Hunted: Chapter 15

We joined the lasses, and Max threw an arm around Rory’s shoulders. “Want to hang out with us for the night?”

“You bet. We’ve been waiting for you. At least Elise has.”

Max grinned. “Elise, sweetheart, ye should’ve said. There was me thinking ye were a goner for Cameron. It was me all along. Sorry, cuz.”

Elise reached out and shoved his arm but sidled closer to me. We set out together, our friends going on ahead.

Suddenly, all was right with the world.

“How’s your dog?” the lass asked.

“She’s staying with Lochie and his family until I get home. She loves Isla, their daughter. I spoke to her last night—”

“Wait, you called and spoke to her?”

I quirked an eyebrow. “She needs to know I’m still alive. She’s a sensitive animal.”

“And you are incredibly sweet.”

If she knew the thoughts I had about her, she’d think otherwise.

Elise continued. “I’m kind of surprised you left. You’re so attached to your home.”

“Aye. But I’ll leave it if there’s a good reason.”

“Guarding Leo?”

“That plus the fact I’ve been going out of my mind and needed the headspace.”

Elise peeked up. “Was I the cause of that?”

“Subject change. Want to go through your super fan thoughts?”

She sighed. “I’m trying not to talk to you about that. Keep my drama from your door, or whatever.”

“Does that include if I ask?”

She watched me for a long moment. “Okay, maybe in the morning. I’m kind of wired. My manager has been bugging me all night about switching out security, plus a thousand other issues, and my head is bursting. I guess you know why I didn’t go onstage tonight.”

“No clue.”

“Leo didn’t say anything?”

“Why would he?”

She chewed on that for a minute. “I guess because you’re family, he would’ve shared. But then again, I assumed you’d told everyone about my breakdown and what I did to your car.”

“I didn’t tell a soul.”

Elise touched her shoulder to my arm. “I made a decision about you earlier.”

“What was that?”

“That I’d trust you and be honest about what happened back in the spring. What led to me being a maniac.” She hesitated. “God, saying that out loud makes me sound like such a diva. Like I’m gracing you with honesty. I really mean that I owe you an explanation.”

“I understood. I wanted that back then.”

“And now?”

We both stopped. To our right, Rory and Max approached a fairground ride, jostling each other.

A surge of…something rattled me, and I swung my attention back to Elise. “Aye, princess. I still do.”

“Hey, Cam,” Max shouted. “Jumping on here. Join us?”

He pointed at a Ferris wheel, Rory already paying for tickets.

“One second.” I returned my gaze to Elise. “What were ye about to tell me?”

“When we met, I was in this state of shock. My therapist called it acute anxiety. Daylight scared me. You scared me for a while.”

I hated that, but I understood.

“I’ve spent the past three months working on an art house movie, spending my days off in some pretty intensive therapy. Every threat seemed huge, and you were the biggest. Perceived threat, I mean. Deep down I knew you were the good guy, but I can’t use any of this to justify what I did to you.”

“I dinna care about the car,” I said. “I just wanted ye to be okay.”

Her chest inflated on a breath. “I’m getting there.”

Another long look had my heart thudding hard.

“Come on,” Max shouted.

“Want to?” I asked Elise.

“Anything, Sir Knight,” she said with a quick grin. “What? You call me Princess, I need something to call you. You’re always there and ready to rescue. It fits.”

We moved to the ride and got into a two-person, open-framed, rickety old chair seat.

I leaned forward and called to my cousin in the chair ahead. “Max. If this thing breaks down, I’m not rescuing your arse.”

“It won’t break down,” the ride attendant assured me.

Max twisted around and peered up and down the frame. “Maybe it’ll add extra fun to the night.”

“Are we not fun enough?” Rory said with mock horror.

“Ye, sweetheart,” Max replied, “are five foot nothing of trouble.”

With a clank, the ride started up. Slowly we began to climb, the warm evening no fresher the higher we went. At my side, Elise pressed her knee against mine, her gaze fixed.

I nudged her. “Something wrong?”

“I’m not the greatest fan of heights,” she confessed.

“And you’re telling me this now?”

She groaned and placed her face in her hands. “I’m trying to impress you. This is me, still not being a diva.”

I chuffed a laugh and ran my arm around her shoulders. It was intended to reassure her, but heat hit me, a full-body wake-up of exactly how attracted I was to this woman.

The ride swung us in an arc above the festival, picking up speed.

Elise huddled closer.

Around us, the site spread out, and the fire pits that the festival was famous for glowed in the night. But I had eyes for none of it. All I could concentrate on were the places where Elise touched my body. Her head on my chest. Her arm creeping around to hug mine.

“Oh God, we’re so high up,” she mumbled.

“Princess?”

