Jill Shalvis - Just Try Me…

“Melon?” he asked doubtfully. “We’re going to talk about melon?”

“Well, we could go back to the whole timberland thing.”

He just looked at her.

“Fine,” she said on a long suffering sigh. “What else would we talk about?” Most men would go running now, she thought grimly. Yep, any second he’d do just that.

But he didn’t go anywhere. “Gee, I don’t know,” he said dryly. “How about how much energy we used up last night, and how good it felt? No, make that amazing.” He stepped close, let her see the heat in his eyes. “It felt amazing, Lily.”

She broke eye contact to study the fire. “I’d rather discuss food.”

“Okay, you go ahead and do that. I can wait you out.”

“Jared.” She closed her eyes. “We can’t do this now. I’ve got breakfast to serve. And then the canoe guy to meet on the river, and…”

And she couldn’t handle talking about last night. She just couldn’t. She took a deep breath, held it, then slowly let it out. “And I don’t think talking about it is going to help.”

Silence from Jared.

“We’re both adults,” she said, filling it. “And what happened between us here in the mountains-”

“Should stay in the mountains?”

Her eyes flew open. Jared was gone.

In his place was Jack, who’d clearly moved in close while she’d been talking to herself, and was looking pretty amused.

Jared now stood on the far side of the fire, holding his plate, chewing on a piece of bacon, watching the flames.

“Damn it,” she said, and ignoring Jack’s soft laugh at her side, she began another omelet.

“Hey, someone should be getting some out here,” Jack said. “I’ve always wanted to make it in the wilds. Tell me, do you get mosquito bites in private places when you strip down, because-”

“Jack?” she said sweetly.

He shoved a bite into his mouth. “Yes?”

“Shut up and eat.” She refilled his plate with more bacon and tried to pretend she wasn’t blushing.

She also refused to look at him again, or at Jared for that matter, and spent the next half hour cleaning up. Then she made sure that Michelle ate so that she wouldn’t be able to complain about hunger a half hour down the river, that Rose didn’t eat Rock for her nourishment, that everyone was happy and content and ready to go.

Because she was-at least the ready to go part. The happy and content? Not so much.

WATER LAPPED at Lily’s canoe, which she was sharing with Jack at the moment. In front of her, Rose and Michelle, who’d not wanted to be with Jack because she wanted to sun instead of paddle. Ahead of them were Jared and Rock.

Everyone was doing well, though her gaze kept straying to Jared. There was nothing more relaxing or soul-rewarding than canoeing down a slow-moving river-that is if she could take her mind off things.

Hope this won’t affect our working relationship. Had she really said that? Yes. Yes, she had, and she winced at the stupidity of it all over again.

Of course it was going to affect their working relationship. He’d watched her strip naked for him. He’d had his hands on every inch of her.

And his mouth. God, his mouth. He’d had that on every inch of her, as well, and she was pretty sure she’d screamed his name.

Several times.

Feeling her face heat, she groaned and shook her head, trying to dispel the image.

But it stuck. It all stuck-Jared dropping his clothes and driving into the water, then getting her to do the same. And then…and then showing her how to relax and lose herself with a mutually satisfying sweaty bout of sex.

Okay, more than just sex.

Damn it.

“You okay?”

She looked at Jack. “Um, yeah. Fine.”

This was all Jared’s fault. Last night, he’d stood there with the water lapping at his feet, looking so decidedly un-city-like, and incredibly gorgeous. The way he’d crawled up her body as she lay sprawled over the rock. How he’d spread her legs with his, then taken a good long look at her. Then he’d done a lot more than just look…

Now, in the river, paddling away to get out some aggression, she felt her nipples harden beneath her life-vest. Yeah, that was professional.

But it was nothing compared to what was going on between her thighs.

Or beneath her ribs, damn it, in the region of her heart. Now that reaction, that was the scary part.

Jack was looking at her again, and she forced a smile. Still fine.

As she thought it, Jared slowed his and Rock’s canoe until it came even with theirs. Jared was wielding a paddle as if he’d been born to it, and he gave her a look that for once she couldn’t read.

He didn’t say anything.

She didn’t either.

After a moment of the silent stand-off, his mouth quirked, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

And then he paddled on.

“Whew,” Jack said quietly. “Is it me, or is it getting hot out here?”

“Funny.” She watched Jared go, her chest tightening. She’d told him she didn’t do regrets, so she had no business going there in her head. It didn’t matter how he’d looked as she’d walked away from him, his hair rumpled, his eyes dark and sexy, his body loose and still damp…

God. Her knees actually wobbled whenever she thought about it, so really, it was a good thing they were canoeing on the river today instead of hiking.

She forced herself to look around her at the tall, majestic mountains, at the utter serenity all around them, and came to an understanding with herself.

She truly did love it out here. She loved what she was doing, loved having people with her to share it with, loved all of it.

And weak or strong, she was meant to be here.

A laugh behind her brought her out of herself, and she whipped around in time to watch Rose flash Rock her bare breasts. She was standing to do so, her top up over her face.

“Rose,” Rock said quickly, clearly torn between looking at the admittedly spectacular breasts and the now unsteady canoe. “Your canoe-”

“Uh-oh,” Rose gasped, because her motions had caused the canoe to rock back and forth, higher each time.

In the same unsteady canoe, Michelle screamed.

So did Rose. “Ohmigod-”

“Rose!” Lily called out. “Don’t make any quick moves, just-”

Rose sat, grabbing onto the sides of the canoe for dear life.

Too little too late. Especially when combined with Michelle’s own frantic movements. The canoe rocked even more. Rose was still screaming as the canoe rocked, rocked, rocked…right over, and settled, upside down.

As Rose and Michelle hit the water in tandem, the screaming abruptly stopped.

“Michelle!” Jack yelled, grabbing the sides of his and Lily’s canoe as he stood, clearly freaking out. “Michelle!”

Uh-oh. They began rocking, too, violently. “Jack, sit!” Lily yelled. Jesus, did no one listen? “You’ve got to-”

Too late. Their canoe rolled over, too, and she and Jack joined Michelle in the brink.

Damn it. Once again cold water closed over her head. She broke the surface and shoved her hair out of her eyes. Jared paddled up next to her and offered her the tip of his paddle to hold on to. “You all right?”

She looked into his eyes and had to shake her head. “Saving me again?”

He smiled. “If I am, does that mean you’ll owe me?”

“Ha-ha.” She struggled to flip the canoes, and Jared slipped into the water to help her. “Thanks,” she said, and at his easy smile, she sighed. “Fine. I really do owe you.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I want?”

She shrugged. “I can figure it out.”

He actually looked insulted at that. “Well, since you’re so sure,” he murmured, and then, pulling his and Rock’s canoe free, he paddled away, leaving her to wonder as she watched them go…had she misjudged him by accident, or on purpose so as to further alienate him?