‘DO YOU WANT TO COME to my place for dinner?’ Will asked when they were back in the car, heading home. She was surprised at the invitation but agreed.
‘I would just like to change first,’ she said.
Once home, she left Will sitting with Whiskers and went upstairs to shower and change. She frowned as she opened a drawer to take out a white blouse, certain she’d left it somewhere else but then shrugged, figured she’d been so panicked earlier she hadn’t realized what she was doing.
Teaming it with a pair of black slacks, groaning at the fact that she still couldn’t wear a bra, she went back downstairs and opened the bin to throw away an empty tissue box.
The contents of the bin were covered with black ashes.
Certain she hadn’t burnt anything earlier, she frowned, felt her palms grow clammy again. What if someone had been in the house?
Oh God, what if he had somehow managed to find her. Even all the way out here.
No. That wasn’t possible. Only her parents had known where she was going. It must’ve been Gloria, the woman who came in to clean every week.
She looked up, saw Will standing in the doorway and straightened, shook her head, determined not to lose her cool again.
`Ready?’ he asked and she smiled, nodded, followed him out the door to the car, making a mental note to buy some new locks for the doors, just in case.
She wasn’t sure what she had expected his house to look like but it wasn’t anything like the reality. As he’d mentioned, the farm was within walking distance of her place, a few blocks up the road.
The house was a simple A-frame two-level cottage with white stucco walls, which contrasted with the wooden front door and the dark-grey slate of the veranda and roof.
Black metal work surrounded the sills of all the windows and she presumed it could hold flower pots if the owner was so inclined. She didn’t miss the lack of said flowers, thought it spoke volumes.
Will opened his door and climbed out the car. There was a sudden burst of activity and noisy barking as two black collie dogs bounded around the corner of the house and started circling him.
He laughed, leaning down to pat them.
`Say hello to Jess and Nemo,’ he said, coming round to open the door for Jo and help her out the car.
She held out her hand for them to sniff, then knelt down, patted each one, had to stand up quickly to avoid being knocked over.
`You named your dog after a fish?’ she asked, laughing.
He shrugged and grinned. `He has this funny habit of opening and closing his mouth, just like a goldfish. If you watch him long enough you’ll see what I mean.’
She laughed again, wiping her face with her sleeve as Nemo decided to jump up and treat her to a slobbery kiss.
`Hey, down,’ Will said, pointing away from the car.
Both dogs sat still next to him, their tongues lolling out, their tails whipping up the dust as they wagged from side to side.
Then Jess gave a bark and started chasing Nemo around the lawn, circling an old tree that stood at the bottom of the garden in front of a field of maize.
`Sorry about that. He gets a bit out of hand sometimes.’
`Hmmm. Just like his owner,’ she replied, grinning as he reached out and grabbed her.
He stepped closer and she stopped laughing as she saw the sudden heat in his gaze.
`Will …’
He shook his head and she felt the cold metal of the car against her back as he leaned into her, his kiss hot and demanding.
Overwhelmed by sensation, shocked at the sudden passion, she could barely keep herself upright, her breath coming in sharp gasps that matched the rapid pounding of her heart as he moved his mouth down her jaw and into the nape of her neck.
She felt him lift her, wrapped her legs around his waist for balance as he leaned her against the car. Oblivious to anything other than the hard, hungry heat of him, she jumped sharply at a sudden bark from beside them.
`Sweet Jesus,’ he muttered, almost dropping her as Nemo hurled himself against the car, his claws scraping at the metal.
His breathing uneven, Will turned, holding onto her with one hand while she slid back down to her feet and pointing away from the car with the other, telling Nemo to sit.
He turned back to face her, his eyes a dark, intense blue.
`Sorry. I can’t seem to stop doing that.’
Jo took a deep breath, stepped away carefully, still not quite stable on her feet.
`As I was saying …’ she began and he laughed, grabbed her hand, his eyes still burning into hers.
`Come, I’ll show you around,’ he said, finally looking away.
She followed him into the house, trying to ignore the way her body was so aware of his, resist the temptation to reach out and pull him towards her so he could finish what he’d started.
