going to back out of this now. This was a vacation adventure, and I was going to treat it that way.
Before the boat started moving, Owen reached over and plucked the flower from my hair, raising it to his nose and taking a breath.
"Ah, plumeria. These usually grow in Hawaii, but I see no reason why they wouldn't thrive here," he said softly.
"I wondered what it was. I think it might be my new favorite." I grinned at him as he pocketed the small flower, making sure it was safe as the speedboat's engine revved.
We rode out to the designated area on the back of the boat. I gripped the straps of the "swing" tightly, getting more and more nervous by the moment. Another man kept the tether reeled in while the captain looked back at us. "Are you ready?" he yelled at us.
Owen looked at me. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked.
I smiled at him. It was probably pretty obvious. "A little," I confessed.
He smiled back. "Me too." He gave a thumbs-up to the captain. The captain hit the throttle as the assistant freed the release on the tether. Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled off the back of the boat. The captain had warned us that this is what it would feel like, but I panicked a little anyway. Soon, however, we were completely clear of the boat and climbing. I felt the parachute bring us higher and higher, and I found myself growing more and more excited. When Owen let out a whoop of joy, I joined in with him, screaming my own lungs out.
The captain had told us that the tether was four-hundred feet long but that we would only be going up about half that distance. Still, as we reached the apex of our flight, I could see for miles around. Owen grabbed at my hand, and I looked over at him and gave him a huge grin.
After about fifteen minutes of looking at all the scenery and feeling the wind blow us around, I could feel the tether reeling us back in. We got closer and closer to the boat, and soon we lifted our legs up, getting ready to land. I could see Owen's eyes on my toned legs, which were probably the sexiest part of my body. Let him look, I thought, I've been checking him out all day.
Within another few moments, we were safely back on the boat. The assistant helped us out of our harnesses, and I took a seat. Owen pulled a cooler out of a storage compartment, and inside was ice and a bottle of champagne. He had already popped the cork, pulling two glasses out before I had a chance to refuse. The label on the bottle looked fancy.
He poured two servings and set the bottle back down in an ornate bottle holder. He sat next to me, not shy at all about how close the two of us were sitting. He handed me a glass, and I accepted. Our cups clinked softly together as he toasted, "To trying new things on vacation."
I grinned back. "To vacation," I agreed. We both took a sip.
He looked out to the sea, his blue eyes seeming to search the waves for something. "I was lying when I said I was just a little scared of heights. I'm terrified of them," he said.
I looked at him, unsure if he was telling the truth. "We didn't have to go parasailing, you know."
He laughed. "I've gotten used to them," he said. "Not only do I fly everywhere, I spend a lot of time in Dubai, and the tower they put me in is the highest in the world. As long as I don't go too close to the windows, I'm okay."
I sipped the wine again. "Dubai? Where is that?"
"It's part of an oil-rich state in the Middle East," he explained. Then he smiled and looked at me. "But I'm no Wikipedia page on the subject. What are you afraid of?"
"Me?" I asked. The sudden question threw me off. I'm afraid of dying alone, came my immediate thought, but there was no way I could say that. It wasn't even quite true, but the last man I had been with had taken advantage of me, and I was still feeling vulnerable. So I said the next best thing. "I'm afraid there's no decent men left in this world."
Owen smiled. "All the good ones are either taken or gay," he said.
I leaned in a little closer. "So which one are you?" I asked.
"Indecent," he said without a moment's hesitation. I looked down, seeing if he meant what I thought he meant. "Made you look," he said.
I slapped his chest without thinking, the hardness of his muscles once again taking me by surprise. He must work out every day, I thought. He knew what I had felt just then, and immediately his eyes were on me, on my body. He looked at me with a hunger in his eyes.
"So," I said, trying to break him out of it. "I should probably get back to the resort. My family probably thinks I wandered off into the ocean by now."
"That's already been taken care of. Jack has let your family know that you wandered off with me," he said.
I blushed and looked down at my feet. They knew my reputation all too well and were probably already making assumptions. "Great," I said. "We might as well take our time then."
"My thinking exactly," he said. "I saw you looking at my house earlier. Would you like a tour?"
I hesitated. The place had been huge, and I had wanted to check it out, but now I wavered. My inner voice popped up again. Go! Check out the billionaire's mansion! You're on vacation, and besides, when are you going to get another chance like this?
My inner voice was right. It was a vacation. I wasn't about to fall in love like I always seemed to do, and even if I did, my vacation was going to be over tomorrow anyway.
"I'd love a tour," I said. I could feel my smile beaming, but I still don't think it was as big as his was.