Ultimate Heroes Collection

by Various Authors

  However, just as his hands left her arms and moved across to her breasts, his mobile rang.

  ‘Damn it,’ he muttered, fumbling in his back pocket. ‘I’ll turn it off.’

  ‘Might be important?’

  Though at that precise moment what could be more important than assuaging her raging desire for him?

  Shaking his head, he flipped it open, stared at the screen and her heart sank as the passion faded from his eyes.

  ‘It’s about work so I really should take it.’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  She fixed a smile on her face and gave him a gentle shove, hating that even at a time like this his job came first. Not that it was any surprise. His work had always been the number-one priority in his life ever since he’d fled Pier Point for bigger and better things all those years ago. Back then it had hurt but she hadn’t begrudged him his ambition. After all, she hadn’t lost her best friend, merely resorted to non-physical means of contact.

  Yet now, hot on the heels of the stunning realisation she felt more for him than she’d ever thought possible, the fact he could relegate her to second best in the blink of an eye hurt. A whole damn lot.

  The caller had hung up by the time he answered but she watched a shadow flicker over his face as he listened to the message. When he snapped the phone shut, he didn’t have to say anything. She could read his up-coming message loud and clear.

  Capturing her chin, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really have to sort out some issues with this guy. Can we take a rain check?’

  Hating the disappointment welling in her chest, she nodded. ‘Yeah, I really should do some planning for the final shoot tomorrow anyway.’

  ‘So a rain check’s okay?’

  Rolling into a sitting position, she forced a laugh. ‘Only if you’re lucky. I’ve heard the rainy season ended around here months ago.’

  ‘Tonight,’ he murmured, taking her by surprise with a swift, scorching kiss that made her toes curl. ‘Take it from me it’s going to pour cats and dogs.’

  She laughed despite her disappointment, watching the guy she’d been stupid enough to fall in love with walk out the door, taking a huge piece of her heart with him without knowing it.

  Judd strode away from Abby’s room, oblivious to the sparkling turquoise ocean, the lush tropical foliage and the endless stretch of pure white sand. An anomaly in itself considering he couldn’t go anywhere without switching off his powers of observation, the photographer in him always on the lookout for the next perfect shot.

  However, ever since he’d listened to that damn message he couldn’t focus on anything until he found out what Mark Pyman wanted with him.

  If it was the phone call he’d been expecting and hoping for …

  Closing his eyes, he tried and failed to block out the look of acute disappointment on Abby’s face when he’d said he had to take the call.

  Her reaction had hit him like a knockout punch and if this phone call didn’t have the potential to affect his future—their future—he would’ve quite happily thrown the phone against the wall and ignored it.

  Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and stabbed at the redial button on his mobile, forcing his pace to slow when he realised he’d made it halfway up the beach while waiting for the CEO to answer.

  ‘Mark Pyman.’

  ‘Mark, Judd Calloway returning your call.’

  He heard a quick murmur of voices as Mark dismissed his secretary. ‘Thanks for calling me back so quickly, Judd. I was going to wait till you got back to Sydney to have a chat about your future, but after seeing the shots you e-mailed me for the job so far I think we can do better than that.’

  ‘What did you have in mind?’

  Judd kept his response ultra-cool, deliberately dampening the surge of excitement that this was it.

  ‘When Paula recommended you and said you were the best, she wasn’t kidding. I’m offering you the job as head photographer at Finesse. Your work is brilliant and I want you leading all our big jobs. I’m open to negotiating salary and benefits when you get back, but I really wanted to let you know the offer’s on the table and I’d appreciate an indication of interest from you.’

  ‘I’m interested.’ He clenched his fist in a victory salute. ‘I’ll look forward to working out job conditions when I get back to Sydney, but in the meantime, rest assured I’m looking forward to the challenge in working for Finesse.’

  ‘Great. Ring my secretary when you get back and tee up a time for us to meet. Glad to have you on board.’

  Realising he was scuffing sand like a three-year-old with a big grin on his face, he said, ‘Thanks for the offer. See you in a few days.’

