His daredevil attitude not only pushed my blood faster through my veins, but also sparked an unwanted heat deep inside of me. The late afternoon sunlight was soft on my face, and the salty breeze playfully caressed my sunkissed skin. Seagulls glided high up, their wings a flash of silver against the bright blue sky. Up here, I felt as free as they were. Free of all the world’s problems. Free of my troubles. Free of past hurt. I wanted to stay in this moment and feel like this for the rest of my life.
A few minutes later, Hunter towered over me, the sun’s last rays gleaming in water drops on his defined muscles. It was no longer possible to ignore changes in my body chemistry at his proximity, turning me into dynamite and my nerve endings into lit fuses. I had a major crush on him. And I had no idea what to do with myself.
“If you give me a heart attack, you better know what to do. All that mouth-to-mouth and pushing on my chest stuff.” It was my stupid attempt to say:I like you so much, would you please kiss me?
“Are you going to try this?” he asked. “I can hold your hand, and we jump together.”
We could hold hands and jump, me screaming my lungs out and not letting go of him as we broke the water. We’d surface up, laughing, and swim back to the small beach. Breathless, dropping on small rocks and caught in the moment, he’d kiss me. With a rush of adrenaline and exhilaration of sexual energy, we would strip off our clothes and make love right there and then. The image was so clear. But could I do it? I rolled onto my stomach and stared at the ocean below.
Not. A. Fucking. Chance.
“Let’s go back to our beach and swim.” I squinted at him. I’d have to find a different way to steal his kiss.
“Okay. Meet me where the path forks.” Hunter balanced with no apparent difficulty on the edge. He stretched out his arms. “Watch this.”
“Nothing good follows a statement li?—”
With a powerful drive, Hunter pushed off the ground. His body rotated a few times downward, entering the water seamlessly. My mouth dropped open in awe.
When Hunter swam to the shore I rushed to meet him. I caught up to him at the dirt path’s midpoint and my flip-flop caught on an exposed root, tripping me forward. Hunter grabbed my wrist, swiveling me around. My right foot slid on small rocks, and the left went straight for his groin. He turned to block it but lost his balance. We barreled down the hill deeper into the woods, stumbling over soft grass clumps, small twigs catching on my skin and hair. We rolled into a bed of ferns, and I sprawled on the ground, my legs and arms stretched out, and Hunter’s big frame landed on me. Without lifting his head off my shoulder, Hunter let out a full, throaty laugh, his body shaking. Laughter burst out of me, too.
“Are you laughing at me?” I wiped the tears from my eyes.
He shook his head, chuckling. “You should have seen your face when you almost kicked me.”
I snorted, which only made us laugh more. Hunter buried his face in the crook of my neck, his breath warm against my skin. When his laughter ceased, he rested his weight on his elbows, hovering over me, and our gazes connected. Ocean droplets fell off his hair, landing on mine as he stared at me. A new sense of nervousness left me breathless.
“I tripped you,” I said, mesmerized by the feel of him on me, his hot skin pressing against mine.
“I’m aware of that.” His voice was low.
My hands found his back. I wanted to slide them down so I could reach and squeeze his butt, but I ran my fingers upward. Hunter’s body became rigid, and it seemed he stopped breathing. A storm of emotions passed through his eyes. Heat fluttered against my ribs, and my heart beat so fast, I swear Hunter felt it. My nipples were hard, poking through the thin fabric of my bikini top. I was sure he felt them, too.
His throat worked, and his gaze dropped to my lips. “Anything broken?”
My heart—if you don’t kiss me right now.
I slid my foot down Hunter’s leg and curled it around his calf. An expression flashed over his face faster than I could read. Fear? Regret? Restraint? Hunter’s chest heaved, and his eyes closed briefly. Then he took a breath, exhaled slowly, and met my eyes. “Sydney.”
The way he said my name was enough for me to never want to leave this place. I quivered with anticipation for the next moment. He looked at my mouth. I tipped my chin up, inviting him. Breath was the shortest distance between our lips.
A rustle of dry leaves took Hunter’s attention. I twisted to look. With a green lizard in his mouth, Monday stared at us, his yellow eyes round as if surprised to find us in such a compromising position. Tuesday darted from under a fern and pounced on Monday. They pranced around, blended into anorange, white and black fur ball, and rolled behind a curtain of overgrown vines. The lucky lizard scrambled away in a hurry.
“Did you see that?” Hunter got up, leaving me instantly cold. The moment we had was broken. “There’s an opening.”
Needless to say, I didn’t give a damn if there was or wasn’t an opening. We had been about to kiss. Was it possible to misread everything about Hunter’s lingering gazes at me, gentle touches, and constant glances at my lips? The state of his dick was a huge indication Hunter had precisely the same thoughts as I did.
But Hunter pulled me to my feet as if nothing had just happened between us and stepped to an enormous fallen tree that leaned against a stone wall. He dragged large branches out the way, ducked under the trunk, and pushed some overgrown vines aside, exposing the gateway into the mountain.
I swallowed my pride and stepped beside Hunter, leaving some distance between us. He kept his gaze forward, and I forced myself to do the same. The second my eyes took in our new discovery my jaw went slack, but then my lips turned into a grin. The markings of hand tools used to carve larger spaces in the rock loudly signaled that Hunter and I had finally discovered the right place. My mind swirled, excitement exploding beneath my breastbone.
“Hunter,” I whispered, but I really wanted to shout. “This is it.”
He glanced at me with an unabashed smile, eyes wide and bright, full of anticipation, a tiny twig stuck in his hair. “I can’t believe I’ve searched this entire island and never noticed it.”
I nudged him with my elbow. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m clumsy.”
Hunter’s face broke out in a grin, and then we walked into the mouth of the cave.
