Sexy Wreck

Chapter 18

"Damn it! I'm out of film. I left the extra rolls at the cabin."

She sounded so disappointed, but a part of him was relieved. Between yesterday and today she must have taken ten rolls, and while he was cooperating in the name of charity, he wasn't cut out to be a model. "Good, now we can eat." He reached out to where she stood less than two feet away and cupped his hand over her smooth calf, then moved closer and nibbled on her leg with a low, rumbling growl. "I'm so hungry I'm about ready to take a big ol' bite out of you."

She laughed, sidestepping him before he could sink his teeth into that tempting bit of flesh, and sent him a chastising look.

"You know, so much sugar really isn't good for your system."

Sugar and spice and everything nice. Oh yes, she was especially sweet, in every way. "Okay. Lunch first, then dessert."

He waggled his brows at her, making sure she knew he considered her his dessert.

While she put away her camera, he sat up and reached for the extra backpack with the lunch he;d made for two of them. He pulled out three ham and cheese sandwiches - one for her and two for him - a bag of chips, and two cans of soda. She settles in beside him, and he was down with his first sandwich before Axelle finally broke the compatible silence between them.

"Okay, Mr. Matthews" she said, slanting him a speculative glance. "You owe me."

He raised a teasing brow. "What, another orgasm?"

She actually ducked her head and blushed, and he found the gesture very endearing, showing him a softer side to the woman that touched him in long forgotten places. She'd stood toe-to-toe with him during numerous heated arguments since they'd met, had let go of every inhibition with him sexually, and now she'd been struck by a moment of modesty. This sexy yet vulnerable woman never ceased to intrigue him.

"You've more than made up for that, especially this morning." She took a long drink of her soda, then reached for a potato chip. "Remember turnabout being fair play and all that? It's time for you to pay the piper and answer a few of my questions."

He took a big bite of his second sandwich and glanced out at the blue, cloudless sky. He's known this interrogation was coming, knew in his gut what she was going to ask, and had no intentions of skirting the issue as he had for the past four months with her. It was time to get everything out in the open, to let let go of the bad memories and start out fresh and new.

"I'm an open book, sweetheart." he said with an engaging smile. Done with his sandwich, he shoved his empty baggie and napkin into the backpack.

"What would you like to know?"

Her gaze flickered from the puckered skin on his bare abdomen to his face. "Those scars... how did it happen?"

It wasn't often he thought back to the skiing accident that had nearly killed him, and made him realize that not many women were equipped to understand and accept his need for thrills an extreme adventures. "It happened four years ago. Me, a few friends, and our girlfriends took off for a winter vacation in Jackson Hole, and while the women were out of shopping for the day, the four of us guys decided to go heli-skiing."

He saw her confused expression and explained. "That's where a helicopter takes you to the top of a mountain peak in a remote area with virgin snow and untouched terrain. They let you guide off and off you go, down five thousand vertical feet of pure adrenaline rush.

Her eyes widened in shock. "That's absolutely insane."

"That's the whole point of extreme sports." he agreed with a laugh. He'd always loved the challenge and risks involved, which made each adventure all the more exciting. "I've been heli-skiing before, and there's nothing like all that fresh powder, steep slopes, and speed to get your heart pumping and your blood flowing in your veins. Of course, navigating all dangerous if you're not a skilled skier."

Unfortunately, not even his experience, expertise and normally quick reflexes had been enough to save his sorry ass that fateful day. "Everything was going great until I skirted too close to the edge of a rocky peak. I dislodged a boulder and I went down with it. I plunged over the edge of the cliff, right into a ravine, and tumbled a good five thousand feet while being ripped apart and impaled by razor-sharp rocks.

She sucked in a breath and pressed her hand to her heart. "Oh my god, Zeke...."

He knew the horrifying images his words must have put into her mind, but there was no way around the truth of the matter, so he met her concerned gaze and finished his tale.

"Unfortunately, there aren't any safety braked on this kind of thrill ride." he said wryly.

"You just have to hag on and ride it out until the very end. By the time the rough terrain spit me out at the bottom of the mountain, I'd sustained a concussion, four broken ribs and three deep gouges from the jagged rocks that had ripped through my jacket and clothes, which accounts for the scars on my back and lower stomach.

She shook her head in wonder, and her silky hair grazed her chin with the swift movement. "You're luck to be alive."

"Wearing a helmet saved my life, I'm sure. Without it, I would have needed up with more than just a concussion." He didn't go into the unpleasant details of that particular scenario, but it was obvious by her grimace that she'd come to her own glory conclusion. "It also happened that the helicopter was right there to airlift me off the mountain and take me to the nearest hospital. My girlfriend at the time, Georgina, was the first person I saw once I woke up.