Wilder (The Renegades Book 1)

Mykonos

I slid the last of the eggs onto the plate and then added the toast next to the bacon. Two glasses of orange juice and two forks later, I balanced the tray on my way to the guesthouse, carefully navigating the stone path.

It had to be about ten o’clock. I should’ve been on the bike already, but John was still sleeping, and Leah was in my bed. If I hadn’t been carrying her breakfast, I would have jumped into the air and heel-clicked.

Instead, I took extra caution as I opened the door to the guesthouse. She’d need the calories after last night, that was for damn sure. I’d never been with someone like her before, so open, honest in her reactions, so addictive that if I wasn’t worried about wearing her down to exhaustion I’d already be inside her again.

She was perfection.

Leah slept in our bed, her hair tangled around her shoulders, her hand tucked under her pillow and the other reaching for the empty place where I’d slept. The white sheets twisted across her body, and her cheeks still wore a flush—or was that whisker burn? I probably needed to shave.

Shit, I hoped her inner thighs were okay.

A fierce feeling of protectiveness swept over me as I sat on the edge of the bed, setting the tray on the mattress. She was mine. She’d not only said yes on that beach, she’d literally thrown the red flag and trusted me with everything she was. Talk about humbling.

She was mine to protect, to care for.

And I wasn’t going to let that scare me—at least that’s what I told myself as I brushed a strand of hair off her beautiful face. Sure, the last time I did this, officially staked a claim on a woman…well, Leah wasn’t her, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again.

And I still had a month before that whole situation bit me in the ass.

Tell her, she’ll understand, my conscience screamed at me. Maybe I should. Leah wasn’t the kind of girl to cut and run because of my past. Maybe if I came clean now—

Her eyes opened slowly, and she blinked a few times before giving me a sleepy, sexy smile. “Is that bacon?”

I laughed. “That’s exactly what every guy wants to hear the morning after. Forget the ‘how was it for you’ awkwardness and let’s go for the bacon.”

She sat up, covering her magnificent breasts with the sheet. I’d never seen a woman look so good in the morning, especially after I’d kept her up almost all night. “Pretty sure you already know it was good for me,” she said, plucking a piece of bacon from the plate. “I lost count of the orgasms.” She moaned as she chewed, then swallowed. “So good.”

My dick hardened. Down, boy. If I’d thought that spending one night with her would kill my obsession with getting her naked, well…it had done the opposite. Now I knew how she tasted, how tight she was surrounding me, knew how it felt to watch her fly apart and surrender myself in return. She’d gone from an obsession to an addiction overnight.

“I’m sorry, did you need to have the ‘how was it for you’ conversation?” she asked, her head tilted.

“Not really, I already know both sides. Do you?” Now I was the one stealing bacon, reveling in the comfortable domesticity of breakfast in bed with Leah.

“No,” she said, her tone adamant as she sipped orange juice.

“Really?” I’d always been asked, every girl wanting to know where she compared.

“Really. I’m well aware that your numbers are scary high, and I’d rather you not lie to me. So instead, how are we doing for a morning-after in your ranking?”

“First place,” I answered truthfully. “And second, and third, and every place, really.”

Her eyes lit up, and I realized how badly she needed words, needed to be shown that she was wanted. “Really?”

“Really,” I said, grinning and wondering how many times we could say really before it didn’t sound like a word anymore. “This is definitely first place. Second would be waking up next to you in Istanbul. Third was watching you come out of my bedroom yesterday morning, and the rest are ties for every morning since I’ve met you.”

“Those don’t count,” she said, fighting her smile and failing.

“Sure they do. Because every morning since we’ve set sail, I’ve woken up and wondered when I’d get to see you.”

Her lips parted slightly, and I leaned forward, bracing my hands on either side of her hips, and kissed her sweetly. Then I pulled back so she could see my eyes, hoping she’d see the truth. “Last night was the best night of my life, Leah. Hands down. Being with you is unlike anything I’ve ever known.”

Her eyes were huge, the deep pools reflecting the hope I felt in my own heart. “Even better than winning your X Games?” she challenged with a sparkle.

I nodded slowly, the truth catching me by surprise. “You put your faith in me, which isn’t something that happens often. I don’t take that lightly.”

She leaned forward, running her fingers through my hair. “Everyone has faith in you, Paxton. You have an entire entourage that believes in you.”

I shook my head. “Not everything is as simple as what you see. Sure, the Originals, Landon, Penna…Nick.” I closed my eyes against the pain of saying his name before opening them again. “We’re a family—the four of us—but everyone else is just along for the ride. And those cameras? Don’t be fooled. They want to film spectacular stunts for the money, the views, but the outcome works for them either way. People aren’t around us just to watch the tricks, they’re there to see the one time we don’t make it. I get a hell of a lot more hits on a video where I crash than when I pull something off, because fans love their heroes, but they’re always waiting for them to fall. But you…you want to be with me in spite of what I do, not because of it. You put your faith in me as Paxton, not Wilder, and that means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

She kissed me, tasting as sweet as her orange juice. Our lips clung, savored, but never pressed for more; that simple caress was enough.

