High Risk (22 page)

By the time all the team had gathered and they’d completed analyzing the rescue, Marcus’s
shoulders were aching with tension. It seemed to take forever until the staff room
was finally empty, the last of the squad headed yawning for the door.

He hit autodial before he could think it through.

She picked up on the second ring. “Rescue went well?”

“All safe, team intact.” All the things he knew she’d want to know. “Alisha did this
three-point twirl that was sheer poetry. Fastened rescue lines and clamped belayers
into position all with blood rushing to her brain. How the hell that girl can keep
oriented is damn freaky.”

Becki laughed. “When you like climbing, it’s not that difficult to know right side
up even when you’re upside down.”

Marcus was silent for a minute. “Sorry for abandoning you. I . . .”
No.
Telling her she should have come with them, at least to the highway, was out of line.
She’d been safe; she’d made her own decision. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he’d have
to suck it up. “How are you?”

“Good.”

She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Do you want some company?”

Becki sighed, the telltale sounds of the creaky student bed complaining in the background
as she wiggled. “Marcus, I need to think. And the walk out wasn’t long enough. So,
thank you for offering, but not tonight.”

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose and held on to the words that wanted to burst
out. Instead, he spoke slowly and tried for
reasonable
instead of
asshole
. “If you change your mind, let me know.”

“Sure.” Noncommittal. The word clipped and tight.

Screw that. Holding on to
reasonable
got a whole lot harder. “Becki, I mean it. I’ll back off now because you’ve asked
me to. But you call me even in the middle of the goddamn night if you need something.
Got it?”

“No problem.” Becki couldn’t seem to get out of the conversation fast enough. “I’d
better let you go. I’ll see you at training tomorrow.”

He stared at the phone and wondered how bad he had it that his first reaction to that
crap was to head over to the dorms and use a little rope on her until she came to
her senses.

Anger rushed through him, blazing out of nowhere. Having to leave her behind had nearly
ripped him in two. The nausea and fear that had earlier numbed him flipped into fury
and he roared, the sound echoing in the empty staff room.

A sharp pulse of pain struck, and he cursed as the demons in his memory swooped in.
It was as if they knew he was susceptible—the sight of her wide eyes and her fear
bringing in a flood of guilt and regrets.

You can’t help her. You can’t save yourself . . . you can’t save anyone.

He fought the rising violence. Fought the urge to tear apart the room in his frustration.
Ignored the aching call that followed that demanded he lie down and disappear into
the mindless state that an episode would reduce him to.

Instead, he focused on Becki and clung to the hope she’d brought him. He pictured
her green eyes, not fear-filled, but full of passion and life. The memory anchored
him, and he caught hold as if she’d personally extended a safety line. Remembering
her vivid expressions soothed his raw nerves—all of her moods, whether passion, stubbornness,
or righteous anger.

Imagining the caress of her hand on his skin held him back from the precipice.

He forced himself to head home, determined to keep from falling into the darkness
again. For Becki’s sake.

The night was cold and shadow-filled, and he wondered if part of the reason he’d wanted
so badly for her to accept his offer was for his own sake.

* * *

All the rest of the week she kept that barrier between them. He avoided being around
while she worked Lifeline, only showing up for their agreed-upon personal training
times. Becki hit the wall and fought it as if she were grappling with her own demons
instead of handholds. She didn’t argue with him but didn’t have any kind of breakthrough
in terms of going vertical.

When it was her turn to take the lead, she was demon-possessed there as well, putting
him through workouts that left him drenched in sweat and almost too tired to be annoyed
that things were moving in the wrong direction.

Restraining his temper and holding his tongue without insisting that she listen to
him and let them get back to where they had been headed was damn hard. It seemed it
was going to take something big to get her to listen, and the only big thing that
came to mind made
him
nauseated. Being patient was no longer working—that was clear from the dark circles
under both their eyes. It was time he stopped letting her call the shots.

If he had to dress in a tux and face a formal event to make nice, he’d grit his teeth
and do it.

CHAPTER
24

“I could get used to this far too easily.” Becki ran a hand over the leather seat
between her and Alisha. There were water bottles in the drink tray, and soft music
played over the limousine’s speakers.

Alisha lifted a brow. “It’s just a car. With champagne and a driver.”

They grinned at each other.

Becki leaned back in the seat. “David set this up? I mean, it’s nice and all, but
I didn’t need to be impressed by being brought to the event in a stretch limo.”

“Last year we had the same thing. I think it’s part of the package deal they get from
the Banff Springs when they book the room. Just enjoy.” Alisha cracked open one of
the bottles and took a long drink before leaning forward and peering out the window.
“It’s too short a drive. We should have asked him to loop through town a few times.”

“Long enough to enjoy.” Becki relaxed as the vehicle turned down a residential street
and pulled to a stop outside a tidy house. Erin stepped out and made her way to meet
them, her silver skirt flashing against her dark skin as she moved. Becki shifted
her legs out of the way as the third woman settled into the open space.

“Ahh, a night of total luxury and pampering. How will we ever put up with it?” Erin
lifted her water in the air. “To the Banff SAR School. May there be plenty of wide-open
pockets tonight.”

