Breeze of Life (13 page)

“You’re doing that on purpose!” My childish enthusiasm now turned into a childish tantrum. Harper cocked his head waiting for what I might choose this time.

“Dare!” I said feeling all kinds of brave. Oh damn, that evil grin was back. I was in for it now. Harper picked up the bottle and slowly unscrewed the lid. Without his eyes ever leaving my gaze, he poured some of the water down his chest, the side that hadn’t been recently tattooed.

“I dare you,” he placed the bottle down beside him and leant back, “to lick this water off me.”  Holy hotness! My mouth was immediately dry and begging to get wet. I stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. A dare was a dare and I don’t back down from dares. Shifting awkwardly to my knees, I leant forward. My eyes finally shifted from his to the path the water had trailed from his shoulder, down his smooth chest, over the ridges of his hard stomach until it finally disappeared into his shorts. I almost moaned as my tongue darted out and retraced that wicked water trail. By the time I had reached his shorts, Harper’s body had become as tense as a bow. I glanced up at his eyes now hungry with desire.

“You wanna keep playing?” he said with a husky voice. I shook my head.

“I’m kinda tired,” I lied. What I really wanted was to peel those damn shorts off and follow that damn water. Instead, I slowly backed away and sank back down into the pillows we had sprawled out on the floor as a mattress. Harper still sat completely immobile.  “You okay?” I asked.

“Uh-huh,” he managed to get out. Finally he began to move again, reclining back by my side. After a short span of silence, he took my hand in a firm grasp and placed it over his chest.

“This is one sick fort,” he murmured again.

“Damn straight,” I replied. It took me a long time to find sleep. A fire within my body had been lit and the butterflies in my stomach kept fluttering in response. As my breathing gradually grew deeper and my eye lids heavy, I noticed Harper’s eyes were still open, watching me with fervent interest. They sparkled with a look I had not seen him use on me before. Love? Desire? I wasn’t sure. Unwilling to examine all these confusing feelings any further, I allowed my body to slip into blissful, thoughtless sleep.  

***

“Wake up, baby, got a big drive ahead of us, we need to get to Sydney while the surf’s up. I want to make use of those bizarre things in the back of my car called surf boards.” I groaned and glanced over at Harper who had already been up, showered and dressed. He had begun to pull down our sheet fort and I watched sadly as he pulled the weak construction apart. Harper smiled at me.

“We can build another one.” He pulled me to my feet. “Shower, breakfast then we are out of here.” I allowed myself to fall back into the tangle of blankets on the bed. My body seemed unwilling to get moving today.

“I thought you said road trips were spontaneous with no planning; sounds to me like you’re planning,” I grumbled. Harper collapsed down beside me.

“You sure you’re okay this morning?” His finger brushed across my cheek then over the smooth skin of my scalp. It was the first time anyone had touched my naked head. Strangely enough it didn’t bother me, in fact, I found it soothing. Maybe I was a cat in a previous life?

“I’m fine, just tired. I get tired more easily since the treatment but it will get easier as I recover.” Harper’s hand moved away and I missed the contact.

“Recover, I like that word out of your pretty mouth,” he whispered. “I know what’ll get you moving,” he said quickly changing the subject. I watched him curiously as he flicked through the songs on his iPod until he evidently came to what he was looking for. I broke into a fit of laughter as soon as I realized what song it was.

“Since when do you allow Beyoncé on your iPod?”  Harper ignored me, jumping up on the bed he began to sing along with
Love On Top
loudly.  His enthusiasm was contagious as he dragged me up by my hand and soon I was dancing along with him. We both knew all the moves from the music video. We had spent hours practising them together as some sort of spontaneous dance-off.  George was forced to judge, I won. Once the music stopped, Harper jumped off the bed and gave me his back.

“Jump on if you’re so tired.”  I didn’t hesitate. “Welcome to the Harper cruise. If you glance to your right you will see a small mess that is in fact Bree’s clothing from her romantic date last night which was a huge success. And before you ask, no she didn’t put out. It was a first date and Bree is somewhat a lady, even if her belching puts men to shame.” I thumped him awkwardly on the shoulder. “To your left we have a TV that was most likely unused because stereo and sound equipment are about the only forms of electronics Bree knows how to use.” I tried not to encourage his crazy playful nature, but I couldn’t help myself. The man was seriously a walking child and his spirit was all consuming. “Directly in front of us we have a very ordinary bathroom that is definitely not big enough for two. Our tour must unfortunately end here, but you will notice a small gap in this sliding door that will allow a minuscule peek at what will be the stunning and very naked Bree Delany. So by all means, feel free to stay and perv.” I hit him again.

