And she fell straight down.
“Dammit!” she said, throwing her hands to her sides. “What am I doing wrong?”
“You’re not swinging through. Here, like this.” He took the vine and pulled himself up again, showing the follow-through with his legs. “Just try that right here. Lâche pas la patate,” he said, walking back to her and holding the vine in his hand.
“What does that mean?”
“It means ‘Don’t give up the potato.’ ”
Miri stopped mid-grab and burst out laughing, placing her hands on either side of her head and resting it on his chest. With a natural ease, he held her for a moment as she giggled in his arms. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at the top of her head, taking in the moment.
“No, it does not,” she said as she lifted her head away from his body. He smiled, knowing she’d like that saying, before finally releasing her from his arms.
“Literally, yes. Figuratively, it means don’t give up. Now take it,” he said. He handed the vine back to her, and she lifted herself up and tried the swing, but nope. Still didn’t work.
“Okay, let me help you. Pull yourself up,” he said, standing beside her.
She tried again, but this time he placed his hands below her ass and assisted her swing through. She sucked in a sharp breath, as if his touch sent that same familiar jolt through her body as hers had done to him. As if she wasn’t used to this feeling. Used to being touched this way. Or at all. And as if just realizing what he’d done, Rafa let her go and took a step back.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—” he started.
But Miri put her hand on Rafa’s forearm to stop him from apologizing. “Can we try again?”
Her deep blue eyes summoned him, almost as if they were saying something else. Inviting him into her space. She took a step forward, facing him head-on, then reached her arms above her head, her eyes never straying from his face. He circled around her body to her side, but this time she made no effort to lift herself, clearly waiting instead for him to assist.
He placed one hand under her thighs, then lifted her off the ground. So close he could take in her scent. She smelled like lily of the valley: sweet, delicate, and with a hint of lemon. Even with remnants of dirt on her face from her earlier falls and a few pieces of twig and leaves in her hair, he’d never wanted to kiss someone so badly in his life. But not only that. He wanted to brush his lips against hers, taking in her nervous breaths through his every sense before pressing his mouth to hers. Run his tongue along the opening of her mouth until she let him in, commingling her tongue with his. Slowly massage their lips together. Savor every part of that kiss.
“Like this?” she said brightly, bringing his attention back to their practice session.
He cleared his throat. “Yep, that’s it.” He moved back and refocused his energy. “Now go ahead and try the whole thing.”
With a deep breath, Miri took several steps back, then ranand did the routine in one seamless movement with a perfect landing.
“Oh my God! I’m queen of the jungle!” She jumped up and down, cheering for herself, giddy and cute as all get-out. As he watched her dancing around like she’d kicked a game-winning football goal, a sense of pride overtook him. Witnessing her succeed, even at something as silly as completely pointless vine-swinging in the jungle, warmed his soul.
It was then that Rafa realized Miri wasn’t the only thing falling in the jungle.
Forget what he’d said earlier.Theyweren’t fucked. He was.
Chapter
Eight
Miri couldn’t imagine a singleinstance in her life when she’d need the skill of swinging from a vine and landing in a crouched position, but boy did it feel great to stick that landing.
Almost as good as it felt having Rafa’s hands on her body.
When was the last time she’d experienced that warm, full-body tingling sensation? Had sheeverexperienced such a sensation?
After their jungle rendezvous, they eventually found their way back to Felix and Logan. Several hours had passed since Anissa, Dr. Quinn, and the rest of the crew had taken off, but it felt like they’d been out there for days. She glanced over at Rafa sitting beside Felix and Logan. Who was he? Where had he come from? In all her thirty-one years of life she’d never met someone she’d had such a strong physical attraction to as Rafa. With his looks, surely she wasn’t the only person drawn to him like a magnet. It was hard not to stare at him. Wonder about his life story. Imagine what he looked like with his shirt off.
Probably had an eight-pack hidden under there. Firm. Hard. Soft to the touch. She pictured her hands running along the ridges of his shoulders, slowly making their way to his pecs with a smattering of dark hair before traveling down to the ripple of his abs. He’d flinch at the delicate glide of her fingertips, but only for a moment. Stepping into her, he’d press his warm flesh against her, placing his hands behind her back and pulling her in. He’d stare down at her as he lifted her chin. His eyes would shift from her lips to her hungry gaze, waiting to taste him. His mouth would open as he leaned in, and—
“You all right over there?” Felix called out.
Miri jumped, realizing she’d been staring intently at Rafa. He eyed her curiously, then tossed her a mischievous smile as if he could read her thoughts. No. That wasn’t possible.
Was it? God, she hadn’t said anything out loud, had she?
