He lowered the extra camera he’d been playing with while waiting for them to carry on. “You’ve made all of three moves, monkey. Not like it’s a huge challenge yet or anything.”

“Oh, brother, are you in for it now…” Derrick muttered.

Melanie set her fists on her hips and smiled sweetly. “Put your money where your mouth is. I bet you can’t do this route, not even if we show you an easier way.”

Nathan sneered. “I’ll offer chocolate if I can’t.”

Oh God, he was so going down.

“Right this way.”

Derrick stepped aside and Melanie gestured Nathan forward. He crawled under the overhang willingly and grabbed the handholds.

“Your feet go to the right… Yup, that one. And the other over here.”

“Here?”

She giggled. Nathan was tall enough once he did touch the holds he was going to have a hell of a time getting his ass off the mat. “Perfect. Now, lift your hips.”

He flexed his muscles and managed to get into the first position.

“Impressive. Now go for it.”

Nathan tried, and while he had the strength, he didn’t have the technical experience to make the moves. He slipped off the rocks and smacked into the mat, flat on his back.

“Well done. Not. Where’s my chocolate?”

Nathan blew a raspberry at her. “Patience, monkey. That was only my first attempt.”

She shrugged. “First, tenth. Same result.”

He set up again, and again. The fifth time his ass hit the mat, she snorted. This was getting more and more entertaining.

“Damn it.” Nathan growled.

“He’s got the wrong foot pressure.” Derrick pointed out.

Melanie checked Nathan’s position. “Oh, you’re right. Nate, this time, push off with your right foot completely, but keep the left foot on the wall. It will give you the extra reach you need to make the catch.”

He leaned his head back and flashed that deadly grin, and something else warmed inside, not quite so competitive in nature. Damn, the man was a walking advertisement for testosterone and how to use it well. “You’re going to have to give me a little help, darling. I was watching through a camera lens before. Where am I reaching?”

She touched his outreached fingers with her own. “You’re here. You need to slip your fingers this direction—” She connected with the hold, keeping her elbow in contact with his hand. “See, it’s only a few more inches. Course, you should just let me know where the chocolate is now, so I can enjoy it while I watch you fall on your ass another dozen times.”

“Ha, ha. I can do this.”

“Suit yourself.” She stepped back, slipping next to Derrick where he leaned on the neighbouring rock face. He snuck his hands around her waist and tugged her closer, fingers caressing the bare skin at her side with delicate strokes, and her heart rate accelerated.

Nathan fell twice more, but her attention was drawn away by the increasingly intimate caress Derrick applied, sneaking his hands casually higher to brush the sides of her breasts.

“Stop that. You’re getting me all tingly,” she whispered.

“That’s the idea.” He chuckled and tugged her directly in front of him, aligning her so the length of his erection pressed between them. “You’ve been driving me mad. Your ass looks marvelous in those climbing pants.”

So much for worrying about needing sexy, skin-revealing outfits to turn him on. “Animal.”

“Snaaarl.” Derrick nibbled on her neck and Melanie sighed with happiness.

“Damn it, Mel, how the hell did you get around this corner?”

The pitiful question from Nathan interrupted the direction her thoughts were heading—which was fine, since there wasn’t going to be much opportunity to get naked with Derrick for a while anyway. Not with them all camping for the night in a single four-man tent.

“Hang on, Nathan, Mel will show you how.”

Melanie glanced at Derrick, pulling a mock pout. “I will? Why would I do that?”

“Sportsmanship?”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Come on, give Nathan another chance. He’s not as experienced as you are. Go under and demo again.” Derrick patted her on the ass.

Melanie planted a quick kiss on his cheek before slipping onto the mat and grinning at a frowning Nathan. “You really think you can do this?”

“I’m close, but I’m missing something.”

Five years of practice? “Try again and I’ll watch from here.”

Lying beside him allowed her to see exactly what he was doing wrong as he extended his torso and attempted to catch the next hold. It also let her see every muscle in his body flex—and while he wasn’t as cut as Derrick, it was still a fine view.

He’d been working hard, both earlier in the sun and now, and a fine layer of sweat made his skin shine. She breathed in deeply, the musky scent less dirty and far more arousing than she hoped. Melanie tilted her head back to see Derrick squatting outside the cave area, watching, and she shivered. Why did it feel as if he wasn’t keeping an eye on her to make sure nothing happened, but almost as if he hoped something would?

She cleared her throat. “You still aren’t using the muscles in your left leg right.”

“I pushed off,” Nathan complained.

“You did. But it’s not a push you need, it’s an extension, and you have to employ your full toe and calf muscle.”

Nathan dropped to the mat and groaned. “Show me again.”

Mel nodded. “I will, but first, try once more in slow motion, and I’ll point out the muscles you need to use.”

Nathan set up as she wiggled toward the base of the wall, planting her hand on his thigh before she thought it through.

Oh my God, he was solid. Unyielding muscles flexed under her fingers, and she forced herself to concentrate. “This is where you need to push off, then you can…”

She traced down his calf muscle, caught hold of his ankle and tugged slightly. “Up on your toe. There. That will give you an additional three inches, and that’s all you need to reach your goal.”

“Additional three inches, hey? Never been told I needed it.”

She flushed instantly. What was she supposed to say to in response to that? “Move over and I’ll show you one last time.”

