Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 by Maisey Yates (free biff chip and kipper ebooks .txt) 📕

her close. His body felt solid against her and a shiver rose deep from her core. She pressed herself to his body and stood on her toes to whisper into his ear, “You know, sex on the beach is also on my bucket list.” She kissed his ear and felt his reaction push against her belly. He pressed his lips to hers, then disengaged.

“Nice try, but we’re doing this.”

Her eyes widened. “This is madness. I’m not into sports. I don’t even play badminton.”

He stepped closer and cupped her face. “At any point you want to abort, just say, ‘bridesnatcher.’ It’ll be our safe word.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

“You trust me?” he asked.

His eyes, the color of sky, sparkled like the shimmering water behind her. It was so easy to get lost in them, to forget all the alarm bells ringing in her mind. She nodded.

Things moved quickly after that. Buck returned with a tablet and made her watch a safety video while Ethan meticulously inspected, folded and packed the parachutes. The video showed her how the gear would work, how to position her body during the dive, how to open her chute and how to land. Buck then did some practice exercises with her.

“What happens if we free-fall too long and don’t open the parachute in time?”

“If you open the chute too late, your descent will be too fast.” Buck slapped his hands together. “You pancake if you land on the road or become shark food if you land in the water.”

Her mouth fell open.

“Stop it, Buck,” Ethan said. “I’ll open the parachute in time. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Things were moving so quickly, Divya couldn’t even process everything that was happening. She was exhilarated as much as she was scared. When else would she ever get to skydive? Her parents thought skiing was too dangerous a sport. She was free to do what she wanted.

They put on their harnesses and chutes, did a final safety check, then climbed into the plane. The interior of the plane was like the inside of a paper towel roll. There were no seats—it was even more basic than the outside. Ethan showed her how to scoot onto the metal floor and sit with her legs in front of her. They could see clear into the cockpit.

Ethan pulled Divya close to him, her back to his chest, his legs beside hers.

“All right, sit tight, flight time is ten minutes.” Buck looked back from the cockpit, and Divya closed her eyes.

As the plane taxied and took off, Divya’s legs stiffened. She was glad she wasn’t sitting near a window to see how far up they were. The noise inside the cockpit was deafening, and the plane bumped around like an old railcar. Her heart raced. What am I doing? She was about to jump out of a plane with a man she’d known for… Had it really just been three days? The plane lurched and her heart went with it. A light at the front of the plane turned yellow, and there were two beeps. That was their signal to get ready to jump.

I can’t do this. She had taken everything too far. In her desperation to escape her wedding and her longing to sing at Café Underground, she’d completely lost her mind. What was she doing thousands of miles away from her family? How had she abandoned all her responsibilities? What was she doing sleeping with Ethan, playing with his emotions and her own? How was she pretending that this was a vacation and when it was done, everything would go back to the way things had been? That she would be the same person?

Ethan had said that if she got to a point where she really didn’t want to do it, all she had to do was say the safe word, bridesnatcher, and they could abort.

Ethan pulled her close and she heard him attaching the harness that would connect them, just as they’d practiced on the ground. His body felt solid against hers. “The first time I did this, I was scared out of my mind, but after this, there’s nothing you’ll be afraid of. It’s time to let go of all the fears you hold inside you.”

She exhaled. “I can’t do this. I can’t!” But the words were stuck inside her throat.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be with you.” He wrapped his arms around her tightly. Her heart rate slowed. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

The light buzzed green and he pushed her forward until they were at the door.

“Don’t worry. He hasn’t lost one yet,” Buck quipped as Ethan opened the plane door. A rush of air assaulted them, and she was sure she’d get blown right out of the plane. She tried to find something on the floor to grab on to, but her hands were so sweaty that they just slid over the floor. Ethan stood, lifting her up with him. She was unstable on her legs since he was taller than she was and they were now harnessed together. He held on to a strap on the ceiling with one hand and slowly shuffled them along. The cold air slammed her in the face as they got to the edge of the plane.

Her chest exploded. She was pretty sure she was having a heart attack. Oh my God! Wisps of white clouds froze her face and hands. She could barely see the streaks of blue below. She couldn’t breathe. Her legs were so stiff, she couldn’t move them. Ethan pushed her gently and her toes went over the edge of the plane. She screamed, but no sound came out of her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way she could do this. It was time to use the safe word and abort. She’d never been this scared in her life. Her heels were barely on the edge of the plane.

“You ready?” Ethan yelled next to her ear, and