Passion Abroad – A Billionaire Romance Novel

Chapter 8

Erica did not expect for her and Daniel to stay in Caracas for too long but when she found herself going up the Avila Mountain on her fourth day, she realized that she had maybe deviated from her vacation plans long enough. Even though she was technically still on vacation in Caracas, she somehow thought that it would have been better if she just stuck to her own list of preferred destinations. When Daniel first suggested that they go up the mountain, Erica was not so sure how she felt about it. First of all, she was not a very outdoorsy person. The most she had ever done that would make anyone consider her adventurous was visit Mount Rushmore and even then it was not her idea. It was one of those family things that you wish you could get away from yet somehow you find yourself posing for photos at the very place you swore you would never visit.

“You are going to love it, trust me,” Daniel had said.

“I’m telling you. This is a bad idea, trust me,” she’d said trying to get out of the whole thing.

“I think by now I have a pretty good idea of what your tastes are like and I’m almost eighty per cent sure that you will love Avila,” he’d said in his defense. Erica raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t like it, I will give you a pass.”

“What kind of pass?” Erica asked as she looked at him.

“You can have anything you want from me for an entire day,” he said.

“Just a day?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips.

“A day isn’t long enough for you? Fine we can always do two,” he said smiling. “But if you like it then I get the same deal.”

“Deal,” she nodded before she walked to the bathroom. She already had on a pair of neon blue jeans and a white sleeveless top. She braided her hair and held it together in a loose side bun before she touched up her makeup and put on a pair of sandals. “Ready,” she announced when she walked out of the bathroom. “Or wait. Trainers would make more sense, right?” she asked as she looked at him.

“No. You are perfect. I mean I am wearing sandals too, right?” he said with a smile.

“What kind of mountain climbing are we going to do? I mean, I am no pro-climber but I know for sure that sandals are not the way to go,” she said.

“We are not doing the conventional mountain climbing,” he said. “What else are you not telling me?” she eyed him suspiciously. Daniel walked towards her and slipped an arm around her waist before pulling her to him.

“You look…breathtaking,” he said in a whisper before he brought his head down to kiss her. She pulled away when his lips brushed hers and looked at him from his gray Ecko t-shirt to his dark blue jeans.

“And you look awesomely hot,” she said as she looked at him. He kissed her again, this time her hands were running all over him. She pulled back again and held the back of his neck.

“Remember you get what you want if and only if I actually like this trip to Mount Avila,” she said with a smile.

“So you didn’t like that?” he teased. She shrugged and he slid his hand down to her ass and cupped it. “How about that?”    His voice was lower this time round. She looked into his eyes and pulled away from him but he pulled her into his arms again.

“Are we ever going to leave? Or are you just going to stand here and make me strip you right now?” she asked in a whisper.

“Now that you’ve said that, I kind of like that idea,” he grinned. And she knew that he meant it too because she could feel his crotch pressing against her thigh. She looked at him and pulled back again before she grabbed her bag from the bed.

“We better get going or I will make you sit through mani pedis and hours of chick flicks,” she said as she walked towards the door. Daniel shrugged and followed her out. He was still giving her that look she knew a little too well as they rode in the elevator.

“We could still go back. It’s not too late,” he whispered in her ear. “Let’s just get this mountain business out of the way and then later I am going to show you the time of your life,” she said in a low seductive voice just as the elevator doors opened. She knew what that kiss earlier was doing to him and she loved the fact that he was like butter in her hand when he was aroused. She was still smiling when they got into the car.

The drive to the mountain wasn’t long at all but as soon as they got there, she understood why he thought that sandals were a good idea. She was looking at a cable car station at the foot of the mountain. She looked at Daniel and smiled at him.

“So that is what you meant when you said I didn’t need trainers, huh?” she said. He took her hand and led her towards one of the cable cars. She took a flyer from one of the attendants as they headed to their designated car. She looked at it and smiled. “Experience the mountainous side of Santiago de Leon de Caracas,” she stopped and looked at Daniel. “Santiago de Leon de Caracas?”    

“That’s the official name of Caracas,” he said.    

“Experience the mountainous side of Santiago de Leon de Caracas as we go up, feast your sights on the leafy canopy before we descend back down behind the mountain towards the coast to the coastal city of Macuto,” she read. “Sounds interesting,” she said as she looked at the flyer.

“It does, doesn’t it?” he said as they looked around. She looked at him as a loud announcement over a PA system notifying them that they were about to leave. She looked at him and smiled.

“You’ve been here before?” she asked.

“Actually, I’ve always wanted to be here but the last few times I’ve been here, it’s like I never got the time.”

“So we get to take the virgin trip together,” she said matter of factly as she rest her head on his shoulder. She looked around as they started the climb. She could not help but think of how much her sister would have loved this place. Even though she and Emily were born on the same day, they were extreme opposites. Emily was everything Erica was not. She had gone camping and hiked up the Himalayas just for fun. Erica never understood that. Her idea of fun was going out to a five star restaurant and spoiling herself with a good lobster every so often or maybe splurge on a shopping spree. But as they went up the mountain, Erica almost understood her sister’s love of nature. Seeing the mountain from so high made her feel like she was standing on top of the world. “This is beautiful,” she said in a whisper as they rode up.

Daniel nodded. “Yeah it is,” he said in a low voice. “Do you know at some point the cable car service had been neglected for two decades?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “No, I didn’t know that and why would the government allow such a lucrative thing to shut down for that long?”

“Apparently, the cable car service and the hotel up ahead were both projects done during the dictatorship of Marcos Jimenez. It was a great thing…perhaps the only good thing he saw through his rule but when his rule collapsed the whole project became neglected. Maybe the people saw it as a symbol of one of the most terrible eras of their lives,” he explained.

“It’s a good thing the project got restored, right?” she asked as she looked around. “I know. I would have hated to think that all this would go to waste.”    “Apparently the place gets more than four thousand visitors a weekend.”

“The place has been totally turned around. It has so much more to offer. Themed restaurants, an ice rink…I’ve been looking to get something similar going in the states. As an investor of course,” he said.

She looked at him and shook her head. “Really? Aren’t you satisfied with supplying America with all the home appliances they need?”    

“Well there is so much more money can do for you. I mean, that’s the whole idea of investment, right? Having the money work for you?” he asked. She looked at him and shrugged. She did have a number of investment options herself. She didn’t even know or understand how she got herself into some of them.

“You’re right. I own forty per cent of a bakery and I don’t even know how I got myself into it,” she added with a smile.

“Bakery, huh? And do you bake?”

She smiled and nodded.

“I do. Especially after a long day. Nothing calms my mind more than a nice fluffy chocolate cake. I love the occasional pound cake too but the frosting is what really gets me going,” she said.

“This is a whole new side of you I am finding out,” he smiled.

“Well, there is so much more to me that you are yet to find out,” she teased.

“And I cannot wait to uncover each and every layer,” he said in a soft voice.

She looked into his eyes and smiled up at him. “Maybe I can bake you something sometime,” she said in a soft voice.

“And maybe I can make you pancakes sometime,” Daniel said. He looked at her and shrugged. “Well, that’s the only thing I know how to make anyway,” he added with a smile. She laughed as he planted a kiss on her forehead. She looked outside at the beautiful scenery as she took photos on her phone. Her sister would definitely want to see those photos.