by Joss Wood
‘Uh, somewhere.’ Nick shoved his hand into his wet hair and sent her a bemused look. ‘Study desk, top drawer. Maybe.’
‘Thanks.’
Clem either underestimated the thickness of her hair or overestimated the sharpness of the scissors. Or both. She’d pulled her hair back, tied it at the neck and held it tightly in the circle of her thumb and index finger. The scissors cut the outside layer of her hair and then gave up the ghost.
Damn it; she’d started the process and she couldn’t stop now.
‘Nick?’ she called from her bathroom.
‘Yeah?’
‘Can you come and help me for a minute? Would you mind?’
A minute later, Nick appeared in the doorway to her bathroom. ‘What the hell are you doing, Red?’ His eyes widened when he saw the scissors in her hand. ‘Oh, Clem, no.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s just hair. My hair is either too thick for the scissors or the scissors are blunt, but it’s not working.’
‘Well, leave it! Why would you do this?’ Nick sounded almost panicked.
Clem kept a tight hold of her hair. ‘I can’t leave it. I’ve started already. Can you try and cut the rest off?’
Nick shook his head and took the scissors from her hand, running his thumb along the blade. ‘Blunt as hell. Wait here, you crazy person.’
Nick was back in under a minute, a sharp, lethal hunting knife in his hand. Clem lifted an eyebrow. ‘Are you planning on doing me in at the same time?’
Nick stepped into the bathroom and stood behind her with both of them facing the mirror. ‘Considering it. You should be shot at dawn for hacking off your hair.’ His eyes met her miserable ones in the mirror. ‘Why?’
Clem lifted her shoulder. ‘It stinks and it was so hot today and …’
‘You could’ve pinned it up and the stink isn’t that bad. Tell me the truth, Clem,’ Nick said as he nudged her hand away to hold her hair in a tight grip.
‘I’ve wanted to cut it for ever. About six years ago, I cut about six inches off and Cai went nuts. I thought he was going to kill me.’
Behind her, Clem felt Nick stiffen. ‘He hurt you?’
‘No. He wanted to but he knew that was a step too far. He did threaten me, though, said that if I ever cut it, I’d regret it. I guess he frightened me enough that I was too scared to try.’ Clem looked into his hard, angry face. ‘I’m not scared any more and if I want to cut my hair, I will.’
‘Was he the one who told you that your sole value was in your looks?’
Clem bit her lip. ‘You caught that then?’
‘Pretty big trigger. You did a one-eighty in two seconds flat.’ Nick looked at the back of her head and winced. ‘I can’t believe I’m about to do this. OK, hold still. I don’t want you jerking and the knife slipping. It’s seriously sharp.’
Clem grinned. ‘Yeah, explaining my death to my father might not be easy.’ She saw his hesitation and reached back to pat his thigh. ‘It’s OK, Nick. Just do it.’
The knife slid under her hair, slipped through like butter and within seconds Nick stood with a hunk of hair in his hand. Clem laughed and ran her hands through her hair, swinging her head. ‘Yay! Oh, that feels so good.’
‘It’s a little uneven at the back. Maybe one of the girls in the spa can cut it straight,’ Nick suggested.
‘I don’t care!’ Clem did a little twirl. ‘Oh, I look so different. I love it, love it!’
Nick held up the hair in his hand. ‘What do you want to do with this?’
‘Oh, toss it! Um … maybe not. I’ll keep it and donate it to one of those organizations that make wigs for cancer patients. I’m sure they could use it.’ Clem took her hair and sniffed it. ‘Or maybe not. Eeew.’
Nick smiled as he slid his knife back into its sheath. ‘Put it in the sun to air. The smell will go, eventually.’ He backed out of the bathroom and stopped at the door. ‘You look good, Red.’
Clem looked at herself in the mirror and had to agree. She did look good. Her hair, drying quickly, had jumped back into its natural curls and fell into a natural tousled bob. It was the best haircut she’d ever had and it had taken two seconds flat with a hunting knife.
Clem looked at her face and her dancing eyes and suddenly thought, Oh wow, so that’s what I look like when I smile. I almost didn’t recognize myself.
