“Just outside. You go out these doors and to your left. You’ll see the shuttles there.”
“Thank you!” I smile and head out the door.
I’m a little shocked to see the line to the shuttles so long. But I don’t know why. On vacation in a beautiful country—of course the tourist attractions would be filled. I wait my turn and step up onto the shuttle and away we go.
My eyes dart from building to building. Everything in Thailand seems so much brighter to me than the scenery back home.
California is beautiful. At least it used to be. Beautiful climate. Mountains. City lights.
I take a deep breath and shake the nostalgia from my head. Get a grip, Kirsten, I chastise myself.
A short while later, the shuttle ride ends and before long I am listening to a tour guide explain the ins and outs of white water rafting.
What have I gotten myself into?
The guide divides us up into teams of eight or nine. I’m struggling to get my safety vest tied on securely.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I turn around to the familiar voice.
Jackson.
I smile and keep fighting with the straps of my vest. “I could say the same about you.”
“Fair enough. Kind of hard to work on your novel here, though, isn’t it?” He steps up closer and starts straightening out my straps. Every tug pulls by body closer to his.
His cologne is mesmerizing. Though his eyes are focused on his hand movements, I can feel myself being drawn in to them.
“There we go,” he says. “All set. Try not to die.”
“Thanks,” I say with an embarrassed smile.
Seconds later we’re being herded onto the rafts. Oars are handed over to us and I glance around the group of rafters with me. Jackson sitting across from me, helping the girl in front of him take her seat. She’s tan, tall, with long dark hair and exotic eyes. His eyes are glued to her breasts.
Those have to be fake I think to myself and sink into my seat. I’m suddenly very aware of the fact that I never caught Jackson checking out my own breasts. I wonder why that is? My breasts are nice. Plump. With sensitive pink nipples. Sure, my figure isn’t molded by plastic and silicone. All natural curves are better than plastic rulers, I think.
Then there are the rest of the rafters with us. Three more men, all gawking and hooting. A few minutes ago they were guzzling down beers before stepping onto the raft, and now they’re holding oars and the rest of us are handing over our lives to them. A couple more girls, pretty but distracted and more interested in whether or not they look good in their safety vest than whether or not they’re safe.
I’m only 24 years old. Yet somehow on this raft, these people have managed to make me feel old.
The guide finishes his speech and away we go. Down the river.
Mist from the river sprays over my face and arms, waking up every nerve. Girls behind me are screaming while the boys act as if we’re riding a roller coaster. Bouncing down the river, I can’t help but smile. And for a few minutes, that’s all there is in the world. Just sun, water, and this oar in my hands.
Everything else disappears into a frothy blur of memories. It’s fun. Something I wasn’t sure I could have ever again.
John would never have gone for something like this.
Then the girl across from me bounced right out of her seat. She landed square in the middle of the raft, screaming and clenching her fists onto the handles. I can’t help but laugh at her misfortune. Jackson reaches an arm out to help her back up. She’s laughing hysterically.
Then I see it.
At first I think it’s an accident. No one can be that brazen, right? Then she does it again. Her hands glides right up Jackson’s thigh and lands on his crotch. Squeezing as she leans into him. He tries to play it cool. Playing like he doesn’t notice. But his cock hardening in the raft betrays him.
I avert my eyes, not wanting to see how Jackson reacts to her hand play.
Chapter Seven
The end of the white water rafting portion of this tour couldn’t come fast enough. I clench my eyes shut and just let the ride take me. Letting the mist drench me from head to toe.
Then, as if the universe itself answered me, the ride is finally over. The guide is steering us up onto a beach, and we climb out of the raft. The girl falls into Jackson’s arms. The fall itself is so fake I almost can’t believe he didn’t just move aside to let her fall on her ass.
The thought sends giggles to my lips. I try my best to stifle the laugh, invoking an evil look from her, as I try to untangle my vest.
Following along with the guide, I realize that I had no idea where we were or how long this tour was supposed to last. If I wanted to leave early, can I? How would I know how to get back to my hotel?
Trees block out the sun and I hear the guide talking about a Flying Fox.
What the hell is that? I think.
I jog up toward Jackson. “What’s a Flying Fox?”
He turns and smirks. “Zip lining.”
“Zip lining?
Jackson stop walking and points up at a small cable tied between two cliffs. A few minutes later, someone hangs from the cable and zips from one end to the other, screaming the whole way.
“Oh shit,” I whisper as Jackson walks away from me.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
The group walks up to the edge of a cliff and we wait our turns to get strapped up into this harness so we can plunge down the line. My hands are shaking.
“Don’t worry so much,” Jackson says with a wink. “You wanted to try new things, right? Live life?”
“Have you ever done this before?”
“No. But think of it this way. If anyone had ever died doing this, this would be a very different tour, right?”
“That’s not funny.” I shake my head. My eyes dart from tree to tree.
Just as I turn around to ask the guide to unstrap me, the guide pulls on my harness and launches me over the side of the cliff. I can’t tell if the screams filling my ears belong to me or to the lost souls I’ve surely joined in death.