They clicked plastic together.

Becki turned to Alisha. “David mentioned you’re speaking tonight?”

“For a few minutes. Alumni in the area means the sponsors are always keen. David and
Marcus have done so much for me over the years, I figure it’s only fair that I do
a little to help support them.” Alisha’s eyes widened. “Not that you aren’t supporting
them. I mean, I understand completely why you don’t want to talk. I mean . . .”

“Stop while you have only one foot in your mouth,” Erin suggested dryly.

“Oh drat, I’m so embarrassed.” Alisha pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Sorry, Becki,
I didn’t mean to be stupid.”

“It’s okay,” Becki reassured her. “It’s not the same thing, either. Yes, I went to
the school, but I’m barely back. I think it’s far more important that you tell them
about what you’re doing. I’m not actively in SAR anymore.”

“Not right now, but you’ll get there,” Erin pointed out.

Becki ignored the blushing Alisha and concentrated on how wonderful the thought of
getting back into working full time made her feel. “I’d like to think so, but teaching
isn’t going to be a hardship. Working with Lifeline over the past couple weeks has
been good for me.”

“You’ve been good for us, as well,” Alisha insisted. “My foot-in-mouth disease aside.
And good for our boss—if you don’t mind me mentioning that.”

Becki glanced at the young woman. “Because me testing his blood pressure on a regular
basis is just what he needed?”

Alisha smiled. “Whatever. All I know is that Marcus is planning on coming tonight,
and he
never
comes to these events. The only reason he’s doing it is for you.”

“Where do you hear these things?” Erin demanded.

An innocent shrug lifted Alisha’s shoulders. “If you sit quietly and pretend you’re
a mouse, all sorts of interesting information falls into your lap.

The limo crossed the bridge, closing in on the hotel, and Erin frowned. “I thought
we were picking up Devon?”

Alisha shook her head. “He’ll meet us there.”

Only she grew redder in the face than before, and Becki wondered what was going on.
Especially when Alisha suddenly took a great interest in her nails.

“Oh, you naughty girl.” Erin lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned forward across
the distance between the seats. “Did you just leave Devon stranded?”

Alisha pulled out a mirror and checked her makeup. “Well, I might have mentioned something
to the driver about only needing to make two stops.”

“Alisha . . .”

Blonde curls swung as Alisha flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Payback is a bitch.
He dropped me from the interview and photo shoot. He can take his bicycle to the gala.”

Becki hid her grin as best she could. “I thought you said you didn’t care about the
interview.”

“I didn’t, especially after I overheard the guys talking about what a dog the reporter
is and his possible plans to simply play up the fact that I’m female. I’m definitely
not interested in being exploited as the sex symbol of Lifeline.”

Erin frowned. “Then why the revenge on Devon?”

Alisha raised a brow. “It should have been my decision, not his. If he’d told me about
what he’d learned, we could have discussed it. Taking the upper hand and tricking
me out of being there? Jerk. That’s why he can find his own way to the fund-raiser.”

“Bossy guys suck,” Erin agreed. “Here’s to making our own decisions and being in charge.”

Even as Becki joined in the toast, there was a part inside her that had to qualify
the toast. When it came to her life, definitely, she wanted control. Maybe she was
a little twisted, but she didn’t mind having Marcus take charge in the bedroom. At
least at times.

More often than she wanted to admit.

She stared at the hotel as it came into view, the fairy-tale castlelike structure
looming large even against the backdrop of the mountains. She had a vast amount of
memories tied up in the place. “So gorgeous.”

“All that rockwork makes my fingers inch,” Alisha admitted. “I get the urge to pick
a corner and see how far I can climb.”

Becki swallowed her urge to answer
Pretty far.
If they hadn’t already heard about it, these two didn’t need to know about her foray
into illegal excursions. “Do you know where we’re going inside?”

Erin nodded. “Same as last year. The ballroom is easy to get to.”

The limo door opened, and Alisha stepped out far more gracefully than Becki was able
to. There was no long skirt to get in her way, but she hadn’t expected Marcus to be
right there waiting for her, and the sight of him in a formal tux made her jerk to
a stop. One leg out of the vehicle, one still in, she stared in surprise.

The creamy white of his collar only highlighted his dark good looks, a faint hint
of shadow already colouring his freshly shaved jawline.

“Wow.” It was the only word in her mind that seemed safe to say. She didn’t think
delicious
would go over as well.

His gaze trailed over her as she managed to at least bring her feet together and accept
his extended hand. “You look pretty nice yourself.”

He steadied her as she balanced on her unfamiliar heels, his left arm coming around
her body as he kept hold of her hand. The other women waited on the platform for them
to cross, cars coming up behind and dropping off passengers.

“Take the side entrance,” Marcus instructed Alisha. “We don’t need to traipse across
the hotel lobby to get there.”

“Got it. Come on, Erin, race you to the finger foods.”

Erin gave Becki and Marcus a sly grin before grabbing Alisha’s hand and turning her
toward the doors. “You want to make me crazy again. I am not eating jalapeño poppers
all night like last year.”

