Chapter Twelve
Holly looked over her survival gear and the waterproof backpack laying at her feet. She blew out a shaky breath, glanced at the wide river with its gentle, rippling waves, and the two-person bright-yellow kayak waiting for them. Her boss and one of the guides stood near the embankment explaining how the adventure would work, but Holly still wasn’t sure how a trip down the river and camping in the woods would help the team bond, or make them better at their jobs. Then again, kayaking in tandem was about communication, coordination, and synchronizing skills. Josh and she sure had the coordination and synchronizing down—at least between the sheets, in the shower, in the hot springs… Communication, however—well, they left those skills outside the bedroom door.
Beside her, Josh looked like he was anxious to get started, but she’d spent much of her life sheltered, and she wasn’t so sure about this. She’d never been kayaking or camping, but this week was about letting go and trying new things. Around her, everyone paired up, and those who had no experience with kayaking were partnered with guides.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked Josh.
He grinned. “Have I let you down yet?”
No. He hadn’t. And that was sort of the problem. Yes, this week with Josh was about sex, but honest to God, sometimes he just seemed too good to be true. Ending this when they returned home just might be harder than she anticipated. She let loose a strangled sigh and, not wanting to drag reality into this fantasy just yet, bent and started loading her gear into her pack, shoving it a little harder than necessary.
“The kayak is wide, so it’s really stable, and it has backrests so you’ll be comfortable. It will just be a lazy journey down the river to the camp. They wouldn’t send us if it wasn’t safe.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“You know I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.
It was true. Josh continually displayed protectiveness, and unlike her father’s men who were always hovering over her, she didn’t feel smothered by him. In fact, she felt sort of special.
Oh boy.
“Everything okay, Holly?”
At the sound of her boss’s voice she plastered on a smile and stood. “Everything is great.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” He pointed to Claire, who couldn’t join in for medical reasons, as she sat at the café, sipping coffee. “Not everyone is participating.” Maybe not, but she wasn’t giving Jeff a reason to overlook her for the position. “If it’s too much for you—”
“Not at all, and I’m with a guy who’s kayaked in class five rapids.” Not that she really knew what that meant. “We’ll be fine.”
“Is that right?” Jeff asked, his brow arched as he turned to talk to Josh. “Class five rapids. Not that you’ll run into that here.”
Holly continued to pack as Josh talked about his kayaking abilities. Was there nothing the man couldn’t do? Her body warmed at that thought, and her gaze flashed to her wrists—to the light chafe marks, to be precise. The way he’d tied her up last night, kissed her from head to toe and gave her pleasure unlike anything she’d ever felt before, was the hottest, kinkiest thing she’d ever done. A troubled storm roiled through. Yeah, leaving this all behind at the end of the week, and going back to all work and no play, was more than she’d signed on for.
She grabbed the satellite phone and shoved it in her bag. At least they could contact those on land, and if they ran into any trouble and didn’t make it to the camp, all they had to do was call home base and someone would come get them. Although she was pretty sure she was in the best hands possible.
“All set?” Josh asked as everyone climbed into their respective kayaks.
She pulled on her lifejacket. “Here goes nothing.”
Josh held the boat as she took a seat. She pressed her feet against the pedals and adjusted them to fit her body while Josh stowed their equipment in the hatch. Once done, he climbed in behind her, and they set off, following everyone down the lazy river. Paddle in hand, she pushed it into the water and glanced at him over her shoulder.
“This isn’t so bad.” She peered into the river and saw a school of fish swim by. “Actually, it’s kind of fun.”
The warm morning sun beat down on them, and she shimmied against her backrest to get more comfortable.
“Bet you never thought you’d be kayaking when you came here,” Josh said.
“Like I said, I’m doing a lot of things I never thought I’d be doing.”
Josh laughed. “Yeah, me, too,” he said, but there was something in his voice. She looked over her shoulder again and caught a shadow of unease on his face, but he quickly blinked it away.
“So, Josh,” she began, even though getting to know him on a deeper level went against her better judgment. “What other skills and adventures have you taken that I don’t know about?”
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
She laughed. “Seriously, though. You continue to surprise me.”
“You surprise me, too. I never thought you’d go on this camping trip.”
