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

by Rosalind James

  “You’ve more tricks yet? Kidnapping and blackmail aren’t enough for you? What’s next, Tony?”

  “That wasn’t kidnapping, Ellie. I arranged it with your mother as a surprise for you. I thought you’d enjoy seeing him.”

  “You thought you’d enjoy seeing him.”

  “And I did. It was amazing meeting him. I love my girls, but they’re the image of Julia. It’s incredible to know there’s also someone in this world a lot like me.” His expression softened, thinking of the boy who’d unexpectedly appeared in his life. Then he turned away from her, compressing his mouth into a determined line. “And that was not blackmail,” he threw over his shoulder. “It’s his birthright. He should have the farm.”

  “Can’t you see what a position that puts me in, though?” she wailed.

  “A more comfortable one than you’ve been in so far?”

  “Exactly, Tony. I feel like you’re trying to buy me. I can’t win, whichever way I jump.”

  Her heart galloped, threatening to burst out from behind her ribs with the unfairness of it. He held all the cards and she held none. She drew a deep frustrated breath. “If I agreed to marry you, it would be because I wanted you. Not your money. Not your gifts and treats. Not this amazing place for my son. But now you’ve offered them all, you’ve made it absolutely impossible to accept.”

  She pounded up the stairs to her room and stowed the folding bed back in the wardrobe. A few more days and it would be Christmas. Then she’d put some space between herself and Tony for a while... see if they could cool things down enough so she could continue schooling the twins through January.

  She went in search of them.

  “Ginny’s taken them into town to buy some holiday clothes,” Tony said. “Seeing their teacher skived off,” he added. “You must have passed them on your way back.”

  She’d been so preoccupied navigating the dusty unsealed road that she’d not seen any sign of them.

  “I’m going for a good long walk then,” she told him. “Along the cliffs. Okay?”

  “Keep away from the edge. It’s unstable land.”

  “I’m not a child, Tony.”

  “Just behaving like one...”

  She flounced away to her room to find her sunhat. And decided to change out of her stale and wrinkled travelling clothes and grab a quick shower.

  Refreshed—and a little calmer—she fingered her cherry red camisole and bikini panties. He’d said to wear them for Christmas. Today was close enough, and she needed cheering up. For sure he wouldn’t be checking out her underwear on Christmas Day.

  She shimmied into the glorious garments and pulled on a pair of sand-coloured cotton trousers and her olive green T-shirt. The fine silk felt fantastic against her skin—a luscious little treat for her alone. She’d enjoy the sensation while she walked.

  ~♥~

  An hour or so later, as he returned his coffee mug to the kitchen, Tony heard a deep rumble beneath his feet and felt the big old timber house trembling. The sparkling crystals of the nearest chandelier shivered and swayed, catching the light as they tinkled together. The door edged gently back and forth, back and forth. The rumbling continued, rattling and shaking the house for another fifteen seconds or so before settling into eerie silence.

  An earthquake. Certainly less than five on the Richter scale, but big enough to unsettle the animals and maybe bring down the odd slip from the steeper hillsides. He hoped Ellie had reached the level land on top of the cliffs.

  She constantly invaded his mind. From the moment she’d dashed into the kitchen for breakfast that first morning, he’d been breathing different air. He’d burst out of his unsuspected stagnation to somewhere fresh and exhilarating. Before her arrival he’d been functioning, but hardly living. Now every moment brought the chance she might appear. Prickly for sure. Unobtainable so far. But infinitely desirable.

  His body and brain were alight again; alive with the excitement of pursuit and the sheer wonder of discovering his unknown son. His hormones were on a merciless rampage, urging him to reclaim Ellie and Cal by any means possible. He’d never felt so powerful—or so confused.

  ~♥~

  Ellie let instinct guide her as she strode over the rising land. She’d followed one of the farm roads for quite some distance, then stood and swigged at her water bottle while she summoned the courage to climb a gate and trek across a field of grazing black cattle. She skirted around the fence line in case she needed to make a quick escape, but the drowsy beasts seemed barely interested in her.

