Page 62 of Hot SEAL, Under Pressure

He looked like he didn’t believe her as he drew in a breath and blew it out before meeting her gaze. “Look, if you’re trying to tell me that you’re afraid you’ll disappoint me if you lose, don’t worry. I won’t be. You’ve done great. And even if you didn’t do this challenge at all and decided to just quit and walked away from this whole thing, I still wouldn’t be disappointed in you. Or mad. Or upset. I promise.”

His words, amazingly, helped.

Now that the pressure was off, she felt a tiny flame of determination spark to life inside her. “No. I’m not quitting. I’ll try.”

“You sure you’re good?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Apparently just one kiss had made her crazy, but she was going to do it. Climb those four stories and slide down a rope. For him. God help her.

Meanwhile, he was visibly excited at her decision. “Okay. I’ll be right there with you the entire climb up and on the platform with you. I won’t let you do this alone.”

Their eyes met with a deep, intense gaze. “Okay. I trust you.”

He looked as emotional as she was when he said, “Good.”

ChapterTwenty-Four

He’d kissed her.

She’d been hysterical crying and what had he done? He’d freaking kissed her.

And now they both had to get their head in the game and get her up that tower and down again in one piece, without her having another nervous breakdown.

The prize money was on the line. Not to mention, he just plain didn’t like to lose.

He still wasn’t sure what had her hysterical in his Jeep. She’d bounced right back after her accident during the open water swim. She’d handled the other two challenges just fine.

What was it about this—

As he watched her hands shake and her progress slow to a crawl it became clear.

It was the height. She was afraid of heights. It was so obvious. He should have seen it before.

He drew in a breath. Now that he knew, he could at least try to do something about it.

Grabbing the ladder, he began to climb until he reached where she clung, all forward motion at a halt.

“I’m right behind you.”

She moved to look down at him.

“Don’t look down. Keep your eyes on the rung ahead of you. One rung at a time. Okay? Slow and steady. Only concentrate on the next step up the ladder. Nothing ahead. Nothing behind. Got it?”

“Y-y-yes.”

Shit. She sounded nearly catatonic.

“I’ll be with you the whole way.”

“O-okay.”

If she was so damn afraid of heights, why did she plan a fast roping challenge? He guessed the answer as he waited for her to slowly advance to the next rung. This must have been Jonas’s idea.

He needed to have a talk with that kid.

Hell, maybe he should go straight to the top and talk to the big boss. Was that this Joanne person they all tip-toed around?

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