Give Me Fever (5 page)

Jade opened her eyes and looked over at Kaeden’s tent.
The poor thing is still at it
, she thought.

She rose to her feet and grabbed her backpack from the ground by the entrance of her tent. She pulled out a small sealed Ziploc before she made her way over to Kaeden’s tent.

“Kaeden, can I come in?” she asked, stooping down by the zipped-up entrance.

The laughter and joviality at the picnic table immediately ceased and Jade looked over her shoulder to find all the men gazing over at her in open curiosity. “Get your minds out the gutter, gentlemen,” she told them, holding up the baggie to show them.

As if
, she thought, as Kaeden unzipped the tent. Just as the flap opened she saw him slide his glasses back into place on his face. She felt a moment of disappointment. She would love to see what he looked like without them.
Simply for curiosity’s sake, of course.

“Listen, here’s a paste my grandfather swears by for insect bites,” she told him, noticing the open Jordan Banks book and an inhaler atop his sleeping bag.

“Thanks, I must have sugar in my blood,” he mused with a smile as he took the outstretched baggie from her hand.

“Wow, look at your arms,” she said, reaching out to touch the many swollen and red bumps. “Put the paste on and let it sit for at least ten minutes. I promise the itching will stop. It works.”

Kaeden opened the Ziploc and used his finger to start smoothing the paste onto the bites. “Thanks a lot,” he told her.

“No problem.” Jade rose to her feet and walked back over to her camp chair.

Kael walked over to the fire to check the pot. “Food’s ready,” he said, spooning beans onto paper plates and topping them with crispy golden pieces of fried bass.

Kaeden exited his tent and Jade tried not to chuckle at the sight of the white patches of paste drying on his arms. She dropped down into her chair with a yawn and a leisurely stretch.

“Here you go, Jade,” Kael said, handing her the plate.

Jade smiled at the older gentleman who reminded her of her grandfather. “Thank you, but I’m too beat to eat,” she told him.

“You go ahead and turn in, we’re just going to eat this fish and play cards.”

“That sounds good to me, but don’t be up too late. We’re leaving early,” she told him as she rose from her chair and knelt down to crawl into her tent. “Night, fellas.”

The men all wished her a good night as Jade zipped her tent up snugly. She turned on a small lantern and settled onto her side on the puffy sleeping bag. She smiled as she pulled her own copy of the Jordan Banks book from her backpack. She
loved
Jordan Banks’s mystery novels. She owned them all and always preordered the newest releases.

She read until her eyes began to feel heavy. In the dreamy seconds before she fell into a deep sleep, Jade was quite surprised that an image of Kaeden Strong in his tent reading the same book came to her.

Of all the things for her and Kaeden to have in common.

“Kaeden…you okay in there, son?”

Kaeden gasped as his eyes popped open, completely startled from his delicious dream. He lifted his head up. His dick was still hard as time and tenting the sleeping bag. His arm was curved away from his body as if he still held his dream girl.

It was all a dream. A damn good one, but a dream nonetheless.

“I’m up,” he hollered as he stretched the length of his six-foot-one frame and pushed downward on his hardness with
both
his hands.

Kaeden didn’t dare to leave his tent until his erection had eased. He knew they were hiking up to another campsite along the trail so he started to pack up, feeling really silly crawling around his tent with his dick sticking out between his legs like an arm. He sat back on his hindquarters with his hands on his thighs. “Today will go better. Think positive. Put out positive energy. Positive things will happen.”

Laughing a little as he remembered struggling to right his body before he fell off the bank into the river, Kaeden pulled his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He wanted to call Felecia and check in, but he barely had a signal.

Kaeden pushed his BlackBerry back into his pocket before he left the tent with his backpack in tow. “Morning.”

Kade stretched his six-foot nine-inch frame with a smile. “Damn, little brother, clear your throat.”

Of all the brothers, Kaeden had the deepest voice of them all. His was the most like his father’s: deep, echoing, resonant. Kaeden chuckled. “Don’t hate.”