  She walked on. The sea pounded more loudly now. Finally she approached the cliff edge and peered over. Far below, the waves broke on unfriendly looking rocks. Mindful of Tony’s warning, she backed away.

  Salt spray carried by the up-draughts made the air hazy and the view less spectacular than she’d hoped for. She glanced at her watch. There was plenty of time yet—Ginny and the twins would be nowhere near returning. She’d walk as far as the Devil Hole before returning to face her tormentor.

  She breathed in the salty air, drawing it deep into her lungs. It smelled so fresh and healthy. So like a never-ending holiday.

  Cal, I wish we could live out here. I know you’d love the farm and the beach and all the animals. But Tony’s trying to buy you, my darling, and you’re not for sale.

  She turned and resumed her walk, dragging her feet a little as regrets swirled around in her mind. Soon she’d reached the fringe of vegetation around the rim of the Devil Hole. Upending her water bottle, she took several deep swallows, listening intently. She peered into its depths. Did that deep rumbling mean the tide was now high enough to make the roaring noise Tony had described?

  She shrieked as the land shook beneath her feet. There’d been no warning, no sensation of danger. One minute she’d been gripping a gnarled old tree, and the next she’d been shaken off her feet as a shower of dusty rocks and flailing vegetation shot out from under her. The tree slid a yard or so into the steep crater and one of its roots snagged her ankle, tipping her over and pulling her across the edge. She was held captive like a wild animal in a gin trap.

  Chapter Seventeen—Red for Rescue

  ‘Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!’ she moaned. ‘Keep me safe. Let me escape. Make someone find me.’

  After a little time she knew her left foot was a huge problem. Sticky blood oozed into her shoe and her ankle throbbed and burned. She yanked at the stubborn sinewy root as hard as she dared, scrunching her eyes closed as another shower of gritty stones pattered down the cliff below her.

  Was it all going to start again? Would her fragile perch be ripped away so she’d plummet down the rocky face all the way to the bottom? What would happen to Cal if she died? She fisted her hands into some nearby tufts of grass, and prayed harder than she’d ever done in her life.

  More long, slow, agony-filled minutes crept by. Sharp edges of rock bit into her back, and she trembled violently, convinced the vibrations had never died away. There was every possibility the old tree would toboggan down the cliff and take her with it. One of the smaller roots snapped with a pistol-crack, and she screamed in terror. But still she was held prisoner, looking up to a view of the bluest, most peaceful sky, desperate to be released.

  There was no chance of struggling free. Apart from being trapped by the cruel root across her ankle, the ground was dry and crumbling; any movement might start another much more frightening landslide.

  But she was so close to being able to rescue herself that it was unbearable.

  There had to be a way. After everything she’d managed, she wouldn’t be beaten by an old tree root.

  She cautiously investigated the contents of her fabric carry-bag. At least she still had her water bottle... and a few shells.

  Shells? Maybe one might be sharp enough to use as a rudimentary knife? She edged her back onto a more comfortable angle and set to work sawing until she started making a small impression on the hard root. And as she sawed, she talked to her son.

  Dar
ling Cal, she panted. Will I ever see you again? Should I have given in? I thought it would break my heart to want Tony so much and know I was only there because of you. It seemed he was dangling Wharemoana as bait, but maybe I was wrong...

  Her ankle hurt like fury. The initial terror had masked the worst of the pain but as time passed, waves of agony washed through her. She gritted her teeth and tried to ride them out. The sun crept slowly lower in the sky, and she kept her seashell knife scraping at its tiny hopeful groove.

  ~♥~

  Tony checked his watch yet again, far from happy. Ellie had not returned. Something had to be wrong. Cursing, he raced for the helicopter and got it airborne in record time.

