Instant Gratification

exhilarating. “Oh, shut up.”

He grinned. “Can you ride a bike?”

“Well now’s a fine time to ask, but yes.”

“Are you better at riding than driving?”

Okay, that lit a fire under her competitive nature. “I drive just fine.”

“Well as I’ve seen you, we’re going to have to respectfully agree to disagree there.”

“Funny.”

He waggled a brow. “So how about a little race?”

“Is that the bet?”

“Sure.” He smiled. “That’s the bet. Think you can take me?”

She let her gaze slide over his leanly muscled, incredibly fit body. Nice. But she was in shape, too. Sure she’d been eating cheese casseroles for weeks now, all in the name of saving her father’s health, but she was the most determined, stubborn person she knew. Plus surely he didn’t plan to kick her butt twice in a row. He was a man on a mission to get laid so she figured he’d let her have this one. “I do think I can take you.”

He sent her a long, slow grin. “Care to make a little wager?”

“Another bet?”

“Uh huh. Unless you’re afraid of losing. Again.”

Oh, that was it. “If I win,” she said, pointing at him. “You’re taking me to find Thai take-out. I don’t care if we have to fly to Thailand to get it.”

“Deal. And if I win…” His smile turned bad boy wicked. “You’ll go swimming with me.”

“I didn’t bring my bathing suit.”

His smile spread, and her belly fluttered. “I am not going skinny-dipping with you in some lake or river, Stone.”

“So you think you’ll lose then.”

Oh, he was good. She threw her leg over the bike. “You know what? Bring it on.”

“I’ll even give you a head start.”

She’d take that.

“Start slow,” he told her in an easy, comforting voice that shouldn’t have sparked her competitive nature even more, but it did because he didn’t think she could win.

And she was so going to win. She was getting Thai, come hell or high water. “You just want to watch my ass.”

“Well, it is a sweet ass.”

She laughed, then prepared to take off, stopping as something occurred to her. “Okay, maybe you should tell me the difference between street riding and trail riding.”

“Comply with all signs and barriers.”

“That’s just common sense.” Which, not to be egotistical, but she happened to have boatloads of common sense. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Okay, you need to maintain a distance between the bikes.”

“Again,” she said. “Common sense.” The trail was thick with ruts and mud from the previous day’s rain. Distance was a safety issue. “If that’s all there is to this, prepare for your ass kicking.”

He put a hand on her handlebars, stopping her from taking off. “We’re going to try to avoid the trails that are too wet or muddy.”

“Good. I don’t like wet and muddy.”

“I’d like to assure you that wet and muddy have their place, but not with newcomers.” He turned her bike toward another trail that she hadn’t seen, a slightly wider one, that hadn’t been as damaged by the rains. “Ride in the middle and try to avoid side-slipping, which can lead to erosion.”

She stared up at him, her eyes going directly to that face she couldn’t stop looking at. The men in her world might be more refined, more attached to their razors, but she really liked how he looked.

She liked the rugged arrangement of his features, the way his mouth curved so generously-

“Ready?”

“Ready.” She pushed off into the heat and found her sea legs fairly quickly.

“Change gears,” he called out from behind her. “You want comfortable momentum but traction so you don’t slip-”

“I’m fine-oh, shit,” she gasped as she slipped, and quickly changed gears. Not good. If she was going to win this thing, and she planned to, she’d need to concentrate. She wiped her damp brow and did just that.

The trail turned sharply, then went on a decline, and on instinct, she hit her brakes.

“Careful,” he warned. “Don’t lock ’em up.”

“So as not to gouge the trail?” she asked.

“Or die.”

Good to know. She eased off the brakes. The ride wasn’t anything like she’d imagined. For one thing, it was a whole lot harder than she’d expected it to be. They were on a rocky trail and it was bumpy. She had to concentrate on not pitching herself over the handlebars. For another, as the trail widened and Stone came up alongside, she had to concentrate on not staring at him, at all those lean, hard muscles working, at the way his legs churned, how his hands held the grips as if he’d been born to it.

Oh man was she out of her league, so far out of her league, but luckily, he was just as enthralled watching her. He eyed her legs, her arms, her face, and smiled. “Damn if you’re not harder to beat than I thought you’d be,” he murmured.

Good. She planned on taking advantage of that. Finally, far up ahead, through the tree about a hundred yards ahead, she could see where the trail ended, and after half an hour on this seat, she was ready for it to be done. So she dug deep and sped up, taking the lead.

He let her.

When she stood up to pedal harder, she heard his low breath of appreciation at the view she was giving him, and knew she had the win in the bag. She smiled, because God she loved to win-

Suddenly something whizzed by her, and Stone came to a skidding stop on a dime.

Dammit. “You won,” she gasped, barely able to talk through her wheezing for air.

He modestly lifted a shoulder and got off his bike. “If it helps, you very nearly kicked my ass.”

Very nearly wasn’t going to get her out of swimming. She got off her bike as well, too, still huffing and puffing. Sweating. She couldn’t catch her breath, and sounding like a broken locomotive, she turned and looked at the view.

And went still.

Just ahead was an alpine lake, about a mile across, slightly wider than that. It was completely surrounded by towering mountain peaks lined with thick, lush growth. “Oh my God.”

“Hidden Lakes. We passed two others, hidden in the growth. This one’s the furthest, and the hardest to get to.”

She stepped closer to the water lapping at the coarse mountain sand, taking in the cattails lining the edge, the lily ponds in the shallow water, and shook her head. It was so beautiful she could hardly speak.

They were completely isolated, surrounded by three-hundred-feet-tall sequoias and pines.

And alone.

Stone dropped the small backpack he’d worn on the ride. Something inside squawked, and he crouched down, pulling out a radio. “Go ahead, TJ, over.”

“Where are you? Over.”

“Third Hidden Lake. Over.”

“That group going down Cascade Falls tomorrow showed up two days early. Annie and I rushed back to the lodge and they’re pissed. The schedule’s fucked up, and Annie’s bitching because her pies didn’t get delivered, and now I’m double-booked for tomorrow. When the hell are you getting back? Over.”

“If the schedule’s fucked up,” Stone replied, “it’s because you put your grimy fingers on it.” Sitting on his haunches, he sighed and shook his head. “Leave it alone. I’ll fix it when I get back. The two clients yelling at you