This kiss comes with expectations and promises. Surprisingly, I don’t feel panic welling up inside me.

  I’m lost in Kane when footsteps breaking branches echo through the forest.

  “Over there!” someone yells.

  Kane strips his lips off mine and stands. “Let’s go. Flower bed is next.”

  He grabs my hand, pulling me up, then places a gentle kiss on my forehead. I know right then that being Kane’s is going to feel pretty close to heaven.

  I need to be done with this team-building bullshit right now if I’m going to get Jana in my bed. She’s there in wanting us to be together, I know she is, but we need longer than a few minutes alone.

  I’m tugging her through the scavenger hunt, trying to get us to the end as soon as possible so we can relax and hopefully have a conversation about what she wants. We only have one more night here before we fly home.

  We pass the other teams often, all of us going in a zigzag motion over the map it seems.

  Jana and I are headed back to the starting point when we hear rustling in the woods behind us. Figuring it’s another team, I turn to see who it is, but I see something furry instead.

  “What is that?” Jana points at exactly what I see. A brown-haired animal in the brush that’s coming at us fast.

  “Come on.” Not knowing what’s headed our way, I pick her up and place her on a nearby tree branch that’s only about five feet off the ground. I try to join her but lose my footing, falling to the ground.

  “Kane!” she screams.

  I’m on my back, surrounded by dead leaves and branches. I hate this fucking team-building shit.

  “Oh.” Her voice softens, then she laughs.

  I move to get up, but my ankle is screaming in pain. Shit. I’m pretty sure I twisted it on the root of the tree.

  The small brown thing emerges from a pile of leaves, only for us to see that it’s a fucking dog. A Yorkie at that. What the fuck is a Yorkie doing in the middle of the woods?

  Jana can’t stop laughing as the Yorkie jumps on me, placing two paws on my chest to lick my face. “This is too funny.”

  I notice a collar on the dog and reach for it to pick up the dog and place it down beside me. It wags its tail and continues on its way.

  “Do you think it’s lost?” Jana asks with concern in her voice.

  “Don’t know. We can ask Clark and Corin about it when we get back. I’ve got bad news though.” I cringe.

  “What?” She jumps down from the tree. I’m not gonna lie, it’s impressive.

  “I think I twisted my ankle when the brown-haired monster was coming for us.”

  She bends down and lifts the end of my pant leg. Sure enough, my ankle is already swelling up and it’s black and blue.

  “One more and the trophy is ours!” Warner screams from somewhere in the forest, obviously in a better mood than before.

  Once they’re out of earshot, Jana looks at me. We’ve already got all our clues, which means we could win this thing. I don’t think any other team would be as competitive as Ford and Warner, so they’re probably our closest competition. The only reason we’re done is because I pushed Jana for purely selfish reasons.

  “Can you get up?” Jana asks.

  “Maybe, but the finish line is still a long way away.” I pull out the map to show her.

  She bites the inside of her lip. It’s not like if she was the one who was hurt; I could throw her on my back.

  “I think we’re done, Jana.”

  She gives me a scathing look. One I haven’t been on the receiving end of for some time. She searches the area—looking for what, I have no idea.

  “Would a walking stick help?” She hands me a long stick that wouldn’t hold the Yorkie’s weight, let alone mine.

  “Honestly, it’s fine. Just go ahead and tell them I’m here…”

  She’s not paying any attention to me though. It’s like she thinks she’s suddenly some outdoorsy Jedi Master who will be able to form a set of makeshift crutches out of sticks and leaves. It’s oddly appealing watching her though. She runs off into the woods without another word, back the way we came.

  I push up on my hands, using a log to sit on and investigate my ankle. I flinch when my hands touch the hot skin. Not a good sign. I move to stand, but it’s too much. “Fucking hell.”

  A rattling noise comes from deep within the woods. A couple minutes later, Jana emerges with the rusty wheelbarrow we passed. It’s marked on the map as a way for teams to know they’re on the right path. So much for that.

