Outback Thunder (17 page)

The squeaking of
the tea trolley wheels woke him. Startled he looked around until he remembered
where he was. Snuggled into the side of him was Zoe. She was sound asleep, her
hair messed up and a line of drool running down the side of her mouth.

He reached a
finger out and stroked a stray hair from her face. She twitched and screwed up
her nose but didn't wake. Jonas would be happy to lay and watch her sleep for
the rest of the day but she would wake soon and he wasn't sure what he was
going to say after she'd evaded his marriage proposal.

There was a tap on
the door and the tea lady popped her head in the door. "Cup of tea,
love?"

"Please,"
Jonas replied. "Can you make that two?"

"Sure, love."

****

At the sound of
voices, Zoe stirred. She brought up a hand and wiped it over her face. She
screwed up her nose when she made contact with the moisture coming from the
corner of her mouth.

"Morning."

The rich tone of
Jonas' voice probed her sleep-fogged brain.

 
Crap!

She wanted to be
gone when he woke up in the morning. This was going to be awkward.

"Hi."

"Here's your
tea, lovey." The happy woman placed two cups on the table beside his bed,
moving it closer so they could reach their tea. "How sweet, your wife
stayed with you last night."

"Yes, isn't
she wonderful." Jonas patted Zoe on the bum leaving his hand cupping her
in a possessive gesture.

She leaned up,
shuffled to the edge of the bed and put her feet down. Waiting until the door
closed before she stood and turned to Jonas.

"Look, I'm
sorry. I meant to be gone before you woke up. I just wanted to make sure you
were okay." A bitter laugh crept out before she could stop it. "I
didn't mean to hurt you Jonas, you know that."

"How do I
know, Zoe? You won't talk to me and tell me why. Maybe now is a good time,
don't you think?"

"Look I
copped enough from Brandon and Pete over this, I really don't need you going
off too." She turned from him jammed her hands in her back pockets and
looked out the window. "I love you more than you know, I never stopped
loving you if the truth be told. It's just that I don't think I'm good for
you."

Jonas snorted and
she turned. He was throwing the blankets from the bed. He swung his legs around
and stood, losing his balance and falling in a heap before Zoe could get back
to him.

"Jonas."
She dropped to the floor and grabbed his face in her hands. "See, look
what happens when we try to talk. Are you hurt?"

"My pride has
taken a beating but that is nothing new when it comes to me and you Zoe. My
head just went a little light and I fell. No big deal."

She put her arm
around his waist and helped him up. Zoe sat him on the side of the bed, holding
his arm until he looked stable.

"Perhaps you
could expand on that statement."

Zoe blushed under
his steady hard gaze and stepped out of his reach. "I don't trust you
enough to marry you."

"Me or
yourself? You might want to give some thought to the answer."

"Okay, I
can't trust myself. See, you know what I mean." She growled and frowned at
him. "I should have believed you years ago but I didn't and I don't know
if something like that happened again if I would trust you." She looked at
him from across the room.

"Why on earth
would something happen again? And just for the record here, if you do marry me
why would I even be in that position?" He was getting angry and she took
another step back.

"It's
happened before and it can happen again. It's not just you either. I shouldn't
have doubted you but I did. You deserve better." She knew it sounded weak
to her own ears but it was the only reason she could give him without telling
him everything.

"Do you
really love me, Zoe?"

"Yes."

"Do you want
me?"

She held her arms
over her breasts tight, her nipples hardening with anticipation, the knowing
look between them igniting the sexual tension just simmering under the surface.
"But, you aren't well."

"I'm fine.
That was a momentary thing. Do you want me?"

"Yes,"
she replied in a small voice. The sexual tension bounced between then when he
looked at her melting her insides.

"Will you go
in the bathroom and strip off and wait for me?"

"Yes."

"Go, I'll
lock the door. Turn on the shower."

Zoe hurried from
the room, her breath coming in fast pants. He had the knack of making her as
horny as hell and she loved it. How on earth she had survived without him for
so long amazed her.

She stripped off
her clothes and turned on the water. It was cool in the bathroom and her
nipples puckered up in anticipation of sex in the hospital. This was one game
that turned her on, sex in places where they shouldn't but couldn't resist
having it.

When the door
opened she dropped her gaze to the floor so he couldn't see the need in her
eyes. The hospital gown that Jonas was wearing hit the floor and he stepped
over to her.

He cupped her chin
in his hand and lifted her face to his. Zoe leaned into the kiss and wrapped
her arms around his waist pulling their bodies together. Her hands slid down to
cradle his butt and she rolled her hips into his erection.

Zoe teased his
lips with her tongue, sighing in pleasure as the fire heated between her
thighs. She pushed Jonas against the cool tiles and grinned at him. "Lean
back and hold the bathroom rail, I don't want you falling again."

When he did as she
requested, she slid down his body to kneel before him. She looked up before
taking him in her mouth. Grinning at the noises coming from his throat, Zoe
grated her teeth over the ridge of his cock. Twirling her tongue over the tip
she lunged and sucked him deep into her mouth. Lifting her hands, she cupped
his butt again and pulled him closer, feasting on him.

Jonas thrust into
her mouth holding her head as his climax built. Before he could lose control he
pulled away and pulled her to her feet. Zoe turned her back on him and held
onto the bathroom sink, spreading her legs for him.