“Why?” she asked, even though she noticed he was redirecting the conversation off himself and onto her.
“Because you’re…”
“I’m what?”
“I don’t know. I guess it just doesn’t seem like your thing. Then again, I never would have thought you liked zombies. I guess I’ve been all kinds of wrong about you.”
She laughed. “Maybe ‘like’ isn’t the right word. I mean, if I ran into a real zombie, I wouldn’t be so brave.”
“There are real zombies?” he asked, and she laughed harder, loving the playful side of Josh.
Careful, Holly. You could fall for a guy like him.
“Tell me about your sister,” she said.
A beat of silence and then, “What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. You mentioned her before, and I guess I’m just curious.” She’d always wanted a sibling, and from the warmth in his voice when he mentioned his, she was curious about her.
“Well, her name is Anna, and I called her Anna Banana because she hated it.”
“Ha! Typical older brother.” She lifted her paddle and splashed him.
“Hey,” he yelled.
“That’s for Anna.”
He splashed her back, and she yelped. “What did you do that for?”
“No reason.”
“You’re going to pay for that.”
“Will there be scarves involved?” he teased, his voice a bit deeper.
As color moved into her cheeks, her body warmed, but this time it wasn’t from the hot sun. “Probably,” she said.
“Good.”
Needing to keep her mind off sex, she said, “What does Anna do?”
“She’s an interior designer.”
“No way,” she said, her voice high from excitement. “Does she still live in Brooklyn?”
“Yeah, Why?”
“My best friend Sam is an interior designer. I wonder if they know each other.” She shot a glance over her shoulder and took in Josh’s troubled look. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Small world, huh?”
“Yeah. I’ll have to text Sam to ask her.”
“You didn’t bring your phone on this trip, did you?”
“No, it’s back at the villa. I’ll text her later.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No,” she said quietly. “I always wanted a sister, but I had Sam and that was the next best thing. I was pretty lonely until her, which is probably how I ended up getting into computer software. I used to play a lot of online games with other people.” She snorted. “Dad couldn’t scare those people away.” As soon as the words left her mouth she scrambled to get them back. “I mean. Dad was just protective.”
“If you don’t get the senior analyst position, will you go back home?”
“My work is here. Just like yours is.”
“So, you don’t want to go back?”
“No,” she said quickly.
“Why?” he asked.
She turned at the seriousness in his voice. Her glance met his, and his gaze bored into hers. She took a breath and let it out slowly, and the heaviness disappeared from his face. For a second there it almost felt like he could see through her charade, see that she was Holly Fairfax, the daughter of a powerful man who wanted to control her life. But no way could he know who she really was, right?
Disconcerted, and not wanting to continue with this conversation, she glanced ahead, and when she noticed the others pulling off to the embankment and going for a swim, she pointed and said, “Let’s join them.”
“Okay.”
He guided them to shore, and she jumped from the boat. She could feel Josh’s eyes on her as she slipped off her lifejacket and stripped down to her bathing suit. Testing the water with her toes, she walked in as a few of the guys dove off a nearby ledge. She wasn’t that brave yet, and she wasn’t going to risk losing her bathing suit in front of all these people. She’d risk losing it in front of Josh, though. Josh followed the path to the ledge and she took in his tall powerful body as he put his hands over his head and splashed into the water. She waited for him to come up. Seconds turned into minutes and she spun in the water. Where the hell was he? Maybe he was sitting on the bottom thinking. Or maybe he’d hit his head on a rock and knocked himself out.
She was just about to swim over when he came up in front of her. “Josh,” she said, her voice bordering on hysteria.
“What?”
“I thought…you were under so long.”
“Were you worried about me, Holly?”
“Yeah, worried because I can’t paddle that thing alone.” She splashed water at him and took off swimming.
He followed her out, his hands touching her body beneath the surface. She glanced around his shoulders hoping the others weren’t watching.
“I was thinking maybe you could sneak into my tent tonight.”
“No way,” she said.
“Come on. I’ll make it worth your while.”
She shivered with longing, her mind racing back to the hot springs and how he made it worth her while to jump from the rope. “I know you will, but I’m not taking a chance of getting caught.” She pushed him, and he dove under.
