Page 19 of One Week in Paradise

Cash is wearing an oversized, cheesy Hawaiian-style shirt, criminally short dark blue shorts, and a pair of oversized cheap, pink sunglasses. I should not be attracted to him right now, but I am.

Irrevocably so.

Today is jet-ski day. I eye the sea warily as our little group traipses down the beach to the landing area. I know my fears are irrational and unfounded, but I can’t help the trepidation I feel as I watch the waves crash into the shore.

‘You’ll have a life jacket,’ Cash says, effortlessly reading my thoughts.

‘I know. I’m still nervous, though.’

‘I’ll be there with you,’ he says with a shrug. ‘Remember, I’m on shark watch this week. You’ll be safe with me.’

‘Thanks.’

We head down to the furthest end of the beach where there’s a jetty with several jet-skis lined up. Penelope waves us over.

‘Afternoon, everyone! We’ve got an exciting few hours planned for you all. This is David.’ She gestures to the tall man standing beside her. ‘He’s going to get you all sorted and strapped into your life jackets. Who wants to go first?’

Marcus storms forward, eager to get started.

Bea rolls her eyes. ‘He’s been looking forward to this since we got the invite.’

She joins him at the jetty, and David quickly gets them both into life jackets and settles them on one of the jet-skis. Lacey and Danny are up next, followed by Meera and Sara.

By the time our turn comes around, I’m almost shaking with nerves.

‘We don’t have to do this,’ Cash says. ‘We can just chill on the beach all day.’

‘No, I want to.’ And I do. It looks like fun, and I know my fears are irrational. These waters aren’t filled with sharks (I know because I asked Penelope), and my life jacket will save me if I do happen to fall in. Still… ‘Just – Just don’t let me fall in the water, okay?’

Cash grins. ‘I won’t.’

He takes my hand and doesn’t let go as we climb onto the rickety jetty.

David suits us up quickly and directs us to the last jet-ski.

Cash hops onto the front, and David helps lower me onto the back end.

As soon as my butt touches the wet seat, I wrap my arms around Cash’s waist and hold on tightly.

He reaches an arm behind and gives my thigh a squeeze.

Lacey and Danny are on the jet-ski next to us, and I can feel her burning gaze on me. I don’t look at her. I only have energy for one thing right now, and that’s holding onto Cash as he begins to slowly inch us forward.

We all keep our speed quite low until we’re far enough from the shoreline to avoid accidentally bumping into any swimmers. As soon as we hit that sweet spot, Marcus zooms forward, sending a spray of foamy water into the rest of us.

‘You ready?’ Cash asks.

I squeeze my eyes shut. ‘Just go.’

Cash grips the handles tightly, and then we’re off, gliding through the choppy waters. My shriek gets stuck in my throat as we hit a particularly bumpy patch and soar into the air I grip Cash even tighter, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

Cash is in his element. His cheers are so loud, I can hear them over the sound of the engine and the roar of the waves. I feel a pang of desire as he glances back at me, a wide grin on his face.

‘How’re you enjoying it?’

To be honest, I’m terrified. Even without my irrational fear of sharks to keep me on edge, hurtling through the water at ridiculously high speed is not an activity that’s high on my to-do list. But with Cash, I feel safe.

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he won’t do anything to put me in harm’s way out here.

‘It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,’ I tell him. Tentatively, I throw an arm into the air and mimic Cash’s delighted cheer.

We swap positions halfway through, and Cash lets me take the lead.

He’s incredibly patient as I slowly navigate the jet-ski and work up the courage to go faster than a snail. He doesn’t mind how jerky and nervous I am, and his compliments flow freely whenever I do something right.

We zoom around for another half hour or so, and by the time we make land again, you never would’ve guessed that I’d been so apprehensive about the whole thing in the first place.

We split up with the others once we’re done with the jet-skiing. Meera and Sara and Bea and Marcus head down to the other end of the beach for scuba diving lessons. Lacey doesn’t say a word to me as she flounces past us and heads back to the resort with Danny hot on her heels.

Once it’s just the two of us, Penelope directs us to a more secluded area of the beach away from the bustling crowds.

She leads us around a corner and shows us a patch of glorious white sand with an umbrella of lush-looking plants and flowers hanging over it to keep the space separate from the rest of the beach.

Cash and I set up camp underneath a particularly leafy palm tree. The sand here is cool, a welcome change from the unrelenting heat blasting down on us.

