Adoring Ink (Montgomery Ink #6.5)(13)

And though it scared her, she wanted to try it, wanted to feel the wind on her face and know her body was floating, if only for an instant.

The fact that she'd be tied up to Brody along the way only made it that much better-and perhaps scarier.

They were the second couple to go, the first couple veterans of bungee jumping. Holly had on her helmet and gear and pressed herself closely to Brody's side.

"This is my first time, too," Brody whispered.

She turned to him. "What? I thought you knew what you were doing." She swallowed hard, her mouth going dry.

"There are some things on my list, too. But I figured I should mention that I hadn't done this before. Now I feel like I did the wrong thing."

She shook her head and hugged him hard. "We can do this. We'll just make it our first time together."

He chuckled roughly and whispered in her ear, "We'll take it nice and slow and lose our virginities. Don't worry."

She kissed him hard then sucked in a breath as the instructor called their names. With her shoulders rolled back, she got into position and followed every one of their rules and listened hard for what to do. The people in charge set everything up and triple-checked things before patting them on the shoulders, telling them what to do for the fourth time. With something like this, she'd have taken the fifth time, too.

She and Brody were pressed tightly together, ready to literally take the plunge. She wasn't sure if she wanted to think about that as a symbol or not, but regardless, she couldn't think about it right then.

Brody let out a breath. "Ready, Holly?"

She nodded. "Ready."

For what, she didn't know. 

"I've got you," he said calmly. "Always."

Then they jumped.

Or more like tilted to the side and fell, but it sure felt like a jump. Wind rushed past them so quickly she couldn't scream. Her body felt weightless for a bare instant before it went too heavy and they bounced back. She couldn't quite comprehend everything she was seeing, but she knew she'd never forget it.

She'd never forget the way things rushed past her.

The way the water below them gurgled and shone in the light.

The way the wind slid over her face and slapped at her.

And she'd never forget the smile on Brody's face or the look of wonder that washed over him.

Never in all her days would she forget.

By the time the guys at the bottom pulled them down and set them apart, Holly was ready to hold Brody close and never let him go.

"I've never felt more … just more!" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh my God, Brody, we need to do that again."

His eyes widened, and he kissed her hard. "I was afraid I'd pee my pants at first because, hell, did you see what we just did? But having you in my arms made it easier. We made a pretty good team, Holly."

Yeah, they did. They made the best team.

And when they got to her place later, she'd have to tell him a little more about herself. She was ready, and it was time.

She just didn't know if she wanted it to push him away, or keep him closer. She just didn't know …

And that scared her.





By the time they picked up something to eat and got to her place, the adrenaline had worn off but not the need to talk to Brody. Holly didn't know why she had this urge, other than she knew it was past time she showed him more of herself.

They were sitting on her couch eating the sandwiches they'd picked up from the local deli when Brody looked over at her with a frown.

"What?" she asked, picking at her meal.

"For someone who just went bungee jumping for the first time and apparently loved it, you look a little sad. What's up, baby?"

She set her food down and turned so she was sitting cross-legged on the couch facing him. "Did you ever think it was weird that I wanted to do all of these things out of the blue?"

Brody set his drink down and turned so he was fully facing her as well. He reached out and took her hand, and she was grateful for it. "Not really, honestly. We all have some points in our lives when we want to do something different or change things. I find it lucky that I was there, being a horrible eavesdropper when you were talking about it." He grinned, and her heart did that annoying thing where it sped up merely at the sight of him.

She could not afford to fall in love with Brody Deacon.

But damn it, she already had.

Holly pulled her gaze from him and gave her small home a glance. "I've lived here without changing much after the initial updates for years. I like the way everything settled down, and how I can pretty much stay here for long periods of time without needing things. You see, I'm not one to leave the house to go dancing, and I've never been to a club to drink with my friends."

Brody winced. "We can change that if you want, but I think I'm getting old since watching late teens and early twenty-somethings writhe to too loud music makes my jaw ache."

She shook her head, a smile playing on her face. "I don't want to go clubbing. You're right, that's so not me. And though I've been doing new things, going out and hurting my ears and subsequently my feet from dancing or standing in heels for too long isn't really list worthy."




       
         
       
        
He squeezed her hand. "Good to know. Now, why don't you tell me what's really on your mind, Holly? You can tell me anything."

"That's the thing," she whispered. "I feel like I can, but I've never really told anyone this before." She met his gaze, worried once again that she was making a mistake. "And we're … well, I don't know what we are, but going into depth about things like my childhood seems like something pretty serious, and I don't know if we're that."

There. She'd said part of it.

His face tightened a bit, and she wanted to kick herself.

Why did she have to bring up their relationship like that? No good could come from it.

"You can talk to me," he said slowly, his voice a little hoarse. Apparently, he was going to gloss over the serious relationship part, and frankly, she wasn't sure if that bothered her or not.

"Okay, then." She took a deep breath. "So, I'm the good girl."

He grinned at her then. "Not when I was spanking you last night."

She blushed and shook her head. "That is not what I'm talking about, and you know it."

"My mind is usually on sex one way or another. I can't help it with you in the same room with me."

She closed her eyes, holding back a laugh. He sure wasn't making this easy. "So, like I was saying … I'm the good girl. The one that never does anything out of the ordinary. I'm the nice one. The one that doesn't step on toes. I'm trying to change that, at least the ordinary part. I don't want to change how nice I am because I'm not going to be a bitch to make other people happy." She frowned. "That didn't make any sense."

He reached over and tugged on her hair. "I get you. Keep going."

"I never really went out before. I mean, I did some with Jake, but not really." At Brody's look, she winced. "Sorry. I know bringing him up is weird because he's both of our friend, but he was really the first guy I went out with that pushed me a bit. But he didn't push me enough. Not like you do."

His eyes darkened. "I push? Because if I'm doing that, I need to know, Holly. I never want to hurt you."

She shook her head. "I'm doing this all wrong. You push me because I ask to be pushed. You show me what I've missed all this time hiding behind my sweaters and books. I've always loved who I am because of what I've accomplished, Brody. I've loved me because I was the one that had to do everything on my own. I didn't have anyone else to rely on. And because of that, I turned into someone with all these shields around me, so many that I forgot how to have fun. How to live. You've shown me so much since we first met, and I'm always going to be grateful for that. Because during all of that, you never once tried to change me. You let me be me." 

"That's what you wanted, Holly. I'm not going to change you. I like the way you are. And since I'm me and thinking about sex even now, I like you in those cardigans. The buttons are hot as hell to undo when you're biting your lip like you are right now."

She snorted, a laugh threatening to escape. "You're horrible, you know that?"

Brody shrugged. "You like it."

"Yeah, I do." She loved it. But this wasn't the time to mention that. "Anyway, there's a reason I'm like this, or I was like that."

He didn't say anything, so she continued.

"My mom got sick when I was a child. It wasn't cancer, but it was a lung infection that got really bad for a while. She eventually got healthy, but she wasn't the same. I think she got used to me being around to take care of her, and never wanted that to change. So from the time I was seven until I turned eighteen and moved away to go to college on scholarships I applied for myself, I was at her beck and call. Anything she needed, I was there for her. Any time she felt like she was going to get sick again, it was this whole thing where I had to stay home from school and care for her. I took her to doctor after doctor, who said that she was healthy, but she refused to believe them. I lost what few friends I had when I was a child because I could never see them, and I almost had to stay back in school a year because I had missed so much. Thankfully, I was getting good enough grades that somehow I slid through and graduated with honors, but it was close."