Damn. Where the hell had that come from? The danger she’d sensed boiling underneath the easy façade had raised its head then and she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. Taking another deep breath and telling herself to take it easy she looked around, tried to find something other than him to focus on.
Inside, the house was large and spacious. It was sparsely furnished and one of the front rooms even stood empty. However, she didn’t have much chance to look more closely at anything as he pulled her through the kitchen to the backyard. She smiled as she stepped out the door.
The vista spread out before her was framed by green hills. A herd of cows grazed in a paddock to the right and a ribbon of blue water glinted to the left. Looking around, she could see a simple tin shed, a hose, two kennels and several well-chewed bones and balls she assumed belonged to the dogs.
`Now, where was I?’ he murmured, turning her towards him and leaning down to kiss her neck.
She shivered at the touch but put a hand on his chest, forced herself to think clearly.
`Will ...’ she began, standing dead still, trying to ignore the searing heat she felt radiating from his body into hers.
`Hmmm?’ he murmured, busy tracing her collarbone with his lips, stirring up a current of desire that pulsed its way around her body from somewhere deep within her.
`Will, wait!’ she said more sharply, agitated at the strength of the emotions rushing through her.
He paused, took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.
`Okay.’
She could feel the pounding of his heart against hers, the warmth of him along every inch of her body and it took every ounce of self control not to reach out and pull him towards her.
But she couldn’t. Not yet. She wasn’t going to rush into something like this again, not after what had happened with Jack.
She felt a cold chill run down her spine and he must have sensed it as he stepped back, looked down at her with a slight frown, but he didn’t comment on it.
`I think you should wait in the lounge while I get dinner started,’ he said and she nodded.
`Probably a good idea.’
She took a step toward the house, stopped at his hand on her elbow.
`Jo?’
She turned to face him again, surprised at his serious expression.
`Yes?’
He started to say something then shook his head.
`Nothing. It’s pasta for dinner. All I can manage without Julia’s help I’m afraid,’ he said, striding past her into the kitchen.
She frowned, followed him in, wondering what he’d been about to say. `Are you sure you don’t want me to help with anything?’ she asked
He grinned. `Trust me, it’s better you wait in the lounge for a bit.’
She met his gaze, smiled, then went back into the passage and into the lounge, took the opportunity to have a look around. But there wasn’t much to see, only a couch, a table and some chairs, a faded rug by the fireplace and two baskets for the dogs. She was surprised. Obviously he was wealthy, why did he live so simply?
She sat down on the couch and stared out the window, pondering the events of the past few days. He came in a few minutes later carrying two bowls of pasta, which he placed on the table.
`No TV? I’m surprised,’ she said, smiling as he turned to face her.
He grinned. `Not quite. There’s one in the bedroom, I just couldn’t be bothered getting another one for down here. Usually it’s just me and the dogs and down here is sort of more for chilling out, you know. It’s great in winter, with the fire going. Plus you get a bit sick of noise and chatter when you’re surrounded by it all day. Anyway, take a seat while I go get the drinks.’
She nodded, went over to the table and pulled out a chair.
He paused at the door. `Are you sure you’re fine to have wine?’
She laughed. `I think it’ll be okay so long as I only have one glass.’
He grinned and left the room, returning a moment later with two glasses.
`Right. Food.’ he said, sitting down with obvious relish.
`You must be starving,’ she said, laughing.
`I am. Been a busy day,’ he said around a mouthful of pasta.
`Don’t talk with your mouth full.’
His eyes danced with laughter as he finished chewing, swallowed deliberately.
`Yes mother.’
She narrowed her eyes at him, turned her attention to her food, was amazed by the delicious flavor of the mushroom sauce.
`You can’t have made this,’ she said and he groaned.
`I’ll be surprised if I have any ego left at all by the time you’re finished with me,’ he said drily.
She pursed her lips at him, sighed, but didn’t reply and he grinned.
`Okay, caught. The sauce was left over from the dinner Julia gave me last night.’