Cash has shed his cheesy Hawaiian shirt, and it takes more effort than I’d like to admit to keeping my eyes off him. He’s tanning nicely, his olive skin now a shade darker than usual. He stretches out in front of me, his long legs digging into the golden sand, and my gaze dips below his navel.

Those shorts he’s wearing should be illegal.

It’s not fair.

They show off his large, strong thighs and leave way too much room for my incredibly horny imagination to run wild.

‘I’m going to get in the water,’ Cash says, pulling me out of what are rapidly becoming extremely dirty thoughts.

He’s standing up now, wiping the sand off his body.

‘Try and cool down a bit. Do you want to come? I know you can’t swim,’ he adds quickly, already knowing what my next words are going to be. ‘But we won’t go in too deep.’

I remember how safe he made me feel on the jet-ski and decide to continue to put my trust in him. ‘Okay. But as soon as it hits my knees, I’m turning back.’

Cash grins and offers me a hand to pull me up. He keeps a hold of my hand as we approach the shoreline. As anxious as I currently feel about wading into such a large body of water, I’m suddenly filled with a sense of awe and wonder.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful before.

The crystal-clear water laps against the white sand, and the gentle sound of the waves drowns out the laughter and music coming from the beach around the corner.

It’s like we’re in our own personal little bubble.

And there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.

I squeeze Cash’s hand as we approach the water’s edge. The cool water hits my toes and sends a shiver up my spine.

‘Ready?’

I nod and let Cash guide me into the ocean. The water washes over me, and I feel weightless. Free. Like nothing else in the world matters outside of this moment.

We walk until the water hits my knees. ‘That’s as far as I go.’

‘We can go further,’ Cash says. He glances back at me and shoots me a devilish grin. ‘What if I carry you?’

Before I can counter, he twists slightly so he’s standing in front of me. ‘Just hold on to me,’ he murmurs.

That sense of complete and utter safety washes over me again, and I do as he says. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling my body flush against his.

Something flickers in his eyes, and they darken ever so slightly. His hands ghost down the length of my body, stopping at my butt. Then he hoists me up, and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist.

The gentle waves crash against us as we stand there, staring at each other.

I can feel his heartbeat and time my breathing to each slow thud. The sound of the waves crashing around us dulls to a low murmur, and all I can hear is his heartbeat thudding against my chest.

He takes a step backwards, and I cling to him a little tighter.

‘Don’t choke me,’ he croaks.

‘Don’t drop me,’ I counter.

‘I’d never,’ he says, voice dripping with sincerity. ‘You’re safe with me, Bailey. I promise.’

I squeeze him again. Not because I’m afraid he’ll drop me and I’ll plunge to my watery doom, but because I can’t get close enough. The water is cold, but my skin is scorching, and I know his feels the same.

We stare into each other’s eyes. I don’t think we’ve ever been this close before. We’re so close I can count the tiny constellation of freckles that pattern his jawline.

I wonder what he sees as he’s looking at me. His grey-green eyes are hazy, almost drunk, as if he’s drinking me in and can’t get enough.

The thought sends shockwaves of desire shooting through me.

‘God, Bailey,’ he mutters, his voice lower than I’ve ever heard it. ‘You’re beautiful.’

And then he’s kissing me.

My heart swells, but I have no time to react as his lips find purchase against mine. Something about this – his lips sliding against mine – feels natural, feels right , like it’s something we should’ve been doing for years.

There’s no force behind this kiss. It’s gentle. Almost hesitant. Like he’s giving me the opportunity to pull away and act like this never happened.

I do no such thing.

I angle my head downwards slightly, pressing my lips firmly against his, giving him the go-ahead. I can feel his hum of approval in my throat as his hands tighten around my ass and squeeze, pulling me even closer still.

I never want this to end. I move my lips against his, greedily taking in as much as I can before we need to come up for air.

‘I’ve wanted to do that for so long ,’ he murmurs, his voice still a low groan.

‘Me too,’ I admit.

I pull him in for another kiss. This one is different from the first. The apprehension he began with is gone, replaced with a fiery desire.

His fingers dig into my cheeks as he pulls me closer until there’s not a millimetre of space between us.

I moan and rock into him, and he takes the opportunity to slide his tongue into my mouth.

We develop an easy rhythm, our tongues sliding against the other as we claw at each other in the middle of the ocean.