Off the
Beaten Track by Lucy Felthouse
When workaholic Libby Strong’s friends and family
make her take a long overdue holiday, she’s not impressed. A week of lounging
by a swimming pool and doing nothing is not her idea of fun. In an act of
rebellion, she books a day trip, touring in a jeep. When her guide arrives,
Libby’s astonished to discover she’s the only patron going on the trip. But as
hunky Demetrio takes her off the beaten track and deep into the beautiful
Portuguese countryside, she soon leaves her worries behind and hangs on tight
for the ride of her life.
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Excerpt:
Libby
huffed and puffed as she made her way up the steep slope leading to the rear
exit of the hotel complex. She swore the builders had had secret CCTV cameras
installed so they could watch people suffer their poor planning for years to
come. At least it was early. Had it been lunchtime, she’d surely have passed
out with the heat.
Ah
well, Libby thought as she finally reached the road, it’ll be worth it. This
trip is going to be amazing.
As
she stood on the mercifully flat pavement and got her breath back, a thought
niggled at her. Nobody else was here. Panicking, Libby wrenched open her bag
and pulled out her paperwork. She examined it, then a glance at her watch
confirmed she had both the right date and time. So where was everyone? Yes, she
was ten minutes early but surely the others should be here by now? Looking down
the slope she’d just ascended, Libby frowned as she saw it was deserted.
Everywhere was deserted.
Fuck,
she thought, perhaps they were all here earlier and they’ve gone without me!
The
rumble of an engine distracted Libby from her worries. Turning, she saw a jeep
trundling down the road towards her. She watched hopefully as the driver pulled
the vehicle up beside where she stood and reached into the passenger seat.
Picking
up a clipboard, the man glanced down, then at her, and said, “You are Libby
Strong?”
She
nodded.
The
man grinned widely, revealing dimples in both cheeks, and hopped out of the
jeep. Walking around the vehicle to where she stood, he held out a hand.
“I
am Demetrio. Your guide for the day.”
Libby
took his hand and shook it. It was warm and strong. Much like the rest of him,
she suspected, as she gave him a subtle once over. He was tall, with black
curly hair to his shoulders, luscious brown eyes and olive skin. A white
t-shirt bearing the holiday company’s logo covered his top half—though without
obscuring his impressive biceps—and he wore longish tan colored shorts on the
bottom. A pair of non-descript white-ish trainers and faded red cap completed
his outfit.
“I’m
Libby,” she said, even though he already knew her name. She was just being
polite. “Pleased to meet you.”
They
broke off the handshake and Demetrio smiled again, then moved to the passenger
side of the jeep and pulled open the door.
“Please,”
he said, gesturing she should get in.
Libby
did as she was told, but couldn’t help asking the burning question.
“Where
is everyone else?”
Demetrio
waited until she was safely in the passenger seat, closed the door and made his
way to the driver’s side. He got in, then turned to her.
“There
is nobody else. You are only person on this trip. You get best views!”
He
laughed then , the flash of white teeth against olive skin resulting in an
unexpected jolt in Libby’s nether regions. She studied his profile for a few
seconds, then grudgingly admitted to herself that Demetrio was, in fact, very
attractive. Despite the fact she was a red-blooded woman, she rarely noticed
such things.
Like
most people, she’d come on this holiday to recharge her batteries. Unlike most
people, she’d been practically forced into it. Libby was somewhat of a
workaholic, which left her little time for anything else. It was this fact
which had cost her her last relationship. The long working hours, frequent rain
checks on their dates and her lack of interest in any kind of affection, let
alone sex, had finally caused James to walk away.
Libby
had barely noticed. She’d just carried on working, and working…until her
friends and family had finally intervened. They’d booked the holiday to
Portugal, arranged with her boss for her to have the time off, and basically
given her little choice but to go.
*****
Lucy
is a graduate of the University of Derby, where she studied Creative Writing.
During her first year, she was dared to write an erotic story - so she did. It
went down a storm and she's never looked back. Lucy has had stories published
by Cleis Press, Constable and Robinson, House of Erotica, Noble Romance,
Ravenous Romance, Resplendence Publishing, Summerhouse Publishing, Sweetmeats
Press and Xcite Books. She is also the editor of Uniform Behaviour and Seducing
the Myth. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.
Join her on Facebook
and Twitter, and subscribe to her
newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
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