by Debbie Behan
She was quite pale now and even though there were so many things he was aware of now he knew it was not the time to discuss them. What he did know was that she was still his fragile Cassie and she was still every bit the girl he fell in love with. She had just become more powerful, using her newfound gifts to get her through the tough act. No wonder she was so exhausted. She had nothing left after using so much magic. Then she’d come to him for strength and to draw from his power to rebuild hers. All that time he had thought she was just sick of playing and he was her boring safe harbour.
What a fool I’ve been, wasting months thinking she never loved me enough and yet all along, I was the one. All this is so that she can toughen up and be with me always, trying to mould herself into the person she thinks I need.
Emotionally unable to articulate the right words, he pulled her into his arms and laid her tired, power-depleted body on the bed. Slipping a pillow under her head and pulling the covers over them both, he just wanted her to rest. She cuddled into him, her body delicately wrapping around his.
‘Are you angry now you know I’m not as tough as you thought and it’s only magic that gets me through the hard stuff like tonight?’ she asked sleepily.
He ran his hand gently up and down her back to relax her. ‘Sweetie, I’m not mad but things are going to have to change a bit now that I know. What you did tonight to protect your teammates, your friends and me, were admirable. However to deliberately get the guys to play games with you to desensitise your fears is ludicrous. Games like that only makes me angry and does bugger-all when it comes to toughening you up. It’s in your personality to be the way you are and that is who I happen to adore. Quit trying to be someone you’re not and let us just love the woman you are.’
‘What I want most of all now we’re married is for you to help me because nothing I’m doing is working. I’ve tried so hard, Kayden and I’m done. What you do with me now, even if you take me out of the Cloud Riders because you think I’m not strong enough in character, is up to you. I just want to be your wife and be the best one I can. Nothing is more important to me.’
Kayden lifted her chin and looked into her drowsy eyes as she battled to keep them open. ‘You’re not getting kicked out of anything. Right by my side is where I want you and I always have. And I promise that next time you play the heroine I will understand it is all an act and will be right there to catch you when you fall.’ He smiled as she touched her lips on his and purred out a thank you. ‘Sweet dreams, beautiful,’ he whispered as her eyes dropped and sleep claimed her. As for him, it took many hours for him to calm down, unable to control his emotions at what he had uncovered. Cassie’s hidden garden that she had taken him into had opened up to him her most precious secrets. He thought of all the nights he anguished over unnecessary issues and yet there it was, so easily staring him in the face: with everything she did, her desire was to try to please him. She lived for him, would die for him and he could clearly see, his woman was just so in love with him.
He watched her angelic features as she slept. The creamy flawless skin, cute button nose, perfectly shaped lips and long lashes swept across her slightly flushed cheeks that still glistened with tears she had shed with him. He kissed them gently, feeling the damp softness and she groaned ever so quietly in her sleep. He knew she felt him and the sides of her mouth quirked up in a little smile. ‘You’re my angel,’ he whispered softly to her. ‘All mine. You hear me? Mine,’ he squeezed her softly, feeling so happy he could have thrown his hands up and jumped around like a madman. God, I am so very, very much in love with this woman.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Unit Amusement
(Day Three)
Kayden had gone to see the boys while Cassie got ready for the day. She stood out on the balcony, viewing the city and getting it all straight in her head. She was still a little surprised at Kayden’s reaction last night. It didn’t matter to him that she was a sook and that she wasn’t strong and tough like the other team members. To him she was just Cassie, his mate, his woman, his wife!
She felt on a bit of a high because she didn’t have to put on an act anymore. She could just be herself now. No more pretending to be who she was not.
Kayden came up behind her. ‘The cars are out front but Conor and Ethan didn’t come home last night until a little while ago so the girls aren’t happy. They need a minute.’
She smiled when she saw Kayden standing there, holding a wrapped box. ‘I went down this morning and brought you a little gift to make you feel better. I was pretty hard on you last night and I hope you’ll forgive me.’ He looked down at the box. ‘I hope you’ll like it,’ he grinned, pulling the lid off. ‘Okay, you have to hold out your arm and close your eyes.’
He clasped a bracelet around her wrist. When she opened her eyes it was an exquisite bracelet with charms of stars, the moon, horses and a heart, each trinket having diamonds, rubies, amethysts or emeralds set into them. They hung delicately off a white gold chain and as she moved her arm, she swore they reminded her exactly of the beauty and array of colours from the sky above. ‘It’s just perfect. I love it.’ She jumped into his arms, hugging him for his thoughtfulness. ‘You’re so going to have a monster on your hands if you don’t stop being this good to me,’ she kept grinning, blown away by his sweetness.
‘My monster, though.’ Cuddling her, he knew he was going to absolutely ruin her from now on and he didn’t care if she turned into the most spoilt bitch he’d ever met. He’d love it.
Later, as they waited in the foyer, Conor and Ethan came in looking very submissive as the girls were still giving them a bit of a hard time. The trip into the city was relatively quiet but the mood improved as they all took in the sights along the way. They drove across the famous Sydney harbour bridge getting a good view of the Opera House before fighting their way through the massive twists of the freeways. Cars, buses and trucks muscled their way through the busy streets and on the sidewalk, shops of every kind spilled out. Colourful, fashion-conscious women and men filled the streets. Some gathered at the lights and when they turned green, rushed across, barely looking where they were going as they wrote messages on cell phones or listened to their favourite tunes.
