Don't Hold Back (Love Hurts 4)

“Never. Sewage and everything flows in here. But I’m not one to back out of a dare.” He walks towards the edge, running his hand through his thick hair.

I sigh. “Fine, you win. Get back here,” I grumble. If he did get sick, I’d never hear the end of it.

?

??This still counts, you know,” he informs me, getting dressed.

I try not to stare as he lifts his shirt over his head, but it’s impossible to rip my eyes away from his perfectly sculpted chest.

“You make me do something, I make you do something. Where’s it going to end?”

I groan. It was still worth it, just to see him naked. I throw his jacket at him, wishing he would wipe that smug look off his face.

“Hopefully it ends with you giving in, because everything you get me to do, I’m going to make you do it worse,” I threaten, only half joking.

“Really?” he chuckles. He steps closer, so close that I can feel his warm breath against my lips.

I swallow, because I know what he’s doing and it’s not going to work. Well, maybe it is going to work, but I refuse to let him see the effect he’s having on me.

“You sure you want play this game, Erin?” he murmurs, his dark eyes piercing mine. My heart pounds, the way he’s staring at me making my knees buckle.

“I’m just trying to finish what you started,” I retort.

He stares at me for a moment. I wait for him to make his move. Is he going to kiss me? God, I hope so. How much I want him to kiss me shocks me. It’s no longer about our game. It’s about us. I swallow, wetting my lips as he leans closer. His hand grasps mine as I wait in anticipation, my heart racing, until…nothing.

Just like that, the moment is gone and I have no idea why. What happened? One minute I think he’s going to kiss me and the next he’s mumbling about getting back to the hotel. I fall into line beside him, trying to figure him out. Did I read that all wrong?

We walk back to the hotel, neither of us saying a word. I’m embarrassed and confused, because I don’t know what he’s thinking—and nothing positive can come from that. I’ll end up overanalysing things and then the paranoia will set in. Paranoid Erin is never a good thing.

“Get some sleep,” he says gruffly when we arrive back to my room. “I’ve got a little surprise planned for the morning.”

“Great,” I say, forcing a grin.

At least this gets my mind off us, because now I’ll be lying awake all night wondering what his ‘little surprise’ will be.

**

“You know, I’m glad you made me take that little impromptu swim last night,” he muses, his eyes sparkling. “It makes convincing you to do this whole thing so much easier.”

“You didn’t take that swim,” I snap. “Remember?”

“True, but I did say it counted.” His eyes gleam, which can only mean this is going to be bad for me.

I glance around nervously. What can he do to me on a bridge? Throw me into the water below?

“What are—” I cut myself off when I spot the guys holding harnesses and a bungee cord near the edge. “No. Just no.” I back away from him, shaking my head fiercely. “Not going to happen.”

“You’re going to go back on a dare?” Cade holds his arms out as the instructor straps him into a harness. “Come on, Erin. Live a little.”

I narrow my eyes at him. Live a little? I should’ve known my plan to have him skinny dip would backfire on me. He agreed to it so damn easily and managed to talk his way out of doing it. Then there was the almost kiss after it. I shiver. I was worried things would be awkward after last night, but it’s like it never happened. Focus, Erin. You have more important things to thing about right now. Like throwing yourself off a bridge.

“Nup. No way. Nada. Not happening.”

It's one thing to convince yourself that you’re fearless and that you can do anything, but it’s a complete other story when it comes to doing things that are out of your comfort zone. I know that's what this whole trip is about, but surely there are ways I can push myself that don't involve endangering my life. I laugh to myself. Because endangering my life is worth anything at this point. It's kind of funny that what scares me the most right at this moment is the thought of dying—jumping off that bridge and having that be it.

He leans in closer to me. “It'll be okay. Trust me.”

I want to trust him. I really do. I take a deep breath and for a second I feel in control, but then I look down at the water crashing over the rocks below and the panic sets in again.