  Mark had already rung off by the time he’d flipped his mobile shut and he stared out over the ocean, dazzled by the deepest indigos blending with cerulean greens, wanting to run screaming into the water and splash around like a boisterous kid without a care in the world.

  All his plans were coming to fruition.

  He’d already decided to stick around Sydney for a while and now Mark’s job offer sealed it. He’d known this was in the pipeline. The mega-successful CEO had hinted at it when he’d first taken on the job and since his relationship with Abby had entered a new dimension, he’d been secretly hoping for this outcome.

  For the longer he spent with her, the harder it became to ignore the obvious. They were great as friends, stupendous as lovers—what if they got together for real?

  The only way they could have that chance was if he stuck around in the one place long enough and it looked as if that time had come. Ironically, he’d looked forward to catching up on a regular basis with Abby once he’d relocated to Sydney, but never in his wildest dreams had he contemplated anything more between them.

  He’d made that choice when he’d left her the first time around, had lived with the consequences since. But now the rules had changed and he was in a position to offer her so much more than he had as a wanderlust teenager with a lousy attitude.

  Would she go for it? Would she want to trial a relationship? Only one way to find out.

  Whistling an old victory tune from a Sylvester Stallone boxing movie, he headed up the beach towards his room.

  He had plans to make for tonight.

  Big plans.

  Starting with organising a night for Abby she’d never forget.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘WHERE are we going?’

  ‘Patience, Tara, patience.’

  Abby pressed her lips together before slicking a topcoat of Retro Rose gloss over them and stood back from the mirror. In a siren-red flirty strapless dress, matching strappy sandals and her hair mussed with enough mousse to ensure a ‘just out of bed’ look, she hoped Judd didn’t stand a chance.

  After tonight’s thank-you celebration with Tom and Tara she had every intention of following up on the rain check he’d mentioned earlier that afternoon.

  ‘I already told you we’re just going for a drink to wind down after a hard day’s work. We deserve it.’

  Tara looked her up and down and Abby had the distinct impression she was being sized up. ‘You’re up to something.’

  ‘Like what?’

  Abby struggled to keep the grin off her face, knowing she had to get the supermodel to the intimate Lagoon Bar where Judd had organised the impromptu celebratory drinks before she blurted the truth: having a casual drink was a tad different from what they’d organised. Besides, she’d always been lousy at keeping secrets; unless she counted the one where she’d hid her feelings for Judd for the last eight years.

  Tara folded her arms and grimaced. ‘I don’t know but you’re looking way too smug. And I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the fact you’re hooked on our resident dreamboat photographer.’

  ‘Look, just humour me, okay? Judd and I just wanted to say thanks for making the wedding shoot so pleasant.’

  Abby turned back to the mirror for one final check, hoping Tara bought her
trite little story. The sooner they all shared a drink, the sooner she could abscond with the dreamboat and have her wicked way with him.

  They only had two nights left on the island max and she intended to make the most of them. Having Judd walk out on her to take his precious business call this afternoon had given her some valuable thinking time and she’d come to the conclusion that, no matter how she felt about him, she had to focus on the here and now.

  Judd wasn’t a keeper.

  As a friend, yes. As anything more? Hell, no!

  It was the only reason she’d agreed to this fling in the first place, knowing it couldn’t go anywhere, knowing, no matter how she felt once he left for Timbuktu again, she’d have plenty of time to get over him and resume a normal life … as his friend.

  ‘Okay, so I’m curious. Whatever you two have concocted, how bad can it be?’

  Abby noted the twinkle in the model’s green eyes as she picked up a sparkly silver evening clutch and tucked a strand of shining red hair behind her ear. ‘On second thoughts, don’t answer that. Let’s go.’

  Abby hid a triumphant smile. ‘Great. Follow me.’

  As they strolled through the lush gardens following a path lit by flickering torchlights, she inhaled, knowing the heavy scent of frangipanis perfuming the air would for ever act as a reminder of the incredible time she’d had with Judd on this island.

