CHAPTER 24
The day had, in fact, gotten worse.
There were very few things Jacqueline Angelica Miles Jr. feared. She hated spiders. She despised dry pound cake. Most of all, she hated heights. She’d thought the group was going for a casual hike in the jungle. She didn’t think it was going to end with her dangling from a string of death.
Dear God, if you get me down in one piece, I swear I’ll never skip church for football ever again! Not even during playoffs!
Jackie silently repeated this ridiculous promise to a higher power as she stood paralyzed on the edge of a wooden plank, suspended nearly eighty feet in the air above a flowing river, only supported by a harness connected to a zipline. She peered down and looked at the stream.
Okay, God. I’ll throw in the Final Four too! Just get me down from here.
Sure, she loved flying. In an airplane. In first class. This was different—there was no captain, no air mask. She was out in the jungle, exposed to the elements. Not a flute of champagne or safety manual in sight.
This trust exercise, as Shane and Locust had explained, was supposed to bring couples closer together by conquering fears.
One partner was supposed to “let themselves go” in order for their partner to catch them on the other side.
The other couples in the group had completed the exercise with relative ease.
But not Jackie. She was the last person to go across the zipline.
After thirty minutes, she was still standing there, frozen.
“Jackie, I’m right here!” yelled Antonio at the other end. “It’s going to be fine. Breathe, babygirl! You have to trust me.”
Jackie stared across the ravine. She tugged at the connection to the wire again. I damn sure don’t trust this wire.
“Jackie,” Locust said softly as she stood next to her. “Just visualize landing in Antonio’s big, strong arms, where you feel safe and protected.”
Jackie gave Locust a death glare. You do it, she wanted to say, since you want to be all up in his big, strong arms! I’ve seen how you’ve been drooling over him!
Locust chuckled. “Jackie, you sweet spirit, you’re just afraid. But there is nothing to be afraid of. Antonio is asking you to let go. Join him on the other side where everything is alright. Do you understand?”
Jackie scratched her head nervously under the edge of the helmet.
What if the wire snapped? Oh lord, she prayed Tanika would at least bury her in her favorite YSL heels, and that her Aunt Ida-Lou wouldn’t get emotional and sing “When the Gates Swing Open” at the funeral. She tugged at the line again.
“The line won’t snap,” Locust assured her. “The odds of that are low.”
But there are still odds! Jackie had known coming to Mexico with Antonio was going to be the death of her, but not like this.
She felt Locust rubbing soft circles on her back. “Breathe, Jackie. Practice the breathwork you learned the other day.”
Jackie thought she might as well try. “Hee…hee…hooo…ho….”
Locust paused the backrub. “Uhm, Jackie, that’s Lamaze breathing. We’re not having a baby here. We need deep belly breathing, my sister. Through your nose and out your mouth. And as you breathe, visualize Antonio, ready to receive you.”
Jackie looked down at Antonio, who stood on the edge of the tower with a face full of worry. Every time she moved, he moved. She’d been stalling for half an hour, and he wasn’t letting her out of his line of sight.
Jackie let out one last shaky breath, turned to Locust, and nodded.
“You ready?” Locust asked.
Jackie nodded yes. She closed her eyes, breathing through her nose and out of her mouth as Locust had instructed. Her hands were sweaty as she gripped the harness.
“One…” Locust moved closer to Jackie. “Two…”
Before Jackie could hear “three,” she was flying through the air.
That bitch! She didn’t even have time to brace herself.
The wind was hitting Jackie in the face, forcing her to squeeze her eyes tighter.
Blood rushed to her ears, and she could hear her pulse beating fast. Was she having a heart attack?
She missed her daddy, but she damn sure wasn’t trying to see him in heaven anytime soon.
Her mind was racing a mile a minute, and snatches of her life were popping up like slides in an old-school View-Master toy.
Who was going to take care of PeeWee? Would Uncle Roydell get drunk at her repast?
Would Antonio cry? God, please don’t let Bronwyn burn sage around my coffin.
It seemed as if Jackie had been in the air forever, until suddenly, she felt herself collide with a semi-solid wall of muscle.
Antonio’s arms wrapped around Jackie in the tightest hold she’d ever felt.
“I got you, Lucky, baby, I got you,” he whispered.
“You’re good.” The second she was in his arms, Jackie relaxed.
She felt that same current of electricity that she’d felt before, as if their energies had merged.
The hairs at the back of her neck stood up.
Couples around them began to clap. Jackie opened her eyes, staring at the middle of Antonio’s broad chest. Despite the heat and exertion, he still smelled impossibly good. She inhaled again, finding a strange comfort in the familiar scent of him. And there was that tingle again….
“Jackie, are you crying? Shit, are you okay?”
Blinking rapidly, she stepped back a little, embarrassed. She waved him off, shaking her head.
“You sure? Because I swear everyone in Playa del Carmen heard you screaming.”
Jackie looked at him, horrified. That’s low-key embarrassing.
