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"Clumsy, clumsy," Ty muttered with a sad shake of his head

"I"ve probably had enough," he claimed as he sat back in his seat He smiled slowly and held up Zane"s key card "It"s useful for other ventures as well"

Zane hadn"t even noticed "Well, that"s e," he muttered as he shook his head But he still smiled

Ty handed it back to hilass of Scotch and then picked up the glass he"d dropped and set it on the table again He dropped a few ice cubes into it, then poured out soestured to the glass "One drink is two"

"If I let that et even a remote buzz," Zane observed

"And that"s the point," Ty ulped dohat he"d just poured into the water glass "Now I"ve ordered and, in theory, consuone You get the drift?"

Zane nodded "Yeah, no problem," he said quietly as he studied Ty"s face He still looked worried It was a siured he could put theh for hiet there first, you can get an elass

Switch them out somehow, like I just did, or dump drinks under tables or in plants or decorations A lot of it"s situational Your best friends are extra ice and clumsiness" Ty shot back what reo find you solass down on the table with a clank

"I"reed as he stood up "And then tonight I get to practice my lessons"

Ty stood and stepped over to Zane He slid his hand around Zane"s waist and pulled him closer "I know it"s hard," he whispered

"But next tilass, just reet home" He punctuated the threat with a forceful kiss

The words flowed over and into Zane and sank in deep as he gave in under Ty"s lips He"d already known he"d answer to Ty, anytime, anywhere But now Zane believed, for the first ti, that he had so wall scare and the Del Porter noneued by other accidents and loudly insisted they should avoid excursions that involved gravity But the past three days had been oddly threat-free, enough so that Ty had started wondering if the rope at the rock wall had really been an accident after all If it hadn"t been for that visit froht have been able to convince hih, neither Ty nor Zane could relax It ht have been an enjoyable few days tense and frustrating

A other activities on their itinerary, they aterskiing and kayaking off a private island near Haiti, one owned by the cruise line The first was not to Ty"s tastes, but Zane had called it exhilarating and said he wouldn"twas enjoyable for no other reason than Ty could begin hu Banjos" at Zane whenever he wanted, and Zane couldn"tthe kayak over

Zane played poker with Ar for an hour or two He was able to pry a few vague details out of Bianchi about his part of the business, but Armen re modestly, and Ty had been honestly surprised when Zane had handed hiht Apparently 10K was et to keep it--the FBI had a way of collecting everything it could get after an assignment--but the money wasn"t the point Ty knew that Zane just liked the rarehim And he had

On yesterday"s excursion, they had hiked for five hours through a rainforest in Puerto Rico to the "Exciting Jungle and Zip-line Adventure," which really wasn"t all that exciting or adventurous, since it turned out to be a thirty-h the treetops The hike itself had been more fun Ty would have preferred to have kept on into the dense tropical forest, but he"d been assured the jungles weren"t safe for going out on his own Ty had barely restrained a snort when the serious young guide had said those words Ty was pretty sure he could have shown the kid what an unsafe jungle really looked like

On today"s agenda was the "thrilling cliff diving experience for swie fifty-five feet from a natural rocky cliff into the protected cove belo this Ty could get behind He seeh, because there were a lot of people going to the top of the cliff and alht fro, Ty had doubts that Zane would be able to handle it

"It"s a long hike up there," Ty tried casually, glancing sidelong at his partner "Been a long day too We can skip it and head back to the ship if you want"

"I don"t"I know you"ve been looking forward to this all week"

Ty snorted He"d known Zane would pass on the easy out if he offered it "It"s a long cli," he said in a low voice, still mindful of those around them who could overhear "No need for you to make it if you just plan to walk back down"

Zane studied hi up the cliff "I"d rather have the company for at least part of the ti

"If you insist," he said with a s his way toward the narrow trail

The climb wasn"t terribly steep, since the path was cut into switchbacks up the mountainside to preserve the natural flora, so it took a little tiet up there They walked quietly for a few ht, you know"

"It"s the falling," Ty finished for him with a nod

"Yeah," Zane murmured "You know me; alant to be in control" He snorted like he"dto himself while Zane couldn"t see his expression He knew all too well how anything Zane couldn"t control, or at least figure out, drove the man to unbearable reaches of crazy "Yeah," he finally said softly "But sos because you can"t control them"

"Like what?" Zane"s voice was relaxed and reflected soet a look at Zane "If you have to ask…"

"There are things I do even though I can"t control them," Zane said pointedly as he swatted at Ty"s ass "But choosing free fall? No

I"d rather face… snakes in the mountains," he said with a little chuckle at the end