by Sara Fawkes
“What were you thinking about then? The hike is gorgeous, and I know a few ATV trails that are pretty easy.”
“What about dirt bikes?”
She tried and failed to keep the answering grin off her face. “Ah, a man after my own heart. You’re going to need full body armor then, mainly for safety reasons.”
“Whatever the lady decides.”
The way he said that made her belly clench, and she turned quickly to hide her reaction. “We have a full assortment of gear,” she said, suddenly breathless, “I know something will fit.”
Geez Dani, get a grip. Apparently, it’d been too long since she’d had any interest in the opposite sex. Dani couldn’t tell if he was being polite or was similarly interested, and she didn’t want to know. The nature of the resort was that customers came, enjoyed themselves, and left.
That was her plan too. She didn’t intend on staying here much longer, and any romance certainly wasn’t in the books for her.
The equipment room was small and cluttered. Evan toed a large container of kitty litter. “Do you have a cat?”
“No, we have a mechanic,” Rose piped up from the adjacent office, and Dani grinned.
“We use the litter to help clean up oil spills.” She picked up the container and, taking off the lid, sprinkled it liberally over the oil she’d spilled. “Helps wick up the oil and other fluids that are water resistant, making it easier to clean up.”
Bending down, she quickly sought to put a few things back where they belonged, muttering about her lack of domestic skills. Most folks who asked for her services wanted to do hikes or the ATVs. “What size shoe do you wear?” she called over her shoulder. He looked like he’d fit a medium pant and jacket, although his broad shoulders might require a large.
“European size or American?”
She started at his voice so close and spun around. Evan stood right behind her, head cocked to one side just studying her. He was standing close but not obscenely so, but Dani could almost feel his presence on her skin. Her heart rate sped up and rational thought fled her mind. He’s even more gorgeous up close.
He stepped forward and leaned in, as if to kiss her. Dani trembled, swallowing hard.
“I think these will fit me.”
Dani blinked as he straightened back up, then realized that he was holding a hanger of clothes. Flustered, she cleared her throat and grabbed a set of nearby boots. “Try these and see if they’ll work.”
She hadn’t meant to shove the boots into his chest quite so hard, but his grin just widened. Dani realized he’d likely seen and understood her reaction to him. Bastard, she thought, but couldn’t resist an answering grin. He was going to regret that, he just didn’t know it yet.
“Get dressed, and I’ll show you what bikes we’ve got.” Head high, she squeezed past him, ignoring how her skin heated up anywhere it touched him. He smelled divine too, which made her hate him more.
“Yes ma’am,” he called after her, but she didn’t look back. She had the perfect trail for him, one guaranteed to wipe that knowing grin off his face.
Oh yeah. This afternoon was gonna be fun.
CHAPTER FIVE
He’d been thrown straight into the deep end and he knew it, but Evan was having a blast.
The motorcycle he’d been given had no lights of any kind, just a plate where the headlight would go, and was much taller than anything he remembered from his youth. It’d been a good while since last he’d ridden a dirt bike but he picked it up again quickly. Which was good, because Dani, his guide, wasn’t going easy on him.
Maybe you shouldn’t have teased her like that.
Nah, it was all worth it. He’d seen her wide eyes, the way she’d responded to his presence. Kissing her in that closet had more than crossed his mind, but he’d enjoyed it when she saw the jacket and pants in his hand. Normally, he didn’t tease ladies but, in this instance at least, it had been fun.
It made him want to do it again. Unfortunately, he was having trouble keeping up with her.
But, oh, what a view.
“I take it you go this way often?” he remarked through the headset. He’d been surprised to find that the helmets had their own set of communications so that the riders could talk to one another. Dani had been quiet for the most part once she’d explained the basics of riding off road and seeing how he was with the bike.
He’d give his right eye to know what she was thinking right then.
“Not really, no,” she replied after a brief hesitation. “Although it wouldn’t really matter here anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
This time the pause was longer, and he thought maybe she was ignoring his question before she finally replied. “The island is strange. I can take a trail I’ve been down a dozen times before, and every time I go I see something new. It’s like the island wants to show itself off and isn’t afraid to bend reality a bit.”
“Seriously?”
Ahead of him, Dani rolled to a stop, and Evan pulled up beside her. If he thought his bike felt tall to him, Dani’s was just as tall if not more so. She actually had to scoot her butt sideways off the seat to get one foot onto the ground, but she didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
The jungle around them was alive with sounds that seemed amplified when he shut off the motorcycle. The trail they were following, while rugged, seemed almost grown into the earth, as if it had been planted that way. There were rocks and roots over sections, but that only served to make things more interesting. Even though he hadn’t been on a bike in nearly a decade, Evan was surprised to find he hadn’t fallen yet.
Not that he would say that aloud. No need to press his luck with fate.
She pulled off her helmet and looked around, a wistful smile on her face. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”
Despite the beauty around him, Evan couldn’t take his eyes away from her. Dani’s blonde hair was like a halo around her head, fanning out in the light breeze that swept through the trees. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked so goddamn beautiful that he wanted to kiss her right then and there. Instead, he took off his helmet as well, enjoying the cool air on his own skin.
