Summer Down Under

by Pensy, Alison

  Mr. Miller looked down at his bowl of oatmeal and glowered at it. Daniel and Sam shot each other a surreptitious glance forcing them to stifle a giggle.

  “I can’t do a decent days work on this!” Mr. Miller spat, to no one in particular.

  “I heard that, Paul,” came a reply from the kitchen, to which the wiry man huffed and started shoveling the oatmeal into his mouth in defeat.

  Sam slowly lifted a teaspoon of oatmeal to her mouth and angled her head to its good side. Not being able to open her mouth very wide, eating breakfast turned out to be a slow process. Luckily, there was no chewing involved. She was amazed at how good the oatmeal tasted. She hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday lunchtime and was ravenous. Her stomach gurgled in appreciation for the whole table to hear.

  After they had finished the oatmeal, Mrs. Miller brought in three plates of scrambled eggs. Mr. Miller’s expression changed to one of relief, as his and Daniel’s plate also included bacon and some toast.

  “Well, you didn’t think I’d actually let you go out working without a proper meal in you, did you?” Mrs. Miller ruffled her husband’s thinning hair.

  Sam’s eyebrows rose at the playful gesture. It wasn’t something she had yet witnessed between Daniel’s parents.

  “I didn’t want Sam to feel like the odd one out,” Mrs. Miller continued, “and besides, I really wanted to see the look on your face. It was priceless.” Mrs. Miller said with a smirk as she bustled back out of the dining room.

  Mr. Miller huffed again, but didn’t say anything. Even though he huffed and puffed a lot, Sam was starting to get a feel for who actually wore the trousers in that household, and she would bet on Mrs. Miller every time. Daniel and Sam exchanged knowing glances at each other before Sam carried on struggling with her eggs.

  During breakfast, Mr. Miller started telling Daniel what the plan of action was for the day. Sam felt slightly guilty that she wasn’t going to be able to help them out, but nursing her jaw the way she was, she couldn’t risk hurting it anymore. The conversation then changed to a business deal Mr. Miller had made, and he looked at Sam with a glint in his eye.

  “A little bird tells me that you enjoy riding horses,” he said.

  Sam’s wide-eyed expression told him that the little bird was correct.

  “Well, in a month, we are having nine hundred head of cattle delivered. It could even be as many as two thousand; I’ll find out later. I am going to need all hands on deck to push them on from the gate for about five miles to the paddock I want them in, which also has the nearest watering hole.”

  Sam could hardly sit still. They were going to ride horses and drive cattle for a whole day.

  “We’re not buying them,” he explained, “they’re coming down from the Northern Territory. They are having a drought up there, and since we had lots of rain this last winter, our grass is plentiful. We decided to rent out some of our land for a few months until the rainy season starts up there again.”

  Sam couldn’t believe her luck. She was going to be part of a real life cattle drive. She didn’t care if it was only five miles, it was a real life cattle drive. Daniel looked over at her and caught the excitement bursting from every atom of her being. He smiled and winked.

  “Right then, son. Let’s get going. We won’t get the lambs marked sitting here chatting.” Mr. Miller barked, getting up from his seat. He walked out of the dining room.

  Daniel rolled his eyes. “Duty calls. I’ll see you later.” He looked towards the door to make sure his Dad had truly gone and turned back towards the battered jillaroo, planting a delicate kiss on her bruise. It tingled at his touch sending little shivers of delight down her neck and straight to her heart.

  Sam smiled as Daniel got up and headed out the door to follow his father, then she continued eating her eggs. It was going to take her til lunchtime at the rate she was going. Having a dodgy jaw was not conducive to eating at any great speed. Eventually she finished and got up to see if Mrs. Miller needed any help.

  “No, thank you,” she answered when asked the question. “You need to go and put some more ice on that jaw. Go and relax today.”

  Doing as she said, Sam ambled over to the freezer and grabbed the bag of peas that had been used for the very same job the day before. She carried on to her room to lie down while she iced her face.

