Page 42 of The Accidental Honeymoon

Ropes course employees reel us in like two floundering fish. My legs are jelly. My hands are raw from gripping the ropes. But a strange exhilaration buzzes through me now.

I can do this. It’s not that bad.

"The first challenge," Jay announces. He points to an angled trestle bridge that looks like it was stolen from a pirate ship. "Piece of cake."

I glare at the so-called piece of cake. It's a wobbly mess of planks and ropes, suspended at a precarious angle. My stomach does a somersault.

We clip in and start across. I take tiny, shuffling steps, my knees knocking together like castanets. Jay prances ahead, light on his feet, a caffeinated mountain goat in human form.

"You're doing great!" he calls back. He’s already three quarters of the way across.

"Shut up," I mutter. A small part of me is proud that I've made it this far, though.

I take another step, then another, my confidence growing ever so slightly. I'm going to make it. I'm really going to?—

The bridge wobbles beneath me. I breathe out andrefuse to look down at the ground thirty feet below me. I focus on my next step, forcing myself to keep moving forward. My knuckles blanch as I grip the ropes for dear life, but I don't stop.

Finally, I reach the platform at the end. I unclip and lean down, my legs shaking with exertion. “Oh god. I did it.”

Jay comes over and gently moves me further away from the edge. I straighten and suddenly I’m in his arms. He grins. "You did great, Lily.”

“Lily?” I say, tilting my head and scrunching up my nose.

He pulls up his shirtsleeve to show off the tattoo that he got the night we got married. “I think I can give you a nickname if I want. Don’t you think I’ve earned the right?”

“And what do I call you? Bird?” I lean against his chest, a small smile breaking out across my face.

He smirks. “I wish you would, Lily.”

I roll my eyes, the corners of my mouth twitching despite myself. "Yeah, yeah. What's next, Tarzan?"

The partner balance beam stretches out before us like a tightrope in a circus. I eye it with the suspicion of a cat confronting a cucumber. It seems completely unnatural.

Jay steps up first, extending a hand to me. I take it. We both teeter recklessly as I join him on the beam.

"Remember, it's all about balance," he says, as if imparting ancient wisdom. I resist the urge to smack him, but only because I am currently trying not to tip us both over.

"See? We're getting better.”

I almost believe him. "That's good. Because if we put all of today's footage online, we probably wouldn't ever get laid."

He turns to me, an eyebrow arching. "We're married.We shouldn't have to look outside the marriage for hot sex. We have everything we need right here already."

The suggestion hangs in the air. My mind races ahead of me, picturing scenarios I have no business imagining. Like, for instance, our little shower encounter.

Jay stripped off his clothes.

Jay stripping off my clothes.

The look of sublime passion on Jay’s face when he slides into my tight pussy and fucks so hard, so deep, that we both start to?—

“Whoa—" I lose my balance and topple sideways again. The harness bites into my skin as I begin to fall.

But Jay is right there this time. He steadies me. “Are you okay?”

God, I definitely lost my balance because I was thinking about being fucked. “I’m fine,” I mumble. “Let’s just finish.”

We start moving again, slower this time. It’s quiet for a moment as we both concentrate.

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