The next day, they took Lia to Bryce and Steffi’s house, then headed straight out to the Stillwater Trail. Leaving the car close to Tenderness Lake high up in the mountains, they followed the winding trail that led to Tarryn Point. Even though he had lived in this area all his life, its wild, dramatic beauty never failed to fill Vincente with awe. Gigantic trees rose on either side of them, crisp, clean air filled their lungs and a sparkling stream tumbled alongside the path.
Beth had chosen Tarryn Point for their introductory climb. They had both scaled it before, and she had decided it would be a good starting point for rebuilding her confidence. It was a popular place with first-timers, and likely to get busy later in the day.
Although Beth hadn’t kept any of her equipment, Vincente had borrowed most of what they needed and purchased a few items at the store on Main Street that specialized in outdoor activities. Luckily, Laurie had been able to loan Beth a pair of climbing shoes in the correct size. Between them they carried ropes, harnesses, a bag of chalk, carabiners and quickdraws. Beth wore a woolen hat with her hair tucked up inside, and she had a pair of wraparound shades pushed up on top of her head, ready to be pulled down when they came in sight of other people.
The day was cloudy, with some sunny spells forecast. There was no rain predicted, which was good. As Beth pointed out, they didn’t want to end up abandoning this first attempt because the rock was too slippery.
“I haven’t worked out in months.” There was an added sparkle in Beth’s eyes, a spring in her step and a restlessness in her manner that Vincente hadn’t seen before. “This could be a disaster if I find out my muscles aren’t strong enough.”
His smile was teasing. “I’ve seen ten-year-olds do this. I think you’ll be okay.”
Beth pulled a face at him and bumped her shoulder against his. The mood was lighthearted, and Vincente was glad. There had been no soul-searching from Beth about coming here today. If anything, she appeared to look forward to it. The only thing he had noticed as they approached Tarryn Point was that way her eyes were drawn beyond it. The peaks of the Stillwater Trail were an impressive sight, gaping out of the earth like jagged teeth from the jaws of a dinosaur, but one towered above the others. The Devil’s Peak was a hauntingly beautiful rock spire. Actually part of a series of the three most inaccessible, it soared higher, steeper and sharper than its lesser-known sisters.
Vincente didn’t feel any compulsion to climb the high peaks. Although he enjoyed competitive sports, he didn’t look at the Devil’s Peak and feel a surge of desire to conquer it. But no one could live in Stillwater without knowing its reputation.
Among the rock climbing community, the Devil’s Peak was a coveted prize. It was technically difficult and presented even the most experienced climber with a set of unique challenges.
When they reached Tarryn Point, it was still early and there were only a few other climbers at the base of the rock. Beth chose a place several yards away from them. Placing the equipment on the ground, she began checking the length of rope with her fingers.
“The guy I borrowed it from is an experienced climber. He said it’s almost new,” Vincente said.
Beth pointed to the sheer rock face. “When you’re halfway up there, what would you rather trust...his word, or my fingers?”
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “You’re the boss.”
She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t you forget it.”
Because they were alone, they faced a choice of who should lead climb the route and who should remain at the base of the rock and belay. Vincente didn’t want to push Beth, but to him, the choice was obvious. Beth was the more experienced climber. She should be the one to go up the rock and prepare the way for him. Having studied the rock face in silence for a few minutes, she began to do warm-up stretches. It seemed to Vincente that she had slipped automatically into a well-rehearsed routine.
When she reached for her shoes and harness and chalked her hands, he breathed a sigh of relief. Beth was going to do this. She was going to climb the rock face and put her trust in him to belay the rope for her. The look of steely determination told her what they both already knew...she was getting her life back on track.
With Vincente belaying, Beth started climbing. It was obvious straightaway that she had a grace and fluidity way beyond anything he had ever seen before. Her technique was relaxed, her grip easy, as she moved with her body close to the wall. Totally in control, using tight muscle movements, she climbed all the way to the top. Vincente had watched other people do this, but he’d never seen anyone as fast as Beth. Once there, she attached a quickdraw to a bolt already cemented into the rock, anchoring the rope in place before rappelling down.
“Your turn.” She unhooked her carabiner.
“Wait a second.” Vincente paused before he changed places with her. “That’s it? No applause? No celebration? You just did your first climb in ten years. Doesn’t that at least deserve a high five?”
Beth laughed. “High five? I think it deserves a hell-yeah hug.”
Vincente gave a whoop of delight. Sweeping her into his arms, he swung her around in a circle.
“It felt amazing,” Beth gasped when he set her back on her feet. “Like I’d never been away.”
Even though her eyes were smiling, he noticed the way they slid past him again toward the dark, threatening crags. He wondered if it might have been better to go somewhere else. Somewhere where they couldn’t see that towering spire that pierced the clouds. But the Devil’s Peak dominated the Stillwater landscape. If Beth was hoping to come back to her old life, she would have to get used to seeing it again.
