Thanks.”
Really, the harness probably wasn’t a bad idea. As distracted as he was, he was as likely to fall as he was to make it to the top of the wall. A broken back would pretty much wrap up his month in a nice little bow. He took his credit card from the now disgruntled counter manager and headed into the main gym with the harness in one hand, his gym bag in the other. He found an empty public locker and grabbed his chalk bag before he stuffed his duffel inside and headed for the wall.
Landon slipped on the harness and secured the carabiner from his harness to the belay attached to a rope dangling from the ceiling. Josh, who definitely looked like he could use a haircut, caught sight of Landon and headed over. “’Sup, man,” he greeted Landon as he grabbed hold of the length of rope. “Ready to get your climb on?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Get his climb on? Josh must be new to the job. He had the eager-camp-counselor act down pat. Which made Landon wonder if Josh had experience with belaying anyone over the age of twelve. Shit, a free climb might have been safer than trusting a newb to manage the tension in his rope while he climbed. It was too late to worry about it now, he supposed. At any rate, maybe he’d be too worried about Josh’s belaying skills to think about last night. He’d take whatever distractions he could get at this point.
Landon massaged the chalk bag in one hand and then the other, stuffing it under the harness strap before grabbing a handhold and hoisting himself up on the wall. The first twenty feet were an easy climb, like going up a ladder. But from there, the wall became steeper and angular, presenting Landon with a more challenging ascent. By the time he hit forty feet, the endorphins should have kicked in.
Usually, a good climb gave him a nice, mellow buzz. His breath quickened and his heart rate increased, but the excitement factor was absent. Landon continued to climb as the angle of the ceiling bent to almost forty-five degrees. His teeth clenched to the point that he could hear the enamel grind as he reached up, his fingers barely making purchase on the handhold and still, he felt nothing. Until his mind wandered to the memory of silky soft lips, supple breasts, and the sound of Emma’s low moan when he passed his thumb over the stiff peak of her—
Whoof ! Landon’s chest made contact with the wall, knocking the air from his lungs. His palms warmed from the friction of the rope as it slipped through his hands during his rapid descent, and his face pulsed where it met the sharp edge of the polyresin hold he’d lost his footing on. Below him, Josh’s amused snicker echoed through the gym, joining in with that of the snarky counter guy. Landon cursed under his breath. Nothing like having an audience when you biffed your face against the wall. Especially when one of those witnesses already thought you were a jackass and the other treated you like a kid at day camp. Awesome.
He never should have let things go as far as they had last night. Hell, he’d known what Emma was up to the minute she’d leaned toward him. He could have pushed her away, taken a step back. Told her to stop. But he hadn’t. No, like the fool he was, he’d taken her in his arms and played right into her plans, effectively distracting him from questioning her about the man at the club. And like the dumb son of a bitch he was, he would do it all over again given the chance.
Landon had been a rookie straight out of the academy when he’d been assigned to the Ruiz case. Despite the guy’s wealth and clout, the case had been cut and dry, with more than enough evidence to support an arrest. A cake assignment to ease him into the job with a senior deputy supervising him. When it came to work, to procedure and protocol, Landon did everything by the book. But the second he’d taken in the sight of Javier Ruiz’s daughter, his brain had gone on a vacation south and suddenly procedure became the last thing on
Really, the harness probably wasn’t a bad idea. As distracted as he was, he was as likely to fall as he was to make it to the top of the wall. A broken back would pretty much wrap up his month in a nice little bow. He took his credit card from the now disgruntled counter manager and headed into the main gym with the harness in one hand, his gym bag in the other. He found an empty public locker and grabbed his chalk bag before he stuffed his duffel inside and headed for the wall.
Landon slipped on the harness and secured the carabiner from his harness to the belay attached to a rope dangling from the ceiling. Josh, who definitely looked like he could use a haircut, caught sight of Landon and headed over. “’Sup, man,” he greeted Landon as he grabbed hold of the length of rope. “Ready to get your climb on?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Get his climb on? Josh must be new to the job. He had the eager-camp-counselor act down pat. Which made Landon wonder if Josh had experience with belaying anyone over the age of twelve. Shit, a free climb might have been safer than trusting a newb to manage the tension in his rope while he climbed. It was too late to worry about it now, he supposed. At any rate, maybe he’d be too worried about Josh’s belaying skills to think about last night. He’d take whatever distractions he could get at this point.
Landon massaged the chalk bag in one hand and then the other, stuffing it under the harness strap before grabbing a handhold and hoisting himself up on the wall. The first twenty feet were an easy climb, like going up a ladder. But from there, the wall became steeper and angular, presenting Landon with a more challenging ascent. By the time he hit forty feet, the endorphins should have kicked in.
Usually, a good climb gave him a nice, mellow buzz. His breath quickened and his heart rate increased, but the excitement factor was absent. Landon continued to climb as the angle of the ceiling bent to almost forty-five degrees. His teeth clenched to the point that he could hear the enamel grind as he reached up, his fingers barely making purchase on the handhold and still, he felt nothing. Until his mind wandered to the memory of silky soft lips, supple breasts, and the sound of Emma’s low moan when he passed his thumb over the stiff peak of her—
Whoof ! Landon’s chest made contact with the wall, knocking the air from his lungs. His palms warmed from the friction of the rope as it slipped through his hands during his rapid descent, and his face pulsed where it met the sharp edge of the polyresin hold he’d lost his footing on. Below him, Josh’s amused snicker echoed through the gym, joining in with that of the snarky counter guy. Landon cursed under his breath. Nothing like having an audience when you biffed your face against the wall. Especially when one of those witnesses already thought you were a jackass and the other treated you like a kid at day camp. Awesome.
He never should have let things go as far as they had last night. Hell, he’d known what Emma was up to the minute she’d leaned toward him. He could have pushed her away, taken a step back. Told her to stop. But he hadn’t. No, like the fool he was, he’d taken her in his arms and played right into her plans, effectively distracting him from questioning her about the man at the club. And like the dumb son of a bitch he was, he would do it all over again given the chance.
Landon had been a rookie straight out of the academy when he’d been assigned to the Ruiz case. Despite the guy’s wealth and clout, the case had been cut and dry, with more than enough evidence to support an arrest. A cake assignment to ease him into the job with a senior deputy supervising him. When it came to work, to procedure and protocol, Landon did everything by the book. But the second he’d taken in the sight of Javier Ruiz’s daughter, his brain had gone on a vacation south and suddenly procedure became the last thing on
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