Page 23 of Love Spell

It didn’t dawn on him until he’d dropped gratefully into his chair that he could have simply said no, he wasn’t going.Too late now.

8

Hairpin turns, wind and rain in his face; it had been a long time since Noah had been on a mountain bike.It all came back, the borrowed bike better than any he’d ever owned, his muscles no longer trained for the work, but he was lighter and wirier than he’d been, his reflexes more honed, and he managed to keep up with the more practiced older men.

The first time he fell in the foothills of lush green, wet with first autumn rains rolling in through Snowdonia, it was nothing.Just a bruised elbow and streaks of mud on jacket and hip.He’d misjudged the downhill, thought he could turn when he couldn’t: simple mathematical mistake.

The second time, on the steeper elevation, he didn’t get away so easy and it wasn’t his fault.Arthur skidded on a rocky switchback below Noah at the turn.Instead of leaning into it or letting his bike hit the inside of the slope if a fall was inevitable, Arthur panicked and hit the brakes.He wrenched the bike sideways, didn’t call a warning, didn’t try to swing clear of the trail as Noah took the turn just after him.

It was either hit him or go over the side.If it had been a sheer drop to certain death, of course Noah would have hit him.But in the half-second he had to make his decision, it seemed that a rocky slope was a worthwhile risk versus the certainty of crashing into man and bike while going at a good pace.

He must have yelled something, couldn’t remember, only catching the edge of the trail and his bike suddenly travelling down the slope on its side untilsmack, and Noah blasted through several feet of mud and boulders, scraping skin off a palm, bashing his knee, and ending up on his back with the bike on top of him, breath knocked from his lungs.

He thought he’d be jeered for it — the new guy who couldn’t even keep his bike upright on an easy switchback, no matter that it was Arthur’s fault.But no, Haoyu, the first on the scene to help him up while Noah was still trying to get his breath back and fight the bike off him, told Noah that was the best wipeout he’d seen in years.Haoyu seemed to regard the whole thing as having been staged for his benefit.

Timo had to climb back up the trail to join them, rain dripping off his helmet visor, almost unrecognisable out of his suit and panting with the straight-up-and-over climbing method he’d used to reach them.

“Bloody hell, Noah, I missed it,” Timo chided him.“Can you do it again?”

“Shut up.”Noah spat mud.“Arthur!You’re supposed to say something if you brake hard in front of someone on a downhill!”

“I didn’t know you were that close!”Arthur was still above them, leaning out from the trail.“You okay?”

Bullshit he didn’t know.

Noah let a cheerful Haoyu pull him to his feet.

“Stay up front with me,” Timo said.“I never wear out a set of brakes.”

“I believe that.”

Then he’d been okay, scraped hand, and bruised, but exhilarated and actually feeling like one of the team by the time they returned to the hotel, soaked to the skin, sprayed in mud, triumphant in a way that only a hard workout and covering those glorious mountain miles could achieve.

Noah hadn’t been in a wilderness like this in years and, although city life was very much a choice for him, it also surprised him how deeply he could breathe all of a sudden.

He was far more dubious about the massage and sauna and whatever other supposed pampering came along with it, but he was even starting to decide those elements were good for team bonding.

Showered and changed into a fluffy white robe, bleeding hand patched with ointment and a small gauze pad, proud of his bruised elbow and leg, he found the sauna also brought back good memories, and the massage turned out to be worth the hype.Never having had one and not comfortable with people he didn’t know touching him, Noah was surprised, even embarrassed, to discover how incredible that massage turned out to be.

He tried to pass on the facial, but the massage therapist encouraged him, explaining all the products and benefits, and she seemed to know her stuff.Noah relented for that one too.

She wore a silver pendant with an unusual symbol that Noah recognised.

“Is that Capricorn?”

“That’s right.”She glanced down as if she could see it.“Are you into astrology?”

“No, I mean, just a bit.I’ve always wanted a chart done.Curious, I guess.”

“You should.My partner got me a reading with an astrologer for my last birthday and it was astounding.”

Noah grinned.“Not a word you hear a lot.I’ll look into it.”

“What’s your sun sign?”

“Libra.”

“Happy birthday!”

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