Hot as Sin (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #2)(31)
Author: Bella Andre

Now that she was about to paddle down a dangerous river on a quest to rescue her kidnapped sister, those childhood dreams felt like they belonged to someone else.

“Getting your balance is the hardest thing,” Sam said as he eased them into the water with his paddle. “Once you figure that out, you’ll be fine.”

His matter-of-fact tone was soothing, almost as if what he was really saying was, “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be all right.”

After torturing herself all night over what a bitch she’d been, it was a huge relief to know that he wasn’t holding a grudge against her. Even better, she felt as if they’d made some headway.

Was it too much to hope that they’d cleared away the worst of the tension that had been crackling between them? All she wanted was some breathing room to push forward together to find April.

At the same time, as she watched the muscles of his arms and legs flex next to her on the raft and rivulets of water ran down his chiseled jaw, she had to face facts: Yes, they’d overcome their anger, but the sexual tension hadn’t disappeared.

If anything, the new understanding she had for what he’d done only made her want him more, damn it.

Turning her focus back to the river, working hard to stay upright on the edge of the raft, her thighs immediately started to burn from the strain, and her shoulders and neck stiffened until they were rigid.

She wished she’d gotten more sleep the night before, but her dreams had been so dark and intense, it had almost been a relief when Sam woke her up. She’d had similar dreams in the first few weeks after losing the baby where she felt as if she were trying to reach the light at the end of the tunnel against the force of the quicksand pulling her deeper.

Sam’s warm voice broke into her thoughts. “Try to keep your limbs loose and your grip on the paddle relaxed.”

He was a good teacher, knew exactly how to tell her she was doing it all wrong without getting her back up. How could she have forgotten that about him, that he was so strong and yet so gentle at the same time? Instead of making her feel like a fish out of water, rather than highlighting the fact that she was the queen of TV instead of outdoor wonder girl, he saw how hard she was trying and was being incredibly supportive.

So even though her brain was telling her not to loosen her grip on the paddle or she’d die, she followed his directions to relax and quickly found that he was right on the money. As soon as she stopped trying to control the water, she expended a great deal less energy.

“You’ve got it,” he said encouragingly.

His patience meant a great deal to her. Not only did she want to prove to herself that she had what it took to ride the rapids, but foolishly she wanted to impress Sam, too.

Unfortunately, just as she was starting to feel at ease, the water turned white and frothy. They bumped and banged over the water and it splashed into her face again and again, quickly soaking her from head to toe.

She guessed she looked like a drowned rat, with freezing cold water streaming off her nose and chin. And it bothered her, even though only Sam could see her—and he’d seen her look much worse.

“Our first drop is coming, about a hundred yards ahead. You ready for it?”

“You bet,” she fibbed, wondering what the heck a “drop” was, but knowing that saying no wasn’t an option.

The water started churning faster, harder, and it took every ounce of her concentration just to stay seated on the raft.

“You’re doing good, Dianna. Keep paddling, just like that.”

And then, suddenly, they hit a wall of white water and she felt like they were in an elevator whose lines had been cut, falling down, then hitting bottom so hard, she choked on her own saliva and nearly bit her tongue.

Dianna did everything she could to stay on the raft, but the water was tougher than she was, and the next thing she knew she was flipping over the edge of the raft. Holding her breath, she tried not to panic as she bobbed up toward the surface, the strong rapids continuing to push her downstream, over the rocks that were scratching up her legs and arms something fierce.

When she was finally able to come up for air, she saw Sam leaning over the edge of the raft, reaching for her hands.

“You okay?” he asked, his expression clearly concerned as he gripped her upper arms with both hands and pulled her into the middle of the raft.

Concentrating on getting back into the raft, she kept her gaze averted so he couldn’t see how clumsy and stupid she felt.

Trying to make light of the situation, she said, “You didn’t say anything about a drop being a waterfall.” Her upper arms tingled from where he’d wrapped his big hands around them.

“I didn’t think you knowing that’s what a drop actually meant would help any,” he said, his light words softening all the places she’d been trying to keep cold and hard.

“Besides,” he continued, “it’s always good to get your first flip of the day over right off the bat. Makes it easier to stay on board for the really big ones.”

There were bigger drops ahead?

She pushed the hair dangling in her eyes back up under her helmet. No amount of hair spray could save her now. If her staff could see her now they’d die.

But ultimately, she knew her looks didn’t matter. Neither did the fact that Sam was an even bigger puzzle than he had been ten years ago. All that mattered was finding April and bringing her home.

The sun rose higher in the sky as they paddled downriver, worries about April closing in on her again, heavy and bleak like her dreams from the night before.

Where was she? Was anyone hurting her? And would her baby sister even be okay when they finally found her?

It struck her, yet again, how lost she’d be without Sam’s support. And it scared her to know how much she was depending on him.

Just like she had so many years before.

Sam wasn’t sure he liked what was happening. It was too easy to admire how well Dianna was doing on the river, especially given that she was instinctively better at rafting than most of the guys he went rafting with during his off months.

And it was too damn difficult not to notice how beautiful she was.

Even with a life jacket covering her curves and a helmet over her plastered-down hair, he was mesmerized by the slight bounce of her br**sts, and her tongue coming out to lick a drop of water off her lips.

Forcing his gaze back up to her face, it was unsettling to read a whole host of worries in her expression.

At first, her face had been a picture of concentration and he’d been glad that the river was giving her a reason to think about something other than April for at least a few minutes. But now, it wasn’t hard to guess that she was running through worst-case scenarios.