Christmas Down Under: Six Sexy New Zealand & Australian Christmas Romances

by Rosalind James

  “With bubbles?”

  “As many bubbles as you like. I’ll enjoy investigating your hidden charms through them.”

  They dozed together until he untangled himself from the embrace of her limbs, rose from the ravaged bed, and sauntered across to the bathroom. Ellie watched the lamplight slide over his long back and gorgeous butt until he disappeared and turned the bath water on with a sudden splash.

  She stretched until every inch of her body became taut, and then relaxed. The attraction was certainly still there between them... Damn. Damn. Damn.

  “Devon Honey or Southern Magnolia?” He stood, silhouetted in the en suite doorway, gloriously naked, steam curling in the air around him, holding out the bubble gels for her selection.

  “Come closer. I can’t see.”

  He dangled the expensive little sachets by their silken tassels.

  Ellie’s eyes roved all over him as he approached the bed. She let the sheet slide down past her breasts, and watched as he started to stand to attention again. She stifled a smirk and kept her face serious.

  “Hmm—Devon Honey seems appropriate in a place called Honeymeade Lodge, doesn’t it?” she murmured, pushing the sheet halfway down her thighs, parting them provocatively, and reaching for the sachets. Tony continued to become more impressive. She twisted the tassels together and draped the two little packages around the sturdy support he’d once again provided.

  “Not lost your powers of recovery, I see,” she said with a joyful giggle, escaping off the other side of the bed and dashing to the bathroom ahead of him.

  ~♥~

  They sat chest-deep in bubbles. Ellie linked her legs around his waist; Tony held her close.

  “What a naughty girl you still are,” he murmured as her hands slid between their bodies to tease and caress him.

  She watched as he closed his eyes to savour the sensations to the utmost.

  I’ve missed you so much, she thought as she squeezed and stroked. All those years you had with Julia should have been my years. Now it’s too late. I have to choose between you and my son, and it must be him.

  She raised her mouth to Tony’s for a sweet regretful kiss. Their tongues and lips danced together.

  “I’m not the naughty one,” she protested as his words sank into her sensation-loaded brain. “You brought me here to this gorgeous place intending to sleep with me.”

  “Hoping to sleep with you. Hoping very much. But there’s another bedroom off the main room. You could have chosen that.”

  “What!?” she demanded, sitting so erect that her nipples appeared above the foam and Tony found it necessary to dive south and lick the froth off one. “You never mentioned that.”

  “We were,” he mumbled, mouth full, “not exactly in a talking mood when we arrived.”

  She murmured agreement. His mouth was pure sin. She leaned back to make herself more accessible. “A bedroom each. Well, well—how chivalrous.”

  He bit.

  She gasped.

  “I asked Ginny,” he said, raising his head, “to book a suite with two bedrooms. I could hardly do less.”

  Ellie’s mouth became a perfect O as she considered that. “You’ve got bubbles on your face now,” she said, wiping them away.

  “I’ve got bubbles here too,” he said, turning to wrestle the cork from a dark green bottle which sat with two tall glasses at one end of the huge tub. She slid away from him so he could pour, and they sat side by side, sipping.

  “I tried to find you once,” she said, surprising herself. She’d had no intention of telling him that.

  Chapter Ten—Fun to Play With

  I tried to find you to let you know you had a son, she thought, choosing her next words with care. “I knew you’d planned to be away for a couple of years, but just for fun, I wondered if I could find out where you lived, silly kid that I was. I went to the main library and searched through all the Electoral Rolls.”

  More than eighty of them, she remembered.

  “I thought I might come across an Anthony Christian Robinson the right age...”

  “You remembered the ‘Christian’?”

  “It’s nice. Unusual.” She grinned and took another sip of champagne. “But they didn’t have any ages shown. And mostly just initials. There are hundreds and hundreds of Anthony C Robinsons in New Zealand. Christopher, Charles, Carl—who knows.” She tried to keep her voice light. “I couldn’t tell if any of them were you. I found a few Anthony Christians and wrote to each of them, just in case. No-one ever replied. A couple came back ‘Not Here. Return to Sender’ because I’d put my address on the back.”