****

When he slid his
hand under her butt he found her already wet. Sliding in a finger he worked her
clit with his thumb as she pushed into his hand. The noises coming from Zoe
made his cock jerk and he knelt down on the floor and tilted her ass up. His
tongue traced the crack of her butt down to her throbbing pussy. She squealed
when he dove his tongue inside her and started to thrust against him. Within
seconds her muscles were clenching around his tongue and she was moaning and
panting, her juices flowing.

Jonas stood and
holding her hips high with his good hand he drove his cock into her. Zoe held
onto the sink, her pussy throbbing around him as he exploded inside her.

He leaned over her
back, kissing the damp skin along her spine as she lay over the sink. When they
got their breath back, he pulled out of her and held her close. He stroked her
hair and nipped at her lips with his teeth.

"I think you
trust me more than you know," he said grinning at her. "Under the
water woman of mine."

He cradled her
under the warm water, keeping his plastered arm out of the spray like a wounded
bird. Jonas let her soap his body in case he had another light-headed moment.
Flicking off the tap, Zoe wrapped a towel around herself and then patted him
dry. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving and the breakfast should be
along soon."

She picked a clean
gown from the pile on a shelf inside the bathroom and helped him to dress.
Taking his arm, Zoe led him back to bed. "I'll just be a minute."

She ducked back
into the bathroom and when she came out she was dressed again.

"Breakfast,
just as you wished," Jonas said.

"Oh my, that
was well timed." She blushed and looked away.

"Come and eat
before it gets cold. Doc should be here soon and then you can take me
home."

Dr. Bob came in
just as they were finished their breakfast and Jonas leaned over to wipe the
egg from Zoe's chin. Doc smiled and looked between the two of them, his eyes
sparkling.

"Hear you had
company last night. How's the arm feeling?"

"Great, you
did a wonderful job as usual."

"Hmm, I
suspect you will say anything to get home. Let me look at you." He checked
the movement of Jonas' fingers, checked his vitals and pronounced him free to
leave.

"Before you
go, don't forget I want you back in about three days, Zoe to get those stitches
out."

"Sure,
Doc."

He signed the
chart and with a wave, left them alone.

"Take me
home, Zoe." Jonas leaned back on the pillows, looking at her. "This
place hems me in."

"Um, you
might want to get dressed first. I brought you some clean clothes though. Do
you need a hand."

Jonas looked at
her face, coyly tilted to one side. "What do you think?"

Zoe helped him
into clean clothes, running her fingers over his naked skin as she dressed him
sending all sorts of signals to his brain.

"We will sort
this out when we get home, don't even doubt that." He noticed the way her
mouth tightened at his words but he was determined to deal with it once and for
all.

"No. Let’s
have it out before we go then while there is just the two of us." She
walked away from him and leaned against the window sill, her arms folded and a
frown marring her forehead.

"Why won't
you marry me?"

"I told you,
I don't deserve you. I let you down once and look what happened to us. Ten
years wasted." She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears. "We
can never get that back."

"We were
young, we made mistakes. Deal with it, Zoe." He was getting sick of the
same excuse. "Fuck, I made mistakes. Do you blame me for them?"

"It's not the
same. Don't you understand? I blew it big time. I failed you and myself. Sorry
if it doesn't mean much to you but I get sick every time I think of what I did
to you. I can't forgive myself, Jonas. That is the problem."

"That is your
problem, Zoe. You have to let go. Geesh if I held onto every mistake I made, I
would be a wreck. I forgive you for any and every mistake you ever made. Learn
from it and move on."

"I
can't."

"Why
not?"

"Because
there is something I never told you and I'm not really sure how to do it now."

"Just spit it
out, Zoe. I think the time has passed for us to keep secrets from each other,
don't you think?"

"That night
when I found you with Lucy." She looked away from him put her fingers to
her mouth to stop the sob that had risen in her throat.

He ached to go to
her but something stopped him. "What?"

"I was going
to tell you something. I should have stayed anyway but I couldn't bring myself
to. I was pregnant."

He stumbled down
onto the bed. Pregnant, he never saw that coming. His head reeled and he looked
over at Zoe. She was standing by the window with tears streaming down her face.
"What did you say?"

"I said I was
pregnant. You heard me."

"But, no wait
just a minute. We agreed to wait. We were too young and you were on the
pill."

"It wasn't deliberate.
Accidents happen."

"So what, you
just thought it would be easier to run than face me?"

"No. I wanted
to tell you." Zoe rubbed her tears away. "I so wanted to tell you but
it all went wrong. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"All these
years and you couldn't once find it in your heart to tell me we made a baby
together? I don't fucking believe it."

She glared at him
now, looking angry instead of upset.

The door opened
and Lucy walked in.

"Get
out," they both shouted in unison. She backed out, shutting the door
quickly.

Jonas looked back
at Zoe. "So, because of what that little bitch did, you ran away and
destroyed something we had made together."

She lifted her
chin. "No, I didn't."

"What do you
mean, no?" he asked, his voice a mere whisper in the still room.

"I didn't
have an abortion if that is what you're asking. I don't care what you think of
me Jonas. I could never destroy something we had made together. I got a job and
had our baby."

"Why didn't
you tell me?"

"For fuck’s
sake, listen to yourself." She was standing waving her arms in the air
now. "Why would I tell you. You didn't want to be saddled with a baby
before you made your fortune, remember? I managed well enough on my own."

"Did you keep
it or give it away?"