“Princess, if you’re passing out from anything, it’ll be hypothermia.” He eyed her backpack. “Did it cross that pretty little head of yours to put on a fucking jacket before you traipsed through Norway?”

Wow, he was really doling out the backhanded compliments today. She glared. “I had a jacket, which I took off when I got too warm.” She wasn’t a complete idiot. Maybe her clothing choices didn’t line up with what he thought was smart, but she had come prepared. Mostly.

“You’re not too warm now.”

She followed his gaze down and nearly groaned when she saw her nipples, very present and accounted for, pressing against the thin fabric of her sundress. Determined not to give him the satisfaction of showing how uncomfortable she was, she lifted her chin…and was instantly caught in his sea-green eyes.

Chapter Eight

Luke was about to demand that Alexis put her damn jacket back on when she kissed him. He should hustle her back to the hotel and get her properly clothed before she ended up sick, but all he did was pull her closer and kiss her back. It was even better than last time, her tongue stroking along his and tasting like peppermint. Alexis dropped her pack and leaned fully against him, her breasts pressing against his chest. He gave in to the need to reach down and cup her ass under her dress, and he nearly went to his knees when he found her wearing another thong. “If I’d hiked up here behind you, we never would have made it.”

She laughed against his mouth. “Hmm? Maybe that’s why those guys never passed me on the trail.”

Jealousy hit him, even more potent than their first night together. He wound his hand through her hair, forcing her head back so she had to look at him. “You flashed a little extra ass at them on purpose¸ didn’t you?”

Her hazel eyes were defiant. “Even bent over at the waist to tie my boots once or twice.”

The thought of those nameless men staring at her perfect ass—at any of her—made Luke see red. A rational part of his mind pointed out that she was likely just goading him, the same way she had with the soccer players, which gave him pause for half a second before a wicked thought occurred. Two can play that game. “You want to give some stranger a show?”

He cast a quick look around the cliff, but everyone else had cleared out, leaving them alone. Satisfied there was no one else here to see, he reached up and pushed one strap of her dress off her shoulder. The wet fabric clung to her breast, and so he was forced to give it another tug. The white bra was soaked through, revealing a clear outline of her nipple, but he didn’t give in to the temptation to suck her there. Instead, he met her gaze as he pulled the lace down to bare her. “We can do that.”

Her chest rose and fell with each harsh breath, and she arched her back, pressing her breast into his hand. “There you go again—all talk and no walk.”

“You can push all you want. I’m doing this in my own time.”

“And if I say no?”

He stopped his meandering path up her side and met her gaze. “Are you saying no?”

She licked her lips, and her body shook as a shiver overtook her. He wished he could chalk it up to lust, but the ugly truth was they were standing outside in cold rain and she wasn’t even close to properly dressed. He’d have to be some kind of dick to push her when there was a very real risk of hypothermia if they didn’t get moving and to shelter. Cursing, Luke pulled her bra up and fixed her dress. Then he made himself let go of her and step back. Strangely enough, that was even more difficult than covering up the nipple begging for his mouth.

Alexis frowned. “I didn’t say no. Hell, I’m half a second away from screaming yes, yes, yes. Who’s getting cold feet now?”

“Both of us.” He motioned at the sky. “If you still want it, I’m more than happy to spend a few hours warming you up with my mouth—but not until we get off this godforsaken cliff. Where are you staying?”

She seemed to consider not answering, but then she let out a shuddering breath. “The lodge in Jørpeland. I took the bus here.”

“It’s your lucky day, then. I rented a car.” He’d driven in from Stavanger since he had no idea where she was. At least she was closer.

“My lucky day? That remains to be seen.” Without another word, she marched off in the direction of the path.

All Luke really wanted to do was sit down and rest his damn knee, but he followed her anyway. He’d lived through worse pain, with a shittier end result. Alexis, in bed again. Even as he struggled down the boulders, keeping an eye on her in case she got cocky and fell as a result, he couldn’t help wondering if this was one hell of a mistake.

One night could be called a moment of insanity, brought on by adrenaline, snarky commentary, and a convenient bar brawl. Once he’d kissed her and she’d thrown down her challenge, the end result was all but written on the wall. To do it a second time… That was damn near premeditated. He was supposed to be protecting her, not bending her in half and fucking her into submission.

Though that was a thought. Maybe if he kept her exhausted from constant sex, she’d be too drained to take off without him again.

Luke shook his head, breathing hard as he dropped off the last boulder and to the relatively flat ground. It was only the first in a long descent, but he felt as if he’d really accomplished something. Then Alexis glanced back, a small line between her brows. “Are you okay? We can stop for a few minutes if you need it.”

She thought he was weak. Weak enough that she was offering him an easy out. There wasn’t exactly pity on her face, but the compassion was only a step away. He’d seen it too many times over the last couple years, and having it appear on her face was the last thing he wanted. “I don’t need a break.”

He shouldered past her and picked up his pace, even though his knee screamed at the strain. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t weak. He refused to be. All that mattered was getting to the bottom of this fucking mountain and shoving Alexis in a room so she wouldn’t wander off while he had a chance to recover. She could shove her pity while she was at it.

“With that permanent thundercloud you have hanging around your ears, it’s no wonder it’s raining.”

“Life’s not all rainbows and sunshine, princess. The sooner you figure that out, the better.” He’d known that ever since he was a kid, when Aunt Rose had to step in because his deadbeat mother bounced out and left him to fend for himself at the tender age of seven. That truth was only reinforced as he grew up and joined the Air Force, where he had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand the horrible shit that people did to one another in wartime. The truth was that life wasn’t pretty or clean or neat. It was a goddamn mess.

She made a pissed-off hissing sound. “For the last time, you don’t know a single thing about me. So take your bad attitude and shove it up your ass.”

She was right. He, of all people, shouldn’t be judging the hell out of her without hearing her story. He knew that, but it was so goddamn hard to focus when his instincts were all fucked up when it came to this woman. Part of him—a very large part—wanted to protect her, even though it was obviously the last thing she wanted. The other part of him blamed her for prying him out of his comfortable misery back home. He knew that holing up in Aunt Rose’s basement wasn’t a legit life decision—in fact, he was pretty sure she was less than a month from kicking his ass to the curb in her usual tough-love style—but it had been comfortable. Now, because of Alexis, he was in fucking Norway, hiking down a cliff where each step was agony.

It wasn’t her fault. Not really. But he needed his anger to get through the next few hours, so he wrapped it around himself and used it to propel him down the mountain path. A little longer. Just a little long and he could rest.