12 Days At Silver Bells House (16 page)

‘I think I'm going to swoon.' Did women still swoon?

‘That's okay,' he said. ‘I'll tell you what happened when you come round.'

He moved with her still in his arms. Kate went with him, stuck to him, feeling like one big tropical heatwave. His skin was darkened from the sun. His muscles shaped from all the outdoor work.

As he pulled open the wardrobe door and grabbed something from the top shelf, she saw hot, humid summer nights, Pina Coladas, rum punch and Limbo dancing beneath flaming poles. All her unused places burned in the sultriness of this new climate. A girl could die of heatstroke in this place.

They were moving again.

They spent seconds, maybe minutes, in a tug of war. Limbs locking, mouths fighting. Each trying to get a better, closer hold of the other. Desire swelled within her with each caress from her master's hands. At last — she had a masterful man and a tropical beach where the waves in her head crashed to the shore of her body.

The best holiday she'd ever had.

‘You are so beautiful, Kate.'

She was on the bed. How had that happened?

‘Every part of you.' He pulled the pillows from beneath her head and flung them to the floor. He spent five seconds too long away from her as he dealt with a condom then pitched himself beside her. His weight dipped the mattress and Kate slid into the hollow and against his powerful chest.

Delirious shock flowed through her as he touched her.

His body was a furnace. All He-Man vigorous and muscle-packed dynamite.

She grabbed at the bedspread beneath her. The air got hotter. The light dimmed.

‘Hold on to me,' he told her, moving his body over hers.

Kate grabbed his shoulder blades, attempting to pull him even closer to her.

‘Oh, my God, I'm seeing stars!'

‘Shooting?' he asked, his mouth nuzzling her ear.

‘I'm not sure. They're all merging.'

‘And so are we.'

‘Jamie!' Her cry tailed off to a gasp as he nudged her legs apart and in one dynamic move — turned
then
into
now
and all her dormant bits to fizzing liquid pleasure.

****

Jamie studied the night sky outside the four windows in his bedroom. They hadn't drawn the curtains. No need. No-one to see in. And anyway, if either of them had found even a second of sense two hours ago, he wouldn't now be lying on his bed looking at the stars outside his windows while holding onto the woman he'd had sex with. Shared pleasure with. Made love with.

‘You've been so kind to me,' she murmured.

‘You're so welcome.' Jamie hooked an arm around her bare shoulders and brought her closer to his side, just managing to keep the smile out of his voice.

‘I hope to God it wasn't pity, Jamie.'

‘Was there a specific moment where I gave you some indication of my boredom with the situation?'

‘Which time?' she asked.

‘Second. There's no way I'd have let you know how bored I was the first time.'

‘Testing the waters that first time, huh?'

‘Yeah. And I can tell you, you got me. Big time.'

‘Didn't I?' He felt her mouth move in a smile against him. She kissed his pectoral muscle, her lips soft on his skin.

‘Both times were a whole lot satisfying,' he said, kissing the top of her head.

She snuggled into him but this time he saw her smile as she glanced up, before burying her face against his shoulder.

They rested awhile, Jamie stroking her hair and enjoying the feel of her breath, warm on his chest.

‘I'll probably go back,' she said quietly. ‘You know that, don't you?'

‘I figured you would.' Pointless not answering her immediately and pointless flapping about it. Kate preferred things up front and equal. It would do him good to remember that. Before he got carried away with the smell of her. The sweet soft executive smell of her.

‘Thing is, Jamie, I don't think I'm cut out for constant country living.' She levered up, resting on her elbows.

‘I understand,' he said, and swiped the tips of her fringe from her eyelashes again.

‘I think I have too much wanderlust in me. Or something.'

‘Katie. When I've finished the contract for Ethan and Sammy, which won't be for another three months, I'll be taking jobs elsewhere too.'

She nodded. ‘Australia?'

‘Maybe.' He shifted until he had one arm on her back and the other behind his head. ‘I've got the chance of two jobs overseas. One in England, in the Lake District, and the other in France, near Toulouse.'

