Just Try Me...

He smiled at Lily, and the oddest thing…something happened low in her belly. It was a pit of knowledge— by the end of this trip, they would have a history, this man and herself. Somehow, in some way, she knew it.

She just didn’t like it.

He slipped out his earpiece and shook hands with Keith, who turned to Lily and brought her close to his side. “Jared, meet Lily, your guide.”

Jared looked startled for one moment before carefully masking it, probably wondering how someone with a handicap sticker could possibly be a hiking guide. That, or worse, he was thinking she was some sort of fraud, and Lily ground her back teeth and cursed herself all over again.

Keith handed Jared a drink. “A word of warning with this one, Jared.” He said this with a warm, intimate smile for Lily. “Don’t be late for the takeoff, or trust me, your beautiful guide here will leave you standing in the dust. I’ve been there myself.”

“I’ll be on time.” Jared tipped his glass toward Lily in a toast, eyes warm, smile genuine. “To a good start and a great trip.”

Again, she experienced an unsettling little sizzle, and she gave Jared Skye a second look as they all drank to his toast. Sure his eyes were compelling with that odd mix of chocolate and sea-green, and yes, he had that contagious smile which mixed self-deprecation and good humor, but those things weren’t enough.

Right?

Keith was dividing a glance between Jared and herself, as if he could feel the inexplicable electric current. “You two know each other?”

“Not exactly.” Jared smiled into Lily’s eyes. “But I’m guessing that this time I’ll be thanking you.”

“I haven’t taken you anywhere yet,” she said. “You might hate it.”

“You think so?”

She scanned his lanky frame, and was surprised to find her gaze lingering. His face was clean-shaven, and while not exactly pale, certainly not tanned and rugged from any amount of time spent outdoors. His clean athletic shoes had clearly never seen a trail. His glasses were slipping again, and she’d bet herself he’d lose them on the first day unless he put a leash on them.

No, he didn’t look like much of an outdoor guy. He looked more like an indoor, hunched-over-a-laptop guy, but before she could find a nice way to say so, something in one of his pockets beeped.

“More digital equipment?” she asked. “What a surprise.”

With a wry smile, he reached for the offending unit, flicking it off with his thumb without even looking at it. “Sorry.”

Keith shook his head. “You’re going to want to leave all that stuff behind, man.”

“Really?” Jared slipped the PDA back in his pocket. “Why’s that?”

“It takes away from the outdoor experience.”

Jared turned to Lily, his glasses providing just enough of a glare that she couldn’t quite read his eyes, even though she had a feeling he had no such problem reading her.

And again, an inappropriate zing of…something surged through her. Crazy. She really did prefer a stronger, tougher, more seasoned man, someone who knew his way on a trail, who could climb a mountain, kayak a rapid, someone with a love of an adrenaline rush. Someone like…Keith.

And yet she didn’t experience that little frisson of heat when Keith looked at her…

Huh.

Jared was still smiling easily. “So you don’t think I look like the camping, hiking type.”

“I’m not here to judge you, just to guide you.”

“Come on, tell the truth.”

“Okay, no. Sorry. You don’t seem outdoorsy to me. But I still think you’re going to have a lot fun.”

Sipping his drink, he watched her from those intensely gripping hazel eyes. “One thing I’ve learned is that looks can be deceiving.”

And in maybe the most surprising thing of all, yet another thrill went through her, because suddenly, strangely, she hoped so.

THAT NIGHT, Jared Skye lay in his bed staring at his ceiling, thinking about what he’d done. A confirmed city rat, he’d taken a week off work, a rarity, to go on a trip. Not just any trip, but a camping trip, with rocks and bugs and no running water.

Definitely not the norm for him. In fact, he’d never slept outdoors, not once in his thirty-two years.

But if life had taught him anything lately, it was to go with the flow, and try the path less traveled. To seize whatever the day brought, especially if the day brought a slightly irritating, self-protective, sexy-as-hell guide leader into it.

This year he’d been given a second chance, a hell of a second chance, when he hadn’t died as he should have. As a result, he no longer waited for things to happen. He made them happen. And that meant when he saw something of interest, he did what it took to get it.

Lily Peterson interested him.

It wasn’t just a gotta-have-you naked interest either, though that had definitely been there, too. But a gotta-know-you-deeper interest.

With a woman his polar opposite.

It might seem completely illogical, this attraction, not to mention out of character, but since he no longer depended on logic to get him through the day, he didn’t care.

Nope, it was all about living to the fullest, logic not withstanding …

When he finally fell asleep, he dreamed—no surprise— of his trekking guide, with her vulnerable eyes, with the polite smile she wore to hide her thoughts, with her tough little body that he wanted arching and writhing beneath his…

No surprise then that he woke up hot and bothered, and he had to laugh at himself, even as he wished he could dive back into the dream…

Instead he got up. His first camping trip was going to be even more interesting than he’d thought.

LILY SAT straight up in bed, panting for breath and just a little bit sweaty.

She’d dreamed of being in a kayak, fighting another kayak for the best spot on the river. The best kayaker she knew was Keith, but it turned out not to be Keith out there with her, but a guy with impeccable dressing habits, and neat, short hair and designer glasses, a guy with a rather goofy, contagious grin and a rangy body that wasn’t sure or coordinated.

Jared Skye, still disturbing her.

She got up, showered away the aches and pains and lingering stiffness she’d never had before her forty-foot fall, telling herself better to feel pain than to be six feet under, feeling nothing at all.

She dressed and went to physical therapy, where she was laid flat as always by Eric, who’d missed his calling and should instead have been working for the government torturing war prisoners for information. She showered again, dressed again, and then shopped and packed for the trip, telling herself the butterflies in her stomach were hunger pains, not nerves.

But the nerves were there, quietly eating her alive.

After going over the topo maps, marking everywhere on the trail she wanted to hit, with alternate plans for unforeseen events such as one of the hikers not being able to get as far as she’d planned—or God forbid, herself—she drove to Outdoor Adventures to coordinate for the supply and canoe drops along the loop they’d be walking.

But instead of an assistant she got Keith himself, with his mischievous smile and teasing voice that brought her back. When they were done, he hugged her good-bye, letting his hands linger and his body press against her for just a beat longer than necessary.

And because it was what she thought she wanted, she let him.