panting.

“How
was that?” Dylan asked, a smirk curling the corners of his lips.

I
bit back my answering smile and shrugged with nonchalance. “Oh, you know. It
was okay.”

Reaching
out with one hand, he ran his fingers through a curl that had escaped my
ponytail. His knuckles grazed my cheek, and I felt myself grow even warmer.

Is
he going to kiss me again?

God,
I hoped so.

No!
The shreds of my sanity screamed.

I
ignored them.

“My
turn.” Instead of leaning forward into the touch, Dylan broke away to face the
wall. Without bothering to strap himself into the harness that I was struggling
out of, he began to scale the wall.

I
knew I was ogling him as I watched him climb. Any woman with two brain cells to
rub together would have. The sun had continued to climb, and its pale lemon
light highlighted his muscles, the sharp planes of them stretched tight beneath
tanned skin.

He
got to the top much quicker and more gracefully than I had. I could feel my
pulse pounding as I watched him.

“Damn.”
I whispered. He seemed so incredibly sure of himself.

We
had both lost Ella. I had spiralled out of control.

Dylan
had pulled his shit together.

I
wasn’t quite sure what to think.

Shaking
away the troubling thoughts, I shaded my eyes and looked up. Dylan was doing
the same thing, blocking his eyes from the sun, looking down at me.

“What
are you thinking?” he asked. His expression was intent, like he was trying to
see into my mind.

“What
are
you
thinking,” I called up to him, sidestepping the question.

He
ran his hand through his hair, ruffling the strands in the exact way that I
wanted to.

He
exhaled deeply before replying. “I’m wondering who the real Kaylee is.” Even
through the distance of the top of the rock face to the bottom, I felt myself
pinned by those gorgeous eyes.

I
should have been irritated, but this time there was no judgment in his tone.
Going around about how much we’d both changed wasn’t going to be productive,
but still it was there, a barrier that was invisible, scentless and tasteless
yet ever present.

“People
change, Dylan.” I swallowed hard as my sister’s face swam before my eyes. Her
life had been cut off. I’d never know how she would have changed. Would never
know if she’d have managed to pull herself out of the quicksand of drugs and
mental illness in which she’d mired herself, or if she’d have only gotten
worse.

“I
know they do.” Dylan’s voice was rough. I think he knew where my thoughts had
travelled.

“You’ve
changed.” I continued. How could I make him see that I’d done what I needed to
do to survive? I wasn’t the polar opposite of my twin anymore, true enough.

But
I wasn’t about to change back. This was me now, for better or for worse.

Dylan
didn’t reply. I held his gaze as an idea slid into my mind.

“This
is me, Dylan. The real me.” Continuing to hold his stare, I fisted suddenly
sweaty hands in the hem of my tank top.

I
saw his eyes widen, just the smallest fraction, and then the view was cut off
by the soft weave of my shirt.

I
peeled it off and tossed it to the ground.

“What
are you doing, Kaylee?” Dylan asked, his voice wary.

“I’m
being me,” I replied. My pulse began to pound, hot and fast, as I reached
around to unhook the clasp of my sports bra.

“Kaylee.”
Dylan’s voice was harsh, tight. I flipped my hair out of my face and looked
back up.

Something
pulsed in the air between us as I covered my naked breasts and slowly tossed my
sports bra on top of my shirt.

“Kaylee,”
he said again, and I knew that I wasn’t imagining the need that colored his
voice.

Nerves
skittered along my skin as I slowly shoved my yoga pants down my hips to pool
at my feet. I considered sending my purple lace panties down with them, so that
I was truly skinny dipping, but I lost my nerve.

I
dropped my hands, then watched Dylan’s mouth fall open, probably with shock.
Before he could see much more than a glimpse, I spun and ran into the water.

I
heard him groan, or maybe he was shouting at me. But I waded into the lake, the
cold water giving me goose bumps and making my nipples contract.

Ducking
under the surface of the water as soon as I was in deep enough, I shielded my
eyes from the glare of the sun off the water and looked back at the shore.

Dylan
was reversing his climb surely, steadily. My heart threatened to choke me when
I remembered that he wasn’t wearing a harness and that if he slipped he could
have broken his neck.

“Stupid,
Kaylee. That was stupid.” I stood and started back, feeling ridiculous. I
should have stayed there so he didn’t have to climb down by himself. People
climbed in partners, didn’t they? If they didn’t, they should.

But
he was at the bottom before I could climb back onto the sand. He turned, tossed
the rope he’d held against the wall, and met my stare.

“This
is a dangerous game.” As with the kiss the night before, he gave me a chance to
change my mind, poised to take off his shirt but waiting for me to give him the
go ahead.

“I
know what I want, Dylan.” What I
wanted
was to watch him strip, to see
that golden skin exposed just for me.

Instead
I turned and began to wade in deeper, looking over my shoulder once with a
nervous smile, to tell Dylan that I wanted him to follow me.