She peered up at me, wide-eyed and so gorgeous, our faces inches apart. I framed a sentence about trying to distract her, but the words wouldn’t come.

Every rational thought fled.

Instead, I closed the distance between us and pressed my mouth to hers.

Elise whimpered and curled her fingers into my T-shirt, just as I’d pictured. I tilted my head and brought my hand to her face, blocking her features in case any arsehole was out there with a camera.

A vague rattling sound was the backdrop to our moment of passion. The ride slowed, getting higher, but our kiss only ramped up.

Elise’s lips moved with mine. She opened for me, and our tongues met in a blaze of electricity. Her taste boosted my already heightened state of awareness, until there was only her.

Desperation met my usual reservation and blew it away.

This was all new. The burst of perfect chemistry. The matched will to progress this on. I pressed her into the seat, and her grip on me tightened.

Violent want surged.

“Uh, Cameron?” Max’s voice broke into my heady state.

“No,” I said for Elise’s benefit. “Cameron isn’t available right now. Please call back later when he isn’t having the time of his life.”

Elise giggled.

“Seriously, man,” Max tried again.

I pulled back but still could only stare at Elise.

She blinked at me, then at our surroundings. “We’ve stopped.”

Max’s voice returned. “Aye, we have. If ye two have finished, I think something’s wrong. Check out the guys below.”

I stood carefully and peered down the centre of the Ferris wheel. At the base, two men poked at the mechanism. A third man joined them, talking into a radio.

“How long have we been stopped?” I asked Max.

“A couple of minutes.”

His tone changed. Max acted the fool half of the time, but on a mission he was a different man. It was that side of Max that I was looking at now.

My adrenaline spiked, already elevated from kissing Elise.

“We’re stuck?” she said, pale. “Rory’s scared of heights, too. She’d never admit it, but she is.”

“Hey,” Max yelled at the men. “What gives?”

“Remain seated, sir.”

“Did ye break down?

A hesitation followed. “There has been a small technical difficulty.”

Groans echoed from every couple on the ride.

“I need to get off.” Rory’s voice was laced with panic.

Elise clutched my arm. Her breathing came fast, and her grip hardened.

I turned her head so her gaze was on me. “We’re going to get off this thing.”

“I know. But my heart won’t stop racing.”

Mine was, too. First from the kiss and then from the need to take action.

In the other seat ahead of us, Max talked fast to Rory. I caught the overtones of their conversation. She wanted to jump down. He was doing his level best to calm her.

From below, the ride manager’s radio barked. He stalked away, out of earshot, returning to say something low to his colleagues.

“Hey,” I shouted after him. “Update us, man.”

He forced a smile. “We can’t restart the wheel. But I have great news. You’ll all be free in no time. We’ve contacted the experts at the fire service, and they’ve given us a timescale of the next couple of hours. Everything will be fine.”

“No,” Elise whispered.

“Two hours?” Rory yelled. “You have to be kidding me.”

Their chair rocked, and she yelped, sitting down again, hard.

Below us, the people in the lower seats struggled out then dropped to the ground. On the far side of the Ferris wheel, more stood, clearly planning the same.

We were at the pinnacle of the ride, the two seats behind us empty.

“I can’t sit here for two hours, Cameron,” Elise whispered. “I have to get down. I have to.”

Right.

“Max. Tell me what ye can see,” I demanded.

My cousin locked gazes with me. There was no way either of us would just sit here with our fate in someone else’s hands. We were trained in rescue. We knew heights and climbing like the backs of our hands.

As one, the two of us began our recon.

“The frame’s spaced out at decent intervals.” I scanned the mechanism. “It’s dry, grip will be good.”

“Movement in the chairs,” Max observed. “Got to watch out for that swinging action.”

“Doable, though.”

“Aye, nae problem. Like walking down a ladder.”

Elise placed her hand on my arm, drawing my attention back to her. “Are you thinking about climbing down?”

I rubbed her fingers, ignoring the rapid beat of my heart. “Only if you’re with me. How do you feel about that?”

“Oh, hell yes,” Rory called. “I’d rather risk my neck climbing down than sit here for hours.”

I brushed my thumb over Elise’s knuckles, waiting on her answer.

She scrunched her eyes closed, and a divot formed on her forehead. “I trust you. You wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t safe.”

Sheer pleasure at her words rocked me. “I wouldnae put ye in danger.”

“Cameron, we’re going for it,” Max advised. “I’m going to guide Rory down.”

Their chair rattled, and my cousin swung his leg over the side, easily manoeuvring himself onto the bar that connected to the middle of the ride. From there, it was a straightforward descent down the angled bar and into the centre, then onto the opposite diagonal one that led to the chair nearest the ground.

“Watch Rory,” I suggested to Elise. “If ye feel ye can do this, we’ll go next. If ye cannae, we’ll wait until the fire brigade comes.”

