December Heat (15 page)

Chapter Twelve

Nic
needed her head examined. There was no doubt about it.

She
continued to go through her paces, stretching, flexing. Jake seemed to be keeping to himself since they’d spent the night together. Seeking peace in the training room, where she could concentrate on her exercise and dance routines, she’d more or less done the same.

A
silent mutual agreement.

But
images of Jake rendered concentration almost impossible. When she tried to dismiss him from her thoughts, Mark took his place. She pushed herself all the harder then reminded herself that neither of them were worth injuring herself over.

As
for Jake, she’d always thought that nothing about him would appeal to her. Now she realized he had qualities she admired. She liked having him around, enjoyed his company and sense of humor. God help her, she liked his touch and the way it made her feel.

She
looked forward to the possibility of spending Christmas with Jake and hoped that the hum of tension between them would ease.

A
soft sound caught her attention and she looked up to see the object of her thoughts framed in the doorway and her heart shimmied. He stood watching her, dark eyes assessing. Then he smiled and her heart fluttered in a rhythm all its own as she smiled back.

“I’m
going for a swim when I’m done here. Come and join me,” she invited, almost melting into a puddle beneath his burning gaze.

But
just then, the phone rang.

“I’ll
get it,” he said, and snatched the receiver from the wall extension.

“Natalie!”

He
sounded pleased to hear from her, whoever she was.

He
nodded, and his expression lightened. He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to spending Christmas with you too. It will be the first one in a long while.”

He
glanced over at Nic. “Yeah, I can spare a few days.” He paused. “Sure, it would be a good time to discuss selling the house. It’s not likely we’ll be sharing it again any time soon.”

He
nodded. “Yes, go ahead and get an appraisal or two, then we can discuss it at Christmas. By the way, how’s Crash?”

What
kind of relationship did Jake have with this woman? It was obvious they’d shared a house. And who was Crash? Could he be their son? A cold shiver shot through her. How did this woman know where to find Jake? Obviously he’d kept in touch with her.

Nic
had enough and left the room. She heard his laughter as she walked toward the river, far enough away so she couldn’t hear his voice. She leaned against the trunk of a huge old gum tree, glad of its shade.

So
Jake had a better offer for Christmas. She felt crushed and it took solid effort to hold herself together. Not that she’d show him how devastated she was.

“Hey
Nic.” He came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, turning her around gently. “That was a hasty exit. I needed to ask you something.”

His
questioning gaze scrutinized her. “Hey, is anything wrong?”

“If
you have better things to do over the holidays, Jake, don’t let me stop you,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound bitchy. She tried very hard not to feel that way, but it wasn’t working. Damn it, but her feelings were hurt.

Surprise
registered on Jake’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Well,
obviously, you’ve just made other plans with...with that Natalie woman. And you’re selling the house that you and she shared by the sounds of it.”

A
smile curved his mouth. “Are you a teeny bit jealous, Nic?”

“No!”
she pouted. “You said yourself that we’ll make no promises, that we have no claims on one another. Why should I mind if you’re seeing another woman.”

She
barely got the words out. Her lower lip trembled. She’d known it would, and she clamped her lips together to keep the trembling under control. But hot tears burned her eyes and she wanted to kick herself for behaving this way in front of Jake. What would she be like when he left for good? But that was different. While he was here with her, she didn’t want to share him with anyone.

“Hey,
Sweetheart,” he said, stepping closer. His arms encircled her. She shrugged away from him and stepped back.

“Am
I your sweetheart?” she said, knowing she sounded like a jealous adolescent. This was no way to behave, but her pent-up emotions took control.

Jake
stepped forward again and Nicolette moved away, only to feel the tree trunk at her back. She tried to step sideways, away from Jake’s approach but he was too quick for her and blocked her escape.

Nic
trembled, unsure whether its cause was Jake’s closeness, her disgust at her behavior or an inner anger for letting herself be duped by him, or giving in to her emotions.

“Yes,”
he said, trailing a finger down her cheek. “You are my sweetheart.”

He
bent to kiss her, but she moved her head away. “Th...then who’s Natalie?”

“My
sister.”

Nic’s
insides cringed with embarrassment. “Oh Lord.” She closed her eyes and felt Jake’s tender butterfly kisses on her eyelids.

“Who
did you think she was?” He continued his tender assault, his voice husky, his caresses soft and gentle. He trailed his fingers down the column of her neck, continuing across to the softness above her breast and then slowly down her breastbone.

Her
breath shot out of her lungs and she had difficulty breathing in.

His
other arm stretched upwards and he leaned a hand against the tree. “I wanted to ask you,” he whispered in a hushed voice, before touching a soft kiss to her mouth, “if you would like to spend Christmas in Canberra, with my sister and me and Luke, the friend I told you about.” He feathered another kiss to her lips. “Would you like that?”

How
could she deny him anything when faced with this sweet torture?

“You’re
most welcome, but if you’d rather not go, we can stay here.” He continued with his tender kisses.

“I’ll
call her back either way.”

Nic’s
breath came out in a rush. “You’re bribing me,” she accused, her inner self crumbling amidst the onslaught of his kisses.

