Tickle Your Appetite for Egg-Cerpts

During Lent (Feb.17 - April 4th) I post other author's egg-cerpts.

Here's a teaser of what you'll see.

Thanks Carol for going early.

Destination: Romance – Exotic Romantic Adventures
Their guide dead. Holly Kidnapped. The train ends at river’s edge.
Is she alligator bait? Will what happens in the jungle stay in the jungle?
Don’t miss the adventure!
The Wild Rose Press: http://www.thewildrosepress.com
Carolhenry@frontiernet.net; www.carolhenry.org
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Holly’s foot caught under the seat, saving her from going overboard. She landed on her butt in the bottom of the boat and got totally soaked. Sitting on the wooden bench-type seat didn’t help either. Rain filled the boat as if it was pouring straight out of a faucet.

The afternoon rain continued to pelt down on them with a vengeance. With the rain came more steamy humidity. Her clear, vinyl, hooded rain jacket clung annoyingly, making it difficult to move. For the umpteenth time she berated herself for losing her temper and insisting she follow Jake into the jungle. She knew she’d said it often enough, but, really, what had she been thinking? If there was any consolation right now, it was that everyone else was just as drenched. No sense in complaining—no one would listen or sympathize with her anyway. The rain thundered making talk impossible. Huge raindrops splattered in the river and splashed back up into the boat.

Holly looked behind her and barely made out the silhouettes of the guides bent over scooping out buckets full of water. It was no use. Rain was coming down faster than they were able to scoop it out. How long they had been at it, she didn’t know. She only knew she wished she was some place else, anywhere, but here.

“How’re you doing?” Jake asked, stepping over the center of the boat, looming over her with a big grin on his face. “Wild, isn’t it? When it rains, it pours, huh?”

She couldn’t answer. His smile mesmerized her. He reminded her of her ten-year-old nephew playing in the rain. The man was actually enjoying himself. His hair lay plastered against his forehead, and hugged his neck. Unlike her nephew, Jake’s shirt clung provocatively to his wet skin as water ran in tantalizing rivulets over his firm, bulging biceps. He did nothing to protect himself from the deluge. He could be Tarzan himself standing next to her. The man was in his element. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Denying the feelings that had been coursing through her veins since they’d met was useless. His smile was her undoing.

Shrouded in mist, the rain continued to sluice over their bodies, while water continued to rise. And all she could think about was what it would be like to be kissed by Jake Daniels—a real bone-shattering kiss. She couldn’t breathe.

Holly’s heartbeat thundered wildly. She’d said she was going to follow him into the jungle come rain or come shine, but she hadn’t meant it quite so literally. Her smile broadened automatically. They were in this adventure together. And what an adventure it was turning out to be.

His grin widened. His eyes sparkled with speculation. Had he read her mind?

The boat lurched sideways. Jake grabbed her arm to keep her from falling overboard.

“We aren’t far from shore,” he shouted over the pelting rain. “Ivan says it’s not that deep here. We can get out and wade in. We’re up to our knees and soaked already anyway.”

“What? You want me to get in that river? Are you mad?” Holly shouted back.

“I’m sorry.” Jake cupped his ear. “I can’t hear you,” he mouthed. “Let me help you over.”

“There better not be any alligators lurking close by, Daniels.”

He jumped over the side of the sinking boat before she could stop him. The boat tipped. Holly
couldn’t tell if the water was flowing out of the boat or back in. Jake held his hands out to her. She could only stare at him, and at the other guides who were now parading through the muddy river on their way to shore. Unless she planned to stay in the middle of the sandbar all by herself, she knew she had to take her chances and trudged through the mud with the rest of them. She leaned over and placed her hands on Jake’s shoulders only to have him grab her and swing her over his shoulder.

“Put me down,” Holly sputtered. “I can walk on my own.” Being thrown over his shoulder like a sack of feed was anything but romantic. She pounded her fists on his back.

He ignored her.

“If you don’t put me down right this second, Jake Daniels, I’m going to scream my fool head off.”

“It won’t do you any good,” he yelled over his shoulder. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s raining too hard for anyone to hear. They know I have you so I doubt they’ll think you’re in trouble. Besides, everyone’s gone on ahead.”

“How can I notice? All I can see is your backside.” Which brought her up short. It was a nice firm, rain-slicked back side. She didn’t like the sound of his chuckle as he proceeded to carry her the short distance across the riverbed and up the slippery, muddy embankment to the shelter of the rainforest’s dense canopy. Under the protection of the trees the rain was a heavy drizzle compared to the torrential downpour out in the open. Regardless, the heat from Jake’s body
penetrated her wet clothes. The friction of their bodies rubbing against each other sparked
something inside her that was hard to deny. Her attraction to Jake Daniels was getting harder to ignore.

Holly welcomed Jake’s body heat, a sweet torture as he slid her slowly and snugly down his
firm, sexy body, letting her know in no uncertain terms what her closeness was doing to him, too. The friction seeped through every scrap of clothing she wore. It penetrated deep into each and every excited pore and coursed through every single vein like molten volcanic flow. Her body sizzled with it. Her feet touched the damp, soggy earth, grounding the electrical current flowing between them.

Her legs buckled.

Jake caught her and pulled her to him before she crumbled to a heap at his feet. She saw the
hunger in his eyes and couldn’t move even if they had been standing in sub-zero temperatures. He lowered his head, his eyes never leaving hers. He drew her up off the rainforest floor and closed his eyes as their lips touched.

AMAZON CONNECTION excerpt, by Carol Henry

Thank you, Carol.

Remember to return during Lent to enjoy more Egg-cerpts,

Tina