  Tony furrowed his brow. “I was probably still registered at my old Uni digs in Auckland back then. I remember voting for the first time from there. Typical student flat.”

  “The Christian in the Garden of Eden,” Ellie said in a shaky voice. “Was that you? It sort of seemed appropriate at the time. I remember thinking ‘what a strange co-incidence if it’s him’.”

  “Eden Terrace? You wrote there?”

  “Return to Sender,” she said. “It was one of the ones that came back. I was very close to finding you, and never knew it.”

  “I was long gone. Several years. I’m surprised anyone bothered to re-post your letter. What did it say?”

  Ellie sipped, eyes far away. “Not much. Asked if you were the Tony Robinson who’d been in Sydney. Wondered if you wanted to make contact with an old friend when you returned. Nothing serious.”

  Nothing about the fact you’d just become a father.

  Tony slipped an arm around her and smiled. “Nothing lost then.”

  Everything lost, Ellie thought in anguish, tightening her fingers vice-like around the glass, not caring if it snapped and showered her with biting shards of crystal.

  She sighed and reached up for another kiss. “I won’t be gazing at you across the farm dinner table like some soppy teenager,” she assured him, trying to shake away her sudden mood of despondency.

  “Even if you did, Ginny’s too sensible to comment. And the girls won’t notice we’re having a little fling.”

  Her heart gave a lurch of distress. He saw her as no more than a temporary diversion then?

  Although it had been her who’d laid down the rules on the riverbank, Tony’s apparent nonchalance cut deep. She’d need to hide how much this passionate reunion meant to her... act as though he was fun, as though their lovemaking was merely a game. She turned her face away, biting her lip, already sensing the desolation of being abandoned.

  ~♥~

  “I won’t be able to leave you alone now,” he whispered somewhere close to dawn.

  “I suppose I could sneak through your balcony door occasionally,” she teased.

  “You drive a hard bargain, woman.”

  “Hard? That wasn’t me, surely?”

  He caressed her breast. “Soft as an angel.”

  Ellie snuggled against him, pulling him nearer, breathing in the beloved fragrance of his skin. She’d come home, but could never let him know that.

  They took to the air soon after sunrise, lifting away from the sprawling single storey conference centre. The flight back to Wharemoana was breathtaking. Early morning shadows contoured the spectacular New Zealand landscape as every shade of green slipped away behind them. Ellie marvelled at all the empty space. Roads were so far apart; buildings tiny and isolated. Sometimes the sun flashed off windows or swimming pools. Flocks of tiny sheep dashed to the corners of their lush paddocks as the helicopter soared over. The sparkling ocean grew closer.

  Tony pointed to the approaching homestead nestled in its surrounding gardens. Ellie could even see the fateful trampoline on the lawn.

  “Home,” he said.

  But not mine, she thought.

  At the breakfast table he updated Ginny and the girls. “Quite good news about Steven. Concussed, but probably not too seriously. A big gash on his scalp, but they’ve dealt to that—some of his hair is shorter than mine now. Lots of spec
tacular bruises, and they’ve set his broken leg.”

  “That’ll be a relief for Peter and Gwen,” Ginny agreed.

  “Can we write on his plaster?” Ants asked.

  Tony stood and rummaged in the refrigerator, asking if anyone else wanted bacon and eggs. “All this flying makes a man hungry,” he said. He looked relaxed and happy, eyes alight with barely suppressed joy.

  He’s transparent, Ellie thought. Surely Ginny couldn’t fail to notice the difference in his mood. She was astute enough to put two and two together—or one and one!

  But she simply said, “I’ve ironed those shirts you need for the Melbourne conference, Robbie.”

  “Thanks. I’ll pack a bag right after breakfast.”

  Ellie sat there stunned. He’d be leaving her already? Their brief tryst was over?

  “I’m back in time for Saturday’s party,” he added in her direction, as though that made everything all right.