The door flew open behind us.

“And the cavalry has arrived— Whoa, there’s a girl in your bed!” Bobby’s voice burst my bubble of happiness.

I flung the rest of the sheet around Leah, pulling her into my chest to shield her. Thank God my back was to the door. Shit. The crew was here a day early, and I’d lost any chance of talking to Little John about the stunt “accidents” without everyone else overhearing.

“That’s no girl, that’s Leah,” Landon answered, “and if I know Pax, he’s about to tell you to—”

“Get the fuck out!” I yelled over my shoulder. “And so help me God, if you have a goddamn camera in here I will crush it, Bobby. Do you understand?”

Bobby threw up his hands and backed out of the room, blocking the entrance from the camera that waited outside and leaving just Landon and Penna in the room.

“Ummm…surprise?” Penna said, her face more grimace than smile. “Sorry, we honestly thought you’d love an extra day to practice with the whole crew, so we bribed the captain and pulled in a day early.”

“Great,” I growled, then looked directly at Landon, “now get the fuck out.”

He nodded once, and I felt the scar we’d long since laid to rest rip open. Leah was mine, and I wouldn’t share so much as a glimpse of her bare skin, yet this one precious moment had been trampled on. Landon turned and walked out without another word. Smart man.

“Well, it’s good to see you, or rather, not see you, Leah!” Penna called out.

“You, too, Penna.” Leah’s head dug farther in to my chest, muffling her voice, but she raised a naked arm, waving.

Once I saw the door close behind Penna, I steeled myself for the mess I’d made with Leah. For someone as private as she was, that had to be horrifying. She shook against my chest, and I cringed. Tears were the last thing I wanted to cause her. I tilted her face up to mine and gaped.

She wasn’t sobbing, she was laughing.

“Are you okay? I can’t believe that just happened.”

She wiped away a tear and kept giggling. “Of course nothing with you would be normal. But hey, I guess now we don’t have to worry about having the whole ‘hey guys, we’re together now,’ convo with your crew.”

Her laughter was contagious, and I found myself chuckling with her. “Shortest honeymoon in history, right?”

She kissed my cheek and climbed out of bed, our sheet covering her in the sexiest toga I’d ever seen. “Don’t worry, you have another seven or so months to make up for it.” With a wink, she took her bag and slipped into the bathroom.

Seven months.

Yesterday the time we had left on the cruise seemed like forever, but with one sentence, it suddenly wasn’t long enough.

Not by a long shot.

…

“Man, I am so fucking sorry,” Landon said as I walked over to him at the end of the ramp. “Little John said you were in the guesthouse. He never mentioned Leah.”

“I’d love to say that it’s okay, but it’s not,” I answered honestly. We hadn’t lied to each other in years, and I wasn’t going to start that shit back up again.

He looked away and nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”

I saw the cameras walking in the distance and took advantage. “Listen, I have to ask you about something, and it’s not going to be pleasant.”

He immediately met my eyes. “Anything.”

“The rigs from the first zip-line. Did you store them? Put them away?”

His forehead wrinkled. “No. But if you’re looking for them, the production crew has been stashing most of the stuff under my bed and in my closet. I didn’t want any of the gear getting lost.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we found them the day we were looking for your pack.”

“Oh, okay. Then what’s the deal?” He looked confused, maybe worried, but not guilty.

I let go of the breath I’d subconsciously held. “The brakes had been tampered with.”

His eyes flew wide. “No fucking way. Seriously?”

I nodded.

“Pax, I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right? No matter what’s gone down with us in the past.”

“Yeah. I do. I didn’t even want to ask, but it wasn’t just my life at stake on that thing. Leah was with me.” It was one thing to risk my life following my passion, but another to put hers on the line.

“Okay, well, who else had access to the rigs after you assembled them?”

“I don’t know. I had the crew take them. They were only out of my sight for maybe ten minutes, but I’ve never been worried about this shit.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Yeah. And there’s more. My chest plate from Rome has a clean break. The damn thing is straight. Someone fucked with it.”

“Who knows?”

“Just you and Leah. I was going to bring Little John and Penna in, too. We need all eyes open.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Little John’s been with us the longest, since we were what—seventeen? I’d bring Brooke in, too. She’s family.”

“You don’t think it would be too much after what happened with Nick?” She’d been devastated, and no one could blame her.

