Wilder

“It’s spectacular,” I agreed. Sure, my muscles were on fire from the hike, but the price was small compared to the view. The aquamarine pools ran the length of the valley, and ours boasted a waterfall that broke through halfway down the cliff walls that were freakishly tall on one side and terraced on the other, cocooning us in a tiny piece of heaven.

Especially when Paxton stripped off his shirt and dove in. Exactly when was this attraction going to mellow? Knowing I could touch him, kiss him, strip him naked at my whim should have tempered the insane amount of lust that pounded through me when I saw him. Instead it made me want to jump him. Repeatedly.

It made our study sessions way more difficult, yet so much more rewarding. It also helped that he’d made it to all of his classes in the two weeks that we’d been back on board.

“Is it as deep as the reports said?” Penna, already stripped down to her tankini with boy shorts, asked from the shore that had been hollowed out by water about five feet beneath us. Brooke and I waited on the ledge above her, laying out our towels.

“We should be good. It’s definitely a ways down. We need to watch these rocks here.” Paxton pointed to the shelf of boulders that lined the shore on that side. “Landon?”

“Let’s test it!” Landon yelled from another rock ledge about twenty feet in the air, not even midway up the cliff wall. Then he jumped, yelling something as he fell to the water below, landing with a huge splash.

One by one, the Renegades took the skinny path to that ledge and jumped, each one getting braver than the last, flipping, twisting, and landing while the cameras rolled.

“Ready to head up?” Penna asked Paxton.

“Up to where?” I looked down at where he stood on the strip of beach below us.

“We’re jumping from up there,” he said, pointing to the top of the cliff.

My eyes went up…and up. “What? How tall is that?”

“About a hundred feet,” he answered, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand so he could see me.

“Is that safe?” I asked as he climbed his way up to me, his feet sure on the smooth stone surface.

“Eh,” Landon answered, his hands making the so-so motion. “Only those of us who have jumped from pretty high before are trying it.”

“And this isn’t one of your ‘let’s get Leah to do something crazy’ things, is it?”

Paxton shook his head, reaching for me and dripping water onto my thighs as he caged me in with his arms. “Hell no. This is something that could actually hurt you, that I can’t protect you from.”

I wiped a drop of water from his cheek. “Could it hurt you?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I did a jump from about a hundred and twenty feet once. While drunk. Which is probably the only reason I did it. Stupid, but I’ve got this. You could walk up with me, though.”

“Need some courage?” I asked with a grin.

His brow furrowed. “I was more hoping that you’d bring down my shoes.”

I outright laughed. “One of your minions can’t do that?”

“Maybe I just like you being the only one to handle my junk.” He gave me puppy dog eyes.

“Nice. What’ll you give me?”

“Orgasms.”

I arched an eyebrow. “What will you give me that I can’t already have?”

“I will dedicate all of tomorrow to studying. No tricks, no practice, no gym time. Just you, and me, and books. Boring books. Not even Kama Sutra books.”

Ugh. Those eyes got me every time. “Promise?”

“I promise.” He leaned in, brushing his lips over mine. “Honestly, though. I heard the view up there is unparalleled. Figured you might like to see it.”

“Well, I guess you’re only in Morocco once, right?”

“Absolutely.” He got up and put on his shoes for the hike.

“Want to come?” I asked Brooke.

“Hell no,” she answered, spreading sunscreen on her skin. “I’m not hiking all the way up there just to hike all the way back down. I’ll cheer you on, though.”

We took off, following a gently worn path to the top of the cliff, scrambling over rocks in a few places that had Paxton giving me a push…more likely giving him an excuse to get his hands on my ass, but I wasn’t complaining.

My breathing was heavy once we reached the top, but he was right, the view was astounding. The falls from the tip of the valley were visible from here, breathtaking and slightly dangerous-looking. I could make out the lower-walled pools from here, too, all the same aqua color that begged for a dip.

“What are you thinking?” Paxton asked, holding my hand as we stepped closer to the edge. He paused before we got too far, knowing there was no way I was willingly looking over the side. Even the pebbled ground felt unstable up here.

“That I should go for a swim when I get down there. Want to go with me?”

“Hell yes. I’ll wait for you at the bottom. He motioned to a member of the camera crew, the others already stationed along the pool. “He’ll walk you back down. Okay?”

“No problem,” I answered as he strapped on his helmet with the GoPro camera for the Wilder view of the jump.

“I’m crazy about you,” he said before he kissed me. “You know that, right?”

I love you. “You’re not too bad yourself,” I answered. “Now go have a good day at work, dear.”