“I swore I’d climb the Devil’s Peak again one day.” Her voice was slightly dreamy, almost as though she was talking to the mountain, rather than to him. “To prove it hadn’t beaten me.”
“And will you?”
She lifted her shoulders, and the gesture seemed to break the spell. “No. I have Lia to think of now. Extreme sports and motherhood don’t mix.” Her smile became mischievous. “Are you going to stand around here distracting me, or are you going to get some actual exercise?”
They did several climbs, moving to a more difficult part of the rock each time. Beth called a halt when they both could feel the strain on their muscles. “We’ll be sore anyway tomorrow without pushing ourselves too hard.”
Instead of hiking back down the trail immediately, they found a secluded place close to the lake. Leaning against a rock, they downed their energy drinks and ate the cookies Beth had brought.
“This is my favorite part of rock climbing.” Vincente leaned back against the stone, closing his eyes as the sun broke through the clouds and warmed his face.
“I can do it, Vincente.” Beth’s words made him open his eyes again. “I can go back to the West County Climbing Club. On one condition—”
“What’s that?”
“I’d need you to come with me.”
* * *
While she and Vincente were climbing, Beth hadn’t had time to worry about Lia. Once they reached the car and set off to collect their daughter, her anxiety levels started to increase.
Steffi had no experience looking after a baby. What if there had been an accident? What if the murderer had discovered Lia’s whereabouts? The what-ifs became a dozen different nightmare scenarios chasing each other around inside her head.
I should never have left her.
By the time they reached the animal sanctuary, Beth’s anxiety levels were almost off the scale. Her whole body was rigid with tension; only her hands seemed capable of movement, twisting together in her lap like tormented animals seeking escape. She knew Vincente was occasionally taking his eyes from the road to study her with concern, but she was so wound up, she couldn’t speak.
And, of course, when they got there, Lia was fine. Neither she nor Steffi had suffered any ill effects from the time they had spent together. The worst that could be said was that Lia was a little tired and cranky from the excitement of being somewhere new. With a real effort, Beth forced herself not to seize her daughter and hug her so hard it hurt.
By the time they reached the lake house, Beth was calm again. Going through Lia’s usual routine—bathing, changing, feeding, reading a story, tucking her into her crib, kissing her cheek—finally restored her equilibrium. Once Lia was asleep, she sat for long, still minutes watching her. Then she made a decision.
After switching on the baby monitor, she went through to the family room.
“I need to talk to you.”
Vincente set aside the book he had been reading. “I hoped you would say that.”
Beth took a seat at a right angle to him. “After Lia was born, I suffered from severe postpartum depression. I was never a danger to her, or to myself, and I was never hospitalized. I was on medication for several months and I had counseling. Although I don’t attend face-to-face therapy anymore, I still occasionally call my counselor.” The words had tumbled out faster than she wanted them to, and she paused to catch her breath. “I’m mostly okay now. But I have...flashbacks. I had one today.”
Then she did what she had been hoping to avoid. She burst into tears.
Vincente had always been surprisingly good with tears. He wasn’t embarrassed or uncomfortable with them. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, letting her lean on his broad shoulder until the worst sobs had subsided. Then he went and found some Kleenex. Using one to dry her tears, he handed her another so she could blow her nose.
“Do you need to call your counselor now?”
“No. I just wanted you to understand that I’m not going crazy. Leaving your child with someone different for the first time is going to be hard for any parent. But it was always going to be worse for me.” She scanned his face to see if he could understand what she was saying. “I know what Jenny, my counselor, would say. She would tell me to celebrate today. Even though I got horribly anxious, I did it. I left Lia with Steffi...and look at me. I’m not a hopeless mess.” She blew her nose again. “Not totally.”
“No, you’re not a hopeless mess, Beth.”
The look in his eyes sent a spark of something sinful shooting down her spine. The feeling settled farther south. Surely she shouldn’t be getting aroused during this conversation? Ah, Vincente. What you do to me.
“I’m glad you told me. It was very brave.”
She gave a watery laugh. “Brave. That’s me. I run away. Hide behind locked doors. Don’t climb a mountain for ten years after a bad experience.” Could she say the next words? The intensity of those dark eyes made it difficult, but she forced herself onward. “Lie awake each night thinking about you in the next room, wishing we were together, but too scared to do anything...”
He surged toward her, hauling her to her feet. “I swore I wouldn’t do this.”
“So did I.” She breathed the words into his lips. “But you know what, Vincente? This whole mess has taught me that life’s too short. Maybe we should stop thinking about this and just have sex.”
“Are you sure?” His hands gripped her hips hard. Wonderfully, painfully hard. “That’s what you want? Just sex?”
“So much.” She nipped his lower lip with her teeth, and he growled.
“I can give you that, Beth.” As their lips met, everything crackled. A firestorm started up inside her and burned along her nerve endings. It scorched the air around them, making it hard to breathe. Hard to think. But as Vincente scooped her up into his arms, Beth decided thoughts were overrated.