“Put me down idiot and no perving.”

“Idiot? I’m wounded.” I jumped down from Harper’s back as he turned to look at me, a little too smug for my liking.

“Fine, you arrogant asshat that woke me up far too early, go pack your shit and load the Jeep so we can get out of this fucksickle of a hotel and get me fed.”

“Firstly, you said shit! Nice. But fucksickle, seriously? That isn’t a real swear word.” I crossed my arms over my chest in an attempt to look insulted. “You’re cute when you’re pissed though, so I’ll let you off. Hurry up, babe, I’m starving.” Harper turned and left the room, closing the door as he left. I missed him immediately. Hurricane Harper brought such life and fun to my world and I found myself wondering if I could ever go without it again.

As we left Coffs Harbour behind, I pulled a bottle of red nail polish out of my bag and sat my feet up on dash board. Harper eyed me suspiciously as I wound down the window a little and began to paint my nails. I was wearing short shorts today with a thin singlet. Harper’s glazed look of desire as he watched my legs did not go unnoticed.

“Watch the bumps and go easy on the curves,” I murmured and Harper chuckled. Harper’s restless personality didn’t last more than a few kilometers of easy silence.

“Let’s play a game,” he declared and I groaned loudly.

“Really, Harper, another damn game? If it’s eye spy I will throw myself out of the car while it’s moving.”

“Chill out, it’s going to be fun. I’m going to start a sentence using the word ‘unfortunately’; you get to finish the sentence using the word ‘fortunately’. Understand?” He cast me a sideways glance.

“I think I get it. This doesn’t seem like a game you would play on your road trips with the boys, it sounds a wee bit lame?” Harper grinned.

“Well, you, me, and lame kinda go hand-in-hand. And I have played it with the guys but you do not want to know what those sentences were, they were downright dirty. Okay, let’s start with something easy. Unfortunately, we have to stop for fuel soon and I really need to take a leak.” I thought for a moment.

“Fortunately, there was a sign for a service station not far back, so lucky for the car and your bladder.” Harper smiled.

“Yep, not at all like the boys would have played it. Okay, unfortunately I checked the surf report before we left Coffs and it’s looking pretty stink for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Fortunately I don’t surf and my best friend who does can instead give me the lavish undivided attention I deserve.” Harper laughed long and loud.

“Unfortunately I’m trying very hard to keep my hands to myself, so I’m not sure how lavish my attention can get.” I sighed, stupid damn surf.

“Fortunately you’ve got a great imagination, I’m sure you can think of something,” I said dryly.

“Unfortunately I’m pretty tired and I don’t really feel like driving.” I knew Harper was hinting that maybe I could drive and it wasn’t going to happen. I was petrified of his car, it was way too fancy.  I would die if anything were to happen to his pride and joy while I was behind the wheel.

“Fortunately I am fine, therefore, I will endeavor to keep you alert and awake with my witty and intelligent conversation.”

Harper gave me a wicked smile before speaking again. Oh no, I knew that look. He was up to something. “Unfortunately I forgot to pack condoms.”

My mouth dropped open. “Fortunately you won’t be getting laid,” I managed to say.

Harper groaned out loud. “Unfortunately my best friend is a sexy as hell singer with a heart of gold. It’s getting difficult keeping my hands to myself.” His words sent a thrill through me, the fact that I made him feel that way, but we wouldn’t be going there.

“Fortunately your best friend can help you with the whole keeping your hands to yourself task,” I growled and Harper chuckled.

“Unfortunately I find myself needing to make you another deal.” I cast him a suspicious look but shrugged.

“Fortunately I’m a deal wielding kind of girl.”

“I need to break the game to make you this deal, I don’t know how to word it with unfortunately starting the sentence.” Harper rubbed his head nervously. It was unusual seeing him like this, Harper was never nervous and I actually didn’t like seeing him this way. He was my rock, my unbreakable steel, nothing bent Harper.

“Does that mean I win?” I asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

Harper chuckled. “I guess.”

“Woohooooooo!!! You owe me one slushy and a foot rub.” Harper’s brow rose a little.