  “I’m not sure—”

  “Burrows, you’re getting in. Come on.” She comes to my side and offers me her shoulder.

  Her labored breathing makes her chest rise and fall, which gives me an excellent view since she stripped down to her sports bra half an hour ago. I try not to give her all my weight, but it’s impossible.

  “There you go.” She leads me to the wheelbarrow, taking my hand and placing it on the tree trunk next to it. “I’m going to bring it to you. Let your butt fall into it.”

  She lowers it, and I gently sit.

  “Perfect. This is perfect.” She’s so happy. Who am I to burst her bubble and mention that she still has to push me out of the woods? She peers over the handles and looks upside down when I look up at her. “Okay, ready?”

  “Yeah.” I can’t help the amusement in my tone because there’s no way she’s ever going to be able to move me, wheelbarrow or not.

  “You can doubt all you want, but we’ve gotten this far.”

  She pushes and we go nowhere.

  “I think I’m too heavy.”

  “I work out, you know. I might not look like it, but I do kickboxing and cycling. I have muscles.”

  “No one said you didn’t. It’s just that I’m about twice your weight.”

  She grunts, pushing the wheelbarrow until she grunts again when we don’t move.

  “Let’s just think of something else.”

  Her eyes narrow on me. “No. One more time. Once I get it going, it won’t be that hard.”

  I use the tree to push off with my arm while she pulls up and pushes on the handlebars, exhaling loudly. We move an inch and I almost topple over, but she steadies me, walking slowly to get used to the weight she’s carrying.

  “You did it!” I honestly can’t believe it. I’m impressed.

  “Don’t sound so surprised.” She huffs and puffs as we go faster.

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  She’s probably taking that as an insult, but not a lot of women I know would go to all this effort to win. It’s hot as hell that she took charge of this shitty circumstance.

  She’s sweating by the time we see Clark and Corin in the clearing. We hear footsteps behind us, and we both look to find Ford and Warner not far behind.

  “Hold on, Kane!”

  Jana goes into a full sprint, the wheelbarrow teetering and tottering left to right. I swear my balls tuck themselves up into my body because I just know I’m going to go down hard.

  “Shit! No way you’re ahead of us!” Warner shouts, and Jana pushes herself harder.

  I forgot about the small hill, and I think Jana did too. We’re moving faster and faster until she loses her grip and I’m tumbling out of the wheelbarrow. I roll a couple of times, careful to keep my foot raised so I don’t injure it further.

  “Oh crap! I’m sorry.” Jana looks down at me, then back behind us.

  “You’re not there yet!” Ford screams.

  Jana grabs my arm and I use my good leg to sort of crab crawl on my back.

  “Hurry!” Jana screams.

  I move faster, hitting the finish line right before Ford and Warner cross seconds after us.

  “She helped him. That’s a disqualification!” Ford points at us.

  Jana’s on the ground and my head is on her stomach, both of us struggling for breath.

  “Kickboxing was not good preparation for this, just for the record,” she mumbles.

  Ford and Warner are still arguing the authenticity of our win with Clark, and he says, “It’s called teamwork, guys. Her teammate was injured, and she was quick on her feet to get the wheelbarrow. Then when that failed, they worked together to reach the finish line.” Clark looks at us. “They’re the winners.”

  “Bullshit!” Warner yells.

  “Don’t be a sore loser,” I say, sitting up. “But I do need someone to look at my ankle.”

  “Maybe Dr. Marc the Podiatrist is around,” Warner jokes, and Ford gives him a disgruntled look.

  “No Dr. Marc, but I’ll call Dr. Isaac.” Corin heads off to the main house.

  When I catch Jana’s eye, I mouth thank you, meaning it all the way to my core. She shakes her head like it was nothing, but it wasn’t nothing to me. In fact, I think I just fell for her a little more.

  Dr. Isaac arrives and looks at my ankle, telling me it’s a bad sprain. He wraps it and gives me a set of crutches to use until I get back to Florida to see my regular doctor.

