Page 40 of One Wild Wish

CHAPTERTWELVE

RACHEL

Jimmy had the dirtiest mouth I’d ever heard, and it turned me on. Like whoa turned me on. I didn’t know dirty talk got me hot. Everything about him jacked up my temperature: the roughness of his ripped jeans, his tattoos, the brush of his callused fingers against mine. Jimmy sent my pulse thrumming, and the past ten minutes had ticked by too slowly.

Ainsley sipped the last of her cosmo and perched higher on her stool. “So, Jimmy, have you ever seen River Monsters?”

He stood from organizing something below the bar and scratched his neck. “Is that the fishing show?”

Gwen’s smirk was all mischief. “Yeah. They travel all over to find terrifying species of freshwater fish. Have you ever seen the Candiru episode?”

“Never seen any. Don’t watch much TV.”

I swallowed my laugh, knowing what was coming. A few months ago, when I’d texted the girls from a horrific date, they showed up, feigned surprise at the sight of me, and had proceeded with their Candiru performance. My date, Liam, had turned a shade of green I can only describe as rotten avocado, then made an excuse about having to get home.

I sat back to enjoy the show.

“So anyway,” Ainsley said, “they found this crazy species of fish called a Candiru. It’s a thin, slippery little sucker.”

“And it’s attracted to urine,” Gwen continued, her face glowing with excitement. “In this one episode, there was this guy urinating in the river, and the fish”—she paused for effect—“swam up his penis.”

Jimmy paled.

“If it gets too much,” I said, “just tap out.”

He shot me a worried frown. “It gets worse?”

“Much.”

“I can take it.”

The man was a trooper.

Gwen swirled her wineglass, always one to accept a challenge. “The fish has these gnarly spines, so once inside it anchored itself to him. Sucked his blood. Gnawed on his flesh. He tried to pull it out, of course, but the things are slippery as a wet bar of soap. It wouldn’t budge.”

Jimmy went from pale to ashen, his jaw clenched tight.

Ainsley leaned on her elbows, dropping her voice to a whisper. “They raced the guy to the hospital, and he was there for, like, two hours. The fish just hung on. They debated cutting him open to retrieve it, but decided on inserting pincers through the tip to—”

Jimmy shot his hands in the air. “Tapping out!”

He gave a shiver and strode away, muttering to himself.

Ainsley called after him, “I have a friend in marine biology. Mess with Rachel, and you’ll regret it.”

He didn’t glance back, but I cackled.

Man, did I love my girls.

Once they’d said their goodbyes, I waited for Jimmy to finish, my last few minutes spent in a lust-induced haze. His dirty promises echoed in my ear.

Undress you. Lick your pussy. Fuck you hard.

Please, and thank you.

My body was alive with want, awareness pulsing through my blood. My calves tingled against my jeans, the breeze of the ceiling fan like feathers through my hair. Even my fingertips prickled. I sensed Jimmy behind me before I felt him. He ran his hands down the outside of my thighs, his heat flowing over me. “Sorry it’s taking me so long. You okay?”

“Yeah.” My voice was nothing but a whisper. “I’m okay.”