Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Oh, so you’d rather go cliff jumping?” she queried.
She thought she heard Corbin groan. He looked up at the sky as though searching for something.
Or perhaps he was keeping an eye out for parachutes.
“Cliff jumping?” Hayes said, his eyes practically falling out of his head. “No one is cliff jumping. I forbid it.”
“Aww, look at you, doing the manly man thing. But here’s the thing, you don’t get to forbid me from doing anything. It’s my life. If I want to jump from a plane, I will.”
Poor Hayes.
He looked like his head was going to explode.
“Are you all right? You’re going a bit red. Is it your blood pressure?” she asked. “I’ve heard that happens when you get old.”
Wow. His breathing was growing faster.
“It’s okay, though. You don’t need to come with me. I know that heights can be a problem for some people. And as you get older, there are probably all sorts of insurance issues to take into consideration. Do you have good medical insurance?”
“Oh dear God, kill me now,” Corbin said before grasping hold of her arm and steering her away from the other man.
“Are you sure we should leave him?” she asked. “Is he okay?”
“No, he’s not okay.” He quickly snatched back his hand from her arm, red flooding his cheeks for a moment before he frowned down at her. “And you’re provoking him. Not nice.”
Shame filled her.
Ouch.
She had been provoking him. Just a bit.
“Sorry, you’re right. I was provoking him. Guess I have a problem with other people telling me what to do. Maybe I have an authority issue.”
“Or perhaps you just haven’t met the right sort of authority figure,” he murmured.
There was a hint of steel in his voice.
So at odds with the way he blushed and sometimes stumbled over his words.
And it intrigued her.
Uh-oh. No. You are not falling for another guy. Doesn’t matter that he seems better than any other man you’ve dated. You’ve known him for like two seconds.
What was wrong with her?
“I think I’ve met them all. And I liked none of them. But I’ll try to be less . . . combative.”
“That would be appreciated. You’re really signed up to jump this afternoon?”
“Uh, yes. Got to be at the briefing in ten minutes, in there.” She nodded over at the building.
“So you think they’ll have room for one more?”
Her eyes widened as she gaped up at him. She wasn’t short at five foot seven, but he had to be slightly over six foot. So she had to look up at him.
“Do you mean that you want to jump too?” she asked
“Won’t be my first time,” he replied, looking amused.
“It won’t?”
“Nope. I’ve jumped at least twenty times. So, are we going or what?”
She couldn’t even find the words to reply, so instead, she nodded. Sure, if he wanted to come with her, he could. But part of her wondered if it was a trick, though.
“You’re really going to come with me?” she asked.
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
Yes, but in her experience, people often said things and then didn’t follow through with them.
So, she wasn’t holding out much hope.
“We’re going to go in and get debriefed,” he called out to Hayes.
The other man was glaring at them, his hands on his hips. He had ex-military written all over him. She wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he wasn’t long out of the armed services. Even his short haircut screamed ‘military man.’
Tough. Stern. Taciturn. Bossy.
She sighed. She should apologize. People didn’t understand she wasn’t trying to be mean or rude. Sometimes, she just liked to push boundaries. Perhaps because she’d had next to none when she was young she wasn’t always sure when to pull back.
As though sensing where her mind was, Corbin lightly touched her back. “Off you go. Do it.”
“Do what?” she asked, more to stall than anything else.
“Go and apologize.” It was an order. Given in a firm voice.
And boy, did that make her insides dance. How was it possible for him to be that sweet and yet so dominant?
Bebe felt like she was in unchartered territory.
But she started moving toward Hayes without further thought.
Wow. Corbin could pack a real punch with that tone when he wanted to.
“Um, Hayes?” she said, scratching at the back of her neck.
He grunted.
Great.
He didn’t look impressed as he glared down at her, his arms crossing over his chest.
Yep. Definitely a signature move.
“I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to be rude or anything.”
Another grunt.
Did that mean he was still irritated? Or was he willing to forgive?
“You’re really going to do this?” he asked.
“Yep!” She bounced on her toes and then punched the air with her fist. “I’m pumped.”
“Can’t talk you out of it?”
“Nope.” She smiled. She could tell that he was bending.
He groaned and looked skyward, then around again. “You break your neck and I am not telling your parents.”