The umpire blew the whistle, and the game began.
Chapter Seventeen
To the guys’ embarrassment, for the first five minutes the only time they managed to touch the ball was when Fox took a center pass after the girls had scored. Almost immediately, one of the girls whisked the ball away, and that was the last the guys saw of it before Elle or Skye popped it into the hoop at the end.
“This is going to be humiliating.” Joss mumbled to Owen on the way back to his position after the girls scored yet another goal.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Owen stood next to Skye. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, and her eyes danced as they exchanged a glance. “You’re enjoying this far too much,” he said.
She leaned in close. “I’m having fun planning how I’m going to make you my slave.”
He tipped his head from side to side. “Actually, it doesn’t sound so bad.”
“You haven’t heard what I want you to do yet.”
He pictured her lying on the bed issuing instructions for where he should lick her. “Honey, just say the word and I’ll be there.”
“I was going to get you to do all my ironing and then weed the flowerbeds.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me.” She giggled, but didn’t answer him, and then the ball was in play and he had to concentrate as he raced around the court.
Saying it was a non-contact sport was a joke. Although a player had to be three feet away from their opponent when they had the ball, it didn’t stop players knocking into each other and sending them off balance. Owen was shocked by how physical the girls were, and he wasn’t the only one who ended up on his butt on several occasions.
Usually, a netball game consisted of four quarters of fifteen minutes, but today they were only playing two fifteen minute halves. Ten minutes in, the umpire paused the game so Kole could get a Band-Aid for a grazed elbow after Tasha tripped him up.
“This isn’t working.” Kole winced when the first-aid attendant wiped the area clean and covered the graze with the sticking plaster.
“Maisey’s never moved so fast to get away from me.” Joss grabbed a bottle of water and drank half of it in one go. “I didn’t realize how quick she was.”
“At this rate, I’m going to be cleaning the fridge for the rest of the evening,” Fox said sulkily.
The guys exchanged a look as it sunk in that all the girls were going to punish them for their arrogance by using the slavery prize to force them to do housework.
“Sneaky,” Owen said.
“I refuse to spend the rest of the day scrubbing the tiles in the bathroom,” Stuart stated. “Come on, guys. Let’s put some effort into this.”
Agreeing it was time to step things up, they took their places again.
Five minutes later, they stopped for half time. By now, the score was seventeen-one.
“Right. I’m done playing fair.” Kole beckoned to the umpire, took her to one side, and murmured in her ear. Owen watched, amused, as money exchanged hands.
“What did you do?” he asked when Kole returned with a smirk.
“Gave her a healthy donation for the charity fund in return for her occasionally looking the other way.” He rubbed his hands together. “Time to play dirty, fellas. Let’s score some goals.”
Laughing, thoroughly enjoying himself, Owen took his position beside Skye again.
“Ready for a second thrashing?” She winked at him.
“Promises, promises.” He leaned closer to her. “When we win, I can assure you I will not be making you do housework. All my orders will be given in the bedroom.”
Her eyes widened, but her grin told him she was certain of their success. “We’ll see!”
In the center circle, with Fox standing a few feet away, Caitlin took the ball and prepared herself for the whistle.
A soon as the umpire blew, Fox moved forward quickly and kissed his fiancée. She squealed, and he took advantage of her surprise, grabbed the ball, and threw it across the court to Kole. Kole then passed it to Jack—one of the other teachers—who scored.
The girls stared, open mouthed, as the guys high-fived and walked back to their positions. Caitlin glared at the umpire, who shrugged and tossed the ball to Fox with a grin.
Skye narrowed her eyes at Owen. He raised his eyebrows innocently.
“So it’s going to be like that?” she asked. “You think that’s going to work?”
“I think you girls have no idea how much we all hate vacuuming.”
Her lips curved, but she had no time to answer as Fox turned and passed the ball to him. Immediately, she was in front of Owen, blocking his view, but he caught her around the waist and held her out of the way as he threw the ball to Joss. Maisey tried to intercept the pass. Joss bumped into her, sending her off balance, took it instead, and passed it forward to Kole in the circle, who shot and scored.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Caitlin yelled. She put her hands on her hips and glared at her fiancé where he stood in front of her, bouncing the ball and smirking. “Right. Now you’ve had it!”
From that moment on, practically anything went, and most of them couldn’t do anything for laughing so much. At one point, Tasha tried to put Kole off by attempting to pull his shorts down; in retaliation, he picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and played like that for the next few minutes. The guys resorted to kisses, distraction, and downright cheating, including Owen reverting to a rugby move and running the length of the court with the ball under his arm to score a goal, to the delight of the watching crowd.
But it was too little, too late, and by the time the umpire blew the final whistle, the girls had won thirty-two to twenty-two.
The guys shook hands, the two teachers saying they’d had great fun and it was a lot closer than they’d expected.
“Crap.” Fox leaned forward, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Caitlin is soooooo going to make me pay for that.”
Joss took off his bib and huffed a sigh. “I think it’s rubber gloves and kneeling pads all around.”