She gestured back the way they came. “The last time I was down this way, the road curved down toward the water, to a beach with a small house on it. The time before that, it led to this cave that had incredible geodes growing out of the walls. When you shone even a penlight in there, the whole place glowed.”
“And where is it leading us today?”
Dani grinned at him. “Want to find out?”
*
The trail ran into a dead end right across from one of the most beautiful waterfalls Evan could remember seeing. Through the helmet, he heard Dani gasp as they parked the bikes. “Well, that’s new,” she murmured, but he could hear the wonder in her voice.
She was already off the bike and heading straight for the water’s edge as Evan dismounted, laying his gloves and jacket across the bike. The waterfall threw clouds of mist into the air, the wind swirling it into little whorls and eddies. Sunlight flared through the trees, giving the air a shimmering quality as various colors played across the area.
Dani knelt down beside the pool, submerging her hand into the water. “Feels great,” she said to Evan, and then began unbuckling her boots.
“What are you doing?” Evan asked, although it was immediately obvious. Dani stepped out of her boots and socks, then the pants she’d worn with her leg armor attached. Evan blinked when she also unzipped the jeans she’d been wearing beneath the over-pants and pulled them down to reveal the white bikini bottoms.
Evan’s breath hitched in his throat. Dani didn’t seem to notice him as she stepped into the pool, giving him an eyeful of beautiful legs and an ass that wouldn’t quit. She still wore the t-shirt, but she looked back and gave him a wink before pulling that over her head and tossing it aside.
“Come on, it feels fantastic.”
But Evan was rooted to the spot. Hi
s dick was at full attention, straining against the extra layers he wore. It didn’t matter that she still wore the white bikini; her little strip show had turned him on, and if he took off his clothes there’d be no hiding it.
“Oh come on. Unless you’re chicken?”
Well, damn. He couldn’t stay there with that taunting smile coaxing him on. “I didn’t bring my bathing suit along,” he called, grinning as he unclasped the boots.
“Excuses, excuses.”
The water, he found out only a moment later, did indeed feel incredible. Wearing only his plaid boxers, he settled into the wild pool and swam out toward the center, where Dani was standing on a large boulder partially exposed above the water line.
“See,” she teased, “that wasn’t so hard. Come here, let me show you something.”
She dove off the side of the rock and Evan swam after her toward the waterfall. It was even louder this close, but Dani bypassed the large torrent of water and headed to one side. A smaller channel of water ran down the stone, only a little wider than a person.
“It’s like the perfect slide,” Dani exclaimed, swimming to a straight rock wall just beside it. To Evan’s amazement, she began scaling the dark lava rock, moving easily up its face. Evan found, to his surprise, that the rock was surprisingly dry to the touch compared to the rest of the area, but hesitated in following her up.
She made it look easy, but didn’t climb far. There was a ledge Evan hadn’t noticed from his position halfway up the wall. Dani stood carefully and made her way toward the falls, with Evan following her sideways down in the water. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she slipped, but he stayed with her.
“Hang on,” she called down, then disappeared for a brief instant. The next thing he heard was a howl of laughter, and she slid down the waterway straight for Evan. He had no time to get out of the way, and he got a brief glimpse of her grinning face before she was launched into his arms.
Dani’s laughter filled his ears, and instinctively Evan wrapped his arms around her. He managed to find some rock beneath his feet and didn’t topple over or go under. Even in the tepid tropical water, her skin was warm against him and soft in all the right places. His hard-on that had been momentarily flagging came roaring back, and he stiffened as she wound her arms around his neck.
She leaned in, brushing his cheek with hers. “Do you want to go next?” she murmured softly against the roar of the falls.
Going down a rock slide was definitely not on the top of his list of things to do at that moment. Dani grinned down at him, her breasts so close to his face, and Evan had to resist the urge to bury his face between them. His hands slid lower to cup her backside, his thumbs playing with the edge of the bikini bottom, and it was her turn to take a ragged breath. The look in her eyes changed, grew suddenly hotter, and her legs tightened around him.
Evan’s eyes dropped to her mouth, to the beautiful lips there. She settled against him, her breasts against his chest, and Evan gripped her hips and ground her down against himself. Her mouth formed a perfect circle, nails clinging into his back, but before he could repeat the action or kiss her she hissed suddenly.
“Ow! What the hell?”
Her exclamation startled Evan. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, disappointment coursing through him as she suddenly pushed away.
Dani winced, reaching down under the water to rub her leg. “I think something bit me!”
Right as she said it, something cold brushed against Evan’s leg too, and he jumped sideways and cursed. “I felt something too.”
They exchanged looks, then immediately started swimming toward where they’d left the motorcycles. Evan thought he felt something nibble on him too and swatted beneath the water. As soon as there was land beneath their feet they ran up onto the small beach, then stared back over the water as if waiting for whatever it was to follow them out.
“They don’t have, um, piranhas here, do they?” Evan ventured.
“No idea,” Dani murmured, breathless. She peered down at her leg, rubbing a spot on the side of her calf. “It just startled me, I wasn’t expecting anything else to be here but us.”