  Sam lay for a while thinking of nothing but Daniel and the way he made her feel. Was she falling in love with him? Oh, that would be too complicated. She was consumed by fear whenever there was any hint that their friendship might get past a kiss, and she had no idea how to get past that. She puffed out a sigh.

  Twenty minutes of icing slipped by and her jaw was once again devoid of all feeling. She returned the package of peas to the freezer so she could use them in another couple of hours. Sam decided she would use the time to write a letter to her mum and spent a good hour doing just that. Unfortunately, her mum was technically challenged and didn’t possess a computer, so writing an email was out of the question. She decided to leave out the part about her jaw, knowing her mother would only worry. There was nothing her mother could do, and by the time she got the letter, it would be almost healed anyway.

  Once the letter was finished and sealed, she decided to take full advantage of her day off and go out to the poolroom to read. She grabbed her book off the nightstand and meandered through the huge house and out to the deck that wrapped itself around the outside of the building. She counted the doors as she walked past them. There were five on the short stretch, which made up only about a quarter of the size of the whole house. The deck came to its conclusion at the door to the poolroom.

  The room gave off a relaxing vibe, which, of course, it was supposed to. There were two sets of patio furniture set up inside. The whole room was screened so you could enjoy the feeling of being outside without the bugs attacking you, especially in the evening.

  Sam sat down at one of the tables and put her book down. She gazed outside at the pool water sparkling in the sunlight and the surrounding pastures that undulated beyond. There was a slight breeze, which made the acres of silvery green grass look like waves rippling on an enormous pond. A flock of pink and gray galahs sat chirping in the treetops directly in front of where Sam sat watching them as they preened themselves. They were such pretty birds; it was hard to accept that they were as common in this place as sparrows were in her home country.

  She pulled up another chair and put it in front of her, put her feet up, and started to read. The chairs were padded and comfortable. The warm breeze was flowing through the screens, ruffling her hair. Within minutes, Sam’s book slipped from her fingers to rest on her chest, as she drifted off to sleep.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep, but was woken by a splash. She looked out at the pool to see it was Daniel who had made the splash. He was cutting through the crystal clear water like a fish, up and down the length of the pool. He must have gone in through the outside entrance to the pool because he had not come in through the poolroom. Sam was sure he would have woken her if he had.

  Sitting up straighter in her chair, Sam watched him swimming for a while, mesmerized by his long athletic body moving sleekly through the water. His muscles rippled in his back with every stroke he made, his powerful legs propelling him forwards with ease. It was then she realized he was not wearing any swim trunks. A mischievous smile played on her lips. For a second, she thought about looking away. She felt a little ashamed of spying on him like this. It was obvious he didn’t know she was there, he had not acknowledged her at all, or given any indication that he was being watched.

  In fact, he looked so free. Free of all the constraints usually associated with polite society. Skinny dipping was almost like eating forbidden fruit, there was always a risk that someone might see, especially during the day.

  Several minutes passed and Sam could not pull her eyes from his sleek muscular form cutting through the water with ease. She felt the familiar tingle in the center of her being,
something that happened on a regular basis whenever Daniel was near. At that thought, Sam dragged her attention from his body to the end of the pool and her eyes widened. She flew out of her chair and stood by the screen.

  “Daniel!” she cried. “Look out, there’s a monster at the end of the pool and you’re headed right for it!”

  At the end of the pool, basking without a care in the world, was a green, scaly dinosaur looking creature. Nose to tail, it was almost as long as the pool was wide.

  Daniel stopped dead in the water at Sam’s anxious cries, looking perplexed firstly at her, then down to the end of the pool to where she was pointing frantically.

  A wry smile curved Daniel’s lips and he looked up at her and chuckled. “That’s not a monster,” he said, with laughter in his voice. “That’s Arthur.”

  “That thing has a name?” Sam asked, incredulous.