Though
the water only reached to my shoulders, and I could have stood, I treaded water
and watched Dylan stalk through the water. His T-shirt and track pants were
lying beside mine on the sand, and knowing that he was all but naked caused
something needy to coil tightly in my belly.

“What
are you doing, Kaylee?” Instead of reaching for me, as I’d expected—and kind of
hoped—Dylan mimicked my stance, ducking into the water to his chin.

“What’s
wrong with some change, Dylan?” My voice trembled, and I told myself that it
was just from the chill of the water.

He
moved closer to me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath
misting over my lips.

“Nothing
is wrong with change.” He replied, brushing his knees against mine under the
water. “As long as you’re the person you’re really supposed to be. As long as
you’re not just trying to keep someone else’s memory alive.”

I
saw his hand moving, a flash of golden white sliding through the water. Then
his fingers were cupping the back of my neck, wet and cold and slippery and
right
.

I
tilted my head up to welcome the press of his lips against mine. Instead of the
touch I was expecting, he pressed that cool mouth against my temple, the touch
tender enough to make me shiver.

Pulling
me closer, he slid his lips over the plane of my cheekbone, along the line of
my jaw, then finally over to my lips.

“Kaylee.”
He spoke against my lips, and the flick of his tongue as he spoke made me
squirm.

I
moaned softly in response, pushing forward until our bodies were aligned. Dylan
let a choked sound escape his throat when my breasts met the hard muscles of
his chest, when my belly pressed into his pelvis.

Slowly,
slowly his free hand clasped my waist, then played up over my ribs, one by one.
I tensed, knowing where that hand was going.

Wanting
it. Craving it.

“Dylan!”
I gasped as his large, work hardened hand finally covered my breast. He moved
with torturous slowness, weighing the flesh, massaging over the nipple that had
contracted to the point of pain.

“I’ve
dreamed about this,” He spoke into my hair, the hand at the back of my neck
sliding down to splay over my back, pushing me even closer against him. I
moaned when I felt the evidence of his arousal, the hard length a contrast
against the swell of my belly.

I
was relieved that he’d left his underwear on, adding a second layer to our self
control. But at the same time, as I instinctively pressed the lace covered area
between my legs against his erection, I wanted everything from him—
everything.

I
wasn’t a virgin. He wasn’t either, unless all those girls in his wild youth had
just been going to his place for slumber parties. But though I’d gone wild once
I was at school, I knew, somehow, that this connection between us had to be
treated with utmost care.

“Mmm.”
I threw back my head and absorbed the sensation as Dylan played those fingers
over my nipple. He pulled, and I felt a series of shocks sparking all the way
down to my womb.

I
gasped when he slid his hands under my rear and lifted me. I twined my legs
around his waist, arching my back to press my flesh further into his palm.

He
kissed my cheek, then my neck. His teeth sank lightly into the corded muscle of
my neck, then the tender spot where my neck met my shoulder.

“Is
this okay?” he murmured against my skin. I knew what he was asking as his lips
moved lower, sliding over the upper swell of my breast.

Slow
down
, my brain screamed at me. My body
ignored the plea, instead leaning back and offering my breast for the touch of
his mouth.

“Did
ya remember the bait, Mike?” The voice was male and very, very loud, but it
still took a moment for it to sink into my consciousness.

“Oh,
shit.” I flailed as I tried to extricate myself from Dylan’s embrace,
succeeding only in making water splash into both of our voices.

“Not
quite the exhibitionist you want me to think you are, huh?” Dylan asked dryly,
finally letting me go to dunk back under the water and grin wryly.

I
rose up as much as I could without my breasts escaping the water, searching for
the offending party.

There,
half a mile down the small lake—two men in plaid shirts and rubber boots were
trudging along the sand with fishing poles and tackle boxes in hand.

I
glared at Dylan, who smiled back with infuriating calmness.

“Stop
grinning! It’s not funny!” I splashed water at him, and he managed to duck the
arc of water. I scowled, and he grinned, and the absurdity of the situation hit
me.

A
small laugh escaped my lips. I clapped my hand over my mouth, but the sound
escaped.

Dylan
started to chuckle, too, and soon we were laughing out loud, not caring that
the two men were now looking right at us.

“This
is quite the situation you’ve gotten us into, Kaylee Ann.” Dylan smirked at me.
“What’s your plan?”

I
raised my eyebrows and poked him in the chest.

“My
plan is that you will be the gentleman and get out of the water to get me my
clothes. You will then shield me while I get dressed.” My voice was prim, but I
was still entertained.

It
felt good, to be doing something silly and not serious with Dylan. Something
that he hadn’t expected me to do, but that he seemed to have accepted
regardless.

He
cocked one eyebrow. “I’m just as naked as you are. Maybe you should get out
first and protect
my
modesty.”

“Remember
those boobs you were just groping? Those make me way more naked than you.” I feigned
a scowl.

“Thank
heavens for that.” Dropping a kiss onto the top of my head, Dylan strode
forward, out of the water and onto the sand. The water sluicing down his solid
frame was a thing of beauty, and I shook my head at the fact that this
beautiful, amazing creature had just been touching me.