‘That's great. You're going to travel. And you'll always have Silver Bells House to come back to. I've loved it here. I found you and a few hours of passion.' She strummed her fingertips gently on his chest. ‘My masterful man.' Her smile told him she was teasing, but the softness of her body, curling into him told him she'd needed not only the release of sex but also that she'd wanted his protection for a little while. The comfort of his arms around her.

‘But I can't stay,' she said. ‘What would I do here?'

‘You could start a Wellington boot factory.'

‘In deepest remotest Australia?'

‘Swallow's Fall isn't that bad!'

She laughed. ‘No, it's not. But I'm not sure I want to start another business. I'm not sure I'd be very good at it anymore. I'm feeling really humble, Jamie.'

‘Katie, you've got the guts to deal with anything. I'd put my last dollar on you.'

She sighed, settled herself — with her leg wrapped over his thighs — and snuggled into the crook of his arm again. ‘You know, Mr Knight, I could fall in love with a man like you.'

He folded his arms around her, wrapping her up. ‘Is that so?'

‘Mmm. Quickly too.' Her voice sounded dreamy. All sleepy and rested. ‘Like in a month.'

‘That quick, eh?'

‘A month is just weeks, really.'

‘Uh-huh.'

‘Just days, in fact.'

‘Yeah?'
How about just hours
? Jamie thought. Like the moment her features had softened to acknowledgement of her situation, and how Jamie had felt overawed by her acceptance of him. Jamie Knight, the powerful protector. Or how about minutes? Like when he'd plucked her off the excavator and she'd nearly tripped, trying to figure out why she was at Jamie's house and not a holiday let. Or how about rewinding farther? Seeing her standing on the edge of her hire car. Waving madly at him over the stone wall, ponytail bouncing. ‘Just seconds, really,' he said.

‘What did you say?' she asked, her voice soft with almost-asleepiness.

Jamie didn't live life in a rash manner, he worked cautiously and carefully. He weighed up pros and cons. He left a situation if there were more cons than pros. And Katie Singleton had a suitcase full of cons — apart from her lingerie. Yet none of his mental negotiations with himself seemed to matter. Not anymore.

****

The sizzle of hot tamale desire still blazed through Kate's body. If this was waking up to the sexual aftermath of riding an impulsive decision made on a shooting star she'd happily slide, slip and slither naked up and down it forevermore. Had Silver Bells House ever heard the sensual whispers, the seductive cooing or the downright X-rated vocal endeavours of two lovers before?

Oh, God. She had a lover! How so not like Kate.

Well… She sat up in bed. She'd
had
a lover.

She'd had sex with her landlord. It wasn't as though she'd get struck down for doing so. She might get thrown out though. If he hadn't really liked it like he said he had. Which he might not have. Because Jamie wasn't in the bed. Or the bedroom.

She listened hard and only heard the creak of the beams as they settled in for the start of the day when the sun shone on the tiled roof. He wasn't in the house. Or perhaps the State.

She flung the coverlet back and stepped out of bed. She padded to the window and peeked out between the curtains. His big He-Man Knights Works truck had gone.

No way could he have not liked what they'd done. Not after three goes at it. Three successful goes. Four for Kate. But she'd been a sexual time bomb, waiting to go off, so perhaps he hadn't had to put his all into it and that's why he'd decided she wasn't any good at it after go number three and had left.

‘Now that's what I call a damned good morning.'

Kate spun to the door and to Jamie.

‘A naked woman in my bedroom.'

Kate had trouble taking in everything about him at once. His jaw, covered in 8 a.m. stubble. Designer-less and perfect. His height. His khaki trousers, the thick belt holding them up around his strong lean middle. The grey shirt tucked into the band of his trousers, opened at the neck. His neck. His bloody neck. Why did his neck send such peals of ringing wonder down her spine? Because it was the neck she'd nestled into and kissed. Getting all cosy before sleep.

‘You don't feel at all shy standing there naked in front of me, do you?' he asked.

‘I don't actually.' Was she supposed to?

‘Yet when you're fully dressed in your Wellingtons, my socks and your straw hat, you blush like crazy.'

‘It's your straw hat, not mine.' She looked down at her naked self and spread her arms. ‘Do you mind?'

