Free I'Ve Got You by Louise Forster Page B

rainforest.
    Belle stood on the beach next to Kabe, strands of damp hair clinging to her face, T-shirt stuck to her back; she squinted into the glare of the late afternoon sunlight.
    Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.
    Belle hoped it was a trick of the eye, but blinking several times made no difference. ‘That can’t be right,’ she said nervously. ‘She looks almost the same, maybe a little less tilted.’ Her knees buckled, her legs folded, and her bum hit the sand.
    Oh-my-God! She had more time to be with Kabe! Sweet sensations rushed through to her core, and she quivered with anticipation.
    Kabe dropped his cap and sunglasses onto the sand and placed the backpack beside them. He pulled off his shirt and said, ‘I’m going to swim out to her, join me if you want.’
    He ran into the shallows until it was deep enough to dive in. Belle quickly tucked her camera in the backpack, and wasted no time to strip down to her bra and undies. Well, it was almost like wearing a bikini and at least she’d keep her shorts and top dry. She jumped in and followed.
    Reaching the ladder, Kabe said, ‘Not being a macho-prick, but I can help you better on the sloping deck if I’m up there first,’ and clambered up. He lunged over the side and held his hand out for her. Staring at his hand, Belle hesitated, then slapped hers into his. With one heave, she was on the deck.
    Trembling, she said, ‘I just had a flashback … the storm.’
    Kabe nodded and moved to stand in front of her. Barely inches away, hand on the slope of her shoulder and neck, and head dipped close to hers, he asked, ‘You okay?’
    Her eyes drifted to water dripping off Kabe’s blond curls, and she followed them as they ran in rivulets down his face and beautiful, deep chest. Her gaze travelled back to his sea-blue eyes, which had changed from being on the edge of laughter to shimmering with raw heat. He wanted her; she could see it, feel it vibrating through him.
    â€˜Yeah.’ Unable to take his intense gaze any longer, Belle glanced down, and that’s when she saw her underwear.
    Oh—my—God!
    She felt her eyes widen and a flush rise up her neck to her face and intensify in her cheeks. ‘I may as well be naked,’ she heard herself whisper, and quickly covered her breasts and the dark triangle between her thighs. ‘Oh fuck, I just said that out loud, didn’t I? And I just used the F word.’
    Kabe didn’t answer; he didn’t have to, his grin said it all.
    Mesmerised, she watched as he slowly blinked, then his hand came up around her neck and jaw, his thumb sliding back and forth across her cheek.
    A breeze picked up, hitting her wet skin, and Belle shivered. Kabe’s gaze followed his hand as it slid down to her shoulder and then her arm. He rubbed at her goose bumps, lingering at the bruises on her wrist. A strange thrill rushed through her. A muscle above his jaw flexed, and then he swallowed—hard.
    Kabe’s eyes came back to her face. ‘You’re getting cold; I’ll get you a towel,’ he said, his voice thick. He leant in, and his hand cupped her face. Eyes closed, heart beating a mile a minute, she held her breath; when she opened them, he was gone. She barely had time to calm herself when he was back with a couple of dry towels. He threw one on the bench seat, opened the other and draped it around her shoulders, then rubbed warmth back into her arms. ‘Better?’ he asked gently.
    â€˜Thank you.’
    Tension hung in the air between them. She had to say or do something that wasn’t foolish, but before she could, Kabe pulled a couple of health bars from the pocket of his wet shorts and handed one to Belle. He sat on the cockpit’s bench and made himself comfortable. Slowly, Kabe lifted his head and fixed her with a soft look.
    Belle did everything she could to ignore his look and peeled the plastic wrapper