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I wondered about Briana’s reaction to the marks on my skin, and I wondered even harder about my own feelings toward her as we ascended the first leg of the hike. I led us at a punishing pace, but there wasn’t a word of complaint from my companion. Once, she muttered about needing to refocus her attention at the gym. It wasn’t meant for my ears, so I didn’t comment, but the image of her doing squats did pop into my mind. It was a welcome distraction from the deeper, stranger feelings stirring in my chest.
We reached the nature preserve, the thick growth of jungle contained by a fence in a maintained acreage for tourists who wanted to bike, climb, or hike.
Briana paused, panting. With her hands on her hips, she turned and looked at the sunrise. The sky was ablaze with pinks and oranges. “Well, at least this was worth waking up for,” she breathed.
We’ll see how you feel after an all-day hike through nature.I smirked to myself. I’d planned for us to be back at the resort around five or six, and even though I had a map, we weren’t taking the paths. She’d be exhausted, but this was what she needed—freedom, adventure, romance.
I waited until she had her fill of the view before taking off again. Briana trailed after me wordlessly.
~*~
Iestimated we werewithin half a mile of our destination. The entire hike had been mapped by satellite. As a city slicker, I’d wanted a true outdoors challenge, and this deep jungle trek had been exactly what I anticipated.
“Why are you doing this?” Briana ground out from just behind me.
I frowned, wondering at her tone. She’d just been smiling at some exotic flowers, and ninety minutes ago, we’d found an overlook that painted a breathtaking view of the island. I thought Briana was enjoying this hike, but her testy tone caught me off guard. “According to Soph, you enjoy excursions but rarely take them. I thought you’d enjoy this trip, especially since it’s also carving out time away from the family drama.”
“Oh, don’t be so defensive.” Briana dismissed with a wave of her hand.
“Okay, then what?” I halted. I wanted to clear the air before we reached our destination.
“I mean, why are you here on this trip? Why did you say yes to the madness of my proposal, only to turn around and be one hell of a knight in shining armor? I would never have gotten out and explored this area today if you didn’t push me to. You’ve been nothing but amazing, Viktor. And that’s the thing; it doesn’t make much sense, because up till now you got pleasure out of aggravating me. You’re different here.”
I paused. The seriousness in her tone had me reconsidering my answer. I took a step toward her, brushing a piece of her nut-brown hair off her damp forehead. “It's true. It was all fun and games at first, but now that we’re here and you’re meeting my challenges measure for measure, I’m enjoying myself. It’s been an amazing trip so far, suits, and it scares me how much I enjoy your company.”
“I didn’t think big men like you got scared,” Briana laughed, planting her hands on her hips.
Her breasts were heaving from the exertion of the climb, and I stole a glance at the way her chest glistened with sweat. Temptation waxed strong. I wanted to taste her salty skin and enjoy the way she would shiver. “We don’t admit it, but there are things in this world that scare even the darkest of monsters,” I shared.
“Such as?”
“I care about Sophia—I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost her.”
Briana rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s understandable.”
I eyed her as I dropped my next line. “You scare me, suits.”
She looked incredulous. “And how do I scare you?”
“Because I would rather be here with you than anywhere else. And that doesn’t make sense.” There it was—the raw, honest admission that couldn’t be taken back...or actualized. The underworld waited for me back in Cali; this was just a stolen dream with a beautiful woman.
“No, it doesn’t make sense,” Briana agreed. “So, what are we going to do about this?”
“Ha! Leave it to you to want an action plan, suits.”
When she moved to punch my shoulder, I snatched her to me, spinning her around. Her wild squeal of delight was something I needed to taste.
“We don’tdoanything. We let the cards fall,” I told her. And, clutching her close, I kissed her.
It started soft and playful, the hot sun beating down on us, the air sticky with humidity. I was determined to suck every sweet drop from this dream. I wrapped my arms around her, caging her in. She moved eagerly against me, and I groaned into her mouth, moments away from lifting her legs around my waist.Fuck!She was going to be my undoing.
Kissing a trail across her jaw, I lathed my tongue against the pulse in her throat.
“Viktor,” she moaned.
“Suits,” I responded fiercely.
“Are we going to do this?” she asked breathlessly, the words punctuated with eagerness.
