Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(18)

Seconds after I slowed, he caught up to me. “Remember the instructions that came with the Vibrams?”

I gave a nod, slowing a bit more so I could talk. “Shorter strides. Forward and center of the foot instead of heel-striking.”

“Right.” He fell in behind me. “And for our first trail run, here’s a few tips: Walk the downhills, sprint the uphills, and chart your path ahead of time—avoid rocks and sapling tree stumps.”

“Why walk the downhills?” We approached a downslope, and I slowed to a brisk walk, picking my way down the dirt-lined sections.

“Until you’re used to running on uneven terrain and downhill, it’s safest. No point in risking a knee blowout or broken ankle.”

“Or worse.” We rounded a narrow bend in the trail, and I leaned toward the outside edge, peering over. “Damn. That’s one hell of a drop.” Not straight down, but a good seventy-percent grade, at least. Nothing I wanted to tumble down.

“Right. So stick to the inside edge of the trail. Especially with oncoming.”

“Oncoming?” Through the dense trees, I could only make out the trail a few dozen yards ahead.

“Bikers, hikers, other trail runners.”

“Sure. Because if running uphill with a sheer drop-off isn’t enough, an out-of-control mountain biker at twenty miles an hour ought to scare some caution into you.”

“It’ll be fine.” He shifted behind me as the trail narrowed.

“Wildlife?” Unfamiliar forest surrounded us.

“Will there be any, you mean?”

I paused at a tricky hairpin bend, brows raised. “Lions, tigers…bears?”

“Mountain lions, no tigers…black bears.”

“Great.” I turned back around picking my way along the rocky path, staring hard into the denser sections of foliage, suddenly feeling eyes staring back.

“Haven’t you ever been out in the wilderness before?”

The slope leveled out, and I resumed my steady running pace. “Does the park count?”

“No.”

I couldn’t readily explain why I’d never been out in a forest. For some reason, I’d stayed indoors most of my life. Art had become my conduit to nature, something I created—a world I had control of.

“Uphill!” I tore off, concentrating on the trail. I charted my path around rocks and exposed roots, found softer earthen sections to land footfalls on, and willed all wild predators and oncoming mountain bikers to stay the hell back.

And the runner’s euphoria I’d often heard about hit three-quarters of the way up the steep winding section of path. Gone were all my troubles. Sexual frustration? Obliterated.

In its place flooded a sense of rightness in the moment, in the beautiful expanse of nature around me—all with a guy who’d started out as a one-night stand candidate.

I could hardly believe what had begun to happen between us. Wasn’t sure I even trusted it. When I’d stopped paying attention, Darren had transformed from just a guy I just wanted to get physical with…into something remotely, possibly, vaguely resembling a friend.

As the realization hit, a solid dose of fear shuddered through me.

The challenge hadn’t been real. It had only been a guise for me to be around him more—lure him into that one-night stand status I knew I could handle.

Friends? I didn’t know how to handle at all. Wasn’t sure I could.

To cope with the sudden spike of anxiety, I ran faster, pushed harder. And I did what I seemed to be a master at lately: I put on a brave face and forced myself to ignore the threat.





Darren…

With a sudden burst of energy, Kiki raced ahead. “How’s my running form look?”

Fucking spectacular. “Great.”

I almost tripped. Her ass looked incredible in those tight yoga pants.

Get your shit together, D.

I shook my head to clear it. Needed to be on the program I’d made Kiki abide by. She was just a friend. All she could ever be.

At a level section a few yards ahead, she turned. Cheeks pinked from her sprint. Black hair pulled up in a swaying ponytail. Only her hair wasn’t quite black; sunlight brightened the top of her head, glinting a flash of dark brown. Her breasts lifted and fell as she tried to catch her breath.

Eyes up, idiot. Yeah. The whole “friends” thing? Harder than I’d thought.

Happiness radiated from her eyes, bright blue in the angled afternoon light.

As soon as I got within ten feet of her, she tore off up the trail again at an even faster pace.

“Easy, Flash,” I shouted, picking up speed. “I’m not scraping you off the ground.”

Truth…I quickly closed the gap between us; I’d be sure to cushion her fall. Not in any other way than a friend. Protector. The role I’d assumed, because it fit me like a second glove.

My thoughts bled dark, painfully reminding me that I hadn’t always succeeded. I’d failed one person. One time. In the worst way possible.

The memory served as both punishment and motivator. Helped me strengthen my resolve to never let another soul fall on my watch. And why I couldn’t be more than a friend to Kiki. Because another someone who I’d vowed to protect above all others had to come first.

But on the trail ahead, Kiki was my charge. And— “Dammit,” I growled under my breath as she raced out of my sight around a bend for the second time in as many minutes.