Rendezvous (Renegades 5)

“I’m going to be coming at you hard and fast. I might knock the wind out of you.”

She laughed softly, and her eyes heated. “I know the feeling, and I could never get enough of it.”

A buzz kicked up in his belly. “Man, I like the sound of that. So, are you okay? Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready for you.”

Joy sizzled through his veins. “Baby, you’ve got me juiced.”

“Then let’s do this.”

He positioned her looking out at the warehouse and curled her fingers around the thin railing. “Don’t hold tight, okay? You’ve got to let go when I grab you.”

She nodded.

Keaton jogged back to his starting point He would never have believed having Brooke on the other end of a stunt with him could have brought such a thrill. But he was seriously stoked.

“We’re ready,” Russ called.

“Ready here,” repeated the cameraman who’d be taking the test film.

“Here we go,” Cam called.

Keaton shifted on his feet, scraped his running shoes against the metal until they gripped, and dropped into a ready crouch with his gaze on Brooke. And he definitely had a little extra fire burning at the center of his chest.

“Ready…” Cam said. “And… Go.”

Keaton dug in and pushed into a sprint. He used his breath to take him the distance strong and fast. As he approached Brooke, he noticed everything in split seconds even though it was all happening all at once—the whites of her eyes as they widened, the way her body tensed just before impact, the way her head ducked and her eyes scrunched closed as he grabbed her.

Her squeal vibrated in the air as he locked her body against his with one arm and launched from the top step with complete and utter faith in the men handling the ropes. And just as his foot left the rail, his harness pulled, his body lifted, and the cables carried him upward.

But Keaton immediately knew the guys handling the cables had used too much strength, and he and Brooke overshot the platform.

“Dammit,” he muttered as they swung back toward the main stage. But while they dangled like a pendulum on their way to the ground, he added, “Oh, well, that just means we get to do it again. And again, and again, and again until we get it right.” He tightened the arm at her waist, pulling her ass into his groin where heat and sensation tingled through his cock. “I’m all about getting it just right.”

She sighed a little moan and slid her hand over his arm. Turning her head a little, she asked, “Are you going to get a break? I really want a secret little rendezvous with you right now.”

Her eyes were filled with excitement, her cheeks flushed, and her heartbeat pounded quick and hard against her ribs beneath his arm. The only thing that distinguished between fear and thrill was the sparkling smile cutting across her face.

“Uh-oh…” he teased, smiling at her. “I do have a little adrenaline junkie on my hands.”

“I don’t know about an adrenaline junkie, but you might have a nympho. Because, wow, that is a serious turn-on.”

That struck a funny bone, and Keaton threw his head back and laughed. Which made Brooke laugh. They were just setting their feet on the ground and catching their breath when Keaton said, “Can you get away tonight? If we go out of town, we could find a place for dinner—”

“What in the hell is going on?”

Brooke’s whole body went rigid at the sound of Jillian’s harsh voice, and she whispered a tight, “Fuck.”

The sound of her voice saturated in dread lifted the hair on the back of Keaton’s neck. Cameron was already approaching Jillian with his all-American country-boy charm to explain the delay with the stuntwoman as Russ approached Keaton and Brooke.

“Let us take the heat,” Keaton told Brooke, his voice low. Russ unhooked the cable at his back. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t act like you did.”

He started to step past her, but Brooke grabbed his arm. Tight. She didn’t look up. “Please don’t do anything to upset—”

“Nobody commandeers my assistant without asking.” Jillian was slamming Cameron with condescension and attitude. Keaton started toward her. “Brooke,” Jillian scolded, “what do you have to say—”

“Jillian.” Keaton’s tone cut her off and drew her gaze. Her anger turned sullen. “We didn’t exactly give her a choice. And we did it to keep this film on schedule for you. Having this stunt ready to go when the stuntwoman comes will help get the film back on track.”