Page 32 of The Rival in South Africa
“Did you get any shots of the elephants?” he asked.
I stifled a yawn. “Probably not. Too dark.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I don’t think we’ve been out this late. That must be a hard part of the job for Thomas and Rex, having to rope the guests back in when it’s time to go, no matter what’s out there.”
“True. It’s a balance of the experience versus responsibility.”
“It is rather dark back here,” Alex noted, shifting around. He turned his head slightly to whisper in my ear. “And we’ve got this nice blanket covering us up.”
Fingers slipped over my knee, trailing a slow path up my inner thigh. I hummed in approval and shifted my knees further apart.
Alex kissed my temple and kept his lips there. Warm puffs of air disturbed the wisps of hair around my temple. Fingers slowly trailed up and up and up…
He traced the band of my underwear, just barely grazing my lips. Surely, he could feel the heat and dampness already, and I squirmed in anticipation. In response, he brought the rest of his fingers around my upper thigh.
“I like the way your skin feels.” He rotated his hand, running all his fingers along the edge now. Then, so slowly, a finger slid from the side, over my panties, and to my center. Alex inhaled sharply, letting his finger press against me. “I like the way that feels even better.”
He began to draw small circles, feeling his way around to find just the right spot. When I gasped in response, I felt him smile against my temple.
“Right there,” he said, sounding smug.
My hand trailed across to his lap, where I fumbled for a minute, and he shifted to give me some room. I brushed his erection with the back of my hand and then attempted to wrap my fingers around him. I giggled when the leggings he wore under the shorts provided little give, and my hand slipped off.
He laughed, too, but then pulled me close. Quietly, we kissed, his finger still running in slow circles in just the right spot. I had to pull back, needing more air, but he kept me pressed against him. I could barely make out his face in the dark anymore.
But both our bodies surged forward when the Jeep came to a halt. I would have been face-first on the Jeep floor if it hadn’t been for Alex holding me in place.
“Okay, everyone,” Thomas said. “We’re a bit late, so you’ve only got fifteen minutes to freshen up. See you back at the bar.”
Alex and I slipped our hands out, but when I went to stand up, Alex stopped me. Keeping eye contact, he slipped his finger—thefinger—in his mouth and moaned around it.
“Back to the tent. Now.” I shoved him out the Jeep door, and he caught himself, laughing. He offered his hand to help me down, and once my feet were on the ground, we wound our fingers together and briskly walked along the boardwalk.
“Nikki!”
My stomach plummeted in disappointment as we came to a halt.
Sam caught up to us. “Sorry, you are later than I expected, so I didn’t catch you right out of the Jeep. Could you come with me very quickly and bring your camera?”
“Uh, well…” I glanced at Alex.
“That’s okay. I’ll see you back at the tent.” His hand squeezed mine three times, and then he let go.
Sam led me to the kitchen, where the staff had set up a few more plates for me to photograph. I made quick work of it, hoping to be back at the tent for…a quickie? A shower? Honestly, I was willing to show up to dinner absolutely filthy.
Alex Boyd was a tease.
Unfortunately, the drums banged for dinner, and I was still shooting the last plate. When I finished, I crashed out of the kitchen, nearly running into Alex.
“Hey, is everything okay?” His hair was still damp from a shower, and he’d changed while I was occupied.
“Yes,” I said, gesturing over my shoulder. “Sam wanted me to take some pictures for her. I’m going to head back to the tent, quickly.”
Alex held out a hand. “I can take your bags back if you want to stay here. I’m afraid you probably don’t have time to shower.”
“You could take my bags back,” I said, stepping in close to Alex and dropping my voice. “But you can’t change my panties for me.”
A noise that sounded an awful lot like “ughnnnaaa” came out of Alex’s mouth as he flopped his forehead onto my shoulder. “I didn’t need to know that. The last thing I want to do is to be chatting with Ernst or Mark over a cocktail and a hard-on.”
