Too many abdominal muscles beneath her fingertip, each one flexing in response to her fingernails lightly scratching down them.
“Do you want to do this?” he asked her, the softest of pressure of his hands wrapping around her waist.
“I think I’m going to be really, really disappointed if we don’t,” she breathed.
“Then, River, you are about to be really, really disappointed.” Easton winked at her. “Try not to go full unibrow.”
He left her standing there, her nonmenopausal parts wailing in protest.
“That was so mean, Easton,” River called after him.
“Yep.”
“And I’m really not liking you right now!”
“Ten four.”
Leaning back against nothing, River stayed at an uncomfortable angle, trying not to fall flat on her back or face or any important parts in between. Only when her team came over did River sigh lustily.
“Bree? I might like him.”
She nudged River upright. “You think?”
• • •
It didn’t take long before Ash’s badass dragon of the sky came thumping into view. After his attempt at teaching his clients the proper safety protocol, Easton was ready for some backup, even in the form of his twin.
From their place on the tarmac, the crew had a view of the talons painted on the underside of Ash’s Robinson helicopter.
“I think I want to be your sister when I grow up.” River sighed. “And now I totally understand your respect for powerful women.”
“Scary women.”
“Strong, smart, powerful women.”
Easton tilted his head in acknowledgment. “All that too. But scary is on the list.”
The film crew greeted her and promptly asked Ash to sign a waiver and let them film her. Ash never let anyone run roughshod over her, but Easton had gained an increasing respect for River. It was possible the two were evenly matched.
“No filming,” Ash declared, as if that would be the end of it.
“We won’t film you,” River promised. “Only the helicopter.”
“I said no filming.”
Bree piped up. “It’s an awesome helicopter.”
“Yes, but you’re not filming it.”
“How about out the windows while we’re flying?” Jessie countered, making the request sound entirely reasonable.
“You sure about this?” Ash asked Easton. “I’m exhausted, and I’ve been around them for less than fifteen seconds.”
“I don’t know. They’re growing on me.”
“Fine, they can film out the window. And that’s it.” Ash frowned at him. “I’m not a human scale, but that doesn’t look like the agreed upon gear weight.”
Confused, Easton turned around to find their gear pile had grown while his back was turned. Not a little. A lot.
River followed his gaze. “From the expression I think is on your face beneath all the bristly parts, I feel like you’re not happy.”
No, he definitely wasn’t. Easton couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this ticked off at a client.
“We did a gear check, River.” He glared down at the offending pile. “This wasn’t part of it.”
“You didn’t expect a camera crew filming an ascent of a mountain not to bring their filming equipment, did you?”
“You didn’t expect to sneak all this filming equipment into your packs without my knowing, did you?”
Easton never had to close his eyes and count to ten twice in one day. So far, it hadn’t worked for him, and he was rather disillusioned with the whole process. When his eyes opened again, he was as frustrated as he’d been before he’d counted, only now he had a pair of bright blue eyes narrowed at him.
“You did not take another time out.”
Teeth grinding, Easton heard his jaw creak.
“Listen here, big guy. These are my people, and I’m not going to let you belittle them. We might not look like much, but we are more than capable of accomplishing this. Including carrying our equipment.”
Inhaling a deep breath, Easton didn’t take a third time out. However, he did look this woman in the eyes, holding her gaze and refusing to back down.
Whisky. She reminded him of Fireball whisky…sweet and smooth but spicy and strong as hell. Trouble bottled up and far too tempting to reach for. Liable to burn him up from the inside out.
River planted her hands on her hips, considering her equipment. “We’ll leave the booms behind. And some of the lighting. The rest we can split up among us.”
“Even doing that, it’s too much weight. I can’t back down on this one, River. You have to lighten the load.”
“I can’t afford to. If we can’t film, there’s no point in going up there.”
With a curse, Easton stomped away from her. River stood her ground, waiting until he turned and came back.
“Fine. I’ll call in an extra guide to help share the load.”
When River opened her mouth to protest, Easton cut her off. “Extra guide or we’re going home. And you’re paying for him, not me. Am I making the call or not?”
Ash watched the exchange, asking, “Are they still growing on you?”
Easton didn’t dignify that with an answer. River finally nodded, so he walked away to make his call. When he returned, he met her stubborn gaze with one of his own.
“I’m this close to grounding the entire climb,” Easton told her. “If I can’t trust you, then I have no interest in going up there with you. It’s my life on the line, River. I’m not interested in throwing it away.”
“You can trust me. I just knew what you’d say about the gear.”
“Yeah, for good reason. There’s a limit to how much we all can carry, because that’s what’s safe. You’re underestimating what this mountain will throw at you. Not your fault, because you’ve never been up there. I have.” Easton added, “I found a second guide. He’s on his way, but he has to get someone to watch his dog.”
Ash looked skeptical. “You’re taking Ben?”
“Ben’s good. I trained him.”
“Ben’s mediocre, probably because you trained him.” Ash headed back to her helicopter, leaving Easton to face the redhead alone. Watching the exchange seemed to have shifted River’s mood for the better, if the growing smirk on her face was any indicator.