by Mia Hoddell
Rearing back, one foot rose off the bottom of the canoe.
Then, suddenly, Cole toppled out of the boat. I couldn’t contain my roar of laughter as he surfaced seconds later around a metre away. His life jacket forced him to bob up and down while the current evened out.
“It’s a miracle! You’re alive,” I shouted, throwing my arms up into the air.
“You won’t be soon.”
“Oooh, I’m sooo scared. Look, I’m literally trembling over here.” I shook the boat dramatically. “Cheer up, or I won’t let you back on board.”
Ignoring me, Cole reached the edge of the canoe in a few strokes. He threw his arms over the side and latched on to heave himself back in. A rush of water came with him, pouring into the bottom of the boat as he dragged his legs in behind him and collapsed on his back.
“Do you feel alive now?”
I spun around so I could guide the boat over to the bank up ahead.
“Not really. I feel like I nearly drowned.”
“Like you’d admit it even if I was right.” I hopped from the canoe, the cool water rising up to my waist. “Help me pull this thing to the shore.” I didn’t need to glance back; the squeak of his wetsuit rubbing against the material of the canoe let me know he followed my directions.
Lugging the boat behind us, we stepped on to the small, pebbled beach that from a distance remained hidden behind a larger boulder-sized rock jutting out over the river. When I was sure the boat wasn’t going to float away, I let go and headed straight for the rock. Deep, rich greenery surrounded us. Trees lined the edges of the banks, splashes of grey were scattered here and there, where sharper, jagged rocks lay concealed beneath the branches. Further out the ground rose up to form steep cliffs coated with fuzzy, green plants, and even further the Alps enclosed us in the valley.
“What are you doing, Alaya?”
I paused, my arms raised above my head to glance behind me. “Climbing a rock. What does it look like?”
“I know what it looks like, but why?”
Pushing off with my foot, I launched myself up the smooth face to grab hold of the top. “Because … I want … to sit on … it.” I panted as I clambered up. Finally, I reached the top, and stretching my legs out in front of me I lay back on my elbows. “Aren’t you coming up?”
“Do you wake up like this, or are you secretly addicted to caffeine and sugar?”
“What you see is what you get. This is all natural.” I gestured lengthwise down my body, and his eyes tracked my movements. To be honest, being strapped in a faded red life jacket wasn’t exactly the most flattering outfit, though it didn’t seem to diminish the hunger in his gaze.
“Believe me, I know all of that is natural.”
A blush warmed my cheeks, and when I couldn’t come up with a response fast enough, I remained silent.
For a second Cole disappeared from view, then one hand appeared over the lip of the rock and was quickly followed by a head and the rest of his body.
“Okay, you got me up here. Now what?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.”
He sprawled out beside me, his legs dangling over the edge they were so long. Throwing his arms back over his head, and resting them under his helmet, he closed his eyes as he faced the sky. He didn’t speak for a moment, only the trickle of water beneath us filling the air.
“Do you still think you’ll be here for three months?” he asked finally, cracking one eye and tilting his head towards me.
“Not sure yet. It all depends on how quickly I get bored and run out of things to do.”
“Where are you going after?”
I shrugged. “Wherever I feel like it. Spain, Greece, Germany, or Italy … whatever takes my fancy. The only thing I’m sure about is I’ll be in Germany in November or early December.”
“Why?”
“Christmas markets. I swore to go back after I visited them in high school. What about you? What’s for you after France?”
“Following you I guess.”
My jaw fell slack and I sat up swiftly to stare down at him. “Be serious. You must have had some kind of plan when you started this journey before you met me. Or is that part of the secret?”
He chuckled, the sound warming me from the inside out. “No, it’s not. And honestly there was no plan. I had to get away so I left, simple as that.”
“Why did you have to get away?”
“Ah, now that is part of the secret, sweetheart.” The moment of humour I brought out in him dissipated. His eyes clouded over as he stared at the other side of the river. Focused solely on one spot, his molars ground together and his fists balled on his lap.
I reached out to him, my fingers cupping his jaw. The stubble felt rough against my skin as I forced him to look at me, and only when his gaze met mine did I speak. “It won’t scare me off if you tell me. It doesn’t have to be a secret.”
“It will and it does.”
I shook my head, biting down on my lip. My eyes were round in earnest, begging him to reveal whatever put the darkness into his expression.
“The past doesn’t have to affect your future. You can choose to let go of it.”
“What if your past is chasing you? Not everyone can let go. I may be a fast runner, but it’s going to catch up with me someday.”
“What is? What’s chasing you, Cole?” My voice dropped to a whisper, my thumb running over his cheekbone. His eyes shut at my touch and he let out a sigh. I found myself being drawn towards him; leaning into him, he did the same until our faces were inches apart. My gaze dropped to his lips and back up to his eyes. When his hands slid to my hips, circling round to my spine, I gasped.
The sound focused his attention back on me and the desire in his gaze shocked me. Wetting my lips, my breath caught in my throat as he began to close the distance between us even more.