Kahron strode from between the trees dressed in nothing but jeans, hiking boots, and a black beater tee that showcased the tattoo on his biceps. “Good morning,” Kaeden told him as he removed the stakes before he quickly folded down his tent. He was a firm believer in reading instructions, so although he never in his life even touched a tent he was a complete whiz at handling
this
tent. Thank God.

“Anyone have a signal?” Kade asked, looking down at his cell phone. “I’m ready to talk to my wife.”

“Not me,” Kaeden told him.

The other three men reached for their devices.

“No need,” Jade told them as she stepped off the dirt-packed trail with a large plastic bag in her arm. “When we hike farther up the trail there’s a long break in the trees, and that’s the best area to get reception.”

Kaeden looked over at her and noticed the edges of her short hair were damp and slightly curling. Her smooth complexion was even fresher looking and completely free of makeup. He wondered briefly if she had walked back to the campground’s public showers a couple of miles back.

That made him think of her nude and sudsy.
Getting hot.

And then
that
erotic vision made the blood coursing through his body want to race straight to the long and heavy length of his penis.
Getting hard.

“Whoo!” Kaeden started jogging in place and air boxing to fight off the erection.

Everyone paused in what they were doing to eye him oddly, including Jade. “Just a little morning workout ritual of mine,” he lied.

His impending erection eased and Kaeden cast one last look at Jade as she began to help break down the camp. He had the distinct feeling that Jade thought he was a bumbling fool. That hadn’t been the goal of him coming camping.

In truth, he wanted Jade Prince—what he knew of her he liked—and although the woman made him feel like an awkward high school nerd trying to gather up the courage to talk to the pretty, popular cheerleader, he was going to use this trip to at least try to have his dream girl in his life.

He was taking a chance going for a woman like Jade, but life—the best life—was always about reaching for the stars.

Kaitlyn sighed in unadulterated pleasure as she wiggled back in the vibrating massage chair while a nail technician worked absolute magic during her deluxe pedicure. She firmly believed in a woman treating herself to the little pleasures in life. A mani-pedi. A luxurious splurge on shoes by her favorite designer. Weekend trips to sunny places with turquoise water. Chilling at her favorite bar for drinks with her best girlfriends.

“Now, ladies, isn’t this a better way to spend a Friday than moping around the ranch worrying about the men?” Kaitlyn asked.

At their silence, she leaned forward to eye her mother and her two sisters-in-law in their own pedicure chairs. “Right?” she prodded again.

“Right,” they answered, not at all sounding like they meant it.

Kaitlyn just leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. That’s why she was enjoying living life to the fullest and not even thinking about falling in love. There were too many men, too many dates, and too many fun times to be had to spend any time moping about missing a man!

Felecia sat cross-legged on her floor beside her chest. She sighed and tilted her head to the side as she updated her wedding portfolio. Since she’d closed the office early for the day, she spent her time watching
Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
and gotten some new ideas for her own dream wedding.

Picking up her cell phone she tried to call Kaeden, but his cell was still out of range. She thought of Kaeden—
her
Kaeden—in some secluded forest with Jade Prince, and her hands curled into tight fists filled with tension. But she forced herself to relax. Kaeden and Jade were as compatible as oil and water.

Just two more nights and he’ll be back.
Still, she wanted the trip over and Kaeden back in her grasp where she could snatch him up for good.

“Where are they camping, the dang on Bermuda Triangle?” she snapped before dropping the phone onto the carpeted floor.

She opened her folder and smiled at the advertisement of a bride and groom with her head and Kaeden’s taped on top of theirs.

She firmly believed that to achieve it she had to believe it!

Jade hitched the wide straps of her backpack higher on her rounded shoulders as she led the men single file along the trail. They had hiked and fished away the morning. It took longer than usual because the men wanted to stop and fish anywhere along the trail that struck their fancy. Everything about the hike exhilarated her. The fresh air, the scent of the earth beneath their feet mingled with the sweetness of the wildflowers blossoming among the trees. It always amazed her how the woods could be serenely quiet even as they were filled with the backdrop of nature.

“Jade, don’t you think that little grove is the perfect spot for making love?” Kaleb asked near her ear.

Jade rolled her eyes.
Now, why this Negro have to interrupt my peace?

