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“Are you ready to head out?” he asked when her plate was empty.
“Yes.”
He stood, slung his backpack over his shoulder and helped Karen. More than one man turned when she walked by. Damian moved closer and placed a possessive hand on the small of her back. Sending a lethal glare at one man who was staring a little too long, he guided her toward the ship’s exit.
The ship’s coordinator checked off their names, gave them colored wristbands and directed them to a waiting van.
“Damian,” Karen started, once they were en route, “I want to apologize about last night.”
“For what?”
“The whole room invitation thing. I’ve never done anything like that before,” she mumbled, and turned to stare out the window.
He turned her face back toward his. “You don’t have to apologize. If it helps any, I really wanted to accept your invitation, but I didn’t want to come on too strong.”
He placed his arm around her shoulders, kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. They rode the rest of the way in silence. After reaching the park and getting water shoes, he suggested they rent a locker. Damian stripped off his shirt, placed it in his bag and put it in the locker.
“If you—” His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. Karen had taken off the cover and stood clad in a bathing suit that left every inch of her velvety brown back and sides bare. The sight almost dropped him to his knees. A man passing by whispered, “Dayuum!” while staring with his jaw unhinged. Damian couldn’t blame the man, because she was a vision of beauty. He let his gaze roam lazily over every delectable curve.
She placed her tote in the locker and faced him. “Were you going to say something?”
He stared at her with confusion, then realized she had asked him a question. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
“I thought you were going to say something.”
For the life of him, he couldn’t remember one word. “Nothing. You look amazing.”
She slowly looked him up and down. “So do you.”
It’s going to be a long day. He closed the locker and reached for her hand. “We’d better get going.”
At the base of the fall, a vendor asked if they wanted their picture taken.
“Yes. Take two.” He wanted a memory of this trip with her. The photographer took the pictures of them together, then one of them separately.
“You can view the pictures on your way out and buy if you like,” the man said.
Once they started the climb, Damian took a picture of Karen using the waterproof camera she’d brought along. Instead of linking hands and climbing with the others, they chose to leisurely climb to the top, stopping to linger in some of the pools along the way. Unable to resist, Damian came up behind Karen, wrapped his arm around her and trailed kisses along the smooth flesh of her neck and shoulders. She moaned softly. Turning her in his arms, he transferred his kisses to her jaw and nibbled on her lush bottom lip until her lips parted. He kissed her hungrily. Her hands came up and circled his neck.
“I can’t get enough of kissing you,” he managed to say huskily against her lips before kissing her again.
“Damian,” she whispered, her body trembling.
He pressed his lips to her temple, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to slow his galloping heart. Damian had never been so tempted by a woman in his life and certainly hadn’t ever lost control this way. He opened his eyes, eased back and released her. Giving her one last kiss, he took her hand and gestured her forward. “Come on, baby. Let’s keep going.”
* * *
Karen didn’t know how he expected her to climb anything after kissing her senseless. Her legs felt like rubber, her heart raced and her mind was a jumbled mess. She took a moment to collect herself before climbing the next step. They moved at a good pace for a while, and she stopped along the way to take a few pictures to show her students. After taking the last shot, she turned and lost her footing.
Damian tightened his grip on her waist. “Careful, sweetheart.”
The low timbre of his voice in her ear and the heat of his touch wreaked havoc on her nerves. She sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m good.” She glanced up. “We’re almost at the top.”
Once they reached the top, she turned and looked down with her arms spread. “That was great. I can’t wait to get back and see the pictures.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you allowed me to tag along. How about we get changed, stop and pick up the pictures, then get back to the van? It’ll be leaving shortly for lunch.”