  “He’s not a thing,” Daniel replied. “He’s an Iguana, and, yes, he has a name.” Then he added with a very Aussie twang in the direction of the prehistoric creature. “G’day, Arthur. How ya going?”

  “Don’t tell me,” Sam sighed, hands on hips. “You rescued him, too.”

  “Not exactly. Arthur kind of adopted us. He turned up one day about five years ago and has been hanging around ever since. He likes the pool, I think. He’s harmless, come out and meet him.”

  Daniel was standing now. The water reached just below his waist and his wet skin glistened in the sunlight. Sam chastised herself for doing what could only be described as ogle the picture of masculinity that stood before her on the other side of the very thin wall. Her eyes lingered on his defined chest for just a moment, then try as she might to stop them, they wandered down his chiseled abs tracing the thin line of dark hair to where it disappeared under the water line. Sam dragged herself back to her senses and forced her eyes back to meet Daniel’s. His expression was undecipherable. Sam’s, however, was probably not. She could feel her cheeks burning.

  “You’re sure he’s not dangerous?” she asked, unconvinced.

  “Well, they don’t bite or sting to my knowledge, but if they are being chased by something they might see you as a tree to escape up and scratch you. That wouldn’t be so good as they excrete some kind of enzyme which makes the wounds very hard to heal. Just move slowly and he won’t feel threatened.”

  Sam wasn’t quite sure whether Daniel’s answer was all that reassuring, and due to her luck with the animals on the job so far, she decided to stay on her side of the screen for the time being.

  “No, thanks. I think I’ll pass.”

  “Sam, do you seriously think I would put you in any danger?”

  Sam raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t stop me going in with those sheep, and look what happened.” Sam stated bluntly, pointing at her bruised face that was now smarting after shouting her warning.

  Daniel hung his head. “I know, I’m sorry. I certainly won’t let anything like that happen again. But this is different. Arthur won’t hurt you, I promise. He’s used to being around humans. You can’t pet him, though. He is still wild, but he won’t mind you getting a bit closer to take a look at him.”

  Sam fumbled with his words for a minute, but was intrigued to have a closer look at such a strange looking beast. Curiosity, once again, got the better of her and she opened the door and headed outside.

  “By the way,” Daniel asked, one eyebrow raised. “Just how long had you been sitting there?”

  “Me?” Sam said, feigning innocence. “Um, err...” Her cheeks reddened in that traitorous fashion they had adopted in recent days.

  “That long, hey?” Daniel chuckled again.

  “Sorry,” Sam mumbled to her feet.

  “I’m not,” Daniel responded, trying to put her at ease. Something the poor man was becoming extremely adept at.

  There was another set of patio furniture outside, positioned closer to the end of the pool where Arthur lay in all his finery. Sam moved towards it and sat down on one of the chairs, trying very hard not to make a noise. He was a majestic creature. His bright green scales almost glowed neon in the sunlight. He angled his head to one side so that he could get a better look at her, too. Daniel was right, he didn’t attempt to come any closer to her or make any movements that might suggest that he was nervous of her presence. She stared at him for a few moments, soaking up his uniqueness in the animal kingdom. She only took her eyes off the creature when she saw Daniel’s towel draped over the back of the chair next to the one she occupied.

  Sam was distracted by a splash. Her brain responded automatically. She turned her head just in time to see Daniel’s powerful arms push him up and out of the pool. He headed in her direction, all of him, unabashed and completely uncovered. If her jaw could drop it would have. Her heartbeat quickened and the flow of blood rushed to her head.

