Summer Fling

Summer Fling

Text
copyright 2012 Serenity Woods

All
Rights Reserved

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations
is coincidental.

With
thanks to KP, for her sharp eyes

Also
Available

Writing
as Serenity Woods

Black
Hawke Down

Surrender
Your Heart

Something
Blue

White-Hot
Christmas

An
Uncommon Sense

Come
Rain or Come Shine (anthology)

Stranded
with a Scotsman

Remember
Me

Writing
as Faye Robertson

Holly’s
First Noel

Kiss
and Make Up

Bloodlust

Coming
Soon

Seven
Sexy Sins

Whistling
Dixie

Making
Sense

Mr.
Insatiable

Six
Naughty Nights

Reviews for some of Serenity’s
other books

Seven Sexy
Sins (an excerpt of this story is available at the back of this book)

“Fun, sinful,
and colorfully sexy, this story is a buffet of wicked deliciousness... It
is a test of friendship and self-awareness that I thoroughly enjoyed, with
wonderful character growth, a generous pacing, and an outstanding storyline.”—Whipped
Cream Erotic Reviews
“Seven Sexy Sins is a delightfully fun read that made me smile... What I
particularly loved about this story is how Ms. Woods makes the interactions
between Rusty and Faith fun yet serious at the same time... I highly
recommend Seven Sexy Sins for anyone who loves erotic romance but especially
for women looking for ways to spice up their love life.”—5 Ribbons from Romance
Junkies

An Uncommon
Sense

“This book was
an unexpected delight... I’ve never read a book quite like this one and I
thoroughly enjoyed it. Hats off to Serenity for a completely romantic
read!”—Close Encounters with the Night Kind

“This is not your
typical sappy romance; you get a full range of emotions from laughter to almost
tears.”—Recommended Read by Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

“An Uncommon
Sense had me laughing at some of the antics and things Grace blurted. The end
came before I expected as the story rolled along so easily, leaving an
enjoyable afterglow.”—Sizzling Hot Books

White-Hot
Christmas

“Highly
recommended”—Library Journal’s XPress Reviews (their first ever starred review
of a digital-first book)

“This is a
light-hearted, sexy read but a totally enjoyable one.”—Recommended Read by Dear
Author

“One of the best
holiday books I have ever read.”—Best Book by Long and Short Reviews

“An absolutely
wonderful romance.”—5 stars and a Recommended Read from Guilty Pleasures Book
Reviews

To Tony and Chris,
my Kiwi boys

“I should be on top,” the willowy blonde
protested.

She sat on the bench in front of Garth with
her back against his chest and her butt nestled between his thighs. He stifled
a groan. What red-blooded male wouldn’t misconstrue that statement?

His brain had been in sex mode since she’d
pulled on her jumpsuit. She’d leaned forward and the neck of her T-shirt had
gaped to reveal generous breasts only just covered by the cups of her lacy
white bra. He’d fought hard to concentrate on her training, too rusty at
flirting to make a comment, but now the image of her sitting naked on top of
him returned in full force.

He attached the last clip of his safety
harness to the one on her right shoulder and chuckled in her ear. “That’s kind
of forward, Chloe, considering we’ve only known each other for thirty minutes.
But I’m not going to argue with you.”

The airplane’s engines roared, but she’d
obviously heard him because she glared reproachfully over her shoulder and her
cheeks turned a delightful rosy pink. Her dancing eyes told him she wasn’t
really insulted though. “I meant when we freefall. That way, if the chute
doesn’t open I have something soft to land on.”

“This way’s best, believe me. For now, at
least.” He shouldn’t be teasing her, but pleasure surged through him when her
lips curved at his suggestive comment.

Their gazes met, locked. Her eyes shone the
bright blue of the New Zealand summer sky outside the Cessna’s windows.
Something passed between them, invisible, chemical, and his heartbeat raced. A
tingle descended between his shoulder blades, all the way down his spine.

Then she lowered her long lashes, breaking
the spell, and Garth frowned. What was he doing? True, a soft female bottom
tucked against the groin would make most guys harden faster than quick-set
concrete, let alone a man who hadn’t taken a woman to bed for an ice age. But
even though he did tandem parachute jumps for a living, and strapped himself to
the fairer sex anything up to a dozen times a week, he rarely gave the intimate
position a thought.

He was happy to admit he missed the regular
sex a relationship brought. But the emotional baggage he carried after Jess’s
death meant he hadn’t even looked at another woman in ages. Why had this one
affected him so much?

He watched her examine her shaking hands.
She’d braided her long hair back, although a few wisps softened her hairline.
Before they’d got on the plane, her skin had held a healthy tan like most young
Kiwi women, a stark contrast to the pale skin of the girls he’d grown up with
in Seattle, although now the color had drained from her face.

He tipped his head to the side, studying
her high cheekbones and straight nose, and smiled as she chewed her bottom lip.
That was another reason why he’d reacted to her words. In spite of her attempt
at humor, her anxiety was palpable. The urge to alleviate it had risen inside
him instinctively.