  Who would’ve thought they’d have an island fling, when, for years, the only thing flinging between them had been the constant teasing barbs they’d fired at each other?

  Now, just thinking about the night ahead made her pulse race and her heart respond in typical staccato fashion.

  ‘The Lagoon Bar? This is a couple’s hang-out. Won’t I be a third wheel?’

  Tara pulled up short as they reached the entrance to the dimly lit bar, digging her stilettos into the sand.

  ‘This’ll be fun,’ Abby said, firmly propelling Tara towards the thatched door before she could flee.

  Thankfully, the door swung open at that moment and Judd held it open, a naughty twinkle in his eyes as he locked gazes with her for an endless, loaded moment before nodding to Tara.

  ‘Good evening, ladies. We’ve been expecting you.’

  ‘We?’ Tara’s eyes narrowed as she followed them into the bar.

  ‘All set?’ Abby whispered to Judd as they fell in behind Tara.

  ‘Yeah. They’re going to love this.’

  Judd’s subtle jerk of his head pointed towards a small table situated on the lagoon’s edge, screened from the rest of the bar by lush palm fronds and trailing fuchsia bougain-villea where the staff had laid out a tapas-style feast with an ice bucket containing the most expensive champagne on the drinks menu.

  Tom sat at a nearby table, nursing a beer, a pensive expression on his face, rather unusual for him.

  ‘Here we go,’ Judd murmured, placing a hand in the small of her back and setting her pulse skyrocketing at the barest of touches as Tom looked up at the precise moment Tara first caught sight of the table and his face lit up.

  Tara stopped dead and whirled towards her, a shrewd glint in her glittering green eyes.

  ‘Is this a set-up? Because if it is, forget it. I can get my own dates, thank you very much.’

  Before Abby could respond, Judd stepped in quickly. ‘Tom’s done a great job this week, too. When Abby told me about having a celebratory drink with you for your hard work I only thought it fair I invite Tom along, too. There isn’t a problem, is there?’

  Abby stifled a laugh at Judd’s faux innocent look, especially when Tara melted beneath his goofiest smile.

  ‘No problem,’ Tara said, sending her blow-dried hair over her shoulder with a determined flick before striding towards the table.

  ‘Nice save, Romeo.’

  ‘Anything for you, Juliet,’ Judd said, sliding his hand up her back to caress the bare skin between her shoulder blades, sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine as she silently praised her choice of strapless dress for this evening.

  ‘You look beautiful, by the way,’ he said, as if reading her mind. ‘And those red shoes are way beyond sexy.’

  She sent him a coy smile as she dropped her gaze to where he was staring, wriggling her matching Retro Rose toenails within her favourite shoes.

  ‘They are pretty hot, aren’t they?’

  ‘Not half as hot as the woman in them,’ he murmured, brushing a soft kiss on the skin behind her ear, a kiss filled with promise.

  ‘Did you hear there’s a storm coming tonight? Apparently the rain’s going to bucket down in torrents.’

  The gold flecks in his eyes glowed amber in the bar’s soft candlelight and her breath caught as his thumb trailed across her bottom lip.

  ‘In that case you’d better spend the night in my room. After all, I am on a higher floor and we wouldn’t want to be flooded out. Besides, I feel a rain check coming on.’

  ‘You’re on,’ she said, slipping her hand into his, already counting the minutes till they could slip away. ‘For now, shall we see how our employees are getting on, spring our surprise on them before making our escape?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’

  Tom and Tara were making small talk when Abby took the seat Judd pulled out for her.

  ‘Hey, Abby. You look great,’ Tom said, not taking his eyes off Tara for a second, and she smiled, knowing her instincts about these two were spot on. With a little luck she had a feeling she and Judd wouldn’t be the only couple walking around with dazed expressions.

  ‘Thanks. Nothing like Tara, though.’

