She managed a shaky smile. Dominick was so physically commanding, he instilled confidence. Still…it was impossible to tell her body not to react to the anxiety. Beneath the rugged clothes and sports bra, her nipples were erect, and all the nerve endings in her secret places were colluding to produce an abundance of lubrication. Maybe it was some age-old response to fear, to drive women to have sex during times of crisis in order to preserve the human race. Whatever the origin, her body seemed to be preparing itself for sensual warfare.
She knew, deep down, that if she told Dominick outright that she didn’t want to go, he would call off the ride. After all, their research for the class—the instruction piece—was essentially over. The paragliding trip itself was strictly a bonus…and even though her limbs were quaking at the thought of soaring high in the sky sitting in what amounted to little more than a sturdy diaper, she was drawn to it like the moth to a dangerous flame.
Like she was drawn to Dominick.
He ran his hands over her again to check the security of the straps, leaving a fiery trail on her sensitized skin. Apparently satisfied, he smiled. “Ready?”
She nodded.
“I need a Roger on that, Vee.”
“Roger,” she said, lifting her chin.
He grinned, then stepped behind her to strap himself into his own harness. As the pilot, Dominick would be responsible for helping to launch them safely and to control the wing once they were airborne. He had a radio to contact a leader on the ground if necessary.
“On three, we’re going to run,” he said in her ear. “Right foot first. As soon as you feel your feet leave the ground, sit back into your sling. Got it?”
“Roger,” she said, taking a deep breath. Her heart was pounding against her breastbone like a hammer.
“Here we go—one…two…three!”
Leading with her right foot, she lumbered forward. Behind her, Dominick was matching her stride, using Kevlar cables to coax the wing off the ground and into the air. After a half-dozen steps, her feet met nothingness. Following a few seconds of abject terror, she remembered to shift her rear back into the sling. They lurched forward and her stomach pitched as the ground disappeared in front of her. And then a sensation much like riding a chairlift took hold. They were pulled higher and higher by the orange-colored wing now fully expanded above them. She felt the ascending tug on her shoulders from the harness, but her legs swung freely from the knee down.
“How’re you doing up there?” Dominick called.
Violet hadn’t realized she was holding her breath. She expelled a long breath through her mouth, like a Lamaze exercise, keeping her head up as the wind whooshed by her. Cold panic tickled the back of her neck.
“Talk to me, Vee.”
“I’m…okay,” she managed to say without moving her head.
“Just keep breathing and relax,” he said. “I’m right here.”
His knees nudged her behind, then clasped hold until she was cradled between his thighs.
“I got you,” he said near her ear. “Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Adrenaline flooded her chest and arms, rendering her light-headed. And having Dominick’s warm body at her back only magnified the sensation of floating in a vat of liquid. She blinked several times to focus, and slowly, centimeter by centimeter, shifted her head to take in the vista before them.
It took her breath away. The horizon stretched in front of them, meeting water at several points. Below them were the tops of palm trees, sandy fields and marshland. They continued to rise, riding through the white vapor of clouds, until the ground below them lost detail and arranged itself into a grid. Dominick would be looking for thermal currents, she remembered from the training—columns of warmer and lighter air that rose naturally, to elevate them higher with less effort. Time seemed to be suspended as they floated along. Everything below them was miniature and rendered somehow less important. She felt omnipotent, watching tiny vehicles and figures moving around.
“Look to your left,” he said in her ear.
When she did, she gasped. A seagull flew next to them, its dark wings moving in slow motion. Birds, too, were looking for currents to ride, she realized in awe. The white-breasted gull was their companion for several long minutes, then it suddenly dove and spiraled out of sight.
Violet let the wonder of their experience fill up her lungs. The air was cooler at this height and it was unbelievably quiet, with only the slap, slap of the wing above, and the swish of Dominick maneuvering the guide wires. Violet could hear her own heartbeat, her blood rushing in her ears.
“What do you think, Vee?” Dominick asked.
