Wilder

“Well, I make the tricks, or the studio exec pulls the movie,” he snapped, then closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them. “Leah, I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. That’s why I need you.”

Those blue eyes cut straight through my anger, or maybe it was the damnable situation he was in.

“Half this camera crew has families they need to support, and…well, there’re more people involved than just you and me, so you tell me what I’m supposed to do.”

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“I don’t, either. I know I have to study. I also have to practice, keep in shape, plan the next stunt, check on the one after that, and keep my sanity with a camera in my face every five seconds. I told you this wasn’t going to be easy.”

“Why would you sign up for all of this?” I found my hand on the skin of his bicep before I realized I’d even reached for him, as if the physical connection of our skin could make me understand something that was utter insanity to me. “Not famous enough already? Not rich enough?”

“Sure, partly. This will set our careers for years, and the opportunities are incredible, but more than that”—his eyes flickered to the camera—“look, I have my reasons. I should have come to class. I should have studied. I made a choice, and it might have been the wrong one.”

“That’s some apology,” I huffed.

He reached for my face but dropped his hand before he connected. “I’m not apologizing. If skipping class was what it took to get you up here, then I’m okay with it.”

“Of course you are,” I said with a sarcastic twinge, but the sting had left my voice.

“Well, since you came all the way up here, do you want to see some cool stuff?” he asked, his Wilder grin plastered on his face.

“Are you asking if I’m ready for an adventure?” I tossed his catch phrase at him.

“I’m asking if you’re ready to witness one,” he answered. “Landon, toss up a helmet?”

“Oh, hell no, I’m not getting on anything that slides down this ramp. You’ve lost your fool mind.”

He caught the helmet easily and slipped it onto my head, his fingers ghosting across the skin of my throat before he snapped it under my chin. “This is just in case. I’m not forcing you into anything, but sometimes bikes or boards go flying up here. I want to protect that beautiful brain of yours so you can get me through this term, okay?”

“Fine,” I answered, letting a smile slip. “Go do whatever it is you do. I’m giving you ten minutes before I haul you to my room.”

One of the crew whistled. “To study!” I yelled out in correction. “Taking him to my room to study! For the love—!” Why did everything have a double meaning around here?

Paxton’s laugh anchored my heart to my dipping stomach as he jumped onto his bike and took off down the pipe. He began his series of turns and dips, keeping clear of the section where I stood with Brooke next to me.

Up close, it felt more like art than sport, the way he moved, flying then falling, over and over again in a rhythm he created. He fell too often for my peace of mind, each time climbing up to the pipe to talk with Landon and then hitting the ramp again. He was 100 percent focused, never once looking my way or checking the cameras. It was as if nothing existed outside the bike, the ramp, and his own abilities.

The longer I watched him, the more I realized it was the same for me, holding my breath when he did a trick, releasing only when I saw him land it. My hands tightened when he gripped the handlebars of his spinning bike, my heart caught the higher he took to the air. Just as his world had narrowed to training, mine had narrowed to him.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Brooke asked.

“Incredible.”

“I’ve been watching them since we were kids, always amazed that they could all do these things, like gravity is some kind of game to them.”

“You never wanted to try?”

She scoffed. “Oh, no. Penna’s the rebel in the family. The things she can do…well, that’s not me. I don’t mind the tamer stuff—skiing, snowboarding, motorcycles—but the minute they take to the air, my butt usually hits the bench. I realized a long time ago that there’s a difference between admiring insanity and actually being a part of it.”

“Agreed.” Paxton did another trick where he flipped around, and my breath froze in my chest until he landed…backward. Show-off. “I get it now,” I said quietly. “Why all the girls chase him. That kind of intensity is captivating.” Even the thought of him applying that same focus, drive, and passion to sex was enough to send a flash of pure want through me.

I shifted my weight, inconveniently aware that I was a little more than turned on.

What would it be like to have his complete attention on me?

You’ll never know.

Paxton came to a stop on the other side of the ramp and pulled off his helmet. “It’s still not right,” he called over to me.

“You’re amazing,” I said, my mouth going dry as he wiped the sweat with his shirt. This time I didn’t look away from the carved lines of his stomach, the muscles that roped around his body. What the hell? Did the guy do sit-ups in his sleep or something? How was that kind of body even possible?

“Oh good, Colin is up,” Brooke said, coming to attention next to me. “Have you seen him? He’s gorgeous. If you’re looking for a little ship-fling, I can totally hook you up there.”