  The cliffs... she said she planned to walk along the cliffs.

  Ten frustrating minutes later there was still no sign of her. He’d travelled low and slow along the shore and then swooped up to follow the breezy cliff-top, bucking in the turbulence, and fighting to keep the machine steady.

  She was not on the beach.

  She was not, thank heavens, lying at the foot of any of the sheer rocky faces.

  She was not on top of the cliffs. Where else could she have gone? He flew on a little further and decided it was futile. Had she somehow arrived home while he was preparing to leave? That was the only other possibility. Unless...

  ~♥~

  Ellie struggled to think straight. Her whole world thudded with pain and noise. The tide had risen and waves now thumped through the rocky constriction at the base of the Devil Hole with deafening roars. The din beat against her brain, chopping at the air all around her. And then a new note intruded.

  Helicopter.

  Tony!

  A sickening stab of anguish shot through her. He was looking for her, but he wouldn’t be able to find her because her clothing camouflaged her so well. The sandy cotton trousers were the colour of the crumbling rock. The olive green T-shirt merged with the vegetation. Desperate and despairing, she cast about for any possible way of making herself visible.

  Red...

  He’d be able to see red...

  With infinite caution she lay back and scrabbled at her T-shirt, easing it up to expose her cherry-red silk camisole. Oh please, please, Tony...

  She half hung, helpless, bombarded by noise, as the welcome downdraught of the rotors finally beat against her. She squeezed her eyes closed against the dust, and prayed with every ounce of hope the buffeting air wouldn’t rip the rest of the old tree out and send her sliding over the edge.

  ~♥~

  He landed as fast as he dared, and as close to her as he calculated wise. After setting friction on the controls and slowing the rotors to ground idle, he vaulted out, yanking the ever-useful rope with him. He knotted one end around his waist and the other around a skid-strut.

  “Ellie!” he bellowed. “Stay still.”

  As he jogged closer he found his panicked instruction was far from needed. She had no hope in hell of moving, and was so close to being dragged to extinction that his heart lodged in his throat and beat a frantic tattoo there. “Fuck! My poor darling...” he croaked, dropping to the ground. Flat as a hunting cat, he inched across the rough pasture, mindful his extra weight could collapse the cliff’s edge at any second.

  Ellie burst into tears, wailing with pain and relief, and the sound cut him to shreds.

  “Hold on, my little love—hold on, I’m here. I’m right here. I’ll soon have you safe.” He pushed closer, grabbed her flailing hand, and pressed a quick kiss onto it. Somehow he passed the rope around her so they were secured together, taking up as much slack as he could to prevent them pitching over if the worst happened.

  With every joint popping, with every muscle straining, he hauled the tree root higher until she pulled her trapped ankle away, screaming with the surge of pain as he released her.

  She clawed at the crumbling brink of the Devil Hole, blue eyes wide in her sunburned face. He crushed her against him, dragging her like a lion with a newly killed antelope, and crawled away from the edge, muttering furious endearments and curses. At last they collapsed side by side in a filthy heap and just lay, her sobbing, him panting.

  Minutes later his lips roamed over her face, seeking her mouth. His tender kiss was flavoured with relief and longing. “Ellie, my love, that was a hell of a way to get my attention,” he whispered. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again. You have no idea what that did to my heart. I thought I’d lost you for all money.”

  “I thought you had, too,” she hiccupped between sobs. “I thought I was dead any second.”

  “Unforgivable,” he said, with another soft kiss, “to find the woman I loved after all these years, and then nearly lose her again.”

  ~♥~

  Ellie heard the words, but it took time for them to register in her stressed and overloaded brain.

  The woman he loved?

  Fireworks sparked all through her, burning away the pain and fatigue, leaving just his simple confirmation. “The woman you love?”

  Her myriad scrapes and bruises throbbed a little less. Even the ankle became bearable.

  “The woman I loved from the moment I saw her,” he agreed hoