“Yeah, I’m fine. You guys go ahead. Or do you want help?” I step forward. His back must be killing him.
Dylan glances at the gigantic climbing wall up ahead and then back at me. “Nah, we’ll be fine. I’m gonna cut through those trees over there.”
Alex apologizes to him again, and I try not to wince at the sight of her swollen ankle turning blue beneath the streaks of mud.
Dylan gives me a quick smile that makes me feel like I’ve been running too hard again before tightening his grip on Alex. I watch him carry her off through the trees like some sort of fantasy knight with tattoos and a pink T-shirt.
After slapping myself back into action, I decide against cheating by following them through the trees. I don’t want to get my whole team disqualified. My leg feels recovered now, so I hurry forward and heft my way up the wall using the ropes and grips. It looked easy enough from a distance, but up close, the wall is high and steep and coated in slippery mud. I keep losing my grip and falling back into the mud pool below.
“Someone save me from this nightmare!” I cry out to no one before making four more attempts. With a victory squeal, I finally launch myself up onto the top of the wall, collapsing onto my elbows.
On the other side sits a mud slide that disappears into a mucky brown bath. I’m beyond over this hell, but the only way out is down. I flop my legs over the edge and lean forward, my gaze snagging on Dylan standing at the bottom with his arms crossed like he’s waiting for the big show.
“Well?” he calls out when I don’t move. “Are you waiting for me to come up there and carry you?”
That mental image makes my pulse jump and sets me off kilter. I fling my arms out to stop myself from falling and looking stupid, but all that does is topple me over the edge. I tumble forward into a gush of air, my arms and legs flailing before awhooshsound slaps my ears and cold, slimy liquid crashes over me like a tsunami.
I find my balance and gasp as I stand up in a pool of sludge, mud pouring off my hair, my face, my arms…
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Dylan says although I can’t see him.
I wipe gunk out of my eyes before his fingers gently clutch my forearm, turning me to look at him. Dylan’s standing beside me in the mud pool, his expression caught somewhere between concerned and amused.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I say, licking dirt off my lips. “You didn’t have to do that stupid wall thing. You probably pushed Alex over just so you’d have an excuse not to.”
He turns his ear to me. “Sorry, what was that you just said? I couldn’t understand you with all that shit on your face.”
Oh, he wants to tease me, does he? I dig my fingers into the mud still caked inside my palm and toss it at him.
Mud splatters across his face. Dylan inhales with shock and turns his gaze on me. When he bends to collect a good fistful of the brown ooze with his lips curling up, I lurch forward before he can launch it, giving his chest a shove with both hands. He flies backward and ass-plants in the mud. I snort-laugh, holding the back of my hand to my lips.
“Oh, you wanna go with me, Little Jade?” he taunts, rising back onto his feet like the Creature From the Black Lagoon.
“I can take you,Gramps.”
He swipes his whole arm through the liquid in my direction until it splashes all over me. I scream through a laugh and spin around, realizing there are only a few more climbers left struggling over the wall.
“You are such a troublemaker,” I accuse before turning back to Dylan and shoving both my hands through the mucky water, over and over, splashing him repeatedly as I move closer. He snaps a hand out and takes hold of my shirt, twisting me around so that I’m facing away from him.
My butt slides right up against his groin, which I can feel all too well beneath his thin athletic shorts, and my laugh turns into a gasp. We both still, and I can hear Dylan’s breaths shorten behind me before he quickly digs into the mud and pastes it down my hair like he’s icing a cake.
I squeal and turn back around, finding his sky-blue eyes burning into mine.
I meet his stare before dropping my gaze to his mud-splattered legs and clothes. “You’re filthy,” I tease.
“You have no idea,” he returns, something in his tone making my heart pound harder.
I let my gaze trail down and up Dylan’s body, the soaked fabric clinging to his muscles everywhere. And I meaneverywhere. My eyes lift back to his, an electric current firing between us. “Filthy looks good on you.”
He inhales sharply and steps forward, his palm folding around my hip and searing heat into my skin. He brings his lips to my ear, his breath washing over my skin. “It looks even better on you. And it’s driving me fucking crazy.” He tightens his grip on my hip, his breaths uneven against my ear. “I want to peel off what’s left of those clothes and take you into the shower with me.”
I expel a hard breath and turn into him, my lips almost brushing his neck. But I halt there, feeling the wall between us that cannot be breached. “Dylan, we can’t.”
He drops his forehead, the tips of his hair caressing my face. “I know,” he says. “Fuck.”
He lets go of my hip and moves to step away, but I reach out and grab the hem of his T-shirt, holding him in place. I give him a tug, and he follows me without resisting, through the mud and over to the edge of the climbing wall. His eyes gaze into mine before slipping to my mouth, making my pulse skyrocket. I know I need to stop this, so I lean forward and hook my leg around his calf, tripping him over.Hah, I win.
He tumbles backward with a stunned laugh, but not before reaching out and pulling me down with him. We slam down together on the shallow edge of the mud pool, with Dylan splayed out on his back while I crash over the top of him. His arms lock around my back, and our slick bodies slide together like two mud wrestlers, my thigh pushing between his legs.