  We’re at the bonfire after dinner. Tomorrow we have some sharing session in the morning, then we get back on the bus to drive to the airport to fly home. My bed sounds so good right about now.

  Corin stands and claps. “Okay, it’s ten o’clock, which means bedtime!”

  Jana stands up next to me, and I clasp her hand for just one more touch. Her smile is illuminated by the flames.

  “Come on, we’ll help you get to bed.” Ford and Aiden come over and offer me each a shoulder to balance my weight. The crutches aren’t worth shit with all the uneven ground.

  “I think he should be allowed to stay in the main house,” Jana broaches the subject with Corin one more time.

  “I’m sorry, but as I said, Clark doesn’t allow any other men in the house.”

  “But Kane is injured. Surely, he can see this circumstance is different.”

  “It’s okay, Jana,” I say, appreciating the effort.

  “See? He’s fine. Now you come, Miss Jana. Bedtime.”

  I head to my small cabin with the help of the guys, and Jana heads to the main house with Corin. I’m not gonna lie, I’d hoped that they’d let me stay in Jana’s room. Not that I would’ve had sex with her in someone else’s house, but just to be near her. Thank her again for doing what she did for me.

  “Thanks, guys,” I say when they deposit me on my bed.

  “No problem.” Ford runs his hand through his hair. “She really went the distance to make sure you guys won. Reminds me of Lena.”

  “Yeah. Don’t be too jealous of our trophy.” I nod toward the generic gold trophy with two people holding hands on top.

  “I might steal it, so be careful,” Aiden says. “Who knew Jana had that in her?”

  We all agree. They leave, and I lie in my bed, going over all the events of today. Rehashing and dissecting every look Jana gave me, everything she said. From our kiss at the water fountain to running from station to station, to her eyes lighting up when she showed up with the wheelbarrow. When we first met, I never thought she had this many layers. I’m ashamed to admit that I assumed things about her because of her family name, and she continues to prove me wrong.

  My eyes slide closed for a moment, fatigue from a full day of being outdoors taking over, when my door creaks open.

  I sit up, hoping this isn’t Warner about to cry to me about missing his family. And I really hope it isn’t Corin or Clark. I could see them having some agreement about sex with other people.

  “Hey,” Jana’s sweet voice whispers.

  “What are you doing here?” I whisper back.

  “I want to be here with you, plus they’re at it again.” She touches the side of the bed and I slide over to the wall, giving her room to slide in. “Do you mind?”

  “Are you crazy? Come here.”

  She climbs under the sheet, and I wrap my arm around her waist, tucking her into my side. “Are you sure this is okay? I’ve never gone to a boy’s room before.”

  I laugh and she pinches my arm, sobering me up because no one can know she’s here.

  “I’m not a boy, Jana.”

  “I know that. I just meant…” She turns to face me, and her hands locate the sides of my face in the dark. “This is me making the move.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, let’s give this a try. You and me.”

  Relief rushes through me, and for a moment, I feel euphoric. Even the throbbing pain in my ankle is a distant memory. I bend forward to kiss her, and she presses her finger to my lips.

  “But let’s just keep it between us.”

  “Until the end of the season. After that, we go public.”

  She leans her forehead on mine. “If we’re still together. Deal.”

  “Oh, we’ll still be together.” I lower her to her back and bring myself on top of her, which is a little harder to do with only one leg. The pain will be worth it. “That I can promise.”

  I seal that promise with a kiss I hope she never forgets.

  I was nervous before stepping into Kane’s small cabin. What if he didn’t want me to bother him right now? He has a sprained ankle, and I’m sure he’s tired, but I couldn’t listen to Corin call Clark daddy anymore.

  Kane’s balancing his weight over me, and I reach for his face in the dark, his beard scratchy against my palms.

  “Me on top,” I whisper. “You’re hurt.”

  He allows me to flip him onto his back, a sure sign that he’s in more pain than he’s letting on. His hands grasp my waist, his thumbs running over my hip bones. Trying to take control, he runs my center over his erection. I sigh and place my hands on his chest.