Before I have a chance to contemplate, I burst through some leaves and something grabs my ankle. I scream and kick, my eyes clenched. My fists are locked tight on my harness.
“Hey, hey. Come on.” Jackson’s voice pulls me out of my scream. “You okay?”
I take a deep breath and glance around.
“Hey. You okay?” he asks me again.
I’m not sure how to answer him. My first thoughts include asking if I’m alive, but I’m pretty sure that’s a stupid question.
The fawning girl grabs Jackson’s arm and pulls him back away from me. “She’s fine. She’s just trying to get attention.”
Finally, my breathing catches up to me and I can take control over my limbs again. I unstrap from the harness as another screaming tourist rides up and lands behind me. Jackson’s newest friend glares at me as he pulls away from her to check on me again.
“Hey.”
“I’m fine,” I say. “I’m just. I’m fine. Sorry.” I brush him off as fast as I can. “You should go, take care of your whatever.”
His cheeks pink up and he turns back to the girl hanging on him. Then he turns back to me, studying me as if to see how I’ll react. “She’s not my anything,” he says.
By now the rest of the tour group is pushing past us, leaving us standing there near the cliff’s edge by ourselves. Sweat and fear has clamped my clothes onto my back. I’m not used to the humidity, and the frizz is starting to overtake my hair, tickling the back of my neck.
“Are you jealous of her?” Jackson asks as he helps me finish my escape from the harness.
“Jealous? Of what?”
“I don’t know. What do you think she is to me?”
I can’t help myself. At this point I’m so frustrated by the entire thought and I’m so uncomfortable that I don’t care what Jackson thinks anymore. “Yet another in a str
ing of meaningless conquests that I’ve seen you with since my entire vacation started,” I blurt.
Jackson stops moving and stares at me. I wish I could read his mind. I’ll even settle for being able to read his facial expressions. Is that concern? Annoyance?
He grabs the back of my neck, letting his thumb caress my jawline. And before I know what’s happening, he leans in and presses his lips against mine.
And I melt.
It’s all I can do to keep my balance. His hot tongue traces along the edges of my lips, begging to be let in. His other hand grips my waist.
I part my lips and let his tongue dance with mine. Oh God. Am I moaning?
I am.
I rake my fingertips up along his back, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into me. Hints of mint caress my tongue as it swirls around his. My nerves light up.
He steps forward, pressing me back against the trunk of a tree. Then pinning me with his body. His cock wakes up against me. Igniting deeper desires. I wrap my leg around his as he presses in closer.
Another moan escapes my lips as Jackson pulls away. His thumb still tracing the nerves along my jawline. My desires reflect back at me as he stares into my eyes.
“Oh shit,” I whisper.
He tries to hold back his chuckle but he can’t. Spit mists across my chin as he laughs.
“That was not the reaction I was expecting,” he says as he wipes my chin.
I shake my head and smile. “Sorry. It’s just that, here I am complaining about you and your meaningless conquests and then I, I just turn around and….”
“Submit?”
“Shhh. Yea. This isn’t happening. I mean this isn’t me. I mean it’s me, but I’m not normally like this. I started this thing that while I was here I was going to try all new things and live life. Not miss out on anything. I don’t throw myself at every—.”
“You don’t have to defend yourself to me.” He says as he pushes off me. “I’m not going to judge you for anything.”
I straighten my hair a bit and start following the fading voices of our tour group.
“Isn’t that what guys like you say though? There’s no judgment here. I’ll still respect you in the morning and all that jazz to convince women to sleep with you?”
“If all I wanted was meaningless sex all the time, why would I bother trying to convince anyone? Plenty of women out there with low enough self-esteem to jump on for a ride without having to waste time trying to convince someone.”
“Oh come on. Don’t act all high and mighty. Over the past couple days I have seen you with your hands on or in someone more often than not.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks between chuckles.
“On the plane? The flight attendant? And then at the hotel? That woman?”
“What, were you spying on me?”
“Oh please. It wouldn’t have taken a secret agent to see you shoving your hand up her skirt.”
He shakes his head and glares out into the distance. “I guess not. So what…were you offended or something?”
“No.”
“But you think that it’s just me and that’s just what I do is go around fucking everything with tits and a vagina?”
“I never said—.”
“You didn’t have to say. You were very careful to let me know that you don’t just jump into bed with men. But somehow you seem to think that I just normally jump into bed with women. You’re worried I’ll judge you because you’re judging me.”
“I thought you worked in online marketing, not psychiatry.”
He laughs and we catch up to our group sitting at a group of tables at a cafe. The tour guide is describing some of the foods and the history behind the cuisine.
“It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to figure out how women like you think of men like me. But why can’t vacation just be that? Just what you were trying to get? An escape from reality to just…do whatever or whoever you wouldn’t normally do? If you ask me, your own thoughts are getting in your way.”
I smile and gaze up at him. “I can’t tell if that’s an invitation or a request?”
He smiles back and glances around the cafe. “I guess that depends on whether or not you want to be conquered or to be the conquistador.”