I only had a second if I wanted to stop him.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled back and launched myself from the rock. My neoprene shoes gave me the grip I needed on the edge, allowing me to kick off into the middle of the river.
The cool water enveloped me as I dipped beneath the surface. The prickling warmth that had been crawling over my skin ceased to exist, replaced only by the smooth embrace of the water.
When my life jacket forced me back to the surface, I shook my hair and the water from my eyes. I glanced up at Cole with a smirk. He stared down at me with startled eyes and his hands hovered in mid-air like he didn’t know what to do with them.
“Are you coming in or not?” I shouted, cupping my hands over my mouth as I floated away.
“You’re insane. If you didn’t want to kiss me you could have told me. You didn’t need to throw yourself from a cliff.”
“Once again, don’t be dramatic. It’s a rock and it’s what this spot is for.” Breaking out into a crawl, I made my way over to the beach. Cole tracked my every movement, studying me with a calculating gaze as if trying to predict my next move.
“I should have let you fend for yourself on the train. I’m sure the creeper would have come off worse.”
“Don’t change the subject. Are you going to jump or am I going to have to come up there and push you?”
He snorted. “I’d like to see you try.”
Challenge accepted, I climbed the rock swiftly. He was standing by the time I reached the top, and without thinking things through I charged at him. I raised my arms in front of me, preparing to push him with all of the force I had … only they never made contact. Cole gripped me under my arms and he used my momentum to sweep me up and spin me.
Before I could register what was happening, I sailed through the air again with a shriek. Realising I only had a second to suck in a breath, I shut up and closed my mouth right as my feet hit the water again.
I came up spluttering, coughing to clear my throat of the water I accidently swallowed.
“What the hell did you do that for?” I cried up to where Cole grinned down at me. As I waded through
the shallows furiously, the deep rumbles of his laugh only increased. “Seriously? What. The. Hell?”
“I said you couldn’t push me off.”
I grumbled, and using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun I scowled at him. Placing my free hand on my hip, I decided to change tactics. He was right and there was no possible way for me to move him if he didn’t want to.
An idea came to me. “I bet you won’t jump.”
“What do I get if I do? Can I claim the kiss you were so afraid of?”
“No,” I deadpanned. “Although, if you jump now, I promise there’ll be no more crazy for the rest of the day.”
“You can do normal?” he asked incredulously, his expression morphing into amazement.
“Are you accepting the bet or not?”
Taking a few steps back, his only answer was to run and leap into the air with a war cry. The sound cut off as soon as he hit the water, replaced with the largest splash I’d ever seen when droplets were thrown metres into the air. The clear surface filled with bubbles, his impact causing ripples to spread out in rings around his entrance point.
A few seconds later he bobbed up, spitting out a mouthful of water, and rubbed his eyes. He paddled back towards me until he reached the beach. The pebbles darkened beneath him as he coated them in a layer of water. When I glanced up to meet his eyes they were framed by droplets clinging to his lashes.
“Told you I don’t back down from a bet.” He smirked.
“It’s a good thing I only make bets I don’t mind losing.” I matched his expression. “I didn’t have any more crazy planned for the rest of the day to begin with.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cole
She threw herself off a rock—a fucking rock—just to get away from me. I’d never had that happen before. No one ever said no to me, let alone flung themselves into a river to stop a kiss. Seriously? Couldn’t she have just said no? I mean, what happened if next time—because there would be a next time—we were on a roof? Was she going to throw herself off that too? Or how about on a pavement? Would she throw herself into oncoming traffic? Her craziness knew no bounds.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the almost-kiss, or the sensation of her soft skin against my jaw all night and morning. If she thought she could get away with teasing me throughout the duration of my stay then she was in for a surprise. She had nothing wild planned for the next two days due to work, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to exact my revenge.
If she wanted a war, then war was what she’d get.
We’d see who caved first.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alaya
“I hate him. I truly, utterly, completely hate him,” I whined to Rose for the umpteenth time. She worked behind the bar, and every time I got a lull in serving drinks around the pool or returned with an order I had a new complaint.
Leaning against the mahogany top, I spun my black, circular tray around and waited for her to make up the iced teas a couple had ordered.
“Yeah right. You can deny it all you want, but you like him.”
I frowned at her. “No I don’t.”
Rose shrugged. “What’s he doing now?”
“He’s just … he’s just … ugh!” I dropped my head into my arms, muffling the groan of frustration. When I regained control, I looked up to find Rose placing the first drink in front of me with a smile. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Every time I walk past the jackass he touches me. His fingers only graze my leg or back, but I’m surprised I haven’t walked into the pool when he combines it with his comments. He shouldn’t be allowed to say the things he does.”
“Have you tried not walking past him? I think the heat is beginning to fry your brain if you can’t figure that one out.”
My grimace deepened. “Believe me, I tried. It only draws a wolf whistle from him, and out of the two I prefer the silent torment because at least it doesn’t attract attention from the other guests.”
Rose giggled. I was glad somebody found it amusing, because I didn’t find a speck of humour in Cole’s actions. He’d been at it for three hours and I was dangerously close to dumping the iced teas over his head if he didn’t cut it out soon.