“I don’t recall us agreeing on any prizes.”

I winked at him. “Which means I get to choose my own prize. You snooze you lose, Mr. Somerville. While I’m on a roll tell me about this deal.” Harper gripped the steering wheel and glanced out the window then looked back to me again. Anything that got Harper this worked up couldn’t be good, and now I was nervous too.

“I promise I will keep my hands off you,” he finally said. I didn’t know whether to curse or love my new eyebrows in that moment, they both rose in surprise. Harper went on, “Because I know as much as you like my hands on you it confuses you, so I will keep my hands to myself until you ask me not to.” I went to say something but Harper cut me off. “And trust me when I say this, Breeze, once I start touching you, you will be begging me not to stop. So we best get those condoms before you ask.” I sat in stunned silence, suddenly very curious just how Harper might touch me and quietly freaking out about it at the same time. I took a long deep breath to help control my pounding heart and the surge of lust and desire that filled my veins.

“Confident much?” I finally muttered. Harper smirked as we pulled into the service station to fill up. Harper handed me his credit card.

“Get that damn slushy while you’re in there. I need sweets, so grab a packet of something, grab a few packets of something, and some chips, and a Coke, and water.” I waited a moment in case he added anything else to the list. When it seemed like he had finished I turned to walk away.

“Oh, and, Breeze.” I stopped and glanced back over my shoulder.

“They do sell condoms here.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I shook my head in wonder.

“Impossible,” I whispered as I walked away. I wasn’t sure what exactly I found impossible though. Perhaps Harper’s inability to keep our relationship on the right side of the line, or maybe, just maybe, I wanted to buy those damn condoms.

Chapter 12

Pulling In

The process of turning the surfboard to enter the barrel

“Let’s detour,” Harper suggested as he left the highway.

“Really? You’re going to miss your surf,” I noted.

Harper shrugged. “I haven’t missed it so far.” He glanced over his shoulder at the boards that were still stuffed in the back of the Jeep. Prior to this road trip, every decision Harper had ever made revolved around the ocean with surfing at the forefront of his mind. Now his priorities seemed to have altered somewhat, because of me. I didn’t want him giving up something he loved for me, it didn’t feel right.

“Harper, I don’t mind if we keep on the road for Sydney, I really don’t want you to miss the swell tomorrow night!” I almost pleaded.

“Breeze, if I miss this swell there will always be another, it’s not important. I want to show you something anyway.” I didn’t bother arguing. Harper was if anything stubborn and soon the gentle rocking of the Jeep lulled me to sleep.

When I realized we had pulled to a stop, I stretched trying to ease the knots from my cramped limbs. I opened my eyes to find Harper sitting in the driver’s seat, staring at me. I self-consciously wiped my chin.

“Am I drooling?” He smiled and shook his head.

“Come on.” 

We were literally in the middle of nowhere, the Jeep parked in a rarely used dirt car park surrounded by bush. I followed Harper down a slightly overgrown trail. The breeze that twisted through the trees and caressed my skin was different to the seaside air. It lacked the salty coolness that whipped off the ocean, instead laced with a warm fresh leafy scent that was obviously fed by the surrounding gum trees, paper barks and wattles.  Ten minutes later we stepped into a clearing and right in the center was a large watering hole fed by a small waterfall which emptied over slick large boulders. Hugged by thick lush bush, it was the perfect Australian oasis. Harper dropped our towels and whipped off his shirt. 

“Will it be cold?” I asked. Instead of answering me, Harper continued to shuck off his shorts, gifting me with an impressive view of his perfect ass. I squealed and quickly spun around giving him my back. Harper, of course, found this highly amusing.

“Hell, Harper!” I yelled. A loud splash alerted me to the fact it was now safe to turn around, even though silently I would have loved to brazenly stare!

“Fuck, its cold!” he gasped. “Hurry up, baby girl. Strip and get in.” I shook my head, anxiety seeping into my pores.

“No way, I don’t have swimmers and as you just pointed out, it’s cold.” Harper grinned in a way that I knew sent a girl’s heart into a complete melt down. It was the Harper ‘panty-dropper-smile’. He then floated onto his back where I could get a view of his completely, delicious naked body. My eyes couldn’t help but drop to his waist, then quickly return to his smug grin. Holy huge member, Batman.  That was not going to fit! The fact I had been thinking of it fitting, or not fitting, anywhere in my body was surprising.