small but well-formed breasts felt tight and aroused, my nipples responding instantly to the slightest touch.
I pulled on the other pair of shorts. I felt undressed without panties on. I wasn’t used to going commando. I wasn’t used to waking up in unfamiliar guest lodges after having nearly drowned, with none of my clothes or possessions with me. This situation was disorienting. The sooner I could get out of here the better.
It was only one kiss. Just one—and I had been unreasonably provoked by my husband’s paranoid behavior. One, surely, could be excused… as long as it did not happen again. It could not happen again.
“You’ve had your fun,” I told myself sternly in the mirror, noting how flushed my face looked compared to its usual paleness. It had been a long time since I’d seen such color in my cheeks and lips and I thought it made me look lustful and wanton.
I took a deep breath.
“Pull yourself together, Erin,” I warned my reflection. “When you climb into that car, you’re going to explain to your host how this was all a mistake, and you’re not going to play his games anymore.”
The pool water had turned my long, dark hair from wavy to tangled. There was no time to comb it out properly, so I could do nothing more than rake my fingers painfully through it. My pupils were dilated and my mouth felt swollen with desire.
Telling myself that this impression was simply the product of a fevered imagination, I left the room and walked briskly through the lodge and outside, to where Nicholas was already waiting in the Land Cruiser, with the passenger door—on the left-hand side in South Africa—open for me.
“We’re going down to my neighbors on this side of the river,” Nicholas explained. “They called an hour ago to say they’re running short of diesel for their generators. Which, for them, is critical because they own a game butchery and have five freezers full of meat right now.”
I loved the deepness of his voice. The way he spoke—his accent. Those clipped British words with the hint of a South African flavor. I could have listened to him speak all day.
What surprised me, though, was his choice of subject matter. I’d expected him to be as unsettled as I was. But here he was, at ease in my company once again, conversing in a relaxed way about matters of interest.
“We’ll definitely see some animals on the way,” he said, as the mowed lawn transitioned to scrubby bushveld . “The zebra like to hang out on the borders of the forest at this time of the year.
“How many zebra do you have?”
“In this secure area, ten. Oh, make that eleven. There was a foal born last week. In fact, if we’re lucky, we might… Yes. Look there. On the right. There’s the herd, and there’s the foal. A colt, Joshua thinks.”
I peered in the direction he was pointing, narrowing my eyes against the bright sunshine, and suddenly the criss-crossed shade of the bushes translated itself into a dazzle of vivid stripes. The herd was walking quietly through the shadows, tails flicking, while the tiny new arrival capered, with surprising grace, at the heels of his mother.
“Oh, they’re beautiful!”
I saw Nicholas smiling at my obvious delight.
“What are those animals beyond the zebra herd?” I peered through the scrubby bush.
“You’ve got sharp eyes. Those are two of our wildebeest, the animal that is the gnu. They’ve got nothing much going for them in terms of looks, as you can see. They’re big and ugly and brown and hammer-headed.” His voice was laced with humor.
“They’re cute!” I protested.
“If you think so, then the term ‘cute’ coming from you is a terrible insult. I’ll have to watch where you use it.” He grinned at me. The expression was infectious and I found myself grinning back at him. Damn it all… I shouldn’t be laughing with him now. I should be coldly ordering him not to flirt with me. How had he managed to disarm my defenses so
I pulled on the other pair of shorts. I felt undressed without panties on. I wasn’t used to going commando. I wasn’t used to waking up in unfamiliar guest lodges after having nearly drowned, with none of my clothes or possessions with me. This situation was disorienting. The sooner I could get out of here the better.
It was only one kiss. Just one—and I had been unreasonably provoked by my husband’s paranoid behavior. One, surely, could be excused… as long as it did not happen again. It could not happen again.
“You’ve had your fun,” I told myself sternly in the mirror, noting how flushed my face looked compared to its usual paleness. It had been a long time since I’d seen such color in my cheeks and lips and I thought it made me look lustful and wanton.
I took a deep breath.
“Pull yourself together, Erin,” I warned my reflection. “When you climb into that car, you’re going to explain to your host how this was all a mistake, and you’re not going to play his games anymore.”
The pool water had turned my long, dark hair from wavy to tangled. There was no time to comb it out properly, so I could do nothing more than rake my fingers painfully through it. My pupils were dilated and my mouth felt swollen with desire.
Telling myself that this impression was simply the product of a fevered imagination, I left the room and walked briskly through the lodge and outside, to where Nicholas was already waiting in the Land Cruiser, with the passenger door—on the left-hand side in South Africa—open for me.
“We’re going down to my neighbors on this side of the river,” Nicholas explained. “They called an hour ago to say they’re running short of diesel for their generators. Which, for them, is critical because they own a game butchery and have five freezers full of meat right now.”
I loved the deepness of his voice. The way he spoke—his accent. Those clipped British words with the hint of a South African flavor. I could have listened to him speak all day.
What surprised me, though, was his choice of subject matter. I’d expected him to be as unsettled as I was. But here he was, at ease in my company once again, conversing in a relaxed way about matters of interest.
“We’ll definitely see some animals on the way,” he said, as the mowed lawn transitioned to scrubby bushveld . “The zebra like to hang out on the borders of the forest at this time of the year.
“How many zebra do you have?”
“In this secure area, ten. Oh, make that eleven. There was a foal born last week. In fact, if we’re lucky, we might… Yes. Look there. On the right. There’s the herd, and there’s the foal. A colt, Joshua thinks.”
I peered in the direction he was pointing, narrowing my eyes against the bright sunshine, and suddenly the criss-crossed shade of the bushes translated itself into a dazzle of vivid stripes. The herd was walking quietly through the shadows, tails flicking, while the tiny new arrival capered, with surprising grace, at the heels of his mother.
“Oh, they’re beautiful!”
I saw Nicholas smiling at my obvious delight.
“What are those animals beyond the zebra herd?” I peered through the scrubby bush.
“You’ve got sharp eyes. Those are two of our wildebeest, the animal that is the gnu. They’ve got nothing much going for them in terms of looks, as you can see. They’re big and ugly and brown and hammer-headed.” His voice was laced with humor.
“They’re cute!” I protested.
“If you think so, then the term ‘cute’ coming from you is a terrible insult. I’ll have to watch where you use it.” He grinned at me. The expression was infectious and I found myself grinning back at him. Damn it all… I shouldn’t be laughing with him now. I should be coldly ordering him not to flirt with me. How had he managed to disarm my defenses so
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