“What are you doing!” a woman yelps from the doorway, her eyes wide.
Will flips onto his side, the sheet slides—and then I can’t even look at that undiscovered country, because his gray-green gaze has pinned me in place, standing there over him still clutching the ceiling rod. “Ruby,” Will says, still staring. “What the—?”
I open my mouth to explain, but there’s basically no rational explanation for this. So I don’t.
“I, uh—I was just leaving.” I scramble down. “That,” I say, with far more confidence than I have any right to fake, “should settle any arguments about my upper arm strength.” And then I dash out of there before the shitload of trouble I’m dodging gets any bigger.
From the way my face is burning, I suspect I really need that facial now.
Chapter Seven
After my close encounter of the nearly naked kind with Will, I figure I’m safest spending the rest of the day somewhere as far away as possible. I can’t tell him to take a hike, so why don’t I set off on one? The resort brochure boasted about the nature trails on its extensive grounds. Just a few hours in which I can’t possibly stumble on him unprepared—that’s all I needed.
I tug on my sneakers and stop by the front desk to ask for a recommendation. The chic woman I saw Will chatting with yesterday is back there discussing something on a computer screen with one of the staff. She’s on the payroll too? I guess they might have been talking business. On the other hand, if she works here, he must see a lot of her. Possibly in more ways than one. Has she seen as much of him as I did this morning?
Nope, not letting my mind head back over there. “Hi!” I say brightly to a younger woman who’s standing by the Guest Relations sign. “I’ve got the whole afternoon free. What hiking trail is the best for the scenery? It’s okay if it’s a bit of a challenge.” The better to keep my mind from wandering where I’d rather it didn’t boldly go.
She brandishes a map. “If you’re up for it, try this one,” she says, pointing to a path marked with a purple line. “There are some steep parts, so a lot of people skip it, but that means you’re more likely to see the local wildlife, and it takes you to a waterfall that’s spectacular.”
“Great!” I say, and shove the map into my shorts pocket.
I pass a couple other guests heading in when I set off, but as soon as the purple trail diverges from the others, it’s just me and the natural splendor. Possibly striking out into the wilderness in the peak heat of mid-day wasn’t the smartest move ever. My skin is damp with sweat before I’m halfway to the waterfall. But it’s definitely distracting.
I stop here and there to chug from my water bottle and take in the sights. There are flowers in colors I didn’t know existed blooming amid the trees—some of my Instagrammer clients would kill to get their hands on those—and I spot a rainbow of a bird that might be a parrot. A little brown-and-white monkey chitters at me before swinging off farther into the trees, too fast for me to snap a picture with my camera phone. The air is hot and a tad humid, but somehow the lush green scents of the jungle make it feel refreshing too.
I definitely don’t let the slick perspiration on my hands remind me of rubbing that massage oil into Will’s back. Or notice how that leaf matches the curve of his thigh when the sheet slid back, and that banana hanging beneath it—
Ahem.
Getting away into nature like this kind of does feel like exploring a new planet, even if Will’s teasing comment rankled me. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been anyplace where I couldn’t spot a high rise if I turned around. If only there was a colony of remarkably human-like, hedonistic aliens waiting at the end with exotic sweets and handsome men eager to feed them to me, my day would be complete.
Because I am not the female equivalent of Captain Kirk, I’ve got no such luck. But when I spot the waterfall, I can’t say I care. My breath catches as I stare up at the glittering torrent, flowing over tan and pinkish stone from a cliff side far overhead. It cascades into a pond that’s a near-perfect circle, bordered by gleaming rocks and shaded by those massive ferns. Now this is paradise, all right.
I walk up to the edge of the pond and sigh as the cool spray dabbles my skin. Ugh, my sweaty clothes are sticking to my skin now. I eye the sparkling water of the pool and the path I just walked up.
I haven’t seen another soul since I headed up. Everyone in their right mind is probably lounging around for siesta hour now. No one will know or mind if I take a quick dip . . .
As soon as I’ve decided, I’m stripping off my clothes. I set them off to the side with a rock resting on them to hold them in place—I’ve watched enough movies to know you’ve got to be careful shedding clothes in unfamiliar terrain, if you ever want to wear those clothes again—and slip into the pool.
It’s fucking perfect. The water washes off all the grit of the hike in an instant, warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough to wipe away all memory of that sticky heat. I paddle around, stretching new muscles and working the burn out of the ones that carried me up here. Then I duck under the waterfall and rinse out my hair. It patters over my head with a pleasant tickle. I’m laughing as I swim back out.
“Hello?” a voice calls out.
My heart stops and stays stopped for at least an extra second because that voice sounded way too familiar. I look to my clothes and consider making a dash for them, but before I have the chance, a just-as-familiar figure appears at the end of the path.
Will pauses and gazes down at me. I’m suddenly twice as aware of my lack of clothing, with a rush of embarrassed heat that the liquid around me can’t cool. I scoot back toward the waterfall, dropping to my chin as I tread water and hoping it’s not so clear he can see what’s underneath the ripples.
“Are you following me or something?” I blurt out. Isn’t there anywhere on this property I can get away from the guy?
“You know,” Will says, “you were the one who hijacked my massage. I do have to give you credit, though—it wasn’t a bad start. Maybe I should have you give it another shot sometime.”
He gives me that grin that makes me want to scream. Not a bad start, my ass. I remember those moans . . . Okay, probably better not to be remembering them at this exact moment, considering my level of exposure.
“What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” I grit out. I deserve a medal for not actually screaming, I’m pretty sure.
“I needed to stretch my legs,” he says. “This is my favorite hiking route. Partly because I usually have it to myself.”
Of course he does. “Well, I’d be happy to vacate the area if you step away for a few minutes.”