her along by rubbing the pad of his thumb over them. She swallowed hard. “Is this another of those movies you’ve seen?”
“No, Tess. This is all inspired by you. No one else.”
Finally her body relaxed against him, and they leaned against each other for the rest of the drive.
* * *
The cloud forest lived up to its name. The first time she’d hiked along these trails, she’d felt like she was on the set of Jurassic Park. Ferns bigger than her lined the narrow dirt path, and ancient trees unlike any of their more cultivated cousins in England stretched overhead, forming a canopy to block out all but a few rays of sun. Mist swirled around their feet. Up here, the weather was cooler than down below, but the humidity was off the charts.
Tony stayed with the van in the car park at the base of the trail. He gave Tess and Liam a packed lunch and pointed them toward a trail she hadn’t been on the other day. “It’s a more difficult path, so we don’t take groups on it unless they’re all in good shape. It should be very quiet today. You’ll hike for a couple of hours along a stream and then come to a waterfall. Nice place to stop for lunch.”
Yeah, lunch and some nekkid time with Liam Callaghan. God, the thought of it almost made her nervous enough to throw up. She’d been naked with men before, of course, but she’d also seen their disappointment in her lack of certain physical attributes. Though most of them hid it well, she’d have to be blind not to have noticed the resignation when she stripped off her padded bra and revealed that even her modest cleavage was an illusion.
But when she’d confessed that to her sister, Gwen had said, “Are you kidding? Don’t you think men feel the same about themselves? They’re probably just as worried about the first time you see their beer bellies or the unimpressive size of their dicks. I mean, it’s hardly like you’re sleeping with athletes.”
Except that thought stopped being comforting when she was on the verge of sleeping with an athlete. Or, if not sleeping with him, then at least getting naked with him.
They hiked for nearly two hours, chatting about meaningless things. He seemed relaxed, happy to point out bird species he’d read about when he was a boy in London and had gone through a brief involvement in a local Young Ornithologists club. He also quizzed her about football—her favorite players, who she thought would win the league this season—as if he wanted to be sure she really was a footie supporter. She hated to sound like a stereotypical girl, but her football knowledge was completely limited to which players looked hottest in underwear adverts, so she mostly bemoaned the fact that David Beckham had retired.
They reached the pool as hunger pangs began clawing at her energy levels. They nearly walked past it, since it was hidden by a ring of trees, ferns and other junglelike bushes. Liam spotted the tiny break in the brush, a small path that had been created by people—and probably animals—pushing through the undergrowth to get to the water. With a sly glance at her, he grabbed her hand and led her to the pool, holding back tree branches so they didn’t slap her in the face.
When they broke through, Tess’s breath caught. A waterfall about twice Liam’s height rumbled at one end of the pool. The water from the stream above flowed over a rock shelf, creating what looked like a hidden room behind the waterfall. The pool was filled with clear water, revealing pebbles in the shallows and turning a deeper blue in the middle. Several large flat rocks ringed the pool, perfect for drying off or snoozing even if there wasn’t enough direct sunlight for tanning.
Perfect for sexy times.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Liam let go of her hand and crunched over the stony ground to the biggest rock. He dropped his backpack, pulled their packed lunches out and glanced back at her with a raised brow. “Coming?”
God, she
“No, Tess. This is all inspired by you. No one else.”
Finally her body relaxed against him, and they leaned against each other for the rest of the drive.
* * *
The cloud forest lived up to its name. The first time she’d hiked along these trails, she’d felt like she was on the set of Jurassic Park. Ferns bigger than her lined the narrow dirt path, and ancient trees unlike any of their more cultivated cousins in England stretched overhead, forming a canopy to block out all but a few rays of sun. Mist swirled around their feet. Up here, the weather was cooler than down below, but the humidity was off the charts.
Tony stayed with the van in the car park at the base of the trail. He gave Tess and Liam a packed lunch and pointed them toward a trail she hadn’t been on the other day. “It’s a more difficult path, so we don’t take groups on it unless they’re all in good shape. It should be very quiet today. You’ll hike for a couple of hours along a stream and then come to a waterfall. Nice place to stop for lunch.”
Yeah, lunch and some nekkid time with Liam Callaghan. God, the thought of it almost made her nervous enough to throw up. She’d been naked with men before, of course, but she’d also seen their disappointment in her lack of certain physical attributes. Though most of them hid it well, she’d have to be blind not to have noticed the resignation when she stripped off her padded bra and revealed that even her modest cleavage was an illusion.
But when she’d confessed that to her sister, Gwen had said, “Are you kidding? Don’t you think men feel the same about themselves? They’re probably just as worried about the first time you see their beer bellies or the unimpressive size of their dicks. I mean, it’s hardly like you’re sleeping with athletes.”
Except that thought stopped being comforting when she was on the verge of sleeping with an athlete. Or, if not sleeping with him, then at least getting naked with him.
They hiked for nearly two hours, chatting about meaningless things. He seemed relaxed, happy to point out bird species he’d read about when he was a boy in London and had gone through a brief involvement in a local Young Ornithologists club. He also quizzed her about football—her favorite players, who she thought would win the league this season—as if he wanted to be sure she really was a footie supporter. She hated to sound like a stereotypical girl, but her football knowledge was completely limited to which players looked hottest in underwear adverts, so she mostly bemoaned the fact that David Beckham had retired.
They reached the pool as hunger pangs began clawing at her energy levels. They nearly walked past it, since it was hidden by a ring of trees, ferns and other junglelike bushes. Liam spotted the tiny break in the brush, a small path that had been created by people—and probably animals—pushing through the undergrowth to get to the water. With a sly glance at her, he grabbed her hand and led her to the pool, holding back tree branches so they didn’t slap her in the face.
When they broke through, Tess’s breath caught. A waterfall about twice Liam’s height rumbled at one end of the pool. The water from the stream above flowed over a rock shelf, creating what looked like a hidden room behind the waterfall. The pool was filled with clear water, revealing pebbles in the shallows and turning a deeper blue in the middle. Several large flat rocks ringed the pool, perfect for drying off or snoozing even if there wasn’t enough direct sunlight for tanning.
Perfect for sexy times.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Liam let go of her hand and crunched over the stony ground to the biggest rock. He dropped his backpack, pulled their packed lunches out and glanced back at her with a raised brow. “Coming?”
God, she
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