  I always kept it to myself when we were hooking up, but I’ve never had a lover who read my body the way Kane does. But that speaks to the man he is in general. Of course it would transfer to the bedroom. He’s consistently doing for others, putting their needs before his own.

  One of his hands travels up my side, and goose bumps chase his fingers. He grasps the back of my head and urges me down until his lips meet mine. The kiss starts slow and exploratory, but the more I grind along his length, the firmer the press of his lips, his tongue becomes more demanding, and our rhythm more frantic. One of the things I love about Kane is that he’s not timid. He’s sure of his skills and it’s sexy as hell.

  “God, I feel like I’m in a dream. Tell me I’m not,” he whispers. “I’m not hallucinating, right?”

  I giggle, low enough that hopefully no one hears us. “I’m right here in the flesh.”

  His hand on my hip tightens as if he has to check himself. “I finally wore you down, huh?”

  “Yeah. I can be stubborn.”

  “I knew you’d come around. I mean, I’m Kane Burrows.”

  I lightly slap his bare chest, and he grabs my hand, tugging me down so I’m completely flat over him. He turns my head to kiss my jaw, and his tongue travels the length and down my neck.

  “Too many clothes,” he murmurs against my skin. His hands glide under the bottom of my pajama shorts, palming my ass. “And you’re cold as fuck.”

  “I figured you’d warm me up.”

  He kisses my earlobe before nibbling. “Anytime, baby. I’ll warm you up anytime.”

  Shivers rack my spine. His hands travel down to the sides of my shirt, grab the hem, and pull the fabric over my head, leaving me bare from the waist up.

  “They missed me, right?” He palms my breasts, his thumbs and forefingers pinching my nipples. My body stiffens as the sensation travels down between my legs.

  “Yeah.”

  “I knew it.” He urges me up slightly until my breasts are right in front of his face. “I missed you two. Don’t worry, I won’t let her take you guys away from me again.”

  “Are you seriously talking to my breasts?”

  “This is an A and B conversation, baby.”

  “Then I’ll take my Cs somewhere else.” I move to sit up, and he presses his hand to my back, yanking me back down.

  When I open my mouth for another retort, he brings one breast to his mouth and his tongue plays with my nipple. I arch my back and bend forward, giving him my entire breast. From the first time we slept together, he figured out that I love my breasts being played with.

  He moves to my other breast, his mouth hot on my bare skin. I moan, and he takes his mouth off my breast to shh me, then uses just the tip of his tongue to circle my nipple in a teasing motion.

  I want to scream his name, make sounds that tell him to continue what he’s doing. I’ve never had sex when we have to be quiet, and I can’t even see him enough to see what he’s thinking. I slide down his body, even though he tries to get me to stop with his hands under my arms.

  “You have too many clothes on.” I hook my fingers into his pants and boxer briefs and drag them down his legs, careful about his ankle.

  I can just make out his dick in the dark room. God, he really is a gorgeous creature. I have no idea how I’ve been able to exist with him these past few months.

  “Tell me you’re still on the pill.” His voice sounds desperate.

  “Tell me you’ve been tested?”

  “I haven’t been with anyone since you, but you probably have my test results from the team. I’m clean.”

  I smile, happy he can’t see me in the dark. I don’t want him to know how happy it makes me that he hasn’t slept with anyone after me. “Me too.”

  “There hasn’t been anyone else?” His hand gingerly touches my cheek, his thumb brushing back and forth in a soothing manner.

  “No.” I shake my head.

  “And the pill?”

  “Still on it.”

  “And you’re okay not using a condom?”

  I stand off the bed, hook my fingers into the sides of my silk pajama shorts, and push them down my legs. “Is this answer enough for you?”

  His hand molds and squeezes my ass until I climb back on top of him. “Ride me, baby. Just like you used to.”

  I straddle his waist, and he runs his fingers through my wetness, making sure I’m ready for him. He rubs small circles on my clit and a noise gets stuck in my throat.