Cattle Baron: Nanny Needed (10 page)

“Sun, moon and stars. Every living thing, every mystery explained. The Milky Way is the home of the great beings. It’s also our home if we’ve lived a good life. Of course the myths
vary from region to region. One of the most interesting facets of mythology is ritual. The two complement each other. I’ll speak to one of our tribal elders, Jimmy Possum, about organising a corroboree for you, one that’s not sacred—”

“Before I go?” She was unwilling to explore her burgeoning feelings about the Cattle Baron, but she had to admit that he had gained powerful entry into her life.

“Do you
want
to go?” He looked down on her from his superior height.

“Not for ages! This is the most exciting adventure I’ve had in my life.”

“And you’re barely into it,” he answered suavely.

“Listen, I
meant
it.” The challenge in his manner kept her on a knife edge. “You have major trust issues with women, don’t you?” she ventured. “What do you actually
need
from a woman to trust her?” She allowed him to take her arm to draw her away from an overhanging frond. If she had been carrying something she would have dropped it, so nerveless did he render her limbs.

“You think that’s my problem?” He released her, taking his time.

“Like me, your fiancée betrayed you. That’s got to hurt!” She shook her head with real feeling, the movement making the deep sinuous waves of her hair bounce.

“Hurt at the time, but betrayal is part of a man’s education,” he returned in a clipped voice.

“Don’t forget us girls.”

“I doubt if I could forget
you
, Ms Wyatt.” He gave a mocking sigh of admiration.

“You ticked Janis off for calling me Ms Wyatt.”

“The problem with Janis is that, unlike me, she wasn’t doing it in fun.”

“So it’s fun, is it?”

“We both know it is.”

She did know. Had it been another two people, she would have said they were flirting. Silly word. The Cattle Baron was above and beyond flirting. So was she, for that matter. “So what about a few legends?” Here, in the perfumed semi-dark, excitement was picking up at an alarming rate. The man’s aura of sexuality had a tremendous edge.

“I’m weighing up which ones to tell you,” he said. “Some of them are pretty damned erotic.”

“Like the tales of the Arabian Nights?”

“Are you telling me you’ve read them?” he asked with a catch of laughter in his voice.

“Actually, when I was a kid I got hold of an old copy. I used to read everything and anything I could get my hands on. I remember it was in a trunk with lots of other old books. I couldn’t make head or tail of it, but it sure beat a comic book.”

“I should hope you couldn’t understand it, not if you were a child. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve caught up over the years. Did you and Sinclair live together?”

“No, we didn’t!” she said crossly. “I guess I had that much sense. Anyway, I’ve warned you. Let’s forget about him unless you want us to have a heart to heart about your ex.”

“Brooke is history.”

“So
you
say. You never run into her?”

He extended a long arm to hold up another frond overhanging the pathway. “Not often when so many miles separate us.”

“So where does she live? As the crow flies?”

“You can go on the Internet and find out all about her family,” he said. “Her father is Peter Rowlands. They’re an old pastoral family. It would seem the Internet is Jan’s only form of relaxation. The Rowlands’ flagship station, Goorack, is about one hundred and fifty miles north-east of here.”

“Impressive?”

“Well, it’s not right up there with Jingala, Kinjarra, Daramba and the like, but impressive enough,” he said.

“Did you ever give her a chance to say she was sorry?” She felt compelled to know.

“Ms Wyatt, as far as I’m concerned, being unfaithful wraps the whole thing up.”

“So that’s a no, then?”

“Well, I won’t screw up and appear at her wedding.”

“Couldn’t resist it, could you?” she said in disgust. “Your ex is getting married?”

“Not as far as I know.” The reply was bland.

“Oh, that is so like you!” Her tone was laced with irritation.

“But you don’t have any real idea what I’m like, Amber Wyatt. For instance, did you know I’m dying to kiss you?”

She had to brace herself against the shock. The man had sex appeal on tap. “One way of shutting me up?”

“You know what they say. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”

“Oscar Wilde.” She sucked in a breath as his hands dropped to her waist. “What’s going on here, Cal?”