From the bank, the guide called everyone back. “Time to go,” he said, and she started for shore. Back on land she dressed and slipped into her lifejacket. Josh left his shirt off, and climbed in behind her. They paddled out to the middle, and it was pretty much all she could do to keep herself from turning around to see the way his muscles flexed and relaxed again with each move.
They fell into easy conversation and spent another hour paddling. The instructor pulled off again, and they all followed him to shore.
Josh jumped from the kayak. “I have to make a trip to the little boys’ room,” he said. “Would you secure the kayak?”
“Sure,” she said, laughing as he darted into the woods. She pulled the boat halfway out of the water and set it on the rocky shore. Opening the hatch, she dug inside and pulled out one of the small tents that was in the way. She set it aside and rooted around until she found the ziplock bag with their food provisions, then she grabbed her backpack so she could get her ball cap. Her face was starting to sting from the sun. Then again, clouds were moving in and knitting together to block the late afternoon rays. She pulled on her ball cap, and her nose began to itch. Being in the woods was playing havoc with her allergies. Blinking her watering eyes, she settled on the bank next to the others and opened the baggies to pull out sandwiches.
Josh came back and plunked down beside her. She handed him a sandwich and juice box, and he dove into it like a man starved. When she sniffed, he eyed her. “You okay?”
“Allergies,” she explained. “I never thought to pack medication when I came here.”
“Who knew we’d be trekking through the woods.” He finished off his sandwich and said, “Do you think they’ll have food for us at base camp?”
“Probably.” She sniffed again and held her sandwich out to him. “Want a bite?”
“No, I’m good.” He rubbed his stomach. “Maybe they’ll have a big, juicy steak.”
“How much farther?” Anita asked as she stood and put her hands on her hips, her string bikini barely covering her private parts. All eyes turned her way. All eyes except Josh’s, which surprised Holly. It couldn’t be that Anita wasn’t his type—heck, she was every guy’s type. But for some reason she was kind of glad that he didn’t gawk like the others.
“Not too far now. About an hour. But we’d better get a move on it.” Their guide glanced at the clouds. “Looks like we might be getting rain soon.”
They all suited back up and climbed in. Holly rolled one shoulder, a little stiff after paddling. Josh pushed them off the rocks and jumped in. As they made their way along the river toward base camp, the wind picked up, blowing in their faces and making paddling a little more difficult. They followed along behind the others, going a little slower as her hand began to hurt.
She lifted it and rotated her wrist. “Sore?” Josh questioned in a soft tone.
“It was okay, but I think I’m putting a strain on it again with all this paddling.”
“Relax for a bit. I can take over.”
“You know I’m not one to let someone else carry me.” She turned and looked at him, and her heart leaped at the tender way he was staring back.
“I know, but it’s okay to let someone help once in a while. I think that’s what this whole trip is about, Holly.”
“Yeah, I know. I know” She rested her paddle across her lap, the waves lapping at the front of the boat as they tried to cut through the winds. “I’m not a very good team player.”
“Why is that?”
She shrugged, not really wanting to get into it with him, but then found herself saying, “I just always did things on my own. Whenever I let people in—” She gripped the sides of the boat as it hit a rock sticking out from the water. That’s what she got for not paying attention. The kayak swayed, and her stomach swayed right along with it. From behind Josh cursed, but then quickly righted them.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, thanks. That’s what I get for not paddling.”
“Not your fault. It’s mine, actually. I’m the one who propels it forward and steers.”
“Oh, and here I thought it was me doing that.”
“You’re helping. Couldn’t do this without you,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m such a big help that you told me I could take a break.” As she teased, Josh turned the boat, and a big gust of wind took them to shore.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She turned in her seat.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “You need a break.” She was about to tell him she was fine, but stopped when his gaze dropped lower, to the sensitive spot on her neck. “I also realized that the day is almost over and I haven’t put my mouth on you yet.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling a bit winded, and not from the paddling.
“What about the others?” She glanced at the sky. “It’s going to be dark very soon.”
He grinned. “I’ll be fast.”
“What if I don’t want fast?” she challenged, trying to keep her voice light as her imagination kicked into high gear.
“Then I’ll be slow.” He leaned into her, touching her hair and running his knuckles over the hollow of her throat. “However you want it.”