“I think she’d kill us if there was a danger to Penna and we kept it from her. Plus, she’s working on a problem that came up while you were cuddled up to Leah. Some of our videos are being hacked on the site. Nothing big, but in combination…”

My stomach tightened. “We’re under attack.”

“It looks like it, and Brooke will know that something’s up.” He motioned behind me where Penna walked down the hill with Leah. The cameras would be coming soon, and it would be game on.

“How’s that going, by the way?” he asked quietly.

“Great until you assholes showed up.”

He clutched his chest. “You wound me.”

“She’s not a fan of all this, and she’s been freaked out since Rome.”

Landon smacked my back. “You found a good one. Try not to fuck it up.”

I bit back the urge to say something that would do more harm than good. Along with being protective of Leah, I was realizing that I was possessive, too. Great if this were the Middle Ages, not so great while filming a documentary where my fuckups could send this brand-new relationship down in flames.

“Is that the kicker he designed?” Penna asked, looking up at the metal piece that dipped down at the end of the ramp.

“Yeah,” I answered as I wrapped my arm around Leah’s shoulders. “He shipped it here. It’s working great. I just can’t seem to nail the full rotation.”

“How’s it going?” she asked, studying the ramp with a practiced eye. Penna was the only one close to keeping up with me on a bike.

“I’m coming down vertical in the third rotation.”

She sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know where her head was, because mine was there every time I hit the ramp. “I’m consistent, Penna. I always make it that far.”

“Yeah, until you don’t,” she muttered. “Look, the live exhibition is in what, seven weeks?”

“Somewhere around there,” Landon chimed in.

“We haven’t announced what you’re doing. Let’s kill it. Pick something else.” A shot of fear raced through Penna’s eyes. “We’re not losing both of you to this fucking trick. It’s not worth it.”

My muscles tensed, and I glanced at Leah’s slightly widened eyes. Damn it, Penna, I wasn’t ready to tell her yet. “No. We all had one thing we wanted to nail on this trip, one trick that would make the documentary phenomenal. This is mine, and it’s the least I can do for him.”

A look passed between the three of us, and they each nodded. “Okay. Then let’s see how to get you there,” Penna offered begrudgingly.

The cameras caught up to us, Bobby looking unapologetic, since he no doubt got the shot he wanted this morning. I needed to call in legal to see how much of the documentary I could cut Leah out of. She didn’t need to be exposed like that, especially not on my account, especially since we hadn’t discussed officially going public.

“Hey, guys, why don’t we show you the ramp?” Penna offered, flashing her mega-watt smile that usually distracted anyone with a dick.

Landon rolled his eyes in my direction but got on board. “Yeah, you’ll probably want to see where he has to start from to build momentum,” he said, guiding the cameras back toward the track and away from Leah and me.

“Tell me now,” Leah demanded once they were out of earshot.

“Leah…” Her name was a sigh on my lips as she moved to stand directly in front of me.

“No one’s ever done this before, right? Completed it? Look at me, Paxton.”

I did, taking in the slight look of panic in her eyes, the stiff way she held herself away from me. “No. No one’s completed it.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, but not in stubbornness. It looked more like she was trying to hold herself together. “Okay. Who’s attempted it?”

My jaw flexed. I didn’t want to answer. I wanted to drag her back to our room and make love to her until she forgot the question. Until we both forgot what was waiting out here.

“Paxton.”

“I only know one other person in the world who’s tried it.”

“Okay, and where is he? Is he still trying to do it, too?”

“I highly doubt it.”

“Why?” Her eyes pleaded with me for the truth.

I gave it to her, breaking the vow of secrecy I’d sworn to him, because I couldn’t bear to lie to her.

“Because he’s in a fucking wheelchair. He couldn’t land the rotation, and the crash paralyzed him.” There it was.

I expected her reaction to be nuclear. It was more of an electromagnetic pulse. There was no explosion, but the light in her eyes, the happy energy she’d had radiating around her all morning, died in a split second.

I would have rather seen her rage than watch those damn walls go back up.

She didn’t say a word, simply kissed me, the press of her lips heavy with fear and a touch of desperation. Then she turned toward where she’d sat all yesterday and walked away.

Yeah. I definitely would have rather had a yelling Leah than a silent one.

When I finally had my gear on, ready to hit the ramp for the first time that day, I looked to where her seat was, expecting to see an empty space.

She sat, her outstretched legs covered in white, gauzy pants, reading one of the literature books Penna had brought with her from our assigned homework.

It didn’t matter to her that what I was doing was dangerous, that any minute she could be sitting in the hospital with me—she was there.

Damn it, that pressure was back in my chest, ten times what it had been, burning with an intensity that only Leah could soothe, because she was the balm to everything that was broken inside me.

I prayed that I didn’t break her, too.