Page 36 of Pure Temptation

Her smile widened. “Maybe.”

He kissed her one more time, slowly, reminding her of all the reasons she should say yes. Then he sighed and pulled away before he took it too far.

“Best day ever,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

Then she turned around and walked inside, giving him one last smile over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her. Daxon stared at the cabin, blinking, still not ready to walk away. He turned and sat down on her front step. His heart was still pumping from the kiss, and his head was full of memories from the day. At the cliffs, at the beach, in the water...shit.

He had to figure this out, to get this right. Unfortunately, he still didn’t know whatrightmeant for Kendall and him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

KENDALLSTOODOUTSIDEDaxon’s door, her knuckles just inches from the wood, waiting. Why was she hesitating? After the trip to South Point, the days had flowed quickly, with his stretches and massages mixing with the rest of her clients’, but their nights were always together. It wasn’t like anything had changed, not really. But this was his last full day at the Kalani. She would be his physical therapist for one more morning, and she’d spend one final night with him before he went back to being Daxon Miles, YouTube phenomenon. Before he left to free solo Moonlight Buttress.

After their excursion together, the idea of letting him go was getting harder. He felt so close, so real.Theyfelt real together. Kendall shook her head. This week was supposed to be an exercise in living in the moment, not ruining her joy with worries about the future. She had promised herself a fun fling, and that’s what this was...right?

In their first conversation about risks and consequences back in Costa Rica, she had been quick to point out that his risk assessment was about him, not others. But now, as she stood outside his door, she understood another layer of this complicated puzzle. People were much better at assessing practical risks, risks that could be measured in statistics, such as how likely it was to die when fighting fires for almost twenty years. But what about those that were less clear, emotional risks? Like the risk that she wouldn’t be able to move on easily after he left? The risk that he’d leave a big, gaping hole in the newfound happiness of her life in Hawaii?

Still, every concern was full of unknowns. She had spent so much time worrying about her father getting trapped during fire season that a crushed arm hadn’t even crossed her mind. Had it crossed her father’s when he had chosen his path?

Kendall massaged her forehead.Focus on this last day together. She could spend the next week or ten overanalyzing. Until then, she just had to shut this off. And if she didn’t do it soon, Daxon would probably open the door on her again, and this time she wasn’t wearing cowboy boots.

Kendall straightened up and knocked, and the knob turned almost immediately. Had he been watching her out the little side window as she angsted over him? Nope, not going to think about that either.

Daxon opened the door, one large hand leaning against the doorframe. Her heartbeat kicked up another notch when she saw him, all ripped muscles and golden tan in a T-shirt and shorts. She had touched him so many times over the last five days, both professionally and personally, that she wasn’t expecting for her heart to thump so hard when he stood in the hallway.

The memories from the past week before were clear. The sleek muscles of his forearms, the bulges of his tight biceps against his shirtsleeves. She took in his full lips, his gray-green eyes. He looked like he was drinking her in, too.

Kendall gave herself a little shake, coming to her senses. She was at work.

“Ready for your last day of personal healing coach treatment?” she asked, raising his eyebrow.

Daxon’s laugh was an easy rumble. “Not making sexy jokes is killing me.”

“The world is a darker place for it,” she said drily, but she couldn’t stop from grinning, too.

He motioned for her to come into the living room, and she sat on the couch, opening up her tablet. He sat down next to her, not quite touching.

She bit her lip. “I want to start creating a care plan for after you leave.”

He nodded, looking a little more serious.

“I don’t want you to get hurt again,” she added softly.

Daxon sighed. “Believe it or not, I’m getting cautious as I get older. Calvin warned me that I was aging out of the adrenaline sports world.”

Kendall frowned. “He’s worried your body might break down on you, so he’s planning to fit in as many things as possible before that happens?”

“That doesn’t make him sound like a very good friend, does it?” His voice was getting tighter.

“He sounds like a great business strategist. But you’re the one who has to live with the consequences. Then again, it doesn’t sound like you’re too worried about it, either.”

He paused, then let out his breath. “Point taken.”

Daxon looked out through the French doors, at the deep blue ocean in the distance, his expression serious. Then he turned to her, looking at her straight in the eye.

“So what’s your recommendation, Kendall?”

The truth was on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to tell him to quit, to back out of the climb, to stay away from any other extreme activities. Lord, she wanted to, and the tightness in his jaw made her suspect that Daxon knew this. Maybe that’s why he had asked. She was trying like hell to remain objective. He was a client, and she had to give him professional advice. So she swallowed back her emotions and gave him an answer that could pass as objective.