“Now
why would I do that?” he asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

“Why
indeed?” she said, and began to kiss him back.

“How
about we go inside?” Jake whispered, his breath tickling her ear, ruffling through her hair. “A bed has to be better than the hard ground.”

She
smiled her assent and laughed as he scooped her up in his arms. “You’re a wicked man, Jake Harrigan,” she teased, in between nuzzling his neck and kissing him, as he crossed the short distance to the house and made his way up the stairs.

“I
know. But you wouldn’t have me any other way.” She laughed softly as she nipped at his ear lobe. “Ouch. Keep that up and we won’t make it to the bedroom.”

* * *

The last few days leading up to Christmas became a blur of keeping up her exercise routine and making love with Jake. Neither of them spoke about the future, but simply enjoyed the present.

Nic
accepted she’d never be more than memories for Jake to take back with him overseas to God knew where. And she told herself that was all right by her. She didn’t want commitment anyway. She had a career to rebuild. However, another little part of her reminded, rather cruelly, from time to time, that she was only kidding herself.

On
the way through Windsor they stopped at Mark’s grave, where Nic placed an assortment of flowers she’d bought at one of the market stalls. She lingered a while, and Jake allowed her to take her time. He seemed very quiet and she expected his thoughts were filled with the experiences he’d shared with Mark.

It
surprised her that she had no qualms about saying goodbye to Mark. Both she and Jake had been denied that opportunity before Mark’s death and now that she could look ahead to her own future, she was more able to let go than she had been the day of his funeral. With grim acknowledgment she knew a bigger wrench still lay ahead of her—saying goodbye to Jake.

“Are
you ready to go?” Jake asked softly.

She
nodded, looking up into his eyes. She saw a sadness there, but warmth as well. “Are you?”

“Yes.”

His gentle squeeze of her shoulder reassured her. “Let’s get going before the traffic begins to build.”

Christmas
Eve morning promised another hot day and after spending some time in the cemetery beneath the heat of the sun, Nic was more than ready to climb back into the air-conditioned car.

The
trip was slow until they reached the highway linking Canberra and Sydney, then headed south. From then on the traffic flowed smoothly. Close to three hours later, in the leafy streets of one of Canberra’s oldest suburbs, Jake pulled up in front of a cream painted wooden house surrounded by native gardens and flowering shrubs.

“We’re
here,” Jake said. “This is where I grew up.” He looked through the car window, a pensive expression on his face. “You know, for a while I never thought I’d see this place again.”

Nic
rested her hand reassuringly on his thigh. Jake hadn’t spoken much at all about those weeks in captivity. She’d sensed he didn’t want to talk about them and she’d respected that. “It must have been awful for you.”

“More
than anyone will ever know, except for those who were there with me.” He drew in a deep breath and smiled, as if mulling over some secret thought. “But we survived.” He continued to gaze through the glass.

“This
is so pretty.” Nic studied the tree-lined street and well established gardens.

“It
almost seems a shame to sell the house. But Nat wants something more modern, something that demands much less maintenance to suit her lifestyle and I don’t have any plans to return here to live.”

Nic’s
heart fluttered in reminder that Jake’s words were true, but she dismissed the negative emotions before they swamped her completely. She would take each day as it came and appreciate having Jake around for a few more days.

Jake
alighted from the car and moved around to open her door. Nic stepped out into the dry heat of Canberra’s December sunshine.

“Only
the old suburbs have wooden houses,” he said. “And their share of monocrete houses as well. When Canberra was first established, it grew faster than anybody anticipated, so that meant hurried building programs to house the swelling population. It was only later that brick homes became the norm here.”

“Are
all the suburbs this leafy?” she asked.

He
shook his head. “Probably not. When I lived here, some of the newer ones were cleared of trees and had to rely on whatever the residents planted to provide any greenery.”

“This
is lovely,” she said. “I didn’t realize how accustomed I’d become to being surrounded by trees. And your house is so...so quaint.”

Jake
grinned. “That’s one way of putting it.”

Just
then the front door opened and a small dark-haired woman bolted toward them. “Jake!” She flung her arms around Jake and held him.

“G’day
Nattie,” he said as he hugged her tight and rubbed his hand on her back.

“It’s
so good to see you,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re here. Safe.” She stepped back and wiped a tear from her eye. “You had Luke and me so worried. You’ve no idea.”

He
grinned. “I think I might have a fair idea. It’s good to see you too.” He hauled her against him and gave her another hug.

“This
is Nic. Nicolette.”

“Natalie,”
she said, extending her hand to Nic. “Jake’s told me so much about you, I feel I know you already. I’m so sorry to hear about your husband.”

Nic
smiled, warming to this woman’s easy personality and welcoming smile. She had such lovely eyes—a clear light blue, fringed with dark lashes. Her dark short hair framed her face, its carefree wispiness giving her a wild gypsy look.

“Thank
you,” Nic said. “Mark’s death was quite a shock to us both.”

Nic
glanced at Jake.

“How
about we take your bags inside?” Natalie suggested. “Luke should be here any minute. He’s gone to do some last minute shopping. We’ve been so busy this week, there wasn’t a chance until now. Even with the supermarkets open anywhere from eighteen to twenty-four hours.”