Page 45

‘Rope up, Blondie,’ Jack’s voice said, and as she opened her mouth to answer, the ground beneath her suddenly shifted and she was falling.

She didn’t even have time to cry out, sliding fast down the slope towards the edge of the cliff that Jack had described so graphically.

Immediately she braced the axe shaft across her body, digging the pick into the snow slope and raising her feet so that they didn’t catch in the snow. She jerked to a halt and hung there for a moment, suspended, her heart hammering against her chest, her hands tightly locked on her ice axe, which was the only thing holding her on the slope.

She heard Jack calling her name and heard something in his tone that she hadn’t heard before. Panic.

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She didn’t want Jack to panic. Jack never panicked. Ever. Jack panicking was a bad sign. Realising just how close she was to the edge of the cliff, she kept a tight hold on her ice axe and gingerly moved her feet, trying to get some traction with her crampons.

‘Hang on, Bry,’ Tom called cheerfully. ‘Jack’s just coming to get you. You won’t live this one down in a hurry.’

But despite his light-hearted tone, Bryony heard the anxiety in his voice. And it was hardly surprising, she thought ruefully, risking another glance below her. Another couple of metres and she would have vanished over the edge of a sheer cliff.

And it could still happen.

‘Hang on, Blondie,’ Jack called, and she glanced up to see him climbing down towards her, a rope attached to his middle.

‘You think I’m going to let go?’ Her voice shook slightly. ‘You think I’m that stupid?’

As he drew closer she could see his grin. ‘Of course you’re stupid. You fell, didn’t you? And you have blonde hair. You must be stupid. It says so in all the books.’

Bryony tried to smile but then she felt the snow give under her ice axe and she gave a gasp of fright and jabbed her feet into the slope. ‘Jack!’

‘I’ve got you, angel.’ His voice came from right beside her and he slid an arm and leg over her, holding her against the slope while he attached a rope to her waist. ‘God, you almost gave us all a heart attack.’

She turned her head to look at him and his face was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek and see the dark stubble shadowing his hard jaw. He looked sexy and strong and she’d never been so pleased to see anyone in her life.

Then she glanced down at the drop beneath her and thought of Lizzie. ‘Oh, God, Jack,’ she whispered, and she felt his grip on her tighten.

‘Don’t even say it,’ he said harshly. ‘I’ve got you and there’s no way I’m letting you go.’ He glanced up the slope and shouted something to Sean, who was holding the other end of the rope. ‘They’re going to take you up now, sweetheart. Try not to do anything blonde on the way up.’

She gave a weak smile and he smiled back. ‘Go for it.’

And gradually, with the aid of the rope and her ice axe and crampons, she managed to climb back up the slope, aware that Jack was behind her.

Finally she reached the top and Tom rolled his eyes. ‘Thanks for the adrenaline rush.’

‘Any time,’ Bryony said lightly, but she was shaking badly now that the danger had passed, and Jack must have known that because he pulled her into his arms and held her until his warmth and strength gradually calmed her.

He didn’t speak. He just held her tightly, talking all the time to Sean and Tom as they reassessed the best way to get safely down the increasingly treacherous slope.

Bryony stood in the circle of his arms, wishing that she could stay there for ever. There was no better place in the world, she decided, closing her eyes and breathing in his tantalising male scent.

And when he finally released her she felt bereft.

She looked at him, trying to keep it light as he checked the rope at her waist. ‘I didn’t know you were into bondage.’

He smiled down at her as he pulled on the rope. ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Blondie,’ he drawled, his blue eyes teasing her wickedly. ‘There’s no point in learning to do all these fancy knots if you don’t put them to good use.’

She smiled and then her smile faltered. ‘Thanks, Jack.’ Ridiculously she felt close to tears. ‘I would have done the same for you.’

He winked at her, maddeningly self-confident. ‘I wouldn’t have fallen, babe.’

She gasped in outrage. ‘You arrogant…!’ Words failed her and he smiled and flicked her cheek with a gloved finger.

‘That’s better. At least you’ve got your colour back. Let’s get moving.’

He turned to Sean and she realised that his inflammatory statement had been a ploy to rouse her to anger. Which meant he must have guessed how close she’d been to tears.