“Just a kiss in the dark,” he said smoothly. “All part of your Outback adventure. We can revert to our normal selves the minute we go back inside.”

His handsome face was very close, his male charisma scattering her defences to the desert winds. “Look, the last thing I should do is encourage you.” She braced her hands against his hard muscled chest.

“Sure about that?”

“Spare me the arrogance, Cal MacFarlane.”

“Not arrogance. Think of it as therapy. For both of us and our wounded hearts. Neither of us is looking for a long-term involvement right now, are we? Our lifestyles are totally incompatible and so forth. Going on our past experience, a shared kiss would be a very pleasant way to round off the evening.”

“I don’t know if pleasant is the right word. A bit tame in
comparison to our last encounter. But then both of us were het up at the time. Right now, I think it best if I pull away.”

“Why don’t you?”

“You may well ask. It’s not easy.” She laughed. She was still laughing when he covered her mouth with a low murmur that sounded very much like yearning.

Whatever, she lost it.

Entirely.

How could her body be responding,
rejoicing,
in this way? She had never believed herself to be fickle. And yet she was opening her mouth to him, feeling the warm pressure of his lips, his tongue sliding over her teeth, bringing up her arms to clasp behind his neck, closing her eyes tight with the brilliant stars shining down on her heavy lids.

How long did it last?

She didn’t know. The only thing she
did
know was that she hadn’t pushed him away. The mouth that covered hers with so much passion and mastery might well have encircled her heart. It was tremendous. It was dizzying. It was also very bewildering. She would have to re-evaluate her whole adult life. It wasn’t all that long ago she’d believed her heart to have been slashed to ribbons.

What a turnaround that was! She had sloughed off the old Amber and become a new woman. Maybe a touch demented.

When he finally lifted his head she leaned heavily against him, revelling in his height and his strength. Temporarily she felt unable and unwilling to stand free.

He kissed the top of her head. “I thought when I kissed you at the wedding that no woman could have responded better. Now you’ve thrown in a little extra.”

“That I have! Take it as glorious lunacy. Don’t expect
all
my self-control to disappear.”

“God knows I’ll have to get a handle on my own.” There was a mixture of laughter and self-mockery in his tone. “But
on no account need you fear I’ll overstep the boundaries,” he assured her. “Are you able to walk on?”

Her response was a little tart in the face of his mockery. “How many other women have you kissed that swoon?”

“None more thrilling than you,” he replied.

“As if I believe you!”

Even so, she seemed to be floating in the perfumed darkness. She had never been more conscious of her own body, of her skin, its largest, most sensitive organ. She might not have been wearing any clothes at all, she felt so exposed to his every glance, let alone the touch of his hand.

“You should.”

He sounded serious. “All the more reason to keep the brakes on, surely?” she warned. “Both of us have had our trust smashed.”

“More like dented.”

She lifted her head. “I thought you loved your ex-fiancée?”

“At one time, so did I. It seems obvious now that I didn’t search far enough for the woman I want. Neither did you for the right man.”

“When you get right down to it, no,” she admitted with a sigh. “But don’t let’s spoil a beautiful night mulling over our past mistakes. What about a legend or two? As a child I loved stories. My father used to read to me at bedtime. I loved him so much.”

“And he would have loved you, his little princess.” Again, he surprised her by dropping another kiss on the top of her head. His empathy was genuine. It filled her with warmth and a surprising measure of comfort. “Maybe you don’t have your father, Amber, but you have a lot of happy memories.”

“He has never really died for me.” Her voice broke a little.

“My dad either,” he said, so much the man he wasn’t afraid to show his feelings. “I still see him around the station.” He lifted his dark head, pointing with one hand. “He’s up there
among the countless millions of stars in the Milky Way. That’s where heroes go. There’s a story about the Milky Way’s creation. What to hear it?”

“I told you. I love legends.”

