Lunch meant a table under a palapa where the ocean breeze carried the scent of island flowers. We ordered different dishes and when the food arrived we stole bites from each other’s plates.
“Good?” he asked, watching me try the grilled fish.
“Amazing.” Though honestly, cardboard would’ve tasted gourmet with him watching me enjoy my food like it was his favorite pastime.
“You’ve got...” He reached across the table, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. “Sauce.”
Forgetting my lungs needed oxygen was becoming a recurring theme. Jackson’s thumb lingered, his eyes dropping to my mouth in a way that made me question—
Shouting drew my attention. A woman three tables over shoved to her feet then grabbed her glass and tossed her drink into the face of her husband…boyfriend… I wasn’t sure, but the look on her face said the guy was lucky it was only a drink and not a weapon.
When the guy jolted to his feet, Jackson did as well, almost like it was instinctive. His muscles were coiled, eyes narrowed, watching the scene unfold.
I felt just as tense, hoping things didn’t escalate. Not only was it wrong for a guy to assault a woman, but he was also three times her size. If shit jumped off and Jackson intervened, I was grabbing the woman and running her inside to safety.
Four men in security uniforms descended out of nowhere, converging on the guy. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the guy nodded and walked away.
Jackson lowered to his seat, glancing at me as if to ask if I was okay. I wasn’t sure what to think. I’d known Jackson for years, yet I’d never seen this side of him. The protector ready to tackle a guy larger than him.
It was hot as fuck.
“You’re good. Security handled it.” I reached for his hand without thought and squeezed it. “Breathe., Jax,” I said, slipping back into old habits by calling him by his nickname.
His eyes soften, helping to ease the tension in my shoulders. “I’m good, Ollie. Wasn’t going to let her get hurt. That’s all.” Smile crooked, he winked at me. “Ready to see what else this place has to offer?”
I wanted so badly to kiss him, but rose to my feet instead. “Lead the way, Bear Grylls.”
* * * *
Wandering after dinner had seemed like such a brilliant idea when the resort paths were still visible in the fading light. Now, surrounded by vegetation that rustled with creepy crawlies and air thick enough to swim through, I wondered if we’d ever get out of here.
Something buzzed past my ear. Another something landed on my neck. Mosquitos had apparently sent out a group text about the all-you-can-eat buffet that was my exposed skin.
“Maybe we should’ve stayed by the pool,” I muttered, slapping at my forearm where another bloodsucker had set up camp.
Jackson pushed aside a low-hanging branch, holding it so I could duck under. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Back at the resort bar with the rum punch.” Humidity made my shirt cling like a second skin, and sweat trickled down my spine in a way that felt decidedly unsexy. Unlike Jackson, who somehow managed to look like a cologne ad even while navigating through tropical wilderness.
How was that even fair? And now we were lost in an island jungle, probably moving farther and farther away from civilization.
Sharp pain shot through my calf, making me jerk my leg up so fast I nearly lost my balance.
“Spider! Has to be a spider!” Some massive tropical nightmare with fangs like hypodermic needles, pumping venom that would make my leg swell up like a balloon and liquefy organs. Already I could feel the toxins spreading. Or maybe that was just panic making my skin flush hot.
“Whoa, hey.” Jackson's hands caught my shoulders, steadying me. “What happened?”
“Did you not just hear that mortifying scream? I felt a sharp pain on my leg.” My hand clutched at the spot, expecting to feel something horrible and hairy still attached. “Probably venomous. Tell my mother I died bravely.”
Jackson crouched beside me, fingers wrapping around my ankle to guide my foot onto his bent knee. The position put his face dangerously close to my thigh, and suddenly the bite seemed like the least of my problems.
"Hold still." His fingers brushed across my calf, searching for the wound, each touch sending sparks racing up my leg that had nothing to do with venom. "Mosquito," he declared, looking up at me with amusement dancing in those green eyes. "You'll live."
"Mosquito." Relief and disappointment warred in my chest. Disappointment that he was already standing, already stepping back to a safe distance. "Great. Death by a thousand tiny vampires."
We kept moving deeper into the vegetation, though what exactly we were looking for remained unclear. Adventure, Jackson had said, but all I’d found so far was humidity and an increasing awareness that every casual touch from him was slowly driving me insane.
Another mosquito landed on my neck. Then my arm. Then somewhere on my back that I couldn’t quite reach, making me twist like a contortionist while Jackson laughed.
