by Kris Pearson
Dammit – she still did it for him. There was just something about her. Even at the airstrip, before he’d properly twigged who she was, she’d attracted him like crazy. So tiny she called to everything masculine and protective in him. So beautiful and exotic. So curvy, despite her slight build. Those cute full tits his fingers wanted to cradle – such a contrast to her narrow ribcage. That firm little butt showcased in the tight denim of her jeans. Nothing had changed in all the years since his body was old enough to be interested, except now she wasn’t covered by the woeful overall she’d worn in the shop and his imagination could run even hotter and wilder. Lost in a lustful dream, he only half heard the two women as they chatted on.
“One of those is a chai latte for me,” Anna said.
“Yep, here it is.” Mei removed them all from the tray and pushed Anna’s to one side.
“Can someone hang on to this?” Ollie asked, snapping back to the present because the long sheet of bubble-wrap trailing from one side of the table he was wrestling with was still attached.
“Look at you, Ollie – being all domesticated,” Anna teased, setting down the food and treading on the end for him so he could pull against it. “Who’d have thought?”
He sent her the sort of glare only really good friends could get away with. He and Anna had always been close, but she couldn’t seriously be calling him ‘domesticated’? Could she?
“Like a tame old tabby?” Not if she knew he’d just been imagining himself buried balls-deep in Mei’s fragrant heat. He sharpened the glare as he turned to take the table across to join the chairs, but it only made her laugh.
“Anyway,” she added. “You’re in luck with lunch. Jossy was so wound up she cooked half the morning so there’s a slice of bacon and egg pie each and chocolate and fig cupcakes. I pinched some of the early peaches off their tree on the way out. All major food groups covered like magic.”
Ollie set the table on the floor and looked across at Mei. “You tried any of her cooking before?”
Mei shook her head. “I don’t know the other sisters as well.”
“Great cook.” He glanced over at Anna. “Thanks for grabbing this for us.” Then, cringing as he asked, but knowing he’d better, said, “How’s she going with the egg thing?”
Mei picked up her coffee. Her delicate eyebrows rose. “Has she been having trouble conceiving? Not that it’s any of my business, but you did mention it in front of me earlier.”
Ollie watched as his cousin drew a deep breath. All trace of teasing had left her face.
“She’ll never conceive,” Anna said. “Do you remember way back – when she was seventeen – that awful road accident?”
He saw Mei’s brain whirring and then she shook her head. “I might have started my tourism training around then. Pretty busy with new stuff. I remember she was hurt, but no details.”
Anna worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, then released it. “She lost her womb. Kept her ovaries.”
Mei gasped and Oliver flinched. “Sorry if that’s too direct,” Anna added. “She and Cam are making no secret about wanting a family as soon as possible. They could adopt, but their own biological child with a surrogate would be best of course, which they’re also being very open about. Her eggs, his…” She raised an eyebrow.
“Jesus, woman, you’re pregnant yourself,” Ollie exclaimed. “Why have you gone all coy about it?”
“Jīngzǐ,” Mei said, and then giggled. It transformed her serious face into that of a mischievous angel.
“Probably,” Anna agreed, smirking. “Her eggs and his jing-zee. Much nicer word.”
“Not said quite like that!”
“But we get the point,” Ollie said firmly, shuddering at the thought of any more reproductive details, because really, how much did a man need to know once his cock and balls had done their work? “So how’s it going?”
“Not too well yet. Cam’s proved his jing-zee works because he already has a little son, but the eggs they’ve retrieved from Jossy don’t fertilize.” She shrugged. “So they haven’t been able to implant any in the surrogate yet because they haven’t become viable embryos. It’s a case of try and try again. In the meantime Jossy’s super-stroppy because of the drugs…” She reached for her chai latte.
Oliver picked up the other coffee. “Poor Joss. One thing on top of another.”
“Where’s the little boy?” Meifeng asked. “I never heard Cam mention him on music nights.”