“Is all your bedroom talk so…violent?”
He laughs. “That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”
Jackson’s friend has moved on and is now rubbing up on one of the college boys from the raft. Clearly the crush on Jackson is over.
That’s when it hits me. All these people were on vacation. I glance around from one tourist to another. Some of them knew each other before they came to Thailand, the group of guys came from the same college. But most didn’t. Most are hooking up with people for fun. Just for a good time.
For vacation.
Jackson’s right. I should be enjoying this vacation, not worried about judgment.
And what do I have to lose? He doesn’t know where I live, where I worked — he doesn’t even know my full name. I never have to see or hear from him again after this.
So why not take him for a little ride and have some fun while I’m down here?
I grab Jackson’s hand to drag him over to the bathroom. “Come on,” I whisper.
“What?”
He follows me into and I close the door behind him. The bathroom’s small, room enough for one person to do her business. But it’ll work for my plans. He looks stronger than Sam was. Probably wouldn’t have a problem holding me up.
Before he can say a word, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and plunge my tongue into his hot mouth. He moans as his hand glides down my waist and pulls my leg up around him.
“What are we doing?” he asks as I reach around him to latch the door lock.
“Having a vacation,” I say.
Without another word I press my body onto his again. Reveling in the feeling of his cock hardening against me. My tongue battling with his. His fingers bite into my thigh and pull me closer to him.
He scoops me up, wrapping my legs around him. I slide down his front, my nipples grazing against every muscle.
I’m dripping.
He tightens his grip on my thighs, holding me just above his cock. My core quivers, begging for attention. And I’m suddenly very aware of how thin this skirt is.
Jackson’s moans sing to me. Each one sends vibrations rippling through my nerves. He reaches around, brushing against my panties and lighting a new fire.
I rock my hips against him, hoping he’ll accept the invitation.
It works.
He glides his hand closer to my core. Rubbing against my swelling clit.
I throw my head back, granting his lips access to my neck as he rubs my wet pussy. As he lowers my body back to the floor, I work my hand down between us and grab his cock.
His huge cock, growing bigger and fighting to be freed from his jeans. Begging to be coated in the juices dripping from my pussy.
Jackson reaches into his pockets. “Fuck,” he says.
“What? What’s wrong?” I ask. My heart sinks at the notion he might be having second thoughts. Maybe something’s wrong with me after all?
“I don’t have a condom,” he says with disappointed eyes.
Nope. Nothing wrong with me at all.
I lean up onto my tip toes and kiss along his neck. I unfasten his jeans, wrapping my fingers around his hard cock. I don’t want to stop anything I’ve started here. How can I?
My bottom lip grazes against the base of his neck as I release a deep, hot breath. Then I pull his jeans down and sink to my knees.
His cock is every bit as I imagined it. Veins pulsing beneath his velvety skin. I lick along his shaft as he groans above me. My lips stretch out over the head of his cock as my hand pumps intimately.
Slowly.
I swirl my tongue over the end, unhinging my jaw the best I can to take him in further.
His hand tangles into my hair.
I massage his balls
with one hand and pull him deeper into my mouth with the other. He’s shaking. Quivering in my mouth. I moan and pump his cock harder.
The more he moaned the harder I sucked. With every twitch I licked and swirled my tongue over his shaft. And finally, both of his hands fisted through my hair and he pulled. I moaned and prepared my throat for his release. The salty, sweet juices go down with ease.
As he loosens his grip on my hair, I loosen my lips around the head of his cock. Still lapping up every bit of juice I can, and relishing every twitch my touch invokes.
He grabs my hands and pulls me back to my feet. His palm cups my breast. He pulls at my shawl and reaches into my bikini top before sealing his lips around my hard nipple. His tongue flicks and suckles at the sensitive, hard nipple. Sending lightning through my body.
I lift my leg as his other hand dips into my panties.
Just when I think he is going to bring me to glorious release, the door thumps behind him.
“Hey, someone in here?”
We hold our breath and stare at each other. His hand still hovers at my opening. My core blossoming and dripping onto his fingertips.
More knocking.
“Come on, I gotta go!”
I close my eyes and bite my lips as he carefully lets me go.
Just my luck, I think.
“Sorry,” Jackson whispers as if in response to my thoughts.
I shake my head and adjust my bikini top while he pulls his jeans back up.
More pounding.
“Yea, hang on!” Jackson yells out.
I dart across the restroom to grab some tissue and try to clean myself up as best I can. My wet panties feel cool and uncomfortable against my hot pussy.
Jackson turns on the sink and splashes water in my face.
“What the fuck?” I whisper, not sure if I should laugh or punch him.
He chuckles and throws another handful of water in my face before brushing my hair back with his wet hand. Before I can say anything else, he rushes me over to the door and flings it open.
“Hey, sorry guys. She just wasn’t feeling good, you know?”
“Ew,” one of the college boys says as he curls his lip up at me. “Man, some chicks just can’t hold their liquor, huh?”
Sweetest Sin: Bad Boy Bundle Page 20