“You realize everyone behind you can see your boxers when you bend forward like that.” Caitlin walked up to Fox and whacked him on the butt. “Cheer up, sweetheart. I’m sure your list of jobs won’t take you all evening.”
He turned and pulled her into his arms. “I have a much better idea of how we can explore the master and slave relationship.” He murmured something in her ear.
Caitlin giggled. “Yeah, maybe. You want to walk home, then?”
The two of them said quick goodbyes and walked away. It didn’t take much imagination to guess where they were going.
Tasha rolled her eyes. “Jeez. Obvious, much.”
“Oh, I think it’s lovely.” Maisey slipped her arms around Joss’s waist. “It’s great to see everyone so happy.”
“You’re just a softie.” Joss kissed the top of her head. “You want to head off, too?”
“Yeah. You need to get to work on cleaning the windows.”
Laughing, they walked off.
“We’ll hang around for a while,” Stuart said, taking Elle’s hand. “I’m supervising some of the activities. Catcha later?”
“Sure.” Owen shook his hand.
“Thanks for doing the demonstration with Mozart,” Stuart added.
“No worries. We both enjoyed it.”
Elle kissed Skye and Tasha goodbye, and then they headed toward the stalls.
Kole laid an arm around Tasha’s shoulder and smiled at Owen and Skye. “You two going now?”
“Yeah, I think so. It’s going to take a while for him to iron all those shirts.” Skye winked at Owen. He blew out a breath, and they all laughed.
“Thanks for coming.” Kole shook his hand. “By the way, it’s my stag night on Friday. I hope you can join us.”
“Sure.” Owen was touched to have been asked. “Thanks.”
“We’re meeting at six o’clock outside Aqua Blue and catching a taxi to a bar in Pa
ihia. I’m under strict instructions not to get wasted, but as it’s my last night of freedom, I don’t see there’s much she can do about it.” Kole grinned at Tasha, who gave him a look that suggested he would do well to rethink the matter.
Owen laughed. “Cool. I’ll see you there.”
Tasha nudged Skye. “You’re still coming to my hen night, right?”
“Of course. I’ll see you at Treats tomorrow though.”
“Yeah. Have a good evening.” Tasha gave Owen a cheeky grin. “Enjoy scrubbing those floors, won’t you?”
“You realize we let you win?”
She laughed. “Yeah, right!” She walked off with Kole, still laughing.
Owen watched them go, feeling an odd pang of envy for their relaxed relationship. They were getting married the following weekend, and yet neither of them seemed nervous.
He’d never considered getting married before. His ex had brought up the subject several times, but he hadn’t felt ready for that final commitment. For forever. It had always scared him before. How did a guy know when he’d met Mrs. Right? Did bells go off? Fireworks? Ultimately, every relationship he’d entered into had ended, sometimes amicably, sometimes less so. But he never began a relationship with the intention of finishing it. In the past, he’d always wondered at what point it all became clear.
He looked at Skye. She smiled and slid her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, and he returned the hug, resting his lips on her hair.
Maybe he was beginning to understand.
“We’d better get Mozart.” She pulled back and gestured to the Lab sitting by the fence. “I’m sure he’s missed you.”
“Yeah. Come on.”
They walked over. Mozart jumped up and down as if they’d gone a million miles away for a year, and covered Skye in kisses. Slightly envious, Owen left them to it and thanked Robert for looking after the dog, and Robert promised he’d give him a call. Owen shook his hand, feeling as if he was shaking hands with his younger self.
He took the leash, and they headed back to the car. They walked slowly, enjoying the beauty of the Saturday afternoon, the smell of the sausages mingling with the sweet aroma of the candy floss.
Owen’s gaze wandered up to the bright blue sky. It would be Christmas soon. He wasn’t sure if he was looking forward to it or not.
“Why are you sad?”
He glanced down at Skye, and his lips curved up. “What makes you say that?”
“I haven’t known you long, Owen, but I can sense that, at least.”
He sighed. “I don’t know. It was odd meeting Robert. That was the name of the man who found Sammy.”
“Yes, I thought that,” she said softly.
“Robert reminded me of me at that age. I think just being in a school is reminding me of being that age, actually. It was quite a roller coaster time.”
“In what way?”
“Mum died when I was eleven, just before I went to high school. Dad went to pieces. It was a tricky few years. She died on Christmas Eve. It’s left me a bit ambivalent about the festive period.”
Skye stopped walking. “Oh, Owen, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m not like Scrooge or anything. I love presents and all that. It’s just sometimes it makes me…wistful, I suppose. It should be a time for love and families and kids, but it’s tended to be a lonely time for me.”
He started walking again, and Skye joined him. “Me too, actually. I like Christmas in the northern hemisphere—I like it cold and snowy. But I’m usually on my own. Even if you make friends, they tend to have Christmas with their families. Sometimes I’ve been invited to stay with them, but you always feel like an outsider, you know?”
“I do. That’s why I tend to spend it alone.”
“Is that what you’re doing this year?”
He shrugged. “I’ve volunteered to be on call. There are occasionally emergencies where families have followed dinner with a walk in the forest and got lost. Mozart will probably have a whole turkey to himself and then fall asleep for hours.” They slowed as they reached the car. “What are you doing?”
