Scrambling to catch up to him, she thought of a million ways that she could kill him and dump his body in the forest. He was her one guest, and if he did something stupid and broke his neck, his family would probably have her shut down. Assuming they found the body.
Grasping the trunk of a tree, she crouched before hopping down. Kashif waited patiently below, and when she jumped, he grabbed her waist and eased her down. The shock of sliding down his body warmed her skin, and she flushed.
“Ready for an adventure?” he muttered in her ear.
“No. I am not,” she said sternly. “I need to get back to Arella, and there is nothing to see. One or both of us is going to slip on those rocks and fall to our deaths.”
“Fall two feet to our death?” he said with a wolfish grin. “You worry too much.”
“It’s not the height that bothers me. It’s the sharp rocks below. Will you slow down?”
He didn’t. Climbing up the rock stoop toward the waterfall, he turned around and stretched his arm out to her. Knowing that he wasn’t going to back down, she grabbed his hand and let him haul her up. To her surprise now that she was close to the waterfall, it did look like there was steam rising up. Kashif flattened his back along the rock and slid through, careful to stay away from the waterfall. Kristy followed suit, but the cold water still splashed on her face, and she winced.
If she got pneumonia and died, she was going to haunt him for the rest of her life.
The rock archway led under the small waterfall, and when she reached the other side, she gasped.
There were several pockets of water among the rocks that hissed and steamed.
“Oh, wow,” she whispered. “Is that a natural hot spring?”
9
Kashif stared in wonder at the springs. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d find, but he never expected this. Eager to test the waters, he bent down and dipped his hand in the water.
Clean and warm.
“We have to get in,” he announced as he straightened and unzipped his jacket. She stared at him like he’d lost his mind and refused to budge. It didn’t bother him any. He knew he’d get her in the water sooner or later.
“What are you doing? Put your clothes back on,” she hissed when he stripped off his shirt. The cold bit at his skin, but he saw the way she stared at him.
She couldn’t seem to look away.
Teasingly, he slowly undid the button of his pants. When he started to peel them down his legs, he thought she’d finally close her eyes, but she didn’t.
Raw desire was written all over her face.
When he was down to his boxers, he gave her a sexy smile. Despite the cold, he was hard as a rock, and when he finally stripped away the last of his clothes, his erection sprang free.
“Join me,” he coaxed her as he eased into the water. Moaning at the pleasure of the warmth, he closed his eyes and sighed. When he stood, the water hit just above his waist, but the temperature and the steam quickly heated his whole body. “It feels amazing.”
“I’m sure it does,”
she said as she cleared her throat. “But I think it’s probably best if I keep my clothes on.”
“Don’t trust yourself around me? That’s completely understandable,” he teased.
“That’s not it at all,” she snapped. “I have perfect control over my body. But when you get out of that water, you’re going to freeze to death. We have no towels to dry off with and…”
“Kristy! Quit making excuses and enjoy yourself for once. I wore several layers because, as you pointed out, I’m from the desert. We have plenty of clothes here to dry off with. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I won’t let it. Besides, I know that your back hurts. I’ve seen the way that you hold yourself. Imagine how good a little hot water will feel.”
“Fine,” she muttered. “If only it’ll shut you up. But you don’t get to see me naked, so you need to turn your ass around.”
“You saw me naked,” he pointed.
“That’s because you thought it’d get me all hot and bothered, and since I did see you naked, I already know that you’re hot and bothered,” she said with a smug smile.
Kashif couldn’t help but laugh as he turned his back. It looked like there were around five steam pockets, none of them very wide. He could only imagine what kind of money this could bring in for Kristy. Stay at the lodge and visit the natural hot springs of Mistywood Forest.