  Realizing she was quite blatantly staring, Sam quickly covered her eyes with one hand, grabbed Daniel’s towel with the other, and held it out for him. All the time wishing she could feel that at ease in her skin. It was hard for her to see a day when she would ever be able to walk around naked in front of anyone, least of all, someone as physically perfect as the Adonis now standing right in front of her. She peeked between her fingers, by which time he had wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked it in at the side. Only then did she exhale, after realizing she’d been holding her breath.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Quite all right,” Sam squeaked, hoping her cheeks didn’t now resemble ripe tomatoes. She looked up at him. He seemed even taller standing over her. His wet chest glistened in the sunlight, droplets of water trickled their way down and over his contoured body. She caught herself thinking what it would feel like to trace those droplets with her fingers.

  “Be my guest,” Daniel said with a wry smile.

  His response snapped her from her thoughts. She covered her eyes with the palm of her hand.

  “Please, tell me I didn’t just say that out loud. Did I?”

  He grinned his mischievous grin, but didn’t need to say a word. Her fears were confirmed. Suddenly, she had forgotten all about Arthur. He could have climbed all over her and she wouldn’t have noticed.

  Daniel leaned over and took hold of her hands, easing her up and out of the chair. He pulled her close. She could feel the wetness of his skin through the cloth of her shirt as it grew damp between them. Sam swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, and every muscle in her body tensed. Her eyes widened with fear but she couldn’t tear them away from his. Daniel leaned in and brushed his cheek up against her good side. His warm breath fanning her ear.

  “Why won’t you let me in?” he whispered, so faintly she could hardly hear him, then he drew back until he was looking into her eyes once again. Sam’s breath started to go ragged, and her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it would explode at any second. He must have been able to hear it.

  “Relax,” he whispered again, so close to her face she thought he was going to kiss her. She shot a nervous glance at his lips. “I’m not going to kiss you, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” His intense gaze shifted to look at her bruised, swollen face and a flicker of concern showed in his expression. “I just want you to experience how good being loved can feel.”

  His hands roamed around her waist, searching until they found the bottom of her shirt. They slid effortlessly under the thin cotton and glided up her back. The tips of his fingers were drawing feather light circles as they ascended. Sam’s nerve endings ignited. It was the most powerful sensation she had ever experienced. She had no idea that something as benign as her back could unleash such intense feeling. She was sure her legs were going to buckle at any second.

  As Daniel’s fingers explored her back, she became aware of every muscle he touched. It was like they ached for him and rippled in exultation as he skimmed over them.

  Overwhelmed by the intense pleasure he was creating within her, all conscious thought disappeared. She closed her eyes and let her head fall
back, releasing a soft involuntary moan. For the first time, Sam allowed herself to revel in the sheer ecstasy of the moment. Daniel’s hot breath caressed her neck, fluttering over her sensitive skin, sending shivers of desire downwards. Her legs went boneless and were threatening to give way.

  Sensing her balance wane, one of Daniel’s hands stopped their worship of her back. He held her steady as she leaned into it, accepting the devotion he was giving her. His fingers pushed open the collar of her shirt and she could feel them explore downwards towards the center of her chest. Again, he was trailing feather light circles, which stopped short of reaching the point between her breasts. Daniel’s hot breath followed his fingers tracing a path downwards. Every atom of her being felt electrically charged.

  It became apparent that Sam wasn’t the only one aroused by this encounter, feeling Daniel’s hardness next to her leg. To Sam’s surprise, she was not worried by this sensation, instead she felt flattered that she had done this to him.

  “Son, are you out here?” A voice called from around the corner a few seconds before Mr. Miller rounded the end of the house and came into view.

  Daniel tore himself away in a heartbeat. To Sam, it felt like he had torn a part of her away with him.

  “Oh, bloody hell,” Daniel cursed, looking down at the bulge in his towel.

  “Sit down and cross your legs” Sam whispered as she nudged him towards one of the patio chairs. “He’ll never notice.”

  Daniel complied. They were both sitting by the time Mr. Miller rounded the corner and saw them. Sam picked up her book and held it at eye level, pretending to read. It was a great cover because her face would surely have given her away at that moment. She was hoping the uncomfortable shift she made in her seat wouldn’t betray her, either.