First stop? Brooke frowned. He hadn’t mentioned a second stop to her earlier. At the base of the hill, she paused and drew on her inhaler, in preparation for the climb. She’d made the trek to the waterfall a few times over the years, but it never paid to get complacent and she didn’t want to risk anything going wrong.
She could totally handle this.
And the fact that no little old ladies were here to dote on her? So much the better.
She fell into step behind the Kathmandu couple—whose names she’d learned were Sylvia and Brian—but stayed in front of Tina, who was meandering along, pausing to stare into the distance or examine patterns on tree bark that no one else could see. Her calves burned, and she loved it. When they reached the waterfall, she rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head back, sucking in breaths. She felt good. Once her breathing evened out, she wandered to the mossy edge of the pool and dipped a finger in the water. It was cool, but not freezing.
“Want to see where it comes from?” Jack’s rumbly voice did funny things to her insides.
“It comes from the mountains, right?” she asked.
He raised his eyes to the sky. “Technically, yeah, Little Miss PhD.” It was the first time he’d given away the fact he knew anything about her. She should be annoyed to learn that he’d asked around, but instead, pleasure tingled low in her belly. If he was asking around, he must be interested in her, at least to some extent. “But there’s also a tarn on the ledge above our heads, which is where the waterfall begins.”
Brooke’s mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me?”
She knew from books that a tarn was a small mountain lake. Loosely, she assumed he meant that the waterfall was fed by a high-altitude lake. Or, more likely, based on what she knew of the terrain, a large pond.
“Hand on heart,” he said, doing just that. “I’m one hundred percent serious. Want to see?”
“Is Spock a Vulcan?” When he looked baffled by the Star Trek reference, she rolled her eyes. “Uh, yes!” Had she just been thinking she was worn out? Pfft. She rallied.
“Great.” An emotion flickered in his dark eyes. One that intrigued her.
No, don’t be intrigued by his panty-melting hotness. He’s a means to an end. And he didn’t even remember who you were.
But heck, she wanted to lick him like he was her favorite chocolate bar. A bead of sweat trickled down a cord of his throat and she stared at it, mesmerized. It would be so easy to lean forward, flick her tongue out and taste it.
Taste his sweat? Whoa, girl.
She should be disgusted. Unfortunately, disgust wouldn’t explain the pulse between her legs. She looked down, hoping her expression hadn’t given her away.
“Is everyone up for a bit of a climb?” he asked the group. The answer was a resounding yes. “It’s a bit of a scramble,” he continued. “And it’s quite steep. There are times when you’ll need to use your hands as well as your legs to keep stable. If anyone wants to stop or slow down, that’s perfectly fine, just yell out. Communication is key. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Brooke wrapped her hands around her backpack straps so she didn’t salute. This was not the time to give him cheek.
“Sylvia, I want you to go first,” he said. “Brian will be behind you, then Tina and Brooke. I’ll be the tail-end Charlie so I can keep an eye on you all. Take your time. It’s not a race.”
With that, he dropped back while Sylvia started up the narrow trail he’d pointed out, which was nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding bush. A “game trail,” he called it. Brooke watched Sylvia’s progress, trying to determine the best places to put her feet.
A moment later, a voice at her ear said softly, “Is there anything in your bag you’ll need for the hike?”
She shivered, the intimacy of his breath on the back of her neck startling her. “Y-yes. Lots of things.”
“Anything you can’t live without for an hour?”
She sidestepped to put some space between them. “My inhaler.”
“Pass me your bag,” he instructed. “Leave everything else behind. I’ll keep it in my pocket in case you need it, but I don’t want you carrying anything you don’t need.”
She didn’t argue, although this felt a whole lot like being coddled. She handed over her backpack and he shouldered it, then it was her turn to climb.
She could sense Jack behind her, and stumbled when her foot landed on a patch of moss. She heard his quick intake of breath, but he didn’t say anything, and for that, she was grateful. Slowly, she put one foot in front of the other—onward and upward—and forced herself not to look back. His gaze burned into the spot between her shoulder blades, and she didn’t need to look to know that he was watching her as closely as an unpinned grenade. She promised herself she wouldn’t do anything to justify his caution.
Every few minutes, the group stopped to rest. None of them spoke, but when the brush became sparser, they paused for a while longer. Brooke planted her butt firmly on the ground and gazed out over Sanctuary and the beach. They’d gained enough altitude for her to see the roof of the lodge and the chimney of Tione’s cabin, but not enough to make out the gardens or any people who might be lingering in them. After a while, they continued. Finally, at the top of their climb, she hauled herself over the edge of a thinly vegetated ledge and lay on her back, gasping.
“Everything all right?” Tina asked, squatting next to her.
“I’m fine,” Brooke huffed. “Just communing with nature.”
“Okaaay.” She sounded doubtful. “You need anything?”
Brooke shook her head, too puffed to talk. She watched a fluffy white cloud glide overhead and focused on it while her breathing settled. Then she sat up. The world spun as vertigo overcame her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clutched her head. When she opened them again, a calloused hand had materialized in front of her. She stared at it blankly.
“Take it,” Jack ordered, his voice gruff. She grabbed the hand and he hoisted her to her feet, steadying her when she wobbled. “How are you doing?”
She considered smoothing over the truth, but decided it wouldn’t be in her best interest to do so. “Not terrible, but a little borderline.”
He nodded, and she wished she could read his thoughts. “Thanks for your honesty.”
“No problem.”
He squeezed her hand once then released it and strode over to Tina, who was standing precariously near the edge, looking out at the view. The bout of vertigo passed, and Brooke headed in the other direction, more interested in the beautifully clear tarn. It was shallow, probably no more than three feet deep, but its transparency made the layer of water appear so thin, she guessed she could reach straight in and grab a handful of pebbles from the bottom.
Sylvia joined her, a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s magical,” Brooke agreed. “The kind of place that looks like it hasn’t changed since the first people moved here. It looks untouched, you know?”
Sylvia nodded. “It’s remarkable. I almost feel like it would be wrong to disturb the water because it seems so pure.”