  Saturday! It was only Wednesday today. Now she had to face three long days without him, just as they’d become lovers again... right as her body had burst back to life.

  She ate her cereal and toast, not noticing she’d chosen honey instead of strawberry jam. Forgetting to sugar her coffee. Replying quite automatically to the twins’ questions.

  Ginny rose to clear the table, and moved across to the pantry, hands full.

  “Go to your room,” Tony whispered. “Now.”

  “What for?”

  “Because I want you again.”

  “You must be joking...”

  “Not at all. Go to your room.” His dark eyes sparkled with their mischievous invitation.

  “It’s time for lessons.”

  “I’ll give you lessons. The girls can wait. I can’t.”

  He grabbed her arm and steered her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. No-one seemed to notice. And, although Ellie’s brain rebelled, her body felt shockingly ready and willing.

  And able, she discovered, as he pushed the door closed, yanked her panties all the way down and off, and took her against the wall. They stared at each other, breathless, trembling.

  “Up on your toes,” he ordered.

  “I already am. You’re too tall.”

  “Legs around my waist then.” He pulled her up to match his height, driving deeper inside her, rocking his hips against hers until she muffled a scream against his neck and convulsed from head to toe.

  “Good girl,” he said huskily. “Very good girl. My turn.”

  And a few frenzied thrusts later he buried his head on her shoulder, fighting for breath as he groaned, pulsing deep inside her.

  They leaned together, gasping for air. It had been so sudden, so intense, so incandescent.

  And then she registered the full implication of what they’d done.

  “No condom!” she hissed, horrified.

  “Ah.”

  Well, that certainly sums things up, she thought, calculating dates. Oh please—not again. She had so much more at stake this time. Cal’s wellbeing depended on her continuing to work. The house payments had to be met. And she certainly wouldn’t expect her mother to take care of another child after sacrificing so much for the first. A shudder of dread made her scrunch her eyes closed.

  “Bad timing?” he asked, seeing her pained expression. He dropped a kiss on her nose.

  She opened her eyes and tried to ease away from him. “Not the best. Cross your fingers.”

  “And tie a knot in it?”

  She snorted with laughter, despite her terror. “Great idea, Tony. But rather too late.”

  He tightened his arms around her to stop her escaping. “My fault. I bullied you.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I could have refused.”

  “Could you?”

  “No,” she admitted, relaxing and kissing him, sliding her hands under his shirt and over his chest. “Not a hope. I don’t seem to have grown up at all since Sydney. I couldn’t get enough of you then. And it seems I can’t get enough of you again now. You’re fun to play with.”

  ~♥~

  Fun, he repeated to himself. That’s all I am to you?

  His eyes roved over her face, enjoying everything he found so enchanting about her. Wide-spaced blue eyes with expressive brows... translucent skin with a smattering of freckles over the cheekbones... her luscious damp mouth.

  I want to be more than just fun.

  He was still pumped up hard. Far from sated.

  He moved experimentally, watching for her reaction.

  “No way, Tony. Out! We’ve already taken a horrendous risk. I’m not stupid enough to add to it.”

  Regretfully he withdrew, in long gentle strokes, reversing direction several times.

  “Out...” she growled again, insisting upon his withdrawal and trying to struggle away from his embrace.

  Finally he lowered her to the floor. “How am I going to manage in Melbourne without you? Shall we see if there’s a spare seat in business class? You could go shopping...?” He kissed her neck, whispering into her ear as he nibbled on the soft sensitive lobe. “For pretty underwear.”

  ~♥~

  Ellie knew he was attempting to seduce her all over again—not with the promise of a shopping trip, but with the magnetism of his body and the sensuality of his kisses.

  Two could play at that! She pushed him back against the door and locked it, then unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it part way down to trap his arms, enjoying her view of his broad shoulders, and the hard muscles of his chest under crisp dark hair.

  They stood facing each other, breathing the same air, millimetres apart.

  “No,” she whispered, slipping a hand down to caress him.