He admired the way she was trying to cover
her fear. He’d jumped with hundreds of people over the past year and had witnessed
every gamut of emotion from exhilaration to fake bravado to downright terror.
Chloe didn’t quite register at the bottom of the scale, but she wasn’t far from
it. Her face now matched the whiteness of the clouds scudding outside, and she
shook in her thick yellow jumpsuit.

He forced his mind away from the press of
her between his thighs and the softness of her throat inches from his lips, and
tried to concentrate. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted. He had to
remember—safety before sex.

Smiling at the catchphrase, he checked all
the clips connecting his harness to hers. Then he went over them again. Bottom
left, bottom right, top left, top right. And again. “You’re all clipped in,
Chloe. Check with me, okay?”

“Okay.” She lifted her right hand, and he moved
it to either side of her waist and then to each shoulder. She tugged the clips
with long, elegant fingers. An image popped into his head of that hand stroking
his body and closing around him.

Jeez. He had to stop thinking about sex for
five seconds.

He cleared his throat. “All secure. Are you
happy?”

“Right now I’m too terrified to be happy.”
Her forehead glistened with sweat and panic filled her eyes.

He sighed. Damn it. Another mule. Sometimes
customers got all the way to the door before they dug their heels in and refused
to jump. It didn’t occur as often as he’d expected when he first set up the
business. In fact it had only happened to him twice, and both times he’d
managed to talk the person into jumping. They’d thanked him afterward, but he’d
much rather have the sort of passenger who didn’t balk.

He understood why most people suffered from
nerves before throwing themselves out of a flying metal box with a tiny piece
of fabric to hold them up. But being nervous and being petrified weren’t the
same thing, and Chloe obviously fit into the second category. He frowned as her
chest rose and fell noticeably with her rapid breathing. Why leap out of a
plane if the very thought of it terrified her?

His first ever jump remained clear in his
mind, but he had no memory of terror or panic, only elation at the thought of
freefalling into the clear blue. He still got that buzz every time he leaped
out the door. Which was the main reason he kept doing it. Because the second his
feet left the safety of the plane was the only moment he actually felt anything
nowadays.

Or it had been, until he met Chloe. His
skin prickled as he recalled the heated look they’d exchanged. But he blinked
and forced his mind away from the thought of taking it further. He shouldn’t be
thinking about sex. Chloe shook visibly, and he had to reassure her and make
this as pleasurable an experience as possible.

He rested his hands on her upper arms and
rubbed them through the long sleeves of the jumpsuit. In late January—the
height of the New Zealand summer—the temperature read in the high seventies on
the ground, but at this altitude the air had a distinct bite to it.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“N-no.” But she shivered in spite of her
denial.

He continued to rub her arms, lending her
the warmth of his body, and glanced at Andy sitting opposite them, who’d be
skydiving with them to video her jump. Andy raised an eyebrow, presumably to
query whether she’d go through with it. Garth shrugged in return.

“You okay there, little lady?” His tone was
gentle, comforting. “Won’t be long now, and then it’ll be time to go. No more
waiting.” The anticipation was the worst part for most people.

She nodded and swallowed, but didn’t reply.

He tipped his head to look at her profile
again and tried to think of something to say to reassure her. “I’ve done this
hundreds of times. Don’t worry—everything will go like clockwork.”

She closed her eyes. The pulse beat
frantically in her throat. She gnawed on her bottom lip again and continued to
shake in his arms.

He had to distract her or she’d be unable
to move off the bench. “Why do you smell of chocolate?” He’d been wondering
since she first sat in front of him.

She opened her eyes and looked over her
shoulder at him again, eyebrows raised. Then she released her plump bottom lip
from between her teeth and smiled. “I’m a chocolatier.” She sniffed the back of
her hand. “I guess the smell must have seeped into my skin. Like when a person
works in a fish and chip shop.”

The mention of chocolate made him think of
Nick Stewart, owner of Cocoa Heaven, the confectionary shop in the nearby town
of Paihia. Garth’s stomach twisted as he thought of the man who’d taken his
wife. Bile rose in his throat, and he closed his eyes. He wouldn’t reflect on
that now.
Making a jump demanded absolute concentration. Unlike Stewart,
he would not be responsible for another person’s death.

He opened his eyes. Chloe was looking at
him. Concentrating on her might help take his mind off the man.

He lost himself for a moment in her eyes.
They really were a beautiful deep blue, his favorite color. He liked anything
that reminded him of the sky. Of freedom.

She moistened her lips with the tip of her
tongue. His gaze slid to her mouth, and she inhaled. The air between them
crackled with sexual electricity, and his heart raced again. Bad idea, Rowland.
Jumping with a hard-on would probably affect wind resistance. Plus it seemed
impolite to strap himself to a customer and then press his erection into her
butt.

He opted for a light-hearted attempt at
conversation. “Chocolate’s a much nicer smell than fish and chip grease.” The
warm aroma of cocoa with a bite of ginger filled his nostrils. “You’re making
me hungry.”

“And you’re trying to distract me.” An
impish smile lit her face.

He grinned. “Maybe a little.”

Andy signaled him, and Garth squeezed her
arms. “Okay, Chloe. We’re at nearly fourteen thousand feet. Are you ready?”