CHAPTER ONE
leena
“Oh shit,” I murmur as quietly as I can, not trying to interrupt everyone else in this group-like setting. Today’s my first real vacation day in Belize, and instead of lying in a lounge chair, sipping a drink, and relaxing around the bar or beach, I’ve decided to go on a hike to the waterfall. Yep, maybe I should have rethought this plan after all, especially with the way I’m currently feeling. You know that floating scenario where you’re tumbling down the rocks and there’s no way to stop what’s happening, too afraid to ask for help but mainly embarrassed as well? I can already hear my family now, the phone calls, the texts, them flying down because I’ll surely be spending my time in the hospital when I fall flat on my face.
“Fuck,” I hear grumbled behind me. My head tips back to find the source of the voice. That’s when my feet decide to come up from underneath me, and not only am I going down, but I’m also taking a stranger with me. This is going to suck. I mean, surely, a few broken bones on my own, some scrapes, plus bruises, but to take someone down with me? I’ll never be able to forgive myself.
“No, no, no.” The bathing suit top along with the loose shorts I’m wearing give me no protection against him.
“You’re okay.” His voice is smooth, not the abrasive tone he used at first. With my skin pressed against firm muscle, I notice the man isn’t wearing a shirt, and a whole lot of other feelings are tingling across my skin. Instead of being scared, even terrified of potentially tumbling to my death, a different type of sensation is humming low in my stomach. One that I’ve never felt or explored before, but maybe, just maybe, I can today.
“Thank you.” He doesn’t let me go. This utter stranger holds me pressed to his body. Even when I’m back on my feet and my heart isn’t beating out of my chest, he still holds on.
“You’re welcome. Are you okay?” The low grovel to his tone has my head tipping to the side because the way he talks right next to my ear has me ready to rip my clothes off and beg him to take me, and I don’t even know his name.
“I am, thank you. Sorry for almost plummeting not only me but you to your death.” His grip loosens, allowing me to turn around, my hands holding on to his biceps. My mouth opens, then shuts, as I take this man in. And the first thing I notice are his lips. Jesus, Leena, lips? Really? When he’s the full freaking package: long hair on the top, short on the sides, the shadowing of a beard on his jaw, heavier around his mouth, blue eyes reminiscent of the Baltic Sea, a body that’s lean yet muscular, and goodness gracious, don’t even get me started on his chest. Yet it’s still his lips that I keep coming back to—the color, the plushness, and when he sucks his bottom lip, the fan I don’t have on me is definitely needed.
“Might have been worth it. You up for still walking with me down the rocky path, or do you want a lift?” The nameless man tilts his head to the side, offering his back.
“I don’t take lifts from strangers, but thank you.” I can’t keep a straight face while saying that, not in the least. Laughter bubbles out of me, taking this from a near death experience to maniacal laughing. He’s really going to want to hang out with me now. Why I have to be such a weirdo, I have no idea, but that’s part of my charm, I guess.
“In that case, my name’s Decker.” His hands, big and spanning over my hips, are still there, while mine are holding his upper arms. “Want a lift now that you know who I am?”
“I’m Leena, and while I’m sure the lift would be fun for me, that’s quite a ways down there.” I take a step back. Decker’s hand doesn’t leave my hip, though; instead; he squeezes it, reaffirming that he’s not willing to let me plummet to my death. Dramatic, I’m sure.
“I see what you’re doing. I’ll be behind you, so if you stumble, there’ll be something to cushion your fall. If you’re on my back, it’s you who will be cushioning us,” he tells me, his hand slides to my lower back, not giving me a break from the way his touch is igniting my body in an inferno of flames on the inside.
“What can I say? You can be the brawn, and I’ll be the brains of this adventure,” I joke quirkily, something completely not like me, but Decker has me all out of sorts, and the man hasn’t even kissed me yet.