He had to get rid of her, Nick decided, as he walked back into the lounge, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. She was wild and crazy—what the hell was she thinking cutting off her stunning hair on a whim?—but he wanted her.
Since the moment he’d seen her stepping off that plane he’d imagined those long, slim, pale legs wrapping around his hips, her head on his pillow, those come-to-bed eyes staring up into his. It had taken every last vestige of his self-control to stop himself from banding his arms around her waist and kissing every inch of that smooth skin he’d earlier sniffed.
He was attracted to her because she was a stunning woman and he was a man who hadn’t had any for a while.
Except that now and then, when he forgot that she was a spoilt city brat who needed her attitude adjusted, he caught a glimpse of someone, somewhere who intrigued him. He suspected that she, like her father, had a wicked sense of humour and, more frightening, unplumbed depths. He sure as hell hadn’t expected her to last more than an hour at the dump but, unlike some of his previous employees, she hadn’t given up, hadn’t thrown in the towel.
He had to respect that …
She had to leave and soon, before he did something stupid, like throw her over his shoulder and take her to bed.
Because, apart from the fact that they were oil and water, city and country, she was coming out of a complicated long-term relationship. Ten years together wasn’t married but damn close.
Getting involved with her, on any level, would be the equivalent of a dumpster fire: awkward, chaotic and, eventually, just plain ugly.
He had very few rules for his life but avoiding complicated situations was one of them. Followed closely by not taking emotionally side-winded, rejected, possibly crazy, definitely intriguing women to bed.
Why didn’t he just get it over with and actually shoot himself in the foot? It would be easier and far less painful in the long run.
Nick stepped out onto the deck and sank into one of the loungers, resting his aching head—he wished that was the only part of his body that was aching—on the cushion he tucked behind his head. Waterbuck, giraffe, kudu and Egyptian geese were at the waterhole.
Clem stepped onto the deck, her glass of juice in her hand. She looked different without her swathe of hair—stronger, freer and lighter.
‘Oh, this is great.’ Clem immediately echoed his favourite stance, forearms on the railing, bum in the air. The fabric of her shorts pulled and defined her butt and Nick coughed, sprang up and joined her at the railing, willing his body to behave.
‘I recognize the giraffe but not much more,’ Clem said.
‘You will,’ Nick assured her. ‘There’s a pile of books on the dining room table. Your study material.’
‘What?’
‘All the interns have to study while they are here, in addition to their normal duties. Land management, conservation, identification of animals, birds and flora.’ Nick pointed out a herd of buffalo that were ambling down to the waterhole. ‘And there’s my girl.’
‘What? Where?’
Nick pointed to a thicket north-east of the pan. ‘A rhino cow. She tends to hang around this area.’ Nick smiled at the prehistoric beast. ‘Hello, gorgeous. How are you doing? We’re going to bring you some friends soon.’
Clem arched her spectacular brows. ‘Do you often talk to animals?’
‘All the time.’
‘And do the rhinos have play dates?’
Nick looked down into her dancing eyes and realized that she was joking. His mouth kicked up. ‘I bought some rhinos from another reserve and am trying to raise the cash to pay for their translocation. It’s seriously expensive and I do
n’t have it right now.’
‘Ask my father for it.’
Nick snorted. ‘Is that your answer for everything, Princess?’ He didn’t bother to wait for her reply. ‘I’ll find the cash, somewhere. I just hope they can hold on.’
‘Are they that desperate for company?’
She really didn’t know anything about wildlife. ‘No, you twit, they are solitary animals. Rhinos are highly endangered and the incidents of poaching have gone through the roof. I need to move the crash I bought from a reserve in the north to Two-B.’
Clem drained her juice and fluffed her hair. Nick smiled; she seemed to be liking her short hair. He did too. They watched the waterhole in silence until Clem spoke.
‘Does the Lodge overlook this waterhole?’
‘Not this one; a bigger one,’ Nick replied.
Clem’s eyes clashed with his and he immediately noticed that they were darker, hotter, that the pulse point in her throat was pumping. She swallowed, straightened and licked her lips. No, don’t do that, he silently told her.
His bed wasn’t that far away.