“Want me to look?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing.” A sudden giggle escaped her. “Got another story to talk folks at home now. Found a rock slide, then got attacked by killer fish.”
Evan chuckled, then looked around. “So, where do you think the island will take us next?”
“Why don’t we find out?” She grinned, then motioned down toward his groin. “You’re gonna have a hard time riding with that.”
“Well, if you hadn’t thrown yourself into my arms like that...”
“Oh, yeah, blame the girl.” She stuck her tongue out at him, pulling her shirt on over damp skin. “I don’t normally jump guys, but you should have moved out of the way.”
Evan’s grin widened. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. To that point, his life had been all about the work.
Dani was dressed and on her bike first, kick-starting the tall motorcycle on. “See if you can catch up,” she called before leaning the bike over and twisting the throttle. The bike spun itself around, and Dani took off back down the way they came.
God, what a woman. Evan jammed the helmet on his head, started up his bike, and took off in hot pursuit. The dirt tires bit into the ground as he followed the meandering trail through the jungle, listening for the sound of her bike. “Is this any way to treat a guest?” he said over the intercom.
“Hey, I took it easy on you before. Now the fun part begins.”
Evan grinned, noting that the reception was good so they weren’t too far apart. A moment later, he spotted her white bike through the trees ahead, and picked up his pace a bit. The rugged trail through the jungle was smoothing out, the trees growing thinner and sparser. Green grass lined the wider section of the road now, and he recognized the spires of the island’s castle off in the distance.
Dani was just ahead of him, standing upright on the bike, her knees absorbing the bumps in the road. Evan was steadily gaining on her as the road widened out and flattened more, obviously used more often. He twisted the throttle as they hit a straightaway, and shot past her.
“So, what do I get for catching you?”
“How about a swift kick to the... Oh shit.”
Evan’s rear tire hit a rock he hadn’t seen until too late, and the back of the bike slid to the side. For a moment he thought he’d get off easy and just fall down on the inside of his lean.
Then the tires hit the edge of the embankment and caught, ending the slide abruptly. Evan went sailing through the air over the bike, straight toward the mess of vines and greenery beside the road.
Oh damn, this is gonna hurt.
*
Some time later, Evan managed to limp the bike into the garage, with Dani hovering close behind.
“I’m so sorry,” she said for what felt like the millionth time, biting her lip as Evan carefully extricated himself from the bike. His shoulder throbbed like crazy, and his hip and right side hurt.
The accident hadn’t damaged the bike much beyond cosmetics, and despite Dani’s protests he’d insisted on riding it the rest of the way back. They’d still stopped for almost twenty minutes to let Evan get his bearings, but he’d insisted on getting right back on the proverbial horse.
Getting off now, however, hurt worse.
“I can call the doctor,” Dani started, then trailed off as Evan waved his hand at her.
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then,” she said, folding her arms stubbornly, “lift your right arm above your head.”
Just thinking about doing that made him wince. “I’ll go see him if there’s any major problems,” he said and then, at Dani’s dubious look, added, “I promise.”
She helped him out of his gear and made him sit while she put everything away. “You did really good out there. I wasn’t going light on you and you kept up.”
&nb
sp; He grinned at that. “So you think I ride well?”
She looked up at him, saw the smile, and snorted. “Well enough for someone who hasn’t been on two wheels in, what, a decade?”
He hadn’t told her the specifics but she was pretty close. “Hell of a way to ease back into it,” he muttered, flexing his shoulder, and immediately regretted his words when her face fell. “I do know one thing you can do for me though.”
“Anything.”
“Let me take you to dinner.”
Dani’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” she said, looking perplexed
Despite his aching bones Evan chuckled at her response. “You seem surprised.”
“Yeah. Well, no, not really. I mean, at the pool...” She trailed off, and Evan was amused to see her cheeks go red. “We’re completely different. What would we even talk about?”
“I want to hear your story,” he said. “I know you have one, everybody does. Someone like you, a girl who can out-ride and out-wrench most men, probably has some doozies.”
She just frowned at him, as if she didn’t believe he wasn’t patronizing her. Evan sighed. “You did say ‘anything’,” he reminded her.
“I did, didn’t I?” Her mouth twisted in thought, then tipped up into a smile. “And I do have some good stories.”
“Perfect, then it’s a date.” He stood up, body stiff. “Maybe tomorrow night? I may be poor company tonight.”
She winced in sympathy, but before she could speak Evan held up a hand. “And no more apologies, I’ll count us even.”
She grinned at this. “Fine, tomorrow night.”
He was whistling by the time he made it back to the lobby when he spotted Jeremiah and Preston nearby at the bar. Evan thought about leaving them alone, but he was in a good mood that even the Maashole couldn’t ruin. “How did your day go?” he said, pulling up a stool beside Jeremiah.
Preston didn’t look pleased to see Evan, but Jeremiah spoke up. “We had an aerial tour of the island. Fascinating place.”
“Yes, it is. I got to see a bit of it myself as well.” He flagged down the bartender. “Drinks for my friends here,” he said, then winced as his shoulder cramped.