Page 7 of Fever

The Next Morning

I woke up to warm soft kisses against my cheek and thin prickly hair tickling my chin. I smiled and moaned softly as the kisses trailed down my neck, chest, then swirled around my breasts. Instantly, my eyes shot open and gradually I glanced down. The sight of Josiah’s sexy, muscular physique and tempting mouth sent a flame burning through me within seconds. I wore only a bikini top and bottoms. It was then that I noticed my surroundings.

“Oh my God,” I said.

Josiah continued to kiss down my body as I took it all in. We were laying in a hammock that hung from the entrance of what appeared to be a cave. A waterfall fell over us, and interestingly enough, we weren’t wet, nor were we cold. I moaned when his lips touched my sex, even threw the lacy material.

“Where are we?”

Josiah paused and peered up at me.

“The blue hole,” his baritone voice rumbled.

Then I remembered last night’s activities. Once I’d agreed to go with him, Josiah had taken me by the hand, and we’d driven for about an hour before coming to Ocho Rios. We stopped at a local nightclub for a few drinks and talked about our time in Jamaica, neither of us wanting to see it come to an end with the two days remaining on our trip.

“We’ll come back, just you and I,” Josiah had promised.

That started it. We left the bar and strolled to the entrance of a creek and found access to a river raft. As we sailed downstream, we kissed. It began moderate but gradually intensified into a passionate dance between our tongues that melted my bones and scorched my skin. I was not the type of woman to hold back. I still wasn’t sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I hadn’t had any complaints, so I took it in stride. However, in that moment, I second-guessed myself. It lasted all of two seconds before I found my way on top of his lap, grinding through our clothes. They disappeared, piece by piece, and the raft rocked as it traveled to somewhere I didn’t give a damn about. My only focus was on Josiah.

It was apparent that we’d ventured off to the blue hole, and the sex I wanted to believe we had was absent from my memory. I wanted to ask him as he laid a trail of kisses back up my thighs, but I was afraid if we had and I’d forgotten, it would ruin his ego.

“Didn’t get enough?” I asked, trying to pick his brain without being obvious.

He paused again and cocked his head, amused.

“Didn’t get any,” his deep voice barked. “We fell off the raft, remember?”

My mind roamed for the memory.

“You probably don’t,” he continued. “We shouldn’t have had anything to drink before our excursion.”

“What happened?”

“When we fell overboard, I had to find you and bring you back to the surface. You weren’t breathing.” His eyes darkened. “So, I gave you mouth to mouth resuscitation. You came to, choking up water and laughing.” He pierced a look at me. “I wanted to head back, but you refused, running into the water like you’d lost your mind. That’s how we ended up here.”

I looked over at the waterfall. It hid us from anyone or anything. Watching it from behind was surreal. I then turned to the open cave. Rigid edges hung from the ceiling, and the claylike structure darkened the deeper it went.

“This is nuts,” I said.

“You’re adventurous,” he said. “I like it, albeit a bit out of control at times.”

“Free-spirited,” I defended. “Besides, I remember someone asking me if I was feeling reckless.”

“Mmm, I’ll take that.”

“Sure you will.” I smiled and bit my lip. “So what time is it?”

“I’m not sure,” he mused.

My eyes widened. “What do you mean you’re not sure? Oh my God, we have a wedding to attend. Desiree is going to kill me if I’m late!”

“That’s true,” he said more calmly than I liked.

“How the hell do we get down from here?”

That wicked smile crept along his mouth. “We get wet.”

My body heated at the same time I blubbered, “Wha-what?”

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