‘Do I hell mind.'

She nodded at his hand. ‘What's in the bag?' If her nasal cavities hadn't lost the sensory plot because of four incredible you-know-whats in one night, it was something sweet and delicious.

‘Breakfast,' he said. ‘Croissants. Only the shop-bought variety though. But I bought raspberry jam.'

‘You went into town for those?' she glanced behind her and out the window. ‘Where's your Knight Works truck?'

‘I parked it around the back. I didn't want to wake you up.'

Her knees wobbled and weakened so quickly she had to press them together. He hadn't gone to work; he'd gone to town to buy her raspberry jam and had parked around the back on his sneaky return so as not to wake her. He
must
have enjoyed himself last night. ‘What's behind your back?' she asked.

He pulled his arm from behind him and produced a bouquet of six pink roses. ‘It's all Mr Penman had,' he said as two petals escaped from what was obviously yesterday's display, now wilted a bit, and fell to the floor.

Holy gumboots with tassels on. He'd bought her flowers!

‘Thank you,' she said. ‘Thank you so much. I've never… I mean nobody, that is no man has ever…' Given her a jar of her favourite jam and a droopy bunch of yesterday's flowers because it was all he could find.

He held the flowers up, another petal falling onto the steel caps of his size thirteen work boots. ‘Before you say anything else, there's one condition for accepting my gifts.'

Her first born? Her entire collection of sling-backs? Her soul? She'd played Exasperation with the landlord, had received a foot massage from the gentleman, had been given a thoroughly marvellous seeing to by Excavator-man and was now on the receiving end of breakfast and flowers from the knight.

‘Anything,' she said, emotion making her voice wobble.

‘You stay naked.'

Kate had said she could fall in love with a man like Jamie. She hadn't said she'd fallen in love with him. She hadn't professed anything about loving Jamie — only someone like him. That made sense, right?

She shook her head, gathered her hair in her hands, pulled it up into a ponytail then teased a thick strand out and wound it around to secure the knot.

He wouldn't have thought she meant Jamie, would he? Holy excavator. Two loving nights and one whole day in bed — mostly — and she'd toppled into the protection and warmth of his chest. Burying her head in that comfortable shoulder as though she had a right to be there.

Her emotions were riding a storm, had been since Jacques had pulled his fast one when she'd been in New York. That's why she'd crowed on about love; because of the lack of it around her. Maybe she should apologise to Jamie. Explain what she had meant.

‘Ready?' he asked from the bathroom door.

Kate turned, with a smile and a hammering heartbeat. Look at him. Squeaky clean muscles from their mid-morning shower. Plenty of room of both of them. Plenty of fun between them and seven jet sprays.

‘Ready,' she said, her smile deepening as the memory of being close to him in the damp humid heat of the shower washed over her. ‘How long will you be at the build?' she asked him, walking through the opened door he held for her and inhaling the fresh lime scent of him as she passed. ‘Why don't we have a roast chicken and salad for dinner? I'll get one at the grocer's.'

‘Why don't we?' he said, following her down the stairs, the sound of his work boots much heavier on the jarrah than her little white pumps. ‘And tonight, we'll remember to eat.'

Kate laughed. ‘Sustenance.'

He pulled on her ponytail as she hit the bottom step, bringing her to a halt. He turned her, wound his arms around her and kissed her mouth.

‘You're going to need lots of sustenance, Katie,' he murmured when he released her.

Oh, boy.

****

‘Okay. Thanks. I'll see you later.' Kate undid her seatbelt, opened the door of the Knight Works ute and picked up Ted's Santa suit in the bag at her feet. She'd been asked to help wrap some of the Christmas presents while Mrs Penman assisted Grace Tillman with the cartoon costume making for the kids.

‘I'll pick you up at five.' Jamie leaned over and took hold of her arm as she turned in her seat. ‘Hey.'

Kate looked back at him and grinned wildly. His face looked darkly sexy, his thoughts vivid with the crease of a frown on his brow and the dangerous, gritty light in his eyes. ‘I figure we'll get home, put the chicken on to roast and maybe have us a dandy time while it's cooking.'