“It’s not funny!” I took her silent shakes of amusement as disagreement. “Just give me the damned drinks.”
Swiping the tray off the bar, I balanced it on my hand and made my way over to the far end of the pool where a couple sunbathed. As I moved past Cole his fingers grazed the back of my calf. While only a feather-light touch, it caused my knees to weaken and my breath to catch.
Deliberately, I gazed in the opposite direction, not paying him any attention. My steps quickened so that soon I could place the couple’s drinks on their table and return to the bar where I could relax in the shade and admire Cole from a distance. Of course I’d have my sunglasses on, so he wouldn’t notice my staring.
Anticipating his touch on the way back, I gave him a wide berth, only his touch never came. I’d successfully passed him and three other loungers when I heard his voice.
“Gingernut, can you give me a hand?”
My steps halted and I gritted my teeth. For a moment I remained glowering at the bar, wondering what he could possibly need. I used the time to pull up my best false smile—the one I used with irritating customers—and then turned slowly to face him.
“What can I do for you, Hazel?” I enquired, taking a step in his direction. If I hadn’t been on duty I wouldn’t have been so polite.
His eyes burned at the name—the only dig I could get in during work hours. However, when he held up a bottle of sun cream and waved it in front of him with a grin, I came close to ignoring all code of conduct.
“I can’t reach my back. Think you can help?”
I strode towards him quickly and hissed, “Can you stop it? I’m trying to do my job here.”
He replaced his grin instantly with false innocence. “Stop doing what, sweetheart? I’m just relaxing here like any other guest.”
“You know exactly what you’ve been doing.”
“I really don’t, so enlighten me.”
I snatched the bottle from his grip. Figuring it was the only way to shut him up and get out of the situation, I made a spinning gesture with my finger. Cole swivelled on the seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and exposing his back to me.
I shook the bottle and squirted a trail along his spine. My initial idea was to get it over with as quickly as possible, but as my hands connected with the strong, sinewy muscles I couldn’t resist taking my time. Slowing my movements, my actions changed into more of a caress when a plan came to me.
Wiping the excess cream on my leg, I straightened one finger and proceeded to write on his back. Removing a layer of cream in certain patches, I hoped to brand the name ‘Hazel’ on to his back. I finished my drawing with a little heart and pronounced myself done.
Cole spun back to me and I handed him the bottle without a word as I began to leave.
“Nice try, Gingernut, but not good enough.” Glancing over my shoulder, I watched Cole perform a perfect dive into the water. His body cut through the surface gracefully as he immediately broke out into long, powerful strokes, which pulled him towards the opposite end of the pool. When he gripped hold of the tiles, shook the water off, and beamed at me, I glowered in response. Biting my tongue to hold any frustrated retorts in, I spun swiftly to clock off. I’d show him how to really get under someone’s skin. I planned to change into my tiniest bikini and once I finished with him he would wish he’d never started the game.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cole
I knew my taunts were getting to Alaya. If she thought for one second I hadn’t noticed any of her frustrated rants to the girl behind the bar, she was wrong. I noticed everything she did, down to the tiny hair flick she performed before picking up every tray of drinks. It also meant I couldn’t miss the fact she’d disappeared. Her friend remained behind the bar, but I couldn’t f
ind Alaya anywhere around the pool.
For a second I wondered if I’d pushed her too far. Though I couldn’t help myself. I got a kick out of frustrating her and her anger only made her hotter. I liked the way she fought back and pretended I had no effect on her. Her flushed cheeks and clenched jaw told me otherwise.
I was about to get up and head back to my room when she stepped out of the building. Unlike earlier, she had ditched her work clothes in favour of a navy camisole and denim skirt. She carried a pale yellow towel in one hand, and sunglasses and sun lotion in the other. Beneath the material of her top, the white strings of a bikini poked out. My eyes followed the thin strands up from her chest to where they tied at her neck and became lost in the tendrils of deep red hair falling around her shoulders.
She circled around the pool towards me with a deliberate sway to her hips. Within seconds she stood beside me and threw her towel over the free lounger next to mine. Placing the rest of her belongings on the table, she turned her back on me to give me a close-up view of her perfect ass.
When her hands dipped to the bottom of her shirt I couldn’t look away. She raised the material up over her skin slowly. Pulling it over her head, she shook out her hair and threw the top on to the lounger. Her hands lowered to the waistband of her skirt. The material loosened as she undid the front and then her hands were on her hips. My throat bobbed as I swallowed, my heart hammering in my chest.
Carefully, with deliberate movements, she slid the denim over her skin to expose the tiniest bikini bottoms I’d ever seen hugging her curves like they were a second skin. Everything seemed to play out in slow motion as she inched the material lower, exposing a centimetre at a time.
She allowed the material to drop and I watched it pool at her feet.
When she bent over to pick it up, my gaze flew back to her ass and instantly my chest constricted at the sight. The lack of air burned my lungs. Too transfixed by what I saw, I couldn’t be bothered with simple necessities such as breathing.