The parks were flourishing and a floral array of blooms gave off fragrances that wafted into the car as they passed them. Cassie even got to see what they meant by road rage which was running rampant the further into the city streets they went. There was honking of horns, frustrated yelling out of car windows, even a fight over a car park. She was entertained both in the car and out on the streets. Once they hit the city she was amazed even more by the compacted beauty of its massively high buildings and their history within. The limo pulled up at the Pavilion where they had lunch. The restaurant, positioned on the edge of the Royal Botanic and Domain Gardens, was picturesque. Later enjoying a stroll in the luxuriant parklands where soft blooms highlighted the walkways and neatly carved bushes made the walk very pleasurable.
The next stop was the Art Gallery, just across the road from the restaurant. Cassie noticed that it featured many Australian, European and Asian artists. There were many she just didn’t get.
The guide ignored her with an almost impatient huff as he continued the tour. ‘Over this side we have the Australian landscape by John Glover who painted it on his property at Patterdale in 1835.’
Further on she tuned in again, becoming a little more interested.
‘Here we have The Arbour by Emanuel Phillip Fox which was a lovely garden setting of a family enjoying the outdoors, set in the early Victorian era.’ The guide moved them on. ‘Last but not least is the Ned Kelly series by Sidney Robert Nolan who found painting the legendary character was a way of painting the Australian landscape in a completely new way.’
Cassie knew art would never be her thing; however, she left with an appreciation for the artists who had worked hard to create masterpieces that would last for many
generations to come.
Leaving the gallery, they walked the couple of blocks to get to the Mint. It was located in the historic precinct of Macquarie Street and when they arrived the tour guide told them it was the oldest classically detailed building in Australia.
Cassie was bored looking around and hoped this would be over quickly. She loved to learn but couldn’t for the life of her work out why anyone would be interested in gawking at money. ‘Man,’ she sighed, tapping her foot, impatient to get it underway.
She felt a pat on her shoulder as the guide, seeing her lack of interest, was motioning for her to follow while he continued to talk.
‘In the earlier days, money was originally printed on a cotton-based paper that burnt easily when disposed of.’ She heard him direct it at her.
Feeling guilty, Cassie made eye contact, grinned and followed the group as the funny little guide with glasses far too big for his head, continued.
‘That all changed in the 1960s when Australia was hit by a major forger of the ten dollar note.’ The guide nodded at her, looking pleased he had her attention. ‘They then came up with the polymer note, now used Australia-wide, which is harder to print but deters criminals from copying them. The other advantage to the notes is that humidity and microbe activity doesn’t deteriorate the polymer. It is twice the cost, however last four times longer.’
Okay now he had her attention. This is kind of interesting. ‘Then if it is a plastic, how is it destroyed when it ages?’ Cassie asked.
‘Polymer does have its drawbacks, I admit. The black smoke when burnt causes air pollution. The mint gets around this by shredding the old damaged notes into tiny pieces and sending them off to a plastic recycling plant.’
The guide clicked his tongue that made a funny sound at the back of his throat. Cassie turned to hide her grin. The guide hadn’t noticed his weird habit and thinking he had lost her attention again, raised his voice. This had Cassie going again and her infectious mood filtered through the group, making them all nudge each other as they too noticed the louder he got the more he made the weird sound.
‘The disadvantage of the banknotes—click click—was that they found solvents and ultraviolet light—click click—deteriorates them but the advantage of it not being easy to forge well outweighs—click click—the few negative issues.’
Kayden held himself, shaking the man’s hand and staying chatting for a minute while the rest of his team ditched him and split, chuckling and hitting each other as they made their way back to the cars.
Back at the motel, Kayden punished them for being a bad influence on his woman and told them all to get lost for a while. ‘We’ll catch up with you at the airport the next morning.’ He let them know in no uncertain terms they would be on their own until then.
Cassie cuddled into Kayden. ‘Yes it was all their fault, honey.’
He smiled lovingly. He was no push over and knew exactly who started it but it was a great excuse to get some time alone with his new wife. ‘Sure, sweetheart!’ He hugged her back, loving that she put up no protest and wanted to be with just him as well.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Unit Amusement
(Day Four)
They arrived at Margaret River just before lunch the next day in plenty of time for Cassie to organise a special someone to meet them at the local pub.
‘Let’s stretch our legs and walk,’ Jason suggested. Cassie grinned, knowing if he knew what she had planned he’d have practically run there. However, the walk to the township was not as far as she thought and the lodge being nestled among towering Karri trees made the walk along the pathway, pleasurable.
* * * *
Seated and noticing that Jason was busy going over the lunchtime menu, Cassie excused herself when she saw Sonia McMasters arrive. She looked more grownup and stylish in the lilac fitted sundress she wore, than when Cassie first saw her on the beach. The thin straps of the dress over her tanned shoulders highlighted a small butterfly tattoo on the side of her neck. This was accentuated by her light-coloured hair that she had simply swept up into a braided pigtail. Her makeup was sparing, maybe just a bit of lip-gloss and eye makeup; her olive skin needed very little.