“This is kind of bad, Josh.”
Clearly taking that as a yes, he jumped from the boat and pulled it onto the rocky embankment with her still inside. “Yeah, just the way you like it.”
She stepped from the boat, and as soon as she was surrounded by foliage, she let out a big sneeze.
“Did you pack any food that was spicy?”
“No,” she said, sniffling as she shimmied out of her damp lifejacket. “Why?”
Josh removed his and dropped it to the ground next to hers. “Spicy foods can help with allergies. They actually serve as a natural decongestant.”
She gave him a dubious look. “How do you know that?” She held her hand up. “Never mind. I already know. Boy Scouts.”
“Did you pack tissue?”
“Yes, thank God.”
Josh opened the hatch, pulled out his tent and bag to get it out of the way, and reached for her backpack. He handed it to her and she rifled inside. When she found the tissue, she put it to her nose and caught the way Josh way watching her. “Don’t look.” She pointed a finger over his shoulder. “Go.”
He laughed and turned, walking a bit deeper into the woods to give her privacy. “Fine, but are you forgetting I’ve been inside you,” he teased, his voice holding all kinds of delicious promise.
Forget?
Hell, no. How could she possibly forget that. Her body warmed, heat licking over her quivering thighs just from the memories. And it was those memories that she’d take back and cherish and use to get through the long lonely nights ahead. Honestly, she was a little rattled by the things he made her feel.
Don’t go there.
Pulling herself together, she blew her nose and tucked the tissue back in her pack. She dropped the bag near the boat and followed Josh, who was bent forward, picking berries from a bush. Wanting to sneak up on him and grab him from behind, she crept forward, but the twigs crunching beneath her water shoes gave her away.
He stood and turned, and she bumped into him. A low growl of longing sounded in his throat as his arm slipped around her back. He pulled her against him, and his gaze moved over her mouth. Sucking in air like he was filling his lungs with her scent, he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, then popped a berry into her mouth. The sweet juice burst on her tongue.
“Mm, delicious. But how do you know they’re not poisonous?”
He wagged his eyebrows. “I don’t.”
“Should I be eating this?”
“Of course. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“Really?” Sexual energy rippled between them as she took in the hungry gleam in his eyes. Big bad wolf. “How do I know you’re not some crazy guy who lured me into the woods to do things to me.”
He laughed and tossed a handful of berries into his mouth. “The way I see it is we can keep speaking, or we can end this conversation now so I can do those things you’re talking about.”
He popped another berry into her mouth, and feeling bolder than ever before, she drew his thumb in and swirled her tongue around it. Her nipples tightened, her body coming alive, demanding attention. His eyes narrowed, his throat working as he swallowed. Hard. He backed her up, caging her against a tree. The bark felt a bit rough, but she liked it.
A gust blew overhead, and the wide palm leaves swayed in the wind, but beneath them they were protected from the elements. Not that any of that mattered to her. No, all that mattered was this man and how much she wanted him again.
She put her hand on his chest and he captured it, bringing it to his mouth. He pressed warm lips to her sore wrist, his heat searing her skin, his touch sending shockwaves through her. More.
He kissed a path up her arm, turning her into molten lava. “You are so soft,” he said, his voice a low murmur. She touched his hair, sliding her fingers through it and pushing it back so she could see his face. When her glance met his, and she saw the ravenous need in his eyes, she whimpered. He pressed kisses to the inside crook of her elbow, up her arm to her shoulder, then centered on the hollow of her throat. Her entire body shivered under his intimate touch. She moved against him, pressing, seeking what her body craved, needing him to end the sweet torment before she went up in a burst of flames.
He eased away and drew a ragged breath, and she sensed he was fighting for a measure of control. Not that she’d be opposed to him taking her right against the tree, hard and fast. God, all she wanted to do was lose herself in him for a few more hours.
“Why don’t you go grab a blanket, I’ll make us a clearing.”
On knees that were wobbly, Holly hurried to the boat—trying not to think about how close she was to falling for him—but when she reached the embankment, the kayak was nowhere to be found. She glanced left, right, and down the river. Oh God, where the hell was their transportation? Fear burst inside her.
“Josh!”