The chances of me walking properly tomorrow were already close to zero.
“Okay, okay. I’ll give you a reprieve.” Josh laughed again before he rolled over and reached for his phone. “I actually bought you a proper gift in anticipation of you passing the bar.” His dimple deepened. “Well, I bought us a gift.”
I perked up, my curiosity overpowering my drowsiness. “Is it a toy? Lingerie? The Kama Sutra?”
“No, Red.” He tapped my nose, his eyes sparkling with exasperated amusement. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
I made a face while he pulled something up on his screen. “Look who’s talking. Your mind lives in the gutter.”
Josh swatted my ass in light punishment before he handed me his phone. “Careful, or that reprieve is going to be more temporary than you thought.”
I ignored my prickle of anticipation at his words and squinted at the document onscreen. It looked like…a plane ticket?
When the tiny words finally came into focus, I sucked in a sharp breath. “New Zealand? We’re going to New Zealand?”
“Early next year when I have vacation days again. But I bought flexible tickets so we can change the dates in case you can’t take that week off at your new job.” Josh’s grin nearly blinded me. “Excited?”
“Are you freaking kidding? It’s New Zealand!” My stomach flipped as images of snow-capped mountains and pristine blue waters filled my mind. Outside of the US, I’d only been to Eldorra, Canada, Mexico, and a few Caribbean islands. New Zealand was one of the top destinations on my bucket list.
“What if I hadn’t passed?” I asked, staring at the e-ticket again to make sure it was real.
Yep, there they were. My name, the travel dates, and the destination. All real.
He shrugged. “Then it would’ve been a comfort gift.”
Emotion clogged my throat and crawled into my chest. “Josh Chen, sometimes you are…” I set the phone aside and kissed him. Forget salted caramel. Nothing tasted as good as him—like mint and sex. “Tolerable.”
“Tolerable?” He hitched an eyebrow. “That’s not good. I’m supposed to be insufferable, and you…” He threaded his fingers through my hair and gave it a gentle yank. “You’re supposed to hate me.”
I dug my nails into his thigh until I heard his sharp inhale. “I do.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Show me.”
I dug my nails harder in his skin before I trailed them over his chest and climbed on top of him. I tugged hard on his hair and flinched when he spanked my ass again, this time so hard the sting reverberated through my body.
Wetness coated my thighs, and I moaned, all traces of drowsiness gone.
Screw walking properly. It was overrated anyway.
* * *
JOSH
Four months later
“If I die, I will drag you to hell and torment you for eternity.” Jules wrapped an arm around my waist, her face several shades paler than usual as we shuffled toward the edge of the platform.
Behind us, the bungee jump operator checked our harnesses one last time.
“If you die, I die, Red.” I grinned and kissed her cheek. “Hell with you sounds like heaven to me.”
Her tense expression cracked. “That was corny as fuck, Josh.”
“Yeah, so? I’m hot enough to pull it off.” I peered down at the river below us. “Besides, you may want to be nice to me. You don’t want our last words to be insults, do you?”
It was our last full day in New Zealand, and we were at Queenstown’s Kawarau Bridge for a tandem bungee jump. Jules had taken all our previous activities in stride—skydiving, paragliding, whooshing across a canyon with the Shotover Canyon Swing. But she’d never looked as nervous as she did now.
Her face paled further. “Don’t saythat.”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” I tightened my arm around her waist. “We’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“We better be, or I promise, I’ll let Cerberus bite your genitals off.”
I grinned. I loved when she got violent.
“Are you ready?” The operator asked, keeping a hold on the backs of our harnesses.
I looked at Jules, who took a deep breath and nodded.
“We’re good,” I said.
My heart crashed against my ribcage in anticipation.
The operator gave us a small push, and…