Page 3 of Pure Temptation

She scanned the rest of the key talking points Sheila had given her for the meeting. The wording of the resort’s welcome was carefully chosen so as to flatter—and not to bruise any egos. God forbid. But she got the feeling that the wholeFantasy Islandappeal of the Kalani Resort would take this conversation in the wrong direction. Time to go off-script.

“What are you doing here, Daxon?”

He blinked at her in surprise, then frowned. “Taking a break, healing my calf.Relaxing.” He said that last word with plenty of sarcasm. “Lying low before my next filming. My producer’s the cautious type, and he thinks this is the best option.”

“I see,” she said slowly. “He’s the one who booked your stay here, right?”

Daxon nodded.

“So you don’t want to be here?”

He hesitated, rubbing his jaw. “I do.” His gaze was laser-sharp, and she squirmed under his scrutiny. It felt like he was planning, calculating, waiting for the right moment to...what? Drop his towel? No, he already did that. But the pull she had felt six months ago was just as strong now, like they were picking up right where they left off that last night.

In the hallway of a luxury hotel in Costa Rica, lit by the setting sun, oh, Lord, what a kiss they’d had. The whole world had been his soft mouth and his hard body, moving against hers. The feel of it was still so easy to recall, the physical memories, dreamy and ethereal. His big calloused hand cupping her jaw. Hungry strokes of his tongue as their hips fit together. Gasping for breath as he came in for more. And the hunger in his eyes as she broke the kiss off, long after it had gotten out of hand. The memory was still vivid. Very vivid. But she could think about that later...after she got through this first session.

“Let’s get started,” she said again. She scrolled through his files on her tablet until she found the one she was looking for: the doctor’s report she’d reviewed a few days before. “You tore your calf a few weeks ago, Grade 1, and it still hasn’t fully healed.” She looked up at Daxon. “The doctor thinks the slow healing is a combination of not enough physical rest and possibly stress.”

Daxon shrugged. “I doubt it’s stress. I have the best job in the world. Cliff diving last season, rock climbing this season and a bunch of other adventures planned for the future.”

“But a free solo climb has absolutely no margin for error. One missed foothold, one loose rock, one bee sting—if anything goes wrong, you could die.”

He nodded solemnly, and for a moment she thought she was getting her point through to him, but then he smiled. “That’s why people love to watch it.”

His raspy voice strummed something inside her, but Kendall was trying hard not to be swayed by it, or his enthusiasm. He made it all sound so natural, so...sane. “You’re talking about the rush of all this, but you have to understand that at some level this is stressful, both physically and mentally, even if it’s fun. You jumped out of an airplane with no parachute a few months ago, for God’s sake.”

Daxon flashed her a cheeky grin. “Did you watch?”

This man was incorrigible.

“Maybe,” she hedged. “Just to make sure you got to the ground safely.”

Daxon waved off the comment. “I trusted my partner enough to put my life in his hands. Besides, Calvin wouldn’t have shown the footage if I didn’t make it.”

“Good point,” said Kendall.

He winked at her mischievously. “Which is why my free climb of Moonlight Buttress is going to have a live broadcasting element. Everyone will be watching, wondering if I’ll make it. One slip of my fingers and...” He lifted his hands in surrender, adding, “It ups the stakes.”

“Aaaand now we have the answer to where your added stress level is coming from.”

Daxon’s smile turned cocky.

“Not a chance. I thrive on the pressure. And I perform best that way, too.” He lifted his eyebrows as that last sentence left his lips. “Just in case you’re wondering.”

It was the kind of thing a guy said right before he headed into bedroom talk. She could tell Daxon’s mind went there for a moment by the way his eyes glittered with heat. And despite the fact that it was one step away from a bad pick-up line, that tempting heat traveled right through her body.Don’t get distracted.

“I’m sure your performances are...fine,” she said evenly. His eyes narrowed at that last word. “But that’s still stress, and it has to come out somehow. In your case, it could be taking on physical manifestations.”

“Like tension, which means the slow healing of my calf muscles?”

“Exactly.”

“I see,” said Daxon.

He actually looked serious, like he was really considering what she was saying. He was quiet, staring out the open French doors at the ocean, but she got the feeling he wasn’t seeing it.

And for just a moment, she wondered what it was like to be Daxon Miles. He probably didn’t even let himself think about his own vulnerabilities two weeks before a free solo climb. He’d have to have shut all his doubts out long ago, build a wall so they didn’t creep in. Kendall knew exactly how people like this worked. She’d grown up with a man like this in her very own home.

She studied Daxon for an extra beat. “Can we rewind back to when you answered the door a bit ago?”