When he kicked the door of his room shut and placed her on her feet, they were already tearing at each other’s clothes. By the time they reached the bed, every garment had been flung to the four corners of the room. How had she lived without this—without him—for so long? The fierce wanting that had been so much a part of who she was powered through her as she wrapped her arms around him.
Vincente’s groan was despairing. “No condoms.”
“I went on the birth control pill after Lia was born.”
His answer was to move his lips to the point where her neck met her shoulder. He knew exactly what he was doing. It was Beth’s most sensitive place, and he sucked her skin, driving her instantly wild. Electricity shimmered from her neck, down her shoulders to her arms, and all the way to the tips of her fingers. Vincente kissed his way across to the hollow of her throat, the scratch of his beard a glorious contrast to his soft lips.
He dipped his head to her breasts, his breath scorching her skin.
“Ah, Beth.” His voice was hoarse with need. “You’ll never know how much I’ve dreamed of this.”
He’d dreamed of it? All those long, lonely nights when the memories of this were all she’d had to drive away the fear... Then his mouth closed around her nipple and she forgot how to do anything except respond to the commands of his mouth. Her back arched, pushing her breasts closer to him. He devoured her, licking and sucking, his teeth grazing the tender bud until her breath was coming in short, ragged bursts. Beth’s core was aching, throbbing in time with each movement of his mouth on her nipple. This was what she’d dreamed of. But more. It was so much better than any fantasy.
As he moved down her body, Vincente gazed at her. Beth remembered that look. He had always stared at her that way. As if she was a goddess and he worshipped her. It made her feel incredible.
Vincente took her hand in his, moving it down her body. With Vincente guiding her, Beth could feel her own arousal beneath her fingers. Vincente groaned as he lifted her hand to his lips, sucking her fingers into his mouth one by one. Beth’s eyes fluttered closed as sensation after sensation buffeted her body.
“Keep them open,” Vincente rasped. “We’ve both waited too long to miss a second of this.”
His dark head moved between her legs. The heat of his mouth was like a brand against the inside of her knee, inching slowly higher. Beth jerked her hips upward just as Vincente’s hot, hot breath whispered against her clitoris. The anticipation was too much and Beth writhed, throwing her head back. Then his mouth was on her and her whole world was reduced to the touch of his tongue and his lips. Nothing in her imagination had come close to this. He sucked and licked and flicked. Beth cried out, arching again, trying to press closer to that magical mouth. Shivers rolled over her skin, and her whole body tensed. It had been too long, and she was so close. Pressure was building inside her body, pulling everything taut like a giant elastic band getting ready to snap and launch her into the orgasm she craved.
“Vincente.” Her hands clawed wildly at his hair. “I’m going to...”
And then it hit her. So hard and fast that she cried out. She was soaring out of control, falling over the edge of a cliff and swooping down into nothingness. Letting go of everything but that perfect sensual release as a current of pure bliss burst over her.
Vincente’s beard grazed her breasts as he moved back up her body. Beth murmured against his lips as his touch sent new tingles over her swollen mouth. Then Vincente was on top of her, spreading her thighs apart with his knees. She pressed impatient kisses along his jaw, his neck, his ear.
When he thrust into her, it was fast and hard. Beth clenched her muscles tight around him as he pulled out, then pumped into her again. Over and over. The feeling of him filling her was so achingly familiar, so perfect, that tears stung the back of her eyelids. Everything in her pulsed in perfect time with him. This was theirs. Their time. Their rhythm. Their lovemaking.
She could feel Vincente’s need matching her own. Could hear it in his ragged breathing. Feel it in the bunched muscles of his shoulders as she tightened her arms around him. See it in the blaze of passion in his eyes.
The longing was building inside her again. Her body was tightening, ecstasy building once more. The heat became a flame as Vincente placed his hands beneath her buttocks, lifting her closer to him, driving harder and faster, letting her feel him fully embedded. The furnace sparked, then roared, then exploded.
Her release rushed through her, a crescendo of sensation that just kept coming. Wave after wave crashed over her as she called out Vincente’s name. He plunged deep one last time, then gasped out his own completion.
After a minute or two of catching their breath, Vincente pressed his forehead to Beth’s. “I am so glad my imagination didn’t lie about how great it’s always been between us.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “It’s the one thing we never got wrong.”
He moved to lie next to her, drawing her into his arms. They lay like that, in silence for a long time. “I think I’m going to need a repeat performance.” She tilted her head in time to catch the wicked smile on his lips. “Maybe more than one. How do you feel about a change of room?”
She nestled closer. This felt good. Just sex, remember?
“We can hear Lia from here, and she was used to her own room in the house in Casper, remember? I don’t have a problem with a new roommate.” She returned the smile, resting her chin on his chest. “Particularly when the benefits are so enjoyable.”
Vincente gave a groan of submission as she kissed her way down his body.