  He caught his breath as she explored.

  “No to Melbourne, although I agree you have a very nice little friend down here who once again seems pleased to see me.”

  She tightened her grip, sliding and teasing. “And who certainly does feel willing to repeat his recent very pleasurable performance.”

  Tony closed his eyes, and she continued her taunting massage.

  “No to Melbourne because your girls need bringing up to speed before they start school.” She settled her hand more firmly around him, enjoying being the one in control.

  “No to Melbourne because I’d never let you out of bed to attend your wretched conference, whatever it is.”

  “Optimising the fertility of a beef stud,” he muttered as she gently squeezed his own studly attributes.

  “Well, in case you’re in the high fertility range yourself, we’re going to need plenty of your late night purchases for this little affair,” she emphasised, flicking her tongue over his nipples, nipping at him until he groaned. “Next time we’re taking no risks. But for now, just relax. We’ve got five more minutes and I’m going to make you remember me for the next three days.”

  “Wait until Saturday evening—I’ll have the whole night to sort you out in return...”

  “Promises, promises,” she teased, watching his face as purest pleasure washed over it—and wondering how she could ever survive until then.

  Chapter Eleven—Pretties From Melbourne

  He’d gone. Once again darkly suited, a surprising but desirable stranger. He’d flown himself as far as Wellington and then boarded a commercial jet for Australia.

  The rest of Wednesday stretched out in a sticky morass. Before starting the classroom sessions, Ellie set Cal’s photo back beside her bed, peering even more closely at his face now she had Tony’s features fresh in her mind.

  Callum’s skin was olive and his chin had a central dimple—maybe the start of his father’s cleft?

  His eyes were the absolute clincher—the angle somehow exactly Tony’s, the colour an accurate replica—the same coffee-and-whiskey combination that had snared her attention so long ago.

  Was she being unfair, keeping her son a secret from his father? Should she have told Tony about Callum as soon as they met? The guilt twisted her gut into knots.

  But
Tony had never intended to give her a child, and his travelling had meant they’d immediately lost touch. Her desperate but amateur search for him had failed. He’d never tried to find her in return. There’d been no connection in all these long years.

  He had his daughters. She had her son. She tried to persuade herself it was fair to keep it that way.

  Now that she knew Tony’s real position in the world she resolved to be even more guarded. He had money and influence... vast resources for lawyers and court cases if he wished to try and lay claim to his son. Her son.

  How would that stack up against her ten years of unconditional love? Ellie was savvy enough to know that money always won out in the end. If she had to give Cal into his father’s custody even for occasional weekends or school holidays, he’d be slowly stolen away from her, and that would be devastating.

  Cal wasn’t the only one-parent child amongst his friends. He had a loving mother and a doting grandmother—more than some children were lucky enough to have.

  Did he hope that one day his ‘dead’ father would reappear, as if by magic?

  He was a happy, open child and Ellie felt she could read him correctly. Hoped she could read him correctly.

  No, she’d keep Cal’s existence hidden from Tony, even if the guilt was overwhelming.

  And you’ll be depriving him of all the things his father can give him, her conscience insisted. A wonderful historic home. Two lively sisters so he’d feel part of a real family. A swimming pool and a trampoline. A pony? Education at one of the best schools? The chance to roam the huge farm... maybe inherit part of it?

  As she gazed at her son’s photo, she knew there was something outweighing all of those. The knowledge his father loved him and wanted him. For surely Tony would jump at the chance to know his son? He loved his daughters fiercely. He’d treasure a son who was his absolute image.

  And that was the killer. Could she really deprive Cal of his father’s love?

  With a heavy heart, she headed for the schoolroom.

  ~♥~

  Thursday came and went. She knew some of the other people at Wharemoana now—old Herbie the gardener, still devastated that his wheelbarrow had caused Steven’s injuries... Janine who helped Ginny with the housework in the huge homestead... Alan Waring the farm mechanic, always coaxing some sort of machinery back to life in one of the nearby buildings.