She spotted Cassie and pulled her sunglasses up on her head and with her three-inch heels she looked taller than Cassie remembered. Her outfit did her figure justice and combined with her overall appearance and stunning smile, she looked very eye-catching.
Cassie could now see how Jason had seen her. He had looked past the bikini and sea-drenched hair to the woman she now saw. Men have such an unusual way of being able to see us women—so different from the way we view each other. Cassie gave her a welcoming hug and they stood chatting as if they’d known each other for years. Cassie felt that it was refreshing to have a female-to-female conversation for a change. Oh sure, Ella had begun to thaw where Cassie was concerned, but Ella was not a girly-girl. Sonia on the other hand was the opposite and didn’t stop for a breath and had Cassie giggling at her fun sense of humour. Walking to the table, Cassie noticed that Jason was so busy taking to Ethan about the pub grub he never noticed she had disappeared for a while. He had a little surprised expression as she introduced Sonia around the table and when Cassie got to Jason, she smiled and joked, ‘I’m not sure if you’d remember Jason.’ Jason grinned as he walked around to Sonia, took her hand, and after greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, he guided her over to sit with him, not once letting her hand go. It was kind of cute and yet so Jason, to be comfortable with a woman he barely knew. She giggled sweetly and Jason smiled so brightly that even Cassie’s heart melted at the look he gave her.
They had a nice lunch although the sparks flying next to Cassie were hard to ignore. Jason was charming and entertaining and Sonia enjoyed every minute of him. They decided to go for a walk after lunch.
Turning, Jason winked at Kayden. ‘Don’t hold up the winery tour, guys, I’m busy.’
Kayden threw him the keys to the hire car. ‘Better be there to pick us up at Driftwood Winery, Jase. The rest of the boys look like they’ve already started to settle in for the day and that’s our last stop.’
‘Jeez, K, can’t you control your damned team for one day? I might have plans.’
‘No! And you better not ditch us, buddy.’
Jase snatched the keys and flipping them all off, turned to Sonia. ‘Come on, sweetness, we have better things to do than hang out with this riff raff.’
Kayden laughter had him take one last sideways glance, before hustling Sonia out.
‘Payback’s a bitch!’ Woody grinned as Kayden kicked back in his chair, pleased with his plan to irritate Jason, now that he too had found someone he wanted to spend time with had worked.
* * * *
The rest of them drove to Sandalford Winery first. The boys went over the top and bought cases of the wines they liked, having them delivered direct to their ranch up north. Then they were off to Driftwood Winery and sitting up at the old comfortable bar, their journey ended for the day. The atmosphere was enchanting and the bar staff kept them entertained to a point where staying for dinner was just a given, seeing as none of them had any intentions of leaving just yet.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Designated Driver
Arriving at Driftwood Winery, Jason could hear the rowdy voices of the team as soon as he opened the car door for Sonia. Man, I could get used to having this babe by my side. He had nearly had to perform an operation to sever his lips from hers to bring her out for some dinner. He waited as she replaced the gloss he’d kept kissing off her mouth and he promised this time that he would leave her alone. But hell, I lied.
He pulled her back into his arms and leaning her up against the car, claimed her mouth just one more time. He pressed up against her, his hardness ready to explode at any moment. The little tease moved gently against him, making him groan and then she giggled. He slapped he
r backside playfully for stirring him up further but he loved whatever the hell she was doing to him. God! If she was going to feel as good down there as she did while he explored her mouth, there is no way he wanted to make it a quickie. Hell, no! He already wanted to spend the rest of his life just kissing her mouth, never mind thinking any further just yet.
He let her go and saw she was just as aroused as he was. Jason smiled at her lovely glowing face. ‘I promise I’ll leave you alone until after dinner. I have to do this with the team. We only have a couple of nights left of our holiday together and then I am all yours. Okay?’
She grinned all cheeky-like and wrapped her arm around his neck like a child you have just said no to who wants to change your mind. She felt so delightful that he moved her back against the car where he could control it. ‘I want you too, sugar, you have no idea how badly I do, but not here and not like this, okay? You mean too much to me to treat you like that. Let me take you to dinner and do it right.’
She sighed and gave him the sweetest smile: the kind of melt-your-heart smile that you want to work for eternity to keep on the face of the angel giving it to you. She lifted her purse and taking out her lip-gloss, applied it perfectly while watching his face. He still had her firmly in his arms and melted into her as he watched her slide it delicately over her lips. ‘God, you’re so sexy, babe!’ he groaned as he ached with desire. He closed his eyes for a minute, feeling her for the last time and then looking back down at her he took her hand, taking her into the winery. For the first time in a very long time, Jason was sober and walked into what he was normally the instigator of. Cassie and Kayden were singing a love song that was playing; Kayden had moved to get her up and waltz to it. They floated around the table, so much in love that there were emitting a magical glow around them. Jason looked to see if the waiters had noticed but they were too busy fussing over the others to even glance at them.