“Adding Ben to the climb will cost you an extra twenty percent,” he told his client, because it was more mature than tugging her braid or chasing her around the tarmac. The noise that escaped River’s throat was close to a growl. It was cute, even though she had been driving him crazy all morning.

“You’re running fast and loose with my credit score, Easton.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’ll live. I’m planning on bringing you back down here in one piece.”

Moving closer, Easton dipped his head to catch her eye. She frowned, a frown that probably convinced most people to do what she wanted. Easton needed more than a frown from a pretty woman to make a bad decision.

No, when it came to River, it was when she was smiling at him that he started making all the wrong choices.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

A fingernail poked him in the chest. “If you want to sexy loom, bring it on. Sexy loom to your heart’s content. You see this?” She gestured to herself, neck to knees. “Unaffected. Un…a…ffected.”

“You’re wasting a lot of effort trying to convince me of a lot of things today.”

“And you’re going to see what happens when you try to force a cowgirl into a corner. We don’t wait patiently for someone to save us. Or dance with us. Or do that Dirty Dancing lifting move. We are not doing any lifting moves, Easton.”

Barking out a laugh, he stepped back. “I have literally no idea what to say to that.”

River exhaled a hard breath, eyes lingering on his shoulders, then sliding down to his chest and abdomen. “You realize it’s only seven in the morning, and you’ve got me ready to start some hard drinking.”

“It’s nine. You spent two hours not listening to the safety talk.”

“It’s still day drinking.”

An old, life-weary Jeep pulled up to the parking lot, looking like it could use a drink or two as well. The driver, a fit climber in his early twenties, popped out with an enthusiastic wave.

“Hey, man,” Ben greeted Easton, a hand clasp turning into a hug. “Boy, you surprised me this morning. Can’t say I mind though. You know I love taking a run at the Old Man anytime I can.”

“Congratulations, folks,” Jessie murmured into his camera. “We’ve found another overly developed male specimen. This one had daddy issues and is two feet shorter than our monotone leader, which will help tell them apart.”

Easton gave River a pained look, but she shrugged. “Hey, I only pay him. I don’t control him. Your climb, right? Us peons have to do as we’re told.”

Turning to the entire group, Easton made introductions. “Ben, these are the three stooges. Get ready to sign a ridiculous amount of paperwork to be in their company. Three stooges, this is Ben. He’s coming with us. Congratulations, you have yourself better than a two to one client-guide ratio.”

“Almost a private tour,” Ben added cheerfully, reaching over to shake everyone’s hands. The poor guy almost swallowed his tongue when he set eyes on Bree. Ben mumbled under his breath to Easton. “Damn, that woman is beautiful. How do you work with her without going all tongue-tied?”

Bree raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t her “love at first sight” eyebrow.

“Don’t hit on my crew, Ben,” River said firmly. “Especially if they’re not interested.”

Jessie peered over the top of his camera. “I think she put you in your place.”

Ben seemed crestfallen, but only for a moment. Then he grinned at them. “A trip up the Old Man is always better than staying at home. I’ll take it.”

“Hey,” Ash yelled. “I’ve got more jobs to do today than hauling you lot around. Stop flirting and start grabbing your crap.”

Throwing him a smirk, River looked at Easton. “She’s talking to you.”

“She’s talking to you.”

“She’s talking to all of you,” Jessie decided, stealing the copilot seat. “All right, people. Tuck your sex drives in your back pockets. Let’s make a documentary.”

If looks could kill, Ash would have flown them right into the mountainside. Instead, she started the rotor, checking her instruments one last time.

“If anyone asks, I was not party to any of this,” his sister muttered under her breath.

River waggled her eyebrows at him as she followed Bree into the helicopter. “Welcome to the dark side, Easton.”

Considering the view as he climbed in after her, Easton figured this once, the dark side was worth it.

Chapter 9

   River had flown before, and she’d even been in a helicopter. But nothing had prepared her for the reality of flying to Mount Veil.

The heavy whip of the rotor blades above her head drowned out everything but the rapid beating of her heart. Below her feet, the flat, sparsely vegetated tundra gave way to huge slabs of rock thrusting into the sky, peaks speckled white with snow despite the summer warmth. In the distance, growing closer by the second, was a mountain rising higher than the rest. A beautiful behemoth of ice and snow, darkened below the tree line with thick evergreen cover.

River had never seen anything so exciting—and so frightening—in her life.

“That’s Mount Veil,” Easton informed them, speaking louder to be heard over the rotor blades as they approached.

That was her film. That was what she would climb. Without thinking, River reached over and gripped Easton’s hand. She couldn’t remember the last time she had wanted to do something as much as she wanted to climb the mountain before them. The challenge was intense, and that was what she loved about it.

“You ready?” He gave her fingers a light squeeze.

“So ready,” River replied.

The helicopter was strong, but it wasn’t big enough to carry all of them and their gear. This first trip was River, her team, and Easton, and then Ben and the supplies would follow. So far, the flight out had consisted of listening to Bree and Jessie argue about light reflection in the aircraft’s windows while River stared in wonder through the lens of her own eyes.

Wedged in between River and the door, Easton didn’t look very comfortable. Every so often, she would glance over at him, and more than once, his eyes had been on her instead of looking at the insane view around them.

Maybe he was used to this place, but still…she couldn’t help her racing heartbeat from being the center of his attention.

“You might want to look out the window,” Easton suggested. “You’ll be too tired to care about a pretty view when we’re on the way back home.”