  Judd rolled his eyes and she gave a tiny shrug. Okay, so she was laying it on a bit thick. She couldn’t help it if she was looking at the world through romantic-tinged glasses at the moment.

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ Tom said, a simple sincerity in his tone as Tara straightened her shoulders and sent him a stunning smile before picking up the punch cocktail a waiter had deposited in front of her.

  ‘Do you think these two are up to something?’

  Tom shrugged. ‘Beats me, though looks as if they’ve gone to a lot of trouble so we should probably humour them. Besides, I agree with the boss. We’ve worked damn hard this week, why not celebrate a little? We deserve it.’

  He raised his schooner in Tara’s direction and she clinked glasses with him, resident flirtatious twinkle in her eyes while Abby smiled and took a sip of her own punch cocktail.

  ‘How about a toast?’

  Judd’s hearty announcement startled the other couple, who hadn’t taken their eyes off each other since they’d tapped glasses. It was almost as if such a simple action had opened their eyes, literally, and they were now casting coy glances at each other while sipping their drinks.

  ‘Go ahead,’ Abby said, eager to drink up and leave the newly awakened couple to their own devices—screw the delectable feast they’d organised for them all to share, she’d rather feast on a seriously sexy photographer.

  Judd raised his glass. ‘Here’s to the end of a successful shoot and the beginnings of a new future, for all of us.’

  Her heart turned over at the serious expression behind Judd’s joviality. His gaze hadn’t shifted from her, the intensity behind his stare trying to convey a message she didn’t understand—or was too scared to contemplate.

  New future?

  She wished.

  But she’d given up wishing a long time ago, around the time her parents had never come back from one of their do-gooder treks and as far as sharing a future with Judd as anything other than friends, she’d be better off wishing for the moon.

  ‘To all of us.’

  Tom echoed Judd’s toast and as they all raised glasses Abby tried not to squirm under Judd’s penetrating stare. It was as if he was trying to tell her something with his eyes, trying to convey some mystical message she had no hope of deciphering unless he spelt it out for her.

  Thankfully, Tom soon had Tara involved in some huge discussion about global warming, giving Ab
by ample opportunity to try and get to the bottom of Judd’s little speech.

  ‘Nice toast,’ she said, inhaling as he leaned towards her, loving the faint musk combined with pure Judd that evoked memories of days gone by.

  ‘Thanks.’

  He shrugged as if uncomfortable under her praise, drawing her attention to the width of his shoulders beneath the open-necked white shirt accentuating his tan while he nodded towards the other two, who were flirting like mad. ‘Looks as if you were right about these two.’

  ‘Woman’s intuition,’ she said, finding herself leaning towards him, warmth radiating off him, and when he reached out for his glass and his forearm brushed her bare skin, she gritted her teeth in an effort not to groan out loud.

  ‘You almost finished that drink?’

  The urgency in his low voice made Abby look up and once she saw the blatant desire in his eyes, she had no hesitation in sculling the remainder of her cocktail and forgetting her intentions to grill him over his toast.

  ‘I have now.’

  She placed her glass on the table, her gaze not leaving his. The icy punch hadn’t done much to quell the fire burning deep inside with Judd staring at her as if he wanted her right here, right now.

  Heat sizzled between them, potent and fierce, obliterating everything but the need to make love till they were sated.

  ‘What about their surprise?’

  She leaned towards him, using any excuse to place her lips an inch from his ear and whisper, enjoying seeing him stiffen when she blew gently. ‘I know we thought we’d stick around and share it with them, but I’m a woman with a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, don’t you think?’

  He smiled and trailed a finger across the back of her hand, raising goose bumps. ‘I think you’re a genius.’

  He continued his trail up to her wrist before dipping under it, caressing her pulse point in slow, torturous circles. ‘As well as the sexiest woman on the planet,’ he added in a low voice before speaking up. ‘Will you two be okay? I’ve got some shots Abby has to approve before tomorrow.’

  Abby fought a rising blush and lost as Tara looked up and winked. ‘Shots, huh? Well, don’t let us keep you two from work.’