Becki watched the other women hurry off. “How can Alisha move so fast in those heels?”
she wondered. “They’ve got to be four, five inches. I’d break my bloody neck.”

Marcus shrugged. “Don’t ask me how she does it, but she’s got a gift, that’s for sure.
Someone dared her to climb in a pair once and it barely slowed her down.”

Incredible. “Give me climbing soles any day. The two inches I’ve got on are enough
of a challenge.”

Marcus squeezed her, and she realized she’d naturally cuddled in under his arm as
he led her not toward the doors where Alisha and Erin had disappeared, but in the
direction of the lookout. Mount Rundle filled most of their view, Tunnel Mountain
occupying the left. The narrow valley between the two peaks filled with the green
of spruce forest and the shimmering waters of the Bow River.

She drew in a deep breath, enjoying the peace and quiet before the noise of the evening
began. “I can hear the wind in the trees. That’s always such a huge part of what makes
me feel as if I’m in the right place—the sounds.”

“What’s the sound associated with this place?” he asked. “With the Banff Springs?”

She turned and smiled. “Lots and lots of panting moans and gasps.”

Marcus chuckled, losing his hold on her waist and leaning his hip on the stonework
of the railing. “You’re not planning on climbing the outside of her again to get to
the gala, are you?”

She turned to look at the wall where she’d managed to make it to the three-quarter
point before crawling over a balcony. “It was a crazy thing I did back then.”

“On a dare, right?”

Becki nodded. “First year at the school, and there was nothing I wouldn’t try. Still,
I’m not sorry I did it.”

Marcus raised a brow. “You’re not sorry you free-climbed the outside of the hotel?
Because you didn’t get caught?”

“But I did—
you
caught me,” Becki pointed out. “And I know it was a long time ago, but I don’t know
that I ever thanked you.”

This time he outright laughed, a big hearty sound that filled her with happiness.
He lifted her chin with his fingers. “Thanking me for the three days that followed
where we holed up in one of the rooms and fooled around sounds kinky.”

“Thanks for sharing your philosophies with me. The sex? Was bonus.”

“Bonus is good. . . .” Marcus leaned forward slowly, giving her plenty of time to
say no.

She didn’t want him to stop. Their lips met, and all the sights and sounds vanished
while her senses became totally occupied by the man before her. The way he touched
her so perfectly. Soft at times, rougher at others.

She wasn’t sure why, but every time she was around him she became nothing but a big
bundle of emotions. He brought out the most in her. Made her feel fully alive again.

They broke the kiss but stayed wrapped around each other for a moment.

“I enjoy spending time with you,” she admitted. “I’m sorry if it seemed as if I were
pulling away.”

Marcus stared in silence. Looking her over carefully. “I’m afraid I’m pretty obsessive
about things when I get an idea into my head.”

That wasn’t a bad thing. “I’m used to taking care of myself. It seems odd to have
someone who wants to do more for me than I expect.”

“Nice. Now I’m being called odd.” They smiled at each other. “I’m trying to give you
space, Becki, but it’s a part of who I am. You’ve become important to me, and while
I don’t want to smother you, caring means you don’t have to do things on your own.”

“I know. I mean, I know in my head.” She squeezed him. “I’m still figuring out what
that looks like on a practical level.”

* * *

Fighting to keep from saying
You could start by moving in with me
was amazingly difficult. Even after reading himself the riot act, the urge to take
over was nearly stronger than he could control.

“How has it been lately? Sleeping, I mean.”

Becki stared over the view. “The sleeping part is fine, it’s the waking-up bits that
are driving me crazy.”

“Still?” He swore lightly when she confirmed it. “New things?”

Becki twisted. “I don’t want to talk about it now. We should go in.”

Damn this fighting against doing what he needed to do. “Later, though?”

She nodded slowly. “I would like that. In the meantime, distract me?”

He kissed her again because he’d missed it so damn much the past few days, then tucked
her fingers over his arm and led her into the building.

The room was filled with black and white attire and the soft sounds of sophisticated
music, and the entire place smelled like money.

Marcus had to admit that David knew his way around organizing a fund-raiser.

He sauntered in with Becki on his elbow, smiling and nodding as needed but itching
under the collar for the night to be over. The only reason he was there was the woman
at his side. His own memories of black-tie affairs were far too twisted to be pleasant.

David turned from where he was chatting with a couple and caught sight of Marcus and
Becki. He excused himself, grin growing as he headed across the room toward them.

Great. Marcus leaned over and grabbed Becki a glass from the tray going past. “Here,
you’ll want one of these as a bracer before things get going.”

She met his gaze as she lifted the delicate flute in a salute. “To bossy, forceful
people, and the ones who care.”

“Now are we going to argue about which one of us is which?”

“No arguing. Not tonight.”

They touched glasses just before David stepped to their side. “If it isn’t my favourite
brother and the most talented instructor in the school.”

“Lay it on a little thicker,” Marcus muttered. “The answer is still no.”

David widened his eyes. “Whatever do you think I’m going to ask you to do? I’m in
shock that you actually showed up.”

Becki glanced around the room. “Nice turnout. Typical?”