Page 17 of Wild for You
“I’m going to take that as a yes.” I smile and pull her to my side. “Okay, now that you’re on board, we should probably find somewhere to set up camp for the night.” I glance at my watch, realizing we’re going to be cutting it close if we want to get everything done before night falls.
I pull out a small machete from my backpack and lead us toward the dense tropical forest. “Come on. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
CHAPTERNINE
Jack
“There we go.”I blow the burning red ember in the palm of my hands. We spent most of the afternoon carrying bamboo branches and palm leaves to the temporary lean-to shelter I’ve propped up by the rocky side of the beach. Ideally, I’d like to set up camp near freshwater, but since we haven’t had time to scout the island, I wanted to make sure we at least had somewhere dry to sleep tonight. The tide’s starting to rise, and the sky is painted in the most beautiful orange and pink sunset I’ve ever seen. I inhale a deep breath and savor the clean salty air wafting in from the sea, and even though I have no clue where we are or how I’m going to get us out of here, I’m doing my best to enjoy the gift of the moment.
It’s not that I’m not worried. Hell, it’s taking everything in me to keep my mind on the task at hand. It’s just that I don’t see any use in both of us being miserable. Especially since Gwen seems so determined to carry that burden like a badge of honor. She’s wound up so tightly it’s not a matter of if she snaps but rather a matter of when. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to keep things light, and maybe, just maybe, I can help her to see there’s another way to live than taking things so seriously all the time.
The ember sparks to life, and I gesture for Gwen to zoom in on the shot of me transferring it to the larger pile of dry sticks and leaves. “Ugh, we get it. Tarzan make fire.” She rolls her eyes.
“That’s right, babe. Tarzan make fire and shelter.” I gesture toward our camp. It’s not much, just big enough for each of us to lay side by side and still be covered.
“It’s freaking hot out here, Jack … er, Willy?” I nod when she corrects herself for the footage. “It’s freaking hot out here, Willy. Why the hell are you so concerned with building a fire? I’m glistening with sweat, and it’s muggier than Satan's armpit.”
“Why am I building a fire?” I mockingly ask as I crank my neck toward the camera. “Hey Dubbies, you know, don’t you?” I look back to Gwen. “Tarzan build fire near bed to make bugs leave Tarzan and Jane alone while sleeping.” I wink.
“Ok, enough with the Tarzan talk. I am definitely not Jane in this scenario!” She shoves the camera to me and crawls into our bedroom. I focus on the blaze, explaining the process of building a fire and the best items to use in a survival situation, and then switch the camera off.
“That was good first-night footage. I think the fans are going to eat this up! Especially your privileged pretty girl attitude. We’re like one of those couples in a romance novel who are so opposite they can’t stand each other, and then they eventually combust with sexual tension and have hot angry sex.” I waggle my eyebrows at her seductively—well, as seductive as a man with a headlamp strapped to his forehead can be.
“First off,” Gwen holds up her finger, “there’s nothing wrong with beingindoorsy. Secondly,” she gestures between us, “this is nothing like a romance novel becausethiscannot happen! Like I could lose my job and my entire reputation in the industry.”
I nod my head, doing my best to suppress a smirk.
“What’s that look? Jack, I mean it! This is forbidden! It’s Sandra’s number one rule at Éclat. And once you cross her, it’s basically career suicide. She’s got contacts all over. I’d never get hired with that kind of stain.” Her voice cracks in a rare display of emotion, and it’s nice seeing such a vulnerable side of her, even if it’s not what I want to hear. “Besides, how do you know so much about romance novels?”
Her question surprises me. I can see we teetered a too personal line, and she wants to deflect the attention onto me. That’s ok. I’ll bite this time.
Poking the fire that’s now blazing thanks to my expert fire-building skills, I shrug. “I grew up with three older sisters. When I was fifteen and started to really hit my stride with the ladies, I got curious. I opened one of their racy romance novels one day, and what do you know? It was like a man’s guidebook into the female psyche. Who knew that all this time that women were actually writing out their deepest fantasies and desires, and us guys were too dumb to actually pay attention?” I elbow her gently in the rib. “I took notes and devoured as many romance novels as I could get my hands on. But I’m sure you’re not surprised by that if you have any memory of the janitor’s closet.” I wink.
She hits me in the chest. “You’re such a dick. You’re never going to let that mistake go, are you?”
“Oh, that was no mistake.” I shimmy myself up into the narrow enclosure. “That was just the preview, the prologue if you will. Mark my word, Gwen, by the end of thisexperiment, you’ll be begging to suck on this lollipop.” Her eyes go wide. “Oh, wait, you already did that.” I grin, pulling my hands up behind my head as a pillow.
Our bodies are packed so tightly together that there’s no way for us not to be touching. I’ll admit, I made it small on purpose, but I wasn’t expecting the complete lack of breeze. Gwen’s right; it is muggy as hell in here. I lean up, take off my shirt, and pull down my shorts, leaving me in only my black boxer briefs.
“Wha–what do you think you’re doing?” Gwen stutters.
“You’re right. It’s hot as fuck.” I lay back down, “And since you’ve made it perfectly clear that you have no desire to ride this bucking-bronco again any time soon, I may as well make myself comfortable.”
She turns on her side, pushing her ass into my leg. “You’re absolutely ridiculous. And you know what? You’re right. I wouldn’t touch you if my life depended on it!”
“I guess we’ll see about that,” I whisper.
“Go fuck yourself,” she growls.
“Now, you say that, but I have a feeling that would be crossing a boundary—”
“Jack, if you don’t let me get some sleep, I swear to God, I’ll rip off your favorite body part and wear it around my neck as a reminder to not fuck with me!”
I can feel the venom in her words, but I can’t help myself. “Suit yourself. You want to wear my calves around your neck. Who am I to judge?”
* * *
I’ll admit,I’ve done my fair share of extreme camping. The fans love when I pick a random location and survive with just a few items for a weekend, but last night sucked. Between the throbbing of my cock, which didn’t get the memo that Gwen is off-limits, and Gwen’s ass sticking out so far she took up most of the tent, I was forced to big-spoon her. Which only made my cock angrier that we had to be on our best behavior. I dozed a few times, but between fantasizing about this feisty woman and trying to figure out my game plan moving forward, my mind wouldn’t relent and let me relax—and I’m the king of relaxing. For the first time in my life, I feel a prickle of fear poking at me. It’s fucking annoying.