Dumpster fire …
Nick thought it was high time he brought them both back down to earth. ‘So, a couple of house rules.’
Clem winced. ‘More rules?’
‘I don’t have a daily maid service so you make your own bed, tidy up after yourself, toss the dishes in the dishwasher, your clothes in the washing machine,’ he told her and watched her eyes widen. ‘Twice a week, either Mama Thembi or Mama Sophie will be driven down and they’ll mop and dust and change the linens. That reminds me, you owe me four hundred pounds for the two sheets you destroyed.’
‘Put it on my bill. I think your housekeeper put a curse on me, she yelled at me so loudly.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised.’ Nick succumbed to the urge to touch her and placed his hand on her neck, easily encircling most of her neck with his fingers. He pushed her towards the sliding door and into the lounge. ‘Let’s eat dinner in the staff dining room.’
Clem sent him a mischievous look. ‘Not at the Lodge?’
‘Keep dreaming, Red.’
‘When do I get to see your precious Lodge, by the way?’
Nick glanced at his watch. ‘Now, if you want. I need to stop by my office and most of the guests will be out on the evening game drive.’
‘Great.’ Clem followed him out of the house and towards his vehicle. She climbed into his Landy and stared down at the seat. ‘Are you ever going to fix this seat?’
‘Maybe. When you stop being a pain.’
CHAPTER FOUR
Luella Dawson’s blog:
You’ll never guess where she is! Our Clem, city girl and glamour babe girlfriend, is on a game reserve in the deepest Africa and no, folks, it’s not April Fools day! I was told by my very reliable source that she’s staying with a very hot, very single, very sexy lodge owner. Fireworks are guaranteed!
Will keep you posted as I get tweets in my ear!
AFTER following Nick through the exquisitely decorated Lodge—library, business centre, a cigar bar, three different dining rooms, three public lounges—Clem found herself seriously impressed. It was tasteful, clever and, above all, very, very rich.
Nick gestured her to walk out onto the covered veranda that ran the length of the house and provided superb views of the jackelberry and acacia thorn tree bush and the watering hole at the bottom of the cliff. Below the veranda the landscaper had created a series of rock lined terraces filled with emerald green grass. The last of the terraces contained a sparkling lap pool edged with a wooden deck. The guests could hang on the opposite side of the pool and feel as if they were on the edge of the world, about to be swept into the landscape below, Clem thought.
‘We also have the private villa and the tented camp deeper into the reserve,’ Nick told her, putting his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts.
Clem returned the greeting of a butler who walked up to them. Nick refused his offer for a drink and Clem reminded him to tell her about the private villa. ‘Six en-suite bedrooms with en suite bathrooms; I built it to cater for extended families or groups of friends. It has a heated swimming pool and a huge deck overlooking another waterhole often visited by the Big Five.’ Nick nodded to another butler and continued, ‘Guests have a private game-viewing vehicle and a ranger, personal chef and masseuse at their disposal.’
‘Serious luxury, serious money.’
‘Oh yeah. Now, the tented camp is very different. Luxurious, yes, but a lot more rugged. No electricity, canvas showers, no electric fence. Very, very isolated, very quiet.’
Clem looked around and whistled. ‘It’s a hell of a place, Nick.’
‘I couldn’t have done it if your father hadn’t provided the capital. I owe him.’
‘And that’s why I landed on your doorstep.’
‘Yeah.’ Nick turned at footsteps behind them and grinned at a tall blonde, dressed in a khaki skirt and a Two-B blue golf shirt. ‘Hey, Megan. Megs, Clem Copeland. Megan is my Lodge manager.’
Megan didn’t even blink when Nick introduced her. She’d probably had so many celebrities through the Lodge that it was now old hat to her. It was nice, Clem thought. Different but nice.
‘Nick. Hi, Clem.’ Megan glanced down at the slip she held in her hand and looked back at Clem. ‘I’m glad I caught you both; I was just about to radio you. A Jason Feinstein has been trying to reach you, Clem. He says it’s important and he’s waiting for you to Skype him.’
Clem frowned. ‘He wouldn’t be calling unless something else has gone wrong. Can I call him?’
