CHAPTER FIVE

      “MR. Amudee has extended an invitation for you and me to have a private tour of the forest land.”

      Zack strode into the kitchen area and Clara sucked coffee down into her lungs. He was wearing jeans, only jeans, low on his lean hips, his chest bare and muscular and far too tempting. She could lean right in and.

      “Coffee for me?” he asked.

      “Oh, yes. Sure.” She picked up the carafe and poured some coffee into a bright blue mug. “It’s the shade-grown Chiang Mai Morning Blend. Really good. Strong but bright, a bit of citrus.”

      “I love it when you talk coffee to me,” he said, lifting the mug to his lips, a wicked grin curving his mouth.

      There was something borderline domestic about the scene. Although, nothing truly domestic could have such a dangerous, arousing edge to it, she was certain. And Zack, shirtless, had all of those things.

      “All right, tell me about the tour,” she said, looking very hard into her coffee mug.

      “Very romantic. For the newly engaged.”

      Her stomach tightened. “Great.”

      “I hope you brought a swimsuit.”

      Oh, good. Zack in a swimsuit. With her in a swimsuit. That was going to help things get back on comfortable footing. She looked at Zack, at the easy expression on his handsome face. The ridiculous thing was, the footing was perfectly comfortable for him. Her little hell of sexual frustration was one hundred percent private. All her own. Zack wasn’t remotely ruffled.

      Typical.

      “Yes, I brought a swimsuit.”

      “Good. I’ll meet you back here in twenty minutes.”

      “Right.” Unfortunately it would take longer than twenty minutes to plot an escape. So that meant Zack and swimsuits.

      She tried to ignore the small, eternally optimistic part of her that whispered it might be a good thing.

      Clara tugged at her brilliant pink sarong and made sure the knot was secure at her breasts before stepping out into the courtyard, where Zack was standing already.

      “Ready. What’s the deal? Give.”

      “You have to wait and see,” he said, moving behind her, placing his hand low on her back as he led her to the gate and out onto a narrow path that wound through a thick canopy of trees and opened on an expansive green lawn.

      “Are you kidding me?” she asked, stopping, her eyes widening.

      There were two elephants in the field, one equipped with a harness that had small, cushioned seats on top. He was large enough he looked like he could comfortably seat at least four.

      “Elephant rides are a big tourist draw in Chiang Mai,” Zack said, the corner of his mouth lifting. “And I’ve never done it before, so I thought I would take advantage of the offer.”

      “First time for you?” she asked. She’d intended it as a joke, but it hit a bit to close to that sexual undercurrent they’d been dealing with since they left San Francisco.

      A slow smile spread across his face. “Just for the elephant ride.”

      “Right. Got it.” She was sure she was turning pink.

      “You?”

      She just about choked. “The elephant?”

      “What else would I have been asking about?”

      Her virginity. Except, no he wouldn’t have been asking about that. It wasn’t like she had a neon sign on her forehead that blinked red and said Virgin on it. Unless she did. Maybe he could tell.

      She really hoped he couldn’t tell.

      “Yes, first time on an elephant,” she said drily, aiming for cool humor. She wasn’t sure she made her mark, but it was a valiant effort.

      “Mr. Parsons.” There was a man in white linen pants and a loose white shirt approaching them, his hand raised in greeting. “Ms. Davis, I believe,” he said, stopping in front of her, his dark eyes glittering with warmth.

      “Yes,” Clara said, extending her hand. He bent his head and dropped a kiss on it, smiling, the skin around his eyes wrinkling with the motion.

      “Isra Amudee. Pleasure.” He straightened and shook Zack’s hand. “Very glad you could make it. Especially after what happened.”

      Zack put his arm around Clara’s waist and Clara tried to ignore the jolt of heat that raced through her. “Really, it didn’t take me long to discover it wasn’t a problem. Clara … well, I’ve known her for a long time. I don’t really know how I missed what was right in front of me.”

      Mr. Amudee’s smile widened. “A new wedding in your future, then?”

      Zack stiffened. “Naturally. Actually I’ve already asked.”

      “And she’s accepted?” Amudee looked at her and Clara felt her stomach bottom out.

      Zack tightened his hold on her. “Yes,” she said, her throat sandpaper dry. “Of course.”

      “And you, I bet, will have the good sense to show up. Now, I’ll leave you to the elephants. I have to go and take a walk around the grounds. But I’ll see you later on.”

      Clara watched Amudee walk away and tried to ignore the buzzing in her head as the man who was with the elephants introduced himself in English as Joe. He explained how the ride would work, that the elephant knew the route through the forrest and up to a waterfall, and she wouldn’t deviate from that.

      “They’re trained. Very well. Safe. You’ll be riding Anong.” Joe indicated the elephant who was harnessed up. “And I’ll follow on Mali. Just as a precaution.”

      He tapped Anong on her back leg and she bent low, making it easy for them to climb up onto the seat. Zack went first, then leaned forward and extended his hand, helping her up onto the bench.

      “Seat belts,” he said, raising one eyebrow as he fastened the long leather strap over both of their laps.

      “Comforting,” she said, a tingle of nerves and excitement running through her.

      “Ready?” their guide called to them.

      “I have no idea,” she whispered to Zack.

      “Ready,” Zack said.

      The elephant rose up, the sharp pitch forward and to the left a shock. She lurched to the side and took hold of Zack’s arm while Anong finished getting to her feet, each movement throwing them in a different direction.

      “I think I’m good now,” she whispered, her fingers still wrapped, clawlike around Zack’s arm.

      “Just relax, he said this is a path she takes all the time. New for us, but not new for her.”