Nathan dropped then slipped to the side to let her access the first holds.

Melanie dragged her gaze off Nathan, wondering if she’d caught some kind of a flu that made her insanely hot and feverish. There was no excuse for this. She’d told Derrick she found Nathan attractive, but that didn’t give her the right to fantasize about the guy right there in front of him.

She lifted her hips and got into position.

“Nate, you’ll never see what she’s doing from over there. Come over to this side,” Derrick ordered.

Melanie’s hands nearly slipped off completely when instead of crawling out to come around to her left, Nathan wiggled under her. There wasn’t enough room for him to pass by without brushing their bodies together, no matter how close to the rock face she clung.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one feeling the heat. He was most definitely hard more places than his arm and leg muscles. Melanie held her breath as he passed, glancing at Derrick to see just what the hell was going on.

He winked.

Winked?

“Okay, Mel, do a slow-motion reach. Nathan, put your hand on her left thigh and feel how the extension starts—it’s not only the thigh, it’s the calf as well and the toe as a final move.”

Nathan wrapped his warm fingers around her leg. His palm cradled the back of her thigh as he stroked downward.

She tried to concentrate on the climbing move, but her focus was gone. A burning sensation skittered along her nerves in direct opposition to the path of his hand, heat flaring into her core. Melanie slid off the rock and lay still for a moment, heart pounding. This was insane. Impossible. Nathan stared into her eyes, his gaze fixed on her as he flipped his grasp to cover the top of her shin. Inch by inch he smoothed his palm upward. The new grip meant his fingertips tickled the inside of her thigh, edging closer to her sex. Fiery shots raced ahead of his touch, and she bit her lip to stop her panting breaths from escaping and revealing exactly how turned on she was.

Maybe she should ignore him. He was going to stop any second—this was a totally innocent move on his part, and she shouldn’t make it dirty simply because she was horny enough to want to strip and crawl all over him—

Sudden energy flashed to her muscles, and she scrambled out from under the rock, crawling crablike away from Nathan. Escaping, retreating. She stood, teetering briefly before a broad body made contact with her.

She spun, squeezed her face tight to Derrick’s chest, wrapping her arms around his torso like a tangling vine. If she didn’t look at either of them, she could pretend she hadn’t just considered letting Nathan King touch her intimately. Fake that the issue was her scars, when this time her damaged body had been the last thing on her mind as she’d lain in the arms of her teenage fantasy.

Derrick stroked her head, his solid body tight in all the right places. Including—oh my. He was hard? That in itself wasn’t unusual, but now? The timing seemed improbable. He reached under her hips and lifted her, allowing her to cling tighter to his neck, their faces now level.

“Derrick, I—” How to explain? Make an excuse or tell the truth?

He kissed her. So, so tenderly. The moist heat of his mouth as he nuzzled her cheek, her temple, made tears spring to her eyes. One brush passed over her lips. One landed on the tip of her nose before he tilted his head to recapture her gaze. “I think you’re a very beautiful woman.”

She flushed. He thought she’d freaked over her scars. For a moment she debated taking the easy way out, letting him continue to blame this on her past fears, then guilt hit. If she truly cared about Derrick, and that was the way her heart seemed to be heading, she would not lie about something this important. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

He’d turned them so her back was to Nathan. What was he doing? Had he followed them? “This whole picture-taking thing is getting to me. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Derrick’s dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “Because you feel attracted to Nathan? As well as me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The confession was barely audible. She might have shared about her past interest in Nathan, but it was the past. She didn’t want to do anything to screw up her future with Derrick.

He shifted position, adjusting until he found a comfortable rock to sit on. She was in his lap now, resting on his strong thighs. His broad shoulders under her hands were strong and yet relaxed.

“I’m not upset with you.” He wrinkled his nose. “I am at a loss for words though, so excuse me if this sounds stupid.”

Melanie wiggled upright. “What?”

Derrick’s smile had a guilty twist to it. “Mel, you know I find you attractive, but I’m not the only one. Nate thinks you’re pretty incredible as well.”

Air stuck in her throat. “You… How do you know that?”

The guilty expression spread, becoming more obvious. “We talked about it.”

Holy shit. The guys she’d hung around with on the climbing team had talked about girls all the time, but it was locker-room talk. Conquests and game plans. Surely Derrick and Nathan were above that kind of thing. And why was Derrick looking so sheepish?

“You talked about me? What specifically did you discuss?”

A hand brushed her neckline, and she startled, nearly falling off Derrick’s lap. Two sets of hands caught her, Derrick’s familiar touch on her hips.

Nathan’s firm grasp on her shoulders.

“We talked about the fact I can’t keep my eyes off of you.” Nathan stood close behind her body, heat from his torso making her insides squirm. He loosened his clasp and slid his fingers down her arms, the light stroke causing a reaction in her core similar to putting flame to kindling.

Derrick pulled her hips in tighter until her sex rested against the very apparent ridge of his arousal. “I told him how important you are to me, and he shared how much you’ve meant to him. As a friend, and someone he greatly admires.”

Melanie wasn’t sure if she was holding her breath, or if her body was incapable of performing the simple tasks necessary to survival. When Derrick dipped his head, brushing his lips against hers, his kiss gave her something to cling to. She accepted the worship of his mouth even as her mind spun.