Anna sighed, and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. “I’m not surprised. He has no access, and the boy’s being kept out of sight up in Hamilton.” She hesitated for a few seconds before adding, “Cam got a friend of Joss’s pregnant. Well, the sister of a friend. She wanted marriage. He didn’t. So she made sure he’d never see his son, even though he’s supporting him financially.” She took a slow sip of her drink. “Jossy was her lawyer. She and Cam were caught up in a long paperwork battle but they didn’t meet face-to-face until Jason and I took him along to her apartment for dinner one night.” She gave a rueful smile. “We didn’t know about the court case of course, and he didn’t know it was going to be Jossy. Talk about sparks. ”
Ollie laughed, trying not to spill his coffee. “Would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that.”
“Or maybe not,” Anna said. “It was one of the strangest nights of my life. They were totally rude to each other but Jason somehow picked they were attracted. I couldn’t see it at all.” She turned her attention back to Mei. “The way things are I don’t like to dig any deeper.”
Ollie watched as Mei sipped her coffee. Her hands were beautiful, with long smooth nails enameled pearly blue. They’d feel fantastic clenching against his shoulders, scraping down his back, digging into his butt-cheeks to pull him close. If he was ever so lucky.
“Hamilton’s far away,” she said.
“Yes,” Anna agreed. “I gather from Joss he’s trying to get it sorted out again, but the mother is hardly going to let him take the boy anywhere except maybe a shared visit to the local park, and is it really worth going all the way up north for that?”
Mei shook her head. “Better than nothing at all,” she said. “But also worse. I have nephews. I try to see them more often but it’s hard to make it work.”
Anna pulled the paper sack of food closer. “Do you want the bacon and egg pie heated? It’s still quite warm.”
“Warm’s good for me, thanks,” Ollie said, trying to drag himself back to the present moment. “But I’d better put a few things away.” He ran his distracted eyes over the luxurious kitchen. The big double-door refrigerator hummed softly, and the microwave oven and the huge free-standing cooker gleamed in the sun from the overhead skylights. “At least the appliances are all set up.”
“The kitchen company saw to them,” Anna said. “How much did you bring?”
Ollie dug into his supply box and lifted out the items. “Muesli for brekkie. Soy milk for that. Jar of ground coffee. Jar of sugar. Bottle of juice. Two frozen dinners – one Italian, one Thai. Couple of bog rolls, packet of biscuits, cake of soap.” He crossed to the freezer and slid the dinners in. “Not exactly high living.”
“No beer? No wine?” Anna teased.
“Scarlet Bay Tavern?” He glanced over at the heap of things to unpack. “Hell – I hope there are plates and glasses and forks among that lot.”
“There’s a dinner set here,” Mei said, peering among the stacks of boxes and furniture, and indicating it with a slender foot.
“Well,” Anna said, “Seeing I’ve landed you with a guest, I’d better help out with some extra food. You’ll have to eat your frozen dinners tonight because Jason’s taking me to Ferncroft Lodge for a final night of luxury before Marigold-Mary or whoever arrives.” She patted her tummy and laughed. “But if you’d like dinner tomorrow, we’ll be home any time after four and you’re very welcome to stay out of sight with us.”
“Thanks, cuz,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Meifeng. “You okay
with that?”
“As long as I’m seriously not recognizable on your bike,” she said, reaching for the box with the picture of plates and cups on its side. “What if Kieran turns up?”
“Then you scoot up the stairs and keep quiet,” Anna said.
Mei tilted her head on one side, eyes suddenly full of hope. “If you’re not going to be there maybe I could stay and house-sit for you?”
“No!” Ollie exclaimed, with Anna only a fraction of a second behind him. “It’s too isolated,” he added. “I don’t want you there on your own.”
“Ditto,” Anna agreed. “Sorry, but no. You’re much safer here with Ollie. He won’t make you half as uncomfortable as Kieran on the warpath would.”
Mei breathed out noisily and gripped the box. “You don’t want me there on my own?” she demanded, glaring at Ollie. “I don’t need looking after – especially by you.”