“We’re having a get together, actually. Usually everyone’s with their own families, but because it’s been such a big year—the opening of Treats, so many people hooking up, me being home—they want to celebrate it all together. We’re going around my parents, and Elle and Caitlin will be coming with Fox and Stuart too.”
He wondered if she’d ask him to spend the day with her, but she didn’t say anything. He felt a pang of disappointment, and tried to squash it. Skye had made it quite clear this was just a fling, and she’d shown no sign she’d changed her mind about going away. The last thing she probably wanted was to have him there with her friends and family on Christmas Day.
It made sense, but it put him firmly in his place, and his spirits sank a little.
“What do you want to do now?” He tried to hide his despondency and opened the door for Mozart to jump in. “You want me to drop you off at the sleep-out?”
She tipped her head to the side. “I thought you were my slave for the rest of the day.”
“I really don’t know that I’m up to scrubbing floors.”
Moving closer, she ran a finger down his chest. “How about being my slave in the bedroom, then?”
So she still wanted to sleep with him? He pushed away a tingle of resentment at being treated like a sex toy. Man up, Hall. This hot, sexy girl wanted to get him into bed. She didn’t want hearts and flowers—what normal guy would complain about that?
“Whatever my lady desires.” He lowered his head and let his lips brush hers.
She shivered. “Back to your place it is, then.”
Chapter Eighteen
Skye chatted to Owen as he drove them back to his house, and he answered her questions and added his opinions, but there was no doubt he was quieter than usual.
She pondered on that, looking out of the window at the bright December afternoon. Was he regretting asking her back to his place? Maybe he’d had enough of her—they’d had their fling, and he was ready to move on. The thought made her shift in her seat and nibble her fingernails. Surely that wasn’t the case? Every time he looked at her, his eyes held desire and affection, and other than being quiet, he hadn’t shown any sign of going off her at all.
Resting her head against the glass, she closed her eyes for a moment. Perhaps she hadn’t quite got over the jet-lag yet, or the netball game was having an effect. She ached, and she felt oddly emotional. Her throat tightened, tears hovering near the surface. She kept them back, though. Tears didn’t solve anything—she’d learned that a long time ago.
So what was bothering him? Maybe talking about his teenage years had upset him. He’d obviously had a traumatic childhood, losing both his sister and his mother within the space of a few years, and then his father. He was an orphan now. In spite of all that sadness, he seemed remarkably level most of the time, on the surface anyway. Who knew what deep emotions ran through someone that they kept hidden?
Part of her had wanted to invite him to join her for Christmas, but something had made her hold back. She’d told him this was just a fling, and that it couldn’t possibly develop into anything deeper. The trouble was, it didn’t feel like a fling. Even though she’d only known him a short period of time, she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the way her stomach fluttered every time he stared at her with that look in his eyes. And inviting someone home for Christmas when he made her feel like that didn’t make sense when she was trying to keep herself detached from this place.
She glanced across at him. His elbow rested on the window sill, his fingers against his lips, and he was lost in thought. Her gaze lingered on his strong arms, on the sexy tattoo that curled around his biceps. He’d been amazing on the netball court. Although she’d run rings around him technically, he’d been quick on his feet for a tall guy, and he’d had a few rugby dummies up his sleeve that had fooled her. He was gorgeous, fit, warm-hearted, funny. He was pre
tty perfect, really.
His eyes flicked to her, catching her looking at him. His lips curved up. “What?”
“Just admiring the view.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
She reached over and took his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m cool.”
“Not regretting asking me back to your place?”
His gaze surveyed her briefly before returning to the road. “No, Skye. I’m not regretting it. Are you regretting saying yes?”
She grinned. “No. I’m looking forward to ordering you around for a few hours.”
That brought the light back to his eyes. “Hmm.”
“Are you getting nervous?”
“A bit.”
“You should be.” She licked her lips, wanting to erase the sadness from his features and bring back that hot, hungry look that made her melt. “I’ve been thinking for hours about what I’m going to do to you.”
His eyes widened. “I see.”
“I hope you’ve been eating plenty of whatever you vegetarians eat instead of steak to give yourself strength and stamina, because you’re going to need it.”
He blew out a breath. “Any more talk like that and I won’t last five minutes.”
“I hope that’s a joke. There’ll be a severe punishment if you come before I give you permission.”
He gave a short laugh and glanced at her. “Wow. You have given this a lot of thought.”
“I have. So I hope you’re prepared.”
He checked the rear view mirror and signaled for the turn off to Kerikeri. “I feel I should point out at this stage that I’m not into pain.”
“It’s supposed to be akin to pleasure.”
“Not for me.”
“Duly noted. No nipple clamps then.”
“Skye! Jeez.”
She laughed. “Relax. I’m teasing you. I want to please you, Owen.” It was true, she thought, surprising herself with the fierceness of the desire. She ran a finger up his arm. “I want to be the best you’ve ever had.”
“You’re already that, sweetheart.” He navigated the roundabout and then flashed her a smile.
Christmas Down Under: Six Sexy New Zealand & Australian Christmas Romances Page 13