It felt good to be outside, spending time with Quinn. I knew after this, I had to go back to the real world. I had been living in the real world and its harshness for so long, I felt like I deserved this small break with Quinn. Soon, I’d be bargaining a man’s sister for a confession. Soon, I’d be the man there would be no way she could love if she saw me act in that manner.
“You lied to me,” she said, her voice small with the sound of betrayal, turning her face to the side to look away from me. There was nothing there but a dirt path and forest. She was really upset. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she wiped them away quickly. Her hands shook, her chest rose and fell with panic.
Jesus, she was terrified. I felt horrible. We could turn around and give up, but I wasn’t going to allow her to give up on herself. I was going to push her, which I might regret later, but she could do this. She was strong, independent, and had a backbone harder than any man I had ever come across.
Quinn could do this because if she could be with me again, after the shit that went down between us, this rock should be a breeze.
I kneeled on the ground in front of her, and she twisted to the other side, giving me her back. Yep. She was pissed.
Cute, too.
Guys knew never to say that to a woman when she was angry, not unless he wanted to get slapped in the face.
“Quinn, I’m so sorry. I forgot about the rope, but I know you can do it. Do you trust me?” That might the wrong question to ask. She could love me, but gaining trust was something else.
“Of course, I do,” she whispered, wiping her sniffles away.
“I wouldn’t ever let anything happen to you. Not ever. I’ll catch you if you think you’re about to fall, but I know you won’t. Want to know how?”
She glanced up at me through her wet lashes, the tears causing them to stick together. “How?”
“Because I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. You’re a warrior.” I wiped the pad of my thumb over her jaw to catch the droplet about to fall.
“I don’t know. That’s really high, Jaxon.” She stared up at the rock like it was the most intimidating, daunting task in the world.
“It is, but you know what’s waiting? A view only a few people see a year. Not many know about this place; not many want to walk the mile and a half to pull themselves up to see what is waiting for them. It’s a once in a lifetime view, the kind you’ll never forget.”
“Better than the view at your house?”
“Much better,” I said. “I’m going to go first, and when I get to the top, I’m going to hold my hands out for you, okay? You just climb until you can grab my hands, and I’ll pull you up.”
“You swear? You can’t let me go.”
I scooted along the ground until I was in front of her, this time, she didn’t move away, and I laid my palms on top of her thighs. “When have you ever known me to let you go? If I was that kind of man, would we be here?” I asked, reminding her how she ended up with me in the first place.
She giggled, smiling, she landed those light brown eyes on mine. “No, I guess not,” she said.
“That’s right,” I stood and pulled her to her feet. I bent down and gave her a kiss. “For luck,” I said, right before taking a running start to the cliff and jumping on it. I didn’t use the rope. I dug my hands into the rock, and when my foot found leverage, I launched off one side of the cliff and flew, landing on the other the same way.
“Oh my god, Jaxon Steel! I’m going to kill you for swinging around like Spiderman. You’re giving me a heart attack!”
“The food will do that to you before I do,” I shouted, pouncing toward the last edge I needed. My fingers gripped the rock, and I pulled myself up, using my upper body strength. “Alright,” I said, flipping to my stomach and held out my hands. “Ready for you.”
“Show off,” she cupped her hands around her lips and yelled.
With timid moves, she grabbed the rope and got used to its weight. She tested its strength by tugging on it, and the tree branch didn’t move. The rope was secure.
“You can do it,” I continued to give her words of encouragement because I knew she needed them.
She shook her head in denial but walked up to the rock. Planting her feet, she started hoisting herself up slowly.
Sloth slow.
But I couldn’t complain. She was trying.
Every time she pulled herself up, she still shook her head, doubting herself, but she still moved her feet. She was about halfway up when she made the mistake of looking down. “No, no, don’t—” I tried to warn her.
Too late.
“Oh no! No, freaking way. Get me down this instant, Jaxon. I’m going to die. Oh, god. I’m going to fall and die,” she started crying hysterically, a death grip on the rope which she probably imagined being my throat. “I can’t do it. I can’t,” she said, eyes red and swollen from her crying. She leaned herself against the rock and held onto the rope, not moving.
“You can do it. You can. You’re halfway to me, baby. You’re halfway. Don’t give up now. You’re so close.” I stretched my hands out to her, and she looked at them like they were lifelines, and she was drowning.
She took a deep breath and moved.
I let out a breath of relief. For a minute, I thought I’d have to go down and get her.
“I can’t do this. I’m so afraid of falling. It isn’t even being high up. It’s the fall that bothers me,” she kept saying, bringing herself down with all these negatives. As she cried, her focus locked onto her hands as she climbed.
Inch by inch, she gained ground and was getting closer to me.
All while being scared, crying, shaking, and doubting herself.
I was so fucking proud of her. “You’re so close,” I said. “Come on, baby. Get to me. I miss the hell out of you.”
Her entire body quaked, reminding me of ripples in the water from a vibration she shook so hard. Her foot settled in another place, but her foot slipped. She screamed and braced her feet on either side of a valley carved into the rock and held onto the rope. I needed her to move another hand. That was it. I would be able to reach her if she moved one more time.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” I said, doing my best to remain calm, but on the inside, I was a little afraid. She looked scared to death, and I had done that to her. If she let go of that rope, she’d fall and most likely die.
She tilted her head up and stared at me with those big beautiful eyes.
“Focus on me. Look how close you are, Quinn. Look.”
She stared at my hand, then hers, and then back at me again.
I nodded. “Look how far you’ve come. Don’t give up now.”
Her throat bobbed as she gulped, and she tugged herself up again. I didn’t waste another damn millisecond. I reached down and tightened my hand around her wrist, then heaved her up until she was lying flat against me as we lied down. I wrapped my arms around her as she cried. She clawed her nails into my chest, pinching the skin, and sobbed so loud; it echoed over the cliff into the empty air.
“Look,” I lifted her up, and she wiped her cheeks against my shirt to dry them off. “You did it.”
Her eyes rounded, and she peeked around me, staring over the cliff and then a certifiably insane chuckle left her throat. “Oh my god! I did it. I really did it.” She pulled me into a bear hug, and I couldn’t breathe. Little beast was stronger than she looked, I’d give her that. Quinn pulled away from me and looked at me like she had never seen me before. “Thank you for believing in me. I couldn’t have done that without your help. Thank you. I love you. I love you so much.” She pressed her lips against mine, and I wasn’t about to stop kissing the woman of my dreams when we were in the most romantic spot in California.