“Geez,” he exclaimed, trying to prize her away from the heavy carton. “Leave that to me.” Up close her scent was sweet and mysterious, and it took all his determination not to bury his face in her hair. “You might think you don’t need looking after, but you’ll wreck your back heaving away at this. Anyway, we don’t need it right now.” He pointed to the chairs by the window. “Sit down with your drinks.”
The two women stared at him, open-mouthed.
Moving aside, he hacked some pieces off the big sheet of bubble-wrap, laid one on the table, handed one to belligerent-looking Mei, one to amused Anna, and kept one for himself. “Picnic by the beach,” he added, setting the food down on the makeshift cover.
“And so classy,” Anna muttered, lowering herself down, finally giving in to her grin, and spreading the plastic across her lap.
They ate and drank in relative silence. Ollie knew Mei was still mad at him, but she kept it buried until they’d finished eating. Then she scrunched up her piece of bubble-wrap and stuffed it into her cardboard coffee cup as though it deserved to die. “I hate having people trying to look after me all the time,” she snapped.
Ollie saw Anna looking at her with raised eyebrows and surmised his expression must be much the same.
Mei breathed out noisily. “I’m small,” she said. “Only daughter. Evil men want to take advantage of me.”
Anna snorted but managed to remain otherwise silent. Ollie bit the inside of his cheek.
Mei shook her head and her hair moved in a long, dark curtain. “You hear my parents saying it?” she demanded. “I know they have their very set ideas. I know people mean well, but… I’m twenty-nine. Got through all my airline training with top grades. I’m good at my job, and on the international routes – not just flying an hour from Wellington to another Kiwi city all the time.” She sent Ollie a blistering glare. “I could have moved that box no trouble. We’re taught how to lift safely… how to help with passengers who feel dizzy or sick. I did not need help, Oliver.”
Ollie pulled his hands back as though he’d touched something red hot. “Okay, okay, Dragon Lady. I was brought up to be polite.”
“In his defense, that’s true,” Anna said. “I can see you two are going to get on fine.” Her tongue was so obviously in her cheek that Ollie shook his head and swore softly.
“I need to go and pack an overnight bag,” she added.
His affection for her took over and he couldn’t help laughing. “Have fun, babe.”
“You can bet on it.” She sent him a happy smile in return. “They have private plunge pools out amongst the native trees so we can skinny dip. No worries that my swimsuit doesn’t fit any more.” She pushed herself out of her chair. “Stop picturing that, Ollie!”
Ollie closed his mouth. “Not picturing a thing.”
“Just as well. Be nice to each other and I’ll see you tomorrow. Let me know if you don’t find knives and forks because I can drop some off to you on the way through.”
Mei stood as well. “Thank you Anna, for everything. We’ll try not to kill each other.”
Ollie wouldn’t have taken bets on that, the way things had gone so far. Mei was a firecracker. Explosive as hell. She could certainly take care of herself, so why did he have this ridiculous urge to protect her now he’d found her again? Well – apart from the fact she’d been beaten and bruised at the hands of another man. He twisted his mouth to the side, determined not to react.
They all trooped into the garage, and Mei hung back so she couldn’t be seen from the beachfront road. Ollie opened the pickup’s door and Anna got herself comfortably seated. She reversed out more sedately than when she’d departed from Mei and Kieran’s old house, then turned in the direction of home. Only seconds later a white van drove past and gave a couple of short hoots. Distant hoots followed from Anna’s truck.
“Jason,” Mei said. “For two people who didn’t seem to have much in common to start with, I think they read each other’s minds now.”
“You ever had someone like that?” Ollie asked, kicking the toe of his boot against the back tire of his motorbike. “Someone you got really serious about?”
Mei shrugged. “Difficult because of the way I’m never home. Living with Kieran was more his idea than mine.”
“And look how that ended.”
“Mmm. Well and truly over. Why do you have this here?” She reached out and touched the Moto Guzzi’s handlebars, making it clear she didn’t want to talk more about Kieran. Ollie really wanted to know. Had she had any other special men in her life during all the years he hadn’t known her? Someone he needed to live up to? Surpass?
