Free Dare To Love Series: Hot Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Avery Flynn Page A

lot of time to persuade her not to follow Vegas rules for their adventure on board, but he ’ d never let long odds stand in his way before.
    Ending the kiss sucked, but he did it anyway. He wasn ’ t about to give the captain and his small crew any more of a show than he already had. PDA had always been on his never-do list—along with parasailing—but here he was. The things this woman did to him.
    “You are a bad influence.” She sucked her full bottom lip between two teeth and shook her head. “Enough procrastinating. Half the Thunder Dome Crew already finished their parasailing adventures and are on the beach waiting to take pictures with you as soon as we get back. You don ’ t want to disappoint them.”
    The man in the Jacques Island Parasailing shirt returned to the platform and yanked hard on Colt ’ s safety harness before giving the captain the thumbs-up and motioning to Angie to take her seat. The boat ’ s engine revved and the captain cut through the water following a fast path parallel to the beach.
    “This is nuts,” he muttered as the boat picked up speed and the chute lifted.
    Wind caught the chute, snapping Colt into the sky. Feet dangling useless beneath him, he floated up, the air brushing against him and a bubbling excitement lightening his body. It wasn ’ t exactly what it would feel like to fly, but damn it was pretty awesome. From his vantage point, he could see for miles. The cruise ship docked at the Jacques Island dock. The throng of Thunder fans spread out on the private beach. Angie waved at him from the boat.
    Five minutes went by faster than during the fourth quarter when the Thunder was trailing by seven. The dude in the Parasailing company shirt let out an ear-piercing whistle, letting Colt know it was time. He grasped the straps on the swing thing with a loose grip as the man reversed the towline crank, starting Colt ’ s descent from the clouds. He had to hand it to Angie, that was pretty fucking awesome.
    The parasail jerked. Not enough to scare him, but enough to snap his attention to the fact that he was still pretty damn high in the air.
    A second jerk was accompanied by a sharp tearing sound. His gaze dropped to the rope connecting him to the boat below. The towline had gone from a smooth rope to a shredded mess. A third jerk and the strands might disintegrate before his eyes, sending him plunging into the ocean or slamming into the beach. His pulse came to a dead stop before coming back on-line with a panicked pace. Acting on the same instinct that told him where the quarterback would throw the football before he even released the ball into the air, Colt reached up and wrapped his fingers around the line.
    A second later the line snapped in two.
    A cry rose up from below. “Don ’ t let go!” Angie screamed.
    That wasn ’ t going to happen. He white-knuckled the rope, holding on for dear life. Muscles and tendons burning, he fought the parachute ’ s drag and pulled the line in closer, winding his wrist so the rope circled his hand. The rope cut into this palm, chafing away layers of skin, and pain blazed its way up his arm, setting fire to every tendon and muscle from his fingertips to his shoulder.
    “We ’ re bringing you in, sir,” the captain yelled.
    The towline yanked Colt forward. Something in his wrist twisted and popped. Agony ripped through him and a wave of nausea hit so fast that his hold on the rope slipped. It tore through his grip, ripping away skin and leaving only raw pain in its wake. He clamped his hand closed just in time, blocking out the agony darkening the edges of his vision.
    Every second in his downward journey. Every foot in altitude he lost. Every layer of skin burned away by the rope. He ignored it all…closed his eyes tight…gritted his teeth…absorbed all the misery being inflicted on his body until, finally, he collapsed on the boat ’ s raised platform.
    Adrenaline leeched out of his body, evaporating right as the screeching