Page 11 of Her Reluctant Hero
Shepard’s eyebrows jumped and she could have sworn the smile turned real, just for a second, before he turned back to his rope.
“Did you find the gloves?” He lowered the knotted rope to his lap.
She held them out.
He shook his head. “Put them on.”
“You need them.”
“Your hands are too soft. This rope will rip you up.”
“You’re injured. You need them more. I can wrap my hands in gauze. That should protect them.”
Since that was how he intended to protect himself, he couldn’t argue. While she wrapped the gauze around her hands, padding them but still able to close into fists, Shepard muscled a large eyehook into the ledge and threaded the other end of the rope through it. He knotted that end and tested it to make sure it couldn’t slide through the eyehook, then dropped the other end off the ledge.
“What are you doing?” She hated the shrill edge in her voice, but couldn’t stop it.
“Making a pulley. Can you stand up?”
She eyed the narrow ledge and her stomach dropped. “God.”
“Hold on to the vines there.” He motioned to the cliff above the ledge. “I need you to put your legs through this.” He held up the harness and she could see the leg holes. Wow.
“Are you sure?” she asked, grabbing the vines before she even stood, using them to pull herself up in the growing light of dawn.
“I’m not going to let you fall.” He held the harness so she could put her foot through.
She clutched the vine as she worked up the nerve to lift one foot. “How do I know that? You don’t seem to like me very much.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to see you splat.”
“Why don’t you like me?” Talking gave her the courage to lift one foot and he slid the rope over her boot.
“Now the other.” He tapped the heel of her left boot. “I’d think it would be obvious.”
“That you don’t like women?” She lifted her foot and stepped through the loop.
He snorted. “I got no problem with women.”
“Could have fooled me.”
He stood close behind her, so that the only way she could get away was to step toward the cliff. He grabbed her hips and pulled her back. Off balance, she stumbled into him, making him lose his balance. He gripped her harder and threw them both forward. She barely had time to put her hands up to catch herself before she fell face first into the rocky hillside.
“Christ, Goddess. You trying to kill us?” he demanded, his mouth against her ear.
“I don’t—”
“Look, we’re in this harness together. We have to be close. Get it?”
She took a deep breath, adjusting to the heat of him, the strength of him against her back. “Got it.”
“Just relax.”
Thatwas going to happen.
His knees nudged the backs of her thighs when he lifted his feet to slide them through the loops, then pulled the ropes up and snugged them around their butts.
Tying their hips together.
