Page 44 of Chasing Paradise

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, duchess. Pack your backpack.”

I hated being ordered around.

Seeming to sense that, Wick shot me a cocky little smirk.

“Or I will do it for you. Do you really want me rifling through your bras and panties? Have any other purple get-ups in there?”

I wanted to hate that he knew what my one pretty bra looked like. But I felt another little sizzle of desire despite myself.

“Worry about your own bag,” I suggested, shoving things into my new backpack all willy-nilly. What’d it matter if my clothes were wrinkled if Wick was going to be the only person to see them? And, of course, Marco. But I’d still yet to hear the man utter a single word, so I imagined he wouldn’t have much to say about my clothes either.

Luckily, my duffle wasn’t as pathetic as it had been when I’d landed in Ecuador, thanks to raiding his drawers back at the house. But it definitely didn’t have secret first aid kits or, I imagined, a compass or whatever else people might need deep in the jungle.

But if we were only going to be in the rainforest for a day or so, I couldn’t imagine I would need much.

“What are we doing for food?” I asked an hour or so later, after stubbornly looking out the side window to avoid talking to Wick.

“You can’t be hungry already.”

I was. But he didn’t have to know that. What can I say? I had a very healthy appetite. And was usually just active enough to keep that from packing on the pounds.

“Did you pack protein bars for later?”

“We won’t starve.”

That didn’t exactly sound promising but Wick didn’t seem any more interested in talking to me than I was to him right then.

So we sat in mutually stubborn silence for the rest of the drive.

I dozed on and off.

Then very, very off.

Until Wick’s voice barked at me.

“Get up, duchess. Or we’re leaving you here.”

I’m pretty sure I growled at him.

And the jerk had the audacity to laugh at that.

It was going to be a real joy to haul him in, cuffed, and shove him at the cops.

But first, I had to get through the damn jungle with him.

CHAPTER TEN

Wick

Marco was well ahead of us as we entered the jungle. I took up the rear because Violet was clearly not adept at any sort of hiking or exploring, and I wanted to be able to grab her if she lost her footing or got in some critter’s path.

Of course, it also meant that I got a great view of her round ass the whole way too. Which wasn’t helping the whole ‘I want to pull her behind a tree and fuck her senseless’ thing I was dealing with. Or the fact that I’d been half-hard for her since I’d seen her walking out of the water off Isla Perdita, the water cascading down her body.

She was a gorgeous mix of fit and soft. She had a killer rack, a great ass, and round hips, but she also had strong, shapely leg muscles, toned arms, and the tiniest hint of abdominal muscles. Which, given how much the woman could sock away, was extra impressive.

“What the actual fuck?” Violet shrieked, rushing backward and plowing right into me.

My hands went to her hips to steady her, making my mind flash back to one of those same hands in her panties, teasing up her wet cleft, sinking into her tight pussy…

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