Before I knew about the dangers, I had wanted to feel the water falling on my head. I'd do that before getting out. Then no one could say anything to me. Plus, I still wanted to do it. It still felt like the waterfall was calling to me. It was the strangest feeling.
I paused at the base of the waterfall and looked up, blinking rapidly to avoid the droplets of water spraying from it. This really was breathtaking. I had stared at waterfalls from a distance, but I had never done anything like this. I closed my eyes and swam closer and closer until the water started falling on the top of my head and shoulders. It was cooler than the pool of water I was swimming in. It felt even more refreshing. I thought the water might hurt, falling so rapidly. But the waterfall was small enough that it felt more like a massage than anything else.
My peace was interrupted by something gripping my arm. Crocodile! I pulled my arm, but it was firmly in the animal's grasp. I opened my mouth to scream, but water fell into my mouth, muting my cries. I didn't feel any pain, probably from the adrenaline coursing through my body. And I was able to briefly think about the fact that sharks hated being hit in the nose. Did crocodiles hate that too? I slammed my fist on top of where the beast was latched onto my arm, aiming for a nose I couldn't see.
"Daphne!"
My name was being called. It was a male voice. Probably the tour guide. It seemed far away from the deafening roar of the waterfall. Too far away to save me. I kicked out, making contact with something solid, probably the crocodile.
"Shit." The same voice said as the crocodile pulled me behind the waterfall toward its lair of death. I was blind in the darkness.
"Help me!" I screamed, still feeling like I was drowning in the water. I continued to kick and squirm and hit the beast as it pushed my back against slippery rock, away from the cascading water, ready to bite into my flesh.
But I didn't feel teeth. I felt lips brush gently against mine, warm breath on my skin. "It's me. It's just me. It's okay. You're safe."
My heart felt like it was breaking through my ribs as I gasped for air. My eyes still hadn't adjusted from the darkness, but I knew the voice. It wasn't the waterfall calling me toward it. It was him. Had my senses somehow known what I didn't? Had it known he was here, waiting for me? My body wanted him. But my mind was lagging behind.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Rob? You scared me half to death."
He laughed, releasing me from his tight grip, but he kept me sandwiched between his torso and the rocks. "I was trying to surprise you."
"I thought you were a crocodile."
He laughed again. "How? I wasn't biting you. Although, if that's what you're into, I can arrange that."
His words made me shiver. "I thought I was having one of those experiences where you don't feel the pain because your body knows it needs to get out of danger. You know, like when moms can lift cars off their kids."
"Well, I'll certainly have a few bruises from you trying to beat me up."
I didn't react to his jokes. I was having a hard time calming down. "I thought I was going to die." I clutched onto his strong shoulders. He was right. I was safe. Nothing could happen to me when I was being protected by someone so strong. I let my hands slide down to his biceps. It was like my hands had a mind of their own.
"Your heart's beating so fast."
"Because you scared me."
"I don't think that's why." His face was so close to mine. I could feel his warm breath. The smell of mint and coconuts mixed with the sunscreen I had put on him was intoxicating.
I didn't want my mind to catch up to my body and tell me no. For one second I wanted to give into my impulses. I wanted him. Oh God, did I want him.
Before I could lean closer to him, his lips landed on mine, easily parting them with his tongue. If his smell was intoxicating, there were no words to describe the taste of him. All I wanted was more. My hands wandered to the back of his neck as he pressed his body more firmly against mine.
I moaned into his mouth as I felt his erection press against me. My legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. One of his hands slipped to my ass as the other trailed down my back. I felt his fingers tug on the string of my bikini.
My mind had finally caught up. I put my hand on his chest and gripped his hair in my hand, pulling away from his kiss. That wonderful, wonderful kiss. My fingers tugging on his shaggy hair made me even hornier. Be sensible. I immediately released his hair. "I don't do one night stands. I can't do this."
"Daphne, I'm not planning on having you only once." His voice was low and husky. I could hear the desire just as much as I could feel it pressing against me. He felt so big. I wanted to reach down and touch him. I wanted to wrap my fingers around his erection and hear him groan my name.
I swallowed hard. "But how long are you even here?" Please be for a week like me. Please. I could rationalize a week. It was so much harder to rationalize one night.
He kissed the side of my neck, making me moan again. My body was betraying me. "Until tomorrow night," he whispered in my ear.
Tomorrow night. He was only here for one more day? And then he went back to wherever he was from. I'd never see him again. I couldn't do this. I'd get attached. I'd want more. He'd leave me. I let my thighs fall from around his waist. "I can't."
Chapter 16
Rob
She can't? The way she was kissing me screamed that she could. That she wanted to. She didn't move away from me. She stayed pressed against my throbbing erection, teasing me. I wanted to push her bikini bottom to the side and show her just how much she could. Over and over again.
I wanted to feel how wet she was for me. I wanted to taste her sweet pussy. I wanted to show her just what it meant to let go, to truly live. She needed me. She needed me and she didn't know it.
"Then what was that kiss?" My words betrayed me. They sounded eager. She was going to think I needed her instead of the other way around. But she had enjoyed that kiss just as much as me. She was a second away from initiating it before I had.
Her voice squeaked slightly as she swallowed. She cleared her throat.
I wish I could see her face in the darkness. I wanted to be able to see what she was feeling. Because how could she not be mirroring my own emotions? How could she not feel this heat between us?
"I don't even know where you're from. I only know your last name because Kristen has a crush on your brother. And you're going to leave tomorrow night and I'll never hear from you again. I can't do something like that. It's too casual for me. I need more than that. I need something tangible. Something real. Something stable."
There was something desperate in her voice. I couldn't tell if she was fighting her own thoughts or if she truly needed stability in her life. I couldn't imagine that she needed that. She seemed so centered. So grounded. So sure in her ways. But here she was, telling me that wasn't true. She needed something to hold onto. Right now she was holding onto me. And I liked that feeling. I liked the feeling of her hands on me. "I live in Newark."
"Still?" She immediately coughed. "I mean, do you really? It's a shame we never ran into each other. I went to school at the University of New Castle with Alina and Kristen."