“Uh-huh,” Antonio teased. “Screaming. You may not be able to speak, but you sure found your voice on that zipline. Like you were being chased in the woods by Freddy Krueger.”
Shane came over to unhook Jackie from the harness. “So proud of you for conquering your fears, Jackie. Way to go! You trusted yourself, and you trusted Antonio to be there to catch you like the comforting partner he is. You’re very lucky to have each other.”
Trust. There was that word again.
Jackie looked over at Antonio, who had stepped away and was laughing and talking with another couple. He caught her eye and gave her a dimpled smile.
Jackie pulled her phone from her back pocket, grateful it hadn’t slipped out and landed in the river below. “We aren’t a couple,” she typed. The voice of the app was barely audible over the wind and rushing river.
“Really?” Shane seemed genuinely surprised. “You could have fooled me. The sexual auras are very vibrant between the two of you. What’s your sign? Scorpio?”
Jackie held up her hand. Chill out, buddy.
Jackie had heard enough about auras in the past year to last a lifetime.
Ever since Tanika had gotten a pair of glasses that supposedly helped her see people’s true colors, their Boss Chick lunches had turned way more woo-woo than Jackie was comfortable with.
She didn’t want or need to hear about vibrant sexual auras, not when it came to her cousin and her best friend, and especially not when it came to her and Antonio.
Jackie watched as Antonio lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe sweat from his eyes, the top of his pelvis just slightly visible, including the happy trail leading into his waistband.
She swallowed as memories of the other night flashed in her head.
Why hadn’t she licked that spot the other night when she’d had a chance?
“Right, not a couple,” Shane chuckled, then leaned closer to whisper. “Try not to bite a hole in your lip, then.”
Realizing her teeth were furiously gripping her bottom lip, Jackie quickly released it.
But it was too late. Antonio was looking right at her intensely, almost like he could read her thoughts.
Jackie let out a slow breath. It would have been a lot easier to dislike Antonio if he wasn’t so damn fine.
And to make matters worse, he was generally a decent person, the lie of omission about PJ notwithstanding.
Antonio walked over, handing Jackie a bottle of water. “You look like you could use a drink. You look a little…thirsty.”
Oh no he didn’t. Jackie snatched the bottle and took a generous gulp.
Shane whistled, and Locust clapped to get everyone’s attention.
“Today was a great day! We hope you all got a lot out of the trust-based activities,” Locust beamed. “The sun is setting, so we are going to start our way back to the resort.”
Shane looked up at the sky. “A storm may be coming in. We don’t want to get stuck out here in it.”
A storm? Jackie looked up, confused. The sun was indeed setting, but there wasn’t a storm cloud in sight. The weather had been picturesque since they’d arrived. She was sure Shane operated on vibes and was probably wrong about this one.
Jackie and Antonio walked back toward the luxury sprinters that waited to take the group back to the resort.
“You did good back there, Lucky,” Antonio said. “Facing your fears like that. I do think that deserves a reward.”
Jackie raised a brow. She typed, “Unless that reward is something I can spend or something shiny, then I don’t want it.”
“I think it’ll be something much better. And much more…fulfilling.”
Jackie slowly turned to face Antonio, then paused to type a response. “I don’t know if that’s on the table.”
“Is that right?” Antonio leaned down over Jackie, his breath tickling her ear and sending a shiver down her spine. “Because we have that nice, big table in our suite, and I’d love to see your fine ass on it.”
Jackie’s breath hitched as her back hit the side of the van. She looked up at Antonio, who was inches from her face. Was he going to kiss her? She tilted her head up, her lips dangerously close to his. As soon as she did that, Antonio pulled back with a low laugh.
“Nah, Lucky,” Antonio chuckled. “That’s off the table, right? Pun intended.”
Jackie balled up her fist and punched Antonio in his arm.
He winced, grabbing his bicep. “Listen, I can’t help it if you can’t resist me. You know you love it, lil’ mama.”
Jackie fumed, arms folded. Antonio was such an ass.
Antonio moved past her and ducked inside the van. When she didn’t move, he peeked his head outside. “Jackie, you know damn well you aren’t going to walk back to the resort.”
Jackie grunted, shaking her head.
Antonio sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry. I was just kidding. I promise the reward isn’t my dick. Just get in the van, Lucky.”
Jackie huffed, making her way inside the van.
“You’re gonna want this reward, Jackie. Trust me.”
Jackie raised a skeptical brow. She didn’t know what Antonio was up to, but she had a feeling that dick was still probably on the table.
If she was being honest with herself, she’d take the dick.
Being in his arms and being held all night was cool.
But holding him in her hands had reminded her that she knew Antonio Steele could give her infinite amounts of pleasure.
The man was blessed with talent and equipment.
Jackie blinked, shaking herself out of the thought. What am I thinking? I just said I wasn’t trying to Bankhead-bounce on that thang! Get it together, Miles!
Antonio stared at Jackie. “Jack? You good, ma?”
Jackie nodded her head a little too vigorously. She pretended to look out the window of the van, willing her thoughts to chill the hell out.