“Well, then…” He took her arm. “Once, during the Dreamtime, there was a giant Being called Ngurunderi who resolved to brighten the night sky…”

Going to sleep was out of the question. She was too wound up. To be honest, too erotically charged. Amber moved around her bedroom in her nightdress, touching this, studying that, unable to relax. Not to put too fine a point on it, she had never felt more stirred up in her life. That was just how good the Cattle Baron was. Out of nowhere an irresistible force had blasted his way into her life. She barely knew him, yet she felt as though he had always been somewhere at the back of her mind. She could still feel the warmth of his skin, the strength of his hands, the male scent of him, the slight rasp of his beard, the wondrous pressure of his mouth on hers. She felt weak even thinking about it. How in the world had his ex-fiancée ever let him go? She had to be mad. Or she had so missed the excitement of the man, the marvellous sex, when he was away, that she had surrendered to a one-night stand for simple relief? Such things happened.

Not apparently to the Cattle Baron. One strike and you’re out! Not that she would have taken Sean back, even if he hadn’t married his Georgie. She didn’t even waste time wondering if they were enjoying their honeymoon.

The other thing that was really worrying her was Janis MacFarlane. Eliot should pack up his wife and child and never come back. Not until his nephew was safely married to someone who wouldn’t let another woman in the world steal her man. It must be utter agony for Janis, living under the
same roof with an impossible dream. It didn’t excuse her lashing out but it did explain a good deal. The biggest victim here was little Marcus. Surely Janis realized that love for her little son could save her? So many women were desperate to have a child—undergoing protracted procedures—yet Janis couldn’t see her baby as her most precious possession.

Amber had no answer for that.

Just as she was contemplating turning in, a thundering came on the heavy mahogany door. Those were some tough knuckles! Could the Cattle Baron be so blatant? Not possible. Even if he were, that didn’t lower her level of desire.

Swiftly she belted her satin robe tightly around her, thrust her long hair over her shoulder and went to answer before the door was broken down.

“Cal!” Her heart leapt. She couldn’t bank it down. “What is this—a very noisy seduction scene first night off?”

“Is that what it looks like?” His green eyes, normally so cool, were ablaze.

“Well…” She hesitated, not sure she could handle this veritable powerhouse of passion, let alone herself.

“Oh, for God’s sake, do I look nakedly desirous?” he asked jaggedly.

“I can’t pronounce on that with any degree of confidence. Are you?”

“More than you’ll ever know,” he groaned. Here was this glorious woman, her hair springing back from her radiant creamy face, her slender body just barely hidden by a filmy pink nightdress and a slinky satin robe right there in front of him. Maybe even his for the taking. She would have turned on a monk. She was turning him on right now. But there was an embarrassing crisis to hand. “Janis is having the mother of all tantrums,” he explained. “It’s the baby I’m worried about. He’s screaming. The seduction scene will have to keep for
another night. I promise I’ll make it worth the wait. For now, we desperately need your calming hands.”

She could handle that. “And leave the rest of me behind?” she joked, to bring down the tension.

“Bring the lot.”

Her gaze swept over him. He wore a red T-shirt and a pair of jeans he must have hastily pulled on, crow-black curls tousled. She was experiencing a heaviness in the lower part of her body. God, she wanted him…wanted him…An overpowering sexual urge. No need to feel guilty. “Should I dress?”

“I’ve never seen a woman look better in my life. Come now. Just as you are. Babies shouldn’t be allowed to cry like that. Janis just gives in to her moods. I’d say histrionics.”

He could well be right. But either way the woman was in pain. Amber couldn’t find it in her heart to entirely blame her.

Following in his tempestuous wake, Amber all but flew down the corridor as Cal strode towards the suite of rooms his uncle and Janis occupied, the adjoining sitting room turned temporarily into a nursery. Eliot, white beneath his tan, must have heard Cal’s heavy footsteps—he was making no attempt to walk quietly or to keep to the muffling Persian runner—because Eliot opened the bedroom door, dressed in pyjamas covered by a navy silk robe.

“This is not my finest hour,” he said.

Amber fancied he was right. Why
did
he let things get so out of hand?

Inside, Janis was standing in the middle of the huge opulent room, yanking at her long hair, her dark eyes the size of saucers. “Who asked her?” she screeched. It was so loud it almost pinned Amber to the door. “I don’t want her. What’s she doing here?”