She smiled. `I can’t believe you have your sister cooking for you. At your age. It’s so sad.’
`I call it convenient,’ he replied, not in the least phased by her comment.
She shook her head, chewed on a forkful of pasta and studied him thoughtfully.
`How’d you get the scar?’ she asked after a moment.
He hesitated, took a sip of wine before replying, not meeting her gaze.
`I had an accident.’
`What kind of accident? Car crash?’
He looked up at her suddenly and she was surprised by the intensity of his gaze.
`No, helicopter. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. How’s your shoulder?’
Burning with curiosity but realizing he wasn’t going to tell her anymore, she let the subject drop. `Better, thanks. I’ll probably be out of the sling by the end of the week.’
`That’s good news.’
`Tell me about it. I called Ian to let him know and I’ll be going into the clinic again from tomorrow.’
`Great.’
He smiled, met her gaze and didn’t look away.
She shifted uncomfortably.
`Will, you have a bad habit of just staring at people. It’s really disconcerting.’
His smile widened. `You’re the only one who seems to have a problem with it. Got something to hide?’
She knew he was joking but she couldn’t quite bring herself to smile. Seeing him frown, she decided to change the subject. `How long have you had the pub?’
He looked thoughtful but answered her question easily enough. `Going on three years.’
`Do you like it? Running a pub I mean?’
He shrugged. `Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. It makes good money in summer and it gives me something to do.’
She nodded.
`Okay, want to give me a hand loading the dishwasher?’ he asked, standing up.
`Sure,’ she replied, grabbing the glasses in one hand and following him into the kitchen.
She watched him tidy up, wondering what would happen next, her stomach flip-flopping like mad with nerves.
He turned to face her, leaned back against the kitchen bench.
`What do you want to do now?’ he asked and she flushed slightly.
`Um. I don’t know. I have to get back home reasonably early since I’m going into work tomorrow.’
He looked at his watch. `It’s nine. Is that reasonably early?’
`I can stay another hour or so,’ she said, flushing again as he sent her another predatory grin.
`Can you now?’ he replied, coming across and pulling her into his arms.
Swallowing nervously, she looked up, bristled at the amused gleam in his gaze.
`Stop laughing at me.’
He lowered his head and bit gently at an earlobe. `Don’t look so nervous then,’ he murmured in her ear and she groaned, tried to regain some sort of dignity but found it incredibly difficult to concentrate while distracted by the touch of his mouth on her skin.
She felt him loosen the sling and didn’t protest when he slipped it off, even though a part of her was desperately telling her to escape while she could. Nor did she move when he started unbuttoning the blouse, his lips tracing the outline of the fabric against her neck before moving back up to her mouth.
But when she felt the sudden chill of air against her skin, realized he had the blouse fully unbuttoned and that she wasn’t wearing any bra, the nerves suddenly kicked in again and she turned her head away from him, pulled the edges of the top together.
`Will, I’m not ready for this.’
`I know. I’ll stop soon,’ he murmured, not pausing in his gentle assault of her system. `I just want to look at you, feel you.’
She closed her eyes as he moved his lips over them gently, his hands circling her waist then moving up to cup her breasts.
`You’ve been driving me crazy all day Jo,’ he said, flicking his thumbs over her nipples. She felt them hardening at his touch and leaned her head back, losing herself in the sensation.
His hair tickled her lips as he bent his head, looked down at her, his hands filled with the gentle swell of her breasts and she breathed in sharply, tried to stop trembling.
After a moment he sighed, buttoned the blouse and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
`I want you Jo. But I’m not going to push it.’
She took a deep breath, tried to think of a reply.
`Thank you,’ she said a few seconds later.
He kissed the top of her head. `Let’s go for a walk and then I’ll take you home.’
She nodded and he grabbed her hand, leading her out the back door. They walked down to the edge of the paddock, holding hands, not speaking much. She felt herself relaxing in the summer air, was a bit annoyed at her own cowardice when he dropped her home and kissed her goodnight, leaving her to walk into a cold, empty house.
A house she’d once thought warm and cheerful.