Elise opened her eyes, and the lights of the fairground glittered in their depths. She sucked in a deep breath and eased herself to her feet, shifting to view our friends in their attempt for freedom. I bent in close behind her and braced my hands on the bar either side of hers.

Her backside grazed my crotch, and my dick twitched.

Not the time.

With careful coordination, a nimble Rory followed Max. He took pains to show her exactly where to put her hands and feet, and in a couple of minutes, they were at the centre.

“Clear,” he shouted to us.

Elise released a breath. “Our turn.”

“Ye sure?”

“Absolutely. If my— If Rory can do it, so can I.”

With slow, methodical moves, minimising the swing of the chair, I clambered out onto the structural bar. Shaking, Elise stood on the seat, her expression petrified.

A gust of wind in the otherwise calm night swung the chair, and she yelped.

“You’ve got this. I’ve got ye.”

She gritted her jaw and reached for my hand. One sandalled foot landed on the riveted bar, and she pushed away from the chair. Ready for her, I grabbed her around the arm, and she tucked in tight to me. Her breathing came fast. Her feet wobbled.

“Ye champion. That was the hardest bit.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Elise gave a shaky smile. “Never been so scared in my life.”

Neither had I, but for different reasons.

We inched along the bar, sliding down to each intersection. Across the opposite side of the wheel, Rory hopped down and Max had climbed halfway back up, helping down an older gentleman.

Elise and I made it to the middle. I gave her a second to rest.

“All we do now is get to that chair,” I pointed to the one directly below us, “climb onto the front bar then jump to the ground.”

“I don’t do most of my own stunts,” Elise said suddenly. “I wanted to tackle this heights problem, but I’ve never got around to it.”

“Baptism of fire. Maybe in your next film you’ll change that.”

“If there is a next film,” she mumbled.

For this next section, I was in two minds about who went first. From above, I could help lower her down. From below, I could catch her if she slipped.

Elise made the decision for me. She crouched and swung her legs over. Still trembling, she found the bar below and got her feet into position.

Then she gave a squeak of frustration. “I’m stuck. I can’t move. I’m too scared.”

“I’m coming. I’ve got ye.”

With infinite care not to jostle her, I climbed down the opposite side until we were face to face, the bars above and below us.

“Hey.” I rubbed her nose with mine. “Open your eyes.”

Elise gave a growl of frustration. “I had my eyes open. Then I saw the ground rushing up to meet me. So now they’re staying closed so if it happens, I won’t see it coming.”

I smiled at her, impossible not to. She was so utterly cute. Nothing of the façade a movie star should wear. Instead, she was vulnerable, sweet, and in need of my help.

“I like ye like this. You’re at my mercy.”

“Cameron!” she warned.

“Fine. Move your right hand to the centre post, then crouch and lower yourself to the next bar down. I’ve got ye.”

“Here if ye need me,” Max shouted from below.

“We’ve got this,” Elise called back.

He could help. She wanted me.

Together, rung by rung, we descended together.

At the lowest chair, Elise managed to get herself onto the bar then leapt down. She whooped in delight, Rory echoing the sound. I sprang after her, landing neatly at her side.

In a flat second, she was in my arms.

“My hero.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Camera,” Rory whispered.

I swung my gaze around and spied multiple people with phones held up. Documenting the rescue, or maybe because they’d realised a celebrity was involved.

“Has anyone recognised me?” Elise hid her face in my shirt, and I banded my arms around her.

“Not sure. Let’s go.”

The four of us got moving. The ride’s manager tried to speak to us, but we left him and walked on.

Rory danced ahead, twirling in a circle. “I’m a high wire walker now. A fearless daredevil. Did you see me handle that? Like a queen.”

Max snorted. “Ye quaked in your boots then hugged me like your life depended on it.”

“Yeah, well, the fear was real. I still did it.”

“Ye both did, and incredibly well.” I held a quiet Elise under my arm. “What do ye want to do now?”

“Beer,” Max said.

“Vodka,” Rory agreed.

“I want to hide,” Elise added.

Rory peered at her friend. “That shook you up, didn’t it? Want to go back to the RV?”

“I don’t want to spoil your fun,” Elise managed. Strain played out in her voice.

“I’ll take her home. Ye two go ahead and enjoy the rest of the evening.” I glanced down at Elise. “If that’s okay with ye?”

“More than.”

Max and Rory disappeared into the night, and I led a quiet Elise back through the partygoers and to the private camping ground. My mind ran over what could be wrong. Either delayed shock, or something else.

She didn’t speak. She barely answered my questions. But the moment we got behind a closed door, the woman of my dreams tossed her baseball cap down and shook out her blonde hair. She checked every window blind, and then without further pause, crushed her lips to mine.