“We’re going to camp right up ahead on the left,” Jade hollered back to the men, completely ignoring Kaleb, who was giving her a serious migraine.

“We can set up camp quicker if you and I share a tent,” he offered.

Jade whirled on him but had to force herself to count to ten to keep from shoving him into the lake. Forcing a smile, she pushed all of her frustration into making a fist that pressed the tips of her short nails into the flesh of her palms. She just hoped
he
laid off or
she
was going to lay her fist square against his jaw. Seriously.

“Okay, fellas, we’ll camp here for the next two nights, and for anyone interested, there are some really beautiful and interesting wildflowers just a little bit deeper into the woods going toward the north,” Jade told them as they began to set up camp.

A deer went flying past amongst the trees. Kahron shook his head as he pushed his shades atop his head. “I shoulda brought my shotgun and we’d be having deer meat for dinner,” he said dryly.

“Hashed down with onions and peppers with that brown gravy spread over white rice,” Kade added with a lick of his lips.

“The ten point I killed last season was the best-tasting deer meat I had in a while,” Jade added as she grabbed her water jug and unscrewed the top, tilting her head back to take a deep sip.

“You hunt?” the men all asked in unison.

Jade knew she was no ordinary woman, and she liked that about herself. “I’ve won shooting matches at the county fair,” she told them with just a bit of swagger in her tone. “Sorry, men, but I don’t do stereotypes.”

“With my wife’s temper, I don’t need her learning to shoot a gun,” Kade joked as he raked his fingers through his moist silver curls.

“Sure she doesn’t already know how?” Kael Strong drawled.

The men laughed in agreement as they continued setting up camp.

Jade quickly erected and staked her own bright pink pop-up tent a few feet back from the fire ring. She sprayed a fresh layer of bug repellent on her legs and arms since she was wearing khaki capris and an orange T-shirt. “Ready, fellas?” she asked, looking up just in time to see Kaeden take a small toke from his inhaler.

Jade frowned before she walked over to him. “Are you having a hard time breathing?” she asked him, lightly touching his back. “Is the hike too much? Do I need to keep a close eye on you?”

Kaeden jumped like she’d surprised him. He turned and looked down at her. “You need to keep a close eye on me?” he asked, his baritone tone sounding amused.

Jade crossed her arms over her ample chest and tilted her head to the side as she looked into his eyes through the glasses. “Yes,” she stressed.

Kaeden laughed a little before he bent his tall frame suddenly and swung her up into his arms easily.

“Hey,” Jade yelped in surprise as her hands shot out. She was afraid he would drop her.

“Don’t let these glasses fool you,” Kaeden told her low in his throat, the cool breath from his mouth breezing lightly against her chin.

Jade’s breath caught in her throat.

Her heart slammed against her chest.

A shiver raced from her head to the tip of pink-painted toes in the hiking boots she wore.

In that one instant her body acted like Kaeden Strong was Denzel Washington.

Whoa.

“The pump helps me breathe when my allergies act up,” he explained, his eyes still locked on hers.

Jade’s face was just inches from his. One of her hands rested lightly against his chest. Beneath her hand his heart was beating just as hard as hers.

“What you doing over there, little brother?” Kahron called over.

“She
is
hard as hell to resist,” Kaleb added.

Jade scrambled and jumped down from his arms. “You guys ready to fish?” she asked, sounding normal even though her heart was still racing.

“Let’s go catch some fish, because it looks like two of my boys want to catch you,” Kael teased as he closed his tackle box.

Jade arched an eyebrow as she turned away from Kaeden. “Only thing is, Papa Strong, I am not throwing out any bait,” she said, firmly hoping to get her point across.

Hours later Kaeden could hardly believe that he’d even gathered up the courage to swing Jade up in his arms. In that instant the idea flew into his head and he just reacted. No question. No thoughts.

And it felt good having every inch of her soft curves in his arms.

He wished he could explain what about Jade Prince drew him in until he was breathless. They were as different as night and day. She longed to be surrounded by the outdoors while Kaeden found being around nature troublesome. She was sexy as hell and knew it while still being comfortable enough to take on tasks better than most men. He had barely a drop of the swagger his brothers possessed.