‘We’ll take it in my office. Thanks, Megs.’
Clem followed Nick but stopped when Megan called her name.
‘I’d never normally do this but I’d just like to tell you that I’m sorry. He was truly awful.’
Clem blinked and dipped her head. ‘Thank you. So has everyone in the Lodge seen the interview?’
She grimaced. ‘Pretty much.’
Clem tried to shrug it off. ‘Well, I’m pretty sure there are tribes in the Amazon who haven’t seen it.’
‘I haven’t,’ Nick said as she reached him. He nudged her through a door marked ‘Private—Staff only’.
‘Why not?’ Clem asked him, curious.
‘Hey, I have to live with you, I don’t need to see or hear any more of you than I already do.’
Fair enough, Clem thought.
Clem stared at Jason on the computer screen in horror. This could not be happening. She risked a look at Nick, whose face was equally thunderous.
‘There is no question, it’s not happening.’ She repeated her internal statement in a wobbly voice.
Nick leaned over her shoulder and stared at the screen. ‘Let me get this straight. Some production company wants to film Clem as she deals with her breakup from Campbell?’
‘Essentially.’
‘That’s sick,’ Nick stated.
‘That’s showbiz.’ Jason shrugged. ‘The thing is that the production company have the option to extend the contract for another ten episodes if they so want to, and they do.’
Nick turned to Clem, his face perplexed. ‘You agreed to this?’
Clem shrugged. ‘Cai agreed to it. I just went along for the ride.’
‘That’s a terrible excuse,’ Nick snapped.
‘And you did sign the contract agreeing to them filming the extra episodes,’ Jason stated, looking miserable. ‘How many times did I tell you not to sign stuff Cai handed to you?’
Nick stood up and shook his head, obviously disgusted by her stupidity. But he didn’t realise that, with Cai, it was frequently just easier to go with the flow than fight the tsunami.
Clem rested her chin on her fist. ‘So where do I go from here?’
Jason looked as if he’d swallowed a poisonous bug. ‘Well, I checked with your lawyers and the bottom line is that if you don’t do it they can sue you sideways.’
‘For what?’ Clem cried.
&n
bsp; ‘Loss of income, not honouring the terms of the contract, blah blah. It’s two weeks of filming, Clemmie, they recommend that you just do it.’
‘When hell freezes over,’ Clem muttered but she knew he was right. It was also a good excuse to leave this place … But she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
And where did that thought come from? Just this morning she had been desperate to leave. And where did this need to prove to Nick that she was more than a fluffy airhead come from? And why did she care?
‘I have a suggestion …’ Clem looked at the screen and saw Jason take a deep breath. She recognized that look and knew that whatever was coming would be far left of centre.
‘What?’
‘I think you should film at Nick’s Lodge.’
‘I think you should get your head examined,’ Nick growled.
Jason ignored him. ‘Clem, it would be a great way to “rehabilitate” your reputation.’
‘Excuse me? Is my rep that bad?’
‘Yes, in a way. Although the world sympathizes with what Cai did to you, the sympathy doesn’t run that deep. You’re a young, rich, beautiful woman who wafts around doing nothing and some people think that you deserved what you got.’
‘That’s harsh.’
‘That’s reality. If they could see you doing something worthwhile, working at something, somewhere so out of your depth for a good cause—don’t you run an animal rehabilitation centre, Nick?—they would lap it up.’ Jason looked smug and Clem thought he had a right to be. It would be great PR.
Clem sucked in her bottom lip and looked at Nick. ‘What do you think?’
‘No, no and hell, no!’
Jason spoke again. ‘Nick, it would be a win win situation. Millions watched the last season and the exposure for your foundation would be enormous. Donations would flood in.’
Nick folded his arms and looked formidable. ‘I can’t have people filming my Lodge, the guests. I don’t want people filming me.’
Jason chimed in. ‘That would be one of the provisos. No filming of the lodge or guests. You’d have to be filmed, and your staff, but no guests.’
‘They get what they need for ten episodes in two weeks and that’s it, nothing more. Two cameras, run and gun. I get to call a halt on anything I’m not comfortable with. So does Nick,’ Clem stated.