She closed her eyes against the rough timbre of his voice that set off new waves of vibrations through her sex. She felt so raw and so aroused, she could imagine their nude bodies joined like this, her sitting in his lap, impaled on his erection. “Mmm,” she murmured.
“Gets your blood flowing, doesn’t it?” he said.
She nodded. Every part of her felt engorged. She wanted the ride—the sensation—to go on forever, and at the same time she wanted it to stop. The pressure building in her womb was both exhilarating and unbearable. He banked the glider, and she realized they had turned around and were going back in the direction they’d come.
“Ready to take it up a notch?” he asked.
Violet tensed. “What do you mean?” she said over her shoulder.
“It’s called a wing-over. We shift our weight from side to side and eventually swing up level with the chute. It’s a blast. Just follow my lead.”
She tensed, but when he squeezed her with his knees and said, “Lean right,” she did.
“Now left…now right.”
With every reallocation of their weight, the paraglider swung in an ever-increasing arc until they were level and, in some cases, higher than the orange wing. It felt as if they were in an adult jumper swing, bouncing from side to side. The rush was thrilling and scary and Violet found herself squealing with every swing. Gradually, he leveled them out again. “That was fun,” she said over her shoulder, laughing.
He gave her a squeeze with his knees and a different kind of thrill speared through her body. They sailed along quietly for a while and suddenly landmarks started to look familiar.
“That’ll do it for today,” he said, and they began to descend slowly through the haze of the clouds. They drifted down so gradually, she was surprised when they were skimming the tops of palm trees, heading for a deserted field of tall, marshy grass.
“Okay, stand upright in your leg harnesses,” he said.
She shifted forward, her heart vaulting to her throat at leaving the stability of the sling. She comforted herself with the knowledge that if she plummeted at this height, she was likely not to break every bone in her body.
“We’re landing into the wind,” Dominick said, “so we should have a nice, soft set-down. Your legs are going to feel like jelly, but I need for you to hit the ground running and keep going until you feel resistance from me.”
She leaned forward and spread her legs shoulder-width. When she felt the grass beneath her feet, she took off running until she felt a drag on her weight. Dominick’s arms came around her and they tumbled to the ground together. She landed on top of him, breathless. He was grinning, holding her tight.
“What did you think?” he asked, his blue eyes alight.
Her body was vibrating like a piano string. “I…think it was better than the bungee jump.”
“So have I converted you to extreme sports?”
She moistened her lips. “I can see the healthy benefits.”
“Some people go their entire lives, Vee, and never experience the thrill of having adrenaline pump through their bodies like this.”
“That’s…unfortunate,” she agreed.
He rolled her over until she was partially beneath him. The scent of pungent earth and the tall, parched grass tickled her nose. Above her, Dominick’s eyes turned smoky, fanning the flame smoldering in her stomach. A primitive longing welled in her sex.
It was involuntary, undulating her hips into his. His eyes glazed. Even through the bulky equipment, their bodies conveyed need.
He picked up her hand, then stroked her palm with his thumb. “What do you say we stall a little while before calling the ground crew to come and get us?”
She turned her head to see if there were any houses or cars close by, but the tall grass obscured her view. “What if someone sees us?”
“What if they do?” he murmured. “You certainly have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Violet flushed. The way he looked at her was like a tripwire to the volatility that had been building in her womb all day. “Okay.”
Harnesses and helmets were discarded. Dominick spread out the nylon wing for them to lie on, then undressed her, paying homage to every exposed erogenous zone with blunt-tipped, calloused fingers. He released her hair, pushing his hands into it as he kissed her hungrily. She pulled at his clothes until they were skin to skin.
It was Violet’s first time being nude outdoors. The sun warmed her back and buttocks, while the wind made her aware of the wetness on her thighs. The sight of her milky complexion next to his bronze body illustrated how different they were. He looked like some kind of wild animal with his shaggy mane and jutting erection. She splayed her hands over his chest, reveling in the feel of his muscles under her fingertips. The maleness of him took her breath away, made her say things she’d never uttered before.