He looked across at the two silver helmets hanging on hooks probably intended for fishing gear and decided to leave it for now. “Because I wanted the bike for summer. I rode it up last week and hitched a ride back with Jason. He was going to Wellington to collect something for Cam’s job. It’s only my old one.”
“Rich boy has spare motorbikes,” Mei needled, angling her chin up in a definite challenge. “And his own plane.” She sent Ollie a derisive sideways glance.
It was all he could do not to snap at her. Shake her.
A vivid flash of the banjo player from the wedding doing just that shot through his brain and he forced his temper back into the box where he kept it tightly locked away. How had she got under his skin so easily? “Second hand plane. Paid for with my own money,” he insisted. “Money I earned. Not family money. And you forgot my car. Hot car. Add that to the list.” If she wanted to play mean he was definitely up for it.
Mei tilted a shoulder. “Of course.”
He held himself firmly in check for a few more moments and then grinned as he watched her struggling not to ask more. “Machines are my thing. How about you?”
She surprised him by losing the aggro and saying, “Gemstones. Nice diamonds. Best emeralds from Colombia. Sapphires – especially the ones with stars.” She lifted her hair aside to show the line of glitter up the edge of her ear. “Not CZs.” She sniffed, then pointed to her belly button piercing. “Also not fake. Very good emerald, and not a ‘created’ one. My little joke. People can think I’m cheap with trashy jewelry, but they don’t know the truth.”
“Jesus! How many thousands worth do you have strung around you?”
She tilted her head and looked him in the eye. “Retail or wholesale?”
That nearly made him choke.
She held out her delicate hand. He’d noticed the chunky silver ring when he’d admired her pretty fingernails earlier. The cluster of square multi-colored stones certainly looked big enough to be fake, or was it only the contrast to her slim fingers?
“White diamond, ruby, pink diamond, Imperial topaz – which is why it’s not brown. Looks like junk, huh?” She was obviously enjoying the moment and trying not to smile. “Platinum, not silver like you’re thinking. This one “– she pulled a pendant up from where it hung on a chain between her gorgeous creamy breasts “– nice big tourmaline and diamonds. You see how it’s pink at one end and dark green at the other? Something only they do. The diamonds look small
because the tourmaline’s so big, but not really. Got that in Bangkok ages ago. My mother hates it but she has no idea. Not bad investments, the way I can buy.”
Ollie reached out and took her hand. Ostensibly to hold the chain steady so he could admire the flashing pendant, but much more as an excuse to touch her. “So that’s where your money goes?”
“Mostly,” Mei agreed, trying to pull away. “If I get sick of them, I sell. Never lost money yet.”
Ollie let her go with reluctance. “But you can’t wear it when you’re working? Not while you’re in uniform?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not so much of it. Lots of rules,” she agreed. “No tattoos showing, must trim hair in nostrils and ears…”
He let loose a roar of laughter. “Not a problem you’d have.”
“Or most men from Asia,” she agreed. “But some are gorillas.”
“You don’t like hairy men?”
She twitched a shoulder. “Not if they’re thick blankets.”
He silently thanked God he wasn’t an overly thick blanket. Nightmares of having his chest waxed to be acceptable for her receded, although he wondered in return what she had waxed. “We’d better get to work. You want to look around the rest of the house first or will you hang up some clothes?”
“Yes, clothes would be good before they get totally crushed,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked back into the big living space. “Which room?”
Ollie pressed the remote to close the garage door and followed her back into the house, relaxing his guard now she was out of sight of passers-by. “I put the plans on the kitchen counter so I could work out which furniture for which room, but not having it all is a nuisance. There seem to be a lot of chairs but no sofas. I guess we do the best we can and finish up on Monday when the rest arrives.”
“Sure – but for tonight?” She leaned over the plan, tracing through the different rooms with the tip of a finger. “All these bathrooms!”