Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
A couple of weeks later and Holly was pretty sure she’d lost her mind.
“Maybe this time we’re taking it too far,” Holly said with a wince. “I mean, the last thing on the list was eating too much, and literally jumping off a bridge might be pushing it.”
Her hands weren’t shaking yet but they were close.
Brody pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Actually, the last thing on the list was having sex in the shower, and we did that pretty well I think. If you don’t remember, we can do it again, though this time, I’m not letting you go down on your knees for so long so you can suck me off.
And I want more time on my knees so I can eat you out as you play with your pussy.
Because that was so hot, I almost came, which is why I had to pull away quickly and get that condom. ”
She blushed so hard she was sure someone from space could see the redness of her cheeks. She buried her face in Brody’s chest, thankful that they were alone in the small area off the bridge and that no one could have overheard him.
“Brody.”
“What?” he asked innocently. There wasn’t a single innocent thing about him, and they both knew it.
“Don’t ‘what’ me,” she said with a grin. She’d tried not to smile, but it was impossible with him around. “You can’t talk about details like that in public. We might be alone right now, but that could change at any moment.”
He kissed her hard then, his tongue pressing into her mouth with a vigor that made her want to wrap her body around him and never let go.
When he pulled away, they were both panting, and she could feel his hard-on pressing against her hip.
She was pretty sure she’d soaked through her panties as well.
Darn man was always doing that to her, and he was unrepentant in his glee at that fact.
“Brody,” she repeated. “Stop it.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Nope. Not gonna do it. But I will take you down to our car and away from the mountains and this bridge if you want. You said you wanted to try bungee jumping, so here we are. It was one thing on your list, but not the only thing. I’m randomly going through it rather than leading up to the big things so you don’t get that nervous anticipation that freaks you out. ”
It should worry her that he knew her so well, but instead, it made her feel like she wasn’t alone. She was making a huge mistake by trusting him like she was, by doing the worst thing possible.
Falling for him.
She’d seen what happened when someone from her family fell for another person, and she swore she wouldn’t do it. She’d almost done it with Jake, and yet she’d been grateful enough to realize they were better as friends.
Falling for Brody would only make her hurt more in the end.
Hurt so badly she wasn’t sure she’d make it.
So instead of falling for him, today she would fall from a bridge. Attached to a bungee cord, of course, but it was still falling from a freaking bridge. Why had she put this on her list? Oh, yeah, because she wanted a little change in her life.
Next time, she might just change the color of her sheets or something. That sounded much safer.
“Want to head back? We can.”
She looked up at him before kissing his jaw.
If there was one thing she knew, it was that Brody would never hurt her body.
Her soul or her heart? Well, that was on her.
She’d just have to stop falling in love with him.
He’d made no promises, and she was going to have to do her best to not look too deeply into what they had.
Maybe if she told him more about who she was and where she came from, it would keep her safe. It would build that wall between them so neither of them got hurt.
“Holly?”
“Let’s do it. I don’t want to miss out on anything,” she said quickly.
Bungee jumping would be easier than falling for him or opening herself up anyway. And after that? Well, after that, she’d figure it out.
He tucked her hair behind her head. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” Maybe. She wasn’t sure of anything else, so she might as well be sure about this.
“Okay, then, let’s go. Remember, you can turn back at any time before we start to tilt forward.”
She elbowed him in the gut, holding back a smile. The darn man sure knew how to get right into the deep places she’d kept hidden for so long. So long, in fact, she’d forgotten she was doing it. No wonder she and Jake—or any of the other men she’d been with—hadn’t worked out.
They hadn’t seen her.
And yet, it seemed as if Brody did.
Again, that was a danger she hadn’t put on her list.
The two of them went through the instructions one more time and listened to the people in charge tell them what they needed to do and explain a little bit about what it would feel like. Of course, no matter what they said, she was pretty sure the only way she would know would be to actually do it.
And though it scared her, she wanted to try it, wanted to feel the wind on her face and know her body was floating, if only for an instant.
The fact that she’d be tied up to Brody along the way only made it that much better—and perhaps scarier.
They were the second couple to go, the first couple veterans of bungee jumping. Holly had on her helmet and gear and pressed herself closely to Brody’s side.
“This is my first time, too,” Brody whispered.
She turned to him. “What? I thought you knew what you were doing.” She swallowed hard, her mouth going dry.
“There are some things on my list, too. But I figured I should mention that I hadn’t done this before. Now I feel like I did the wrong thing.”
She shook her head and hugged him hard. “We can do this. We’ll just make it our first time together.”
He chuckled roughly and whispered in her ear, “We’ll take it nice and slow and lose our virginities. Don’t worry.”
She kissed him hard then sucked in a breath as the instructor called their names.
With her shoulders rolled back, she got into position and followed every one of their rules and listened hard for what to do.
The people in charge set everything up and triple-checked things before patting them on the shoulders, telling them what to do for the fourth time.
With something like this, she’d have taken the fifth time, too.
She and Brody were pressed tightly together, ready to literally take the plunge. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to think about that as a symbol or not, but regardless, she couldn’t think about it right then.
Brody let out a breath. “Ready, Holly?”
She nodded. “Ready.”
For what, she didn’t know.
“I’ve got you,” he said calmly. “Always.”
Then they jumped.
Or more like tilted to the side and fell, but it sure felt like a jump.
Wind rushed past them so quickly she couldn’t scream.
Her body felt weightless for a bare instant before it went too heavy and they bounced back.
She couldn’t quite comprehend everything she was seeing, but she knew she’d never forget it.
She’d never forget the way things rushed past her.
The way the water below them gurgled and shone in the light.
The way the wind slid over her face and slapped at her.
And she’d never forget the smile on Brody’s face or the look of wonder that washed over him.
Never in all her days would she forget.
By the time the guys at the bottom pulled them down and set them apart, Holly was ready to hold Brody close and never let him go.
“I’ve never felt more…just more!” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oh my God, Brody, we need to do that again.”
His eyes widened, and he kissed her hard. “I was afraid I’d pee my pants at first because, hell, did you see what we just did? But having you in my arms made it easier. We made a pretty good team, Holly.”
Yeah, they did. They made the best team.
And when they got to her place later, she’d have to tell him a little more about herself. She was ready, and it was time.
She just didn’t know if she wanted it to push him away, or keep him closer. She just didn’t know…
And that scared her.
By the time they picked up something to eat and got to her place, the adrenaline had worn off but not the need to talk to Brody. Holly didn’t know why she had this urge, other than she knew it was past time she showed him more of herself.
They were sitting on her couch eating the sandwiches they’d picked up from the local deli when Brody looked over at her with a frown.
“What?” she asked, picking at her meal.
“For someone who just went bungee jumping for the first time and apparently loved it, you look a little sad. What’s up, baby?”
She set her food down and turned so she was sitting cross-legged on the couch facing him. “Did you ever think it was weird that I wanted to do all of these things out of the blue?”
Brody set his drink down and turned so he was fully facing her as well.
He reached out and took her hand, and she was grateful for it.
“Not really, honestly. We all have some points in our lives when we want to do something different or change things. I find it lucky that I was there, being a horrible eavesdropper when you were talking about it.” He grinned, and her heart did that annoying thing where it sped up merely at the sight of him.
She could not afford to fall in love with Brody Deacon.
But damn it, she already had.
Holly pulled her gaze from him and gave her small home a glance.
“I’ve lived here without changing much after the initial updates for years.
I like the way everything settled down, and how I can pretty much stay here for long periods of time without needing things.
You see, I’m not one to leave the house to go dancing, and I’ve never been to a club to drink with my friends. ”
Brody winced. “We can change that if you want, but I think I’m getting old since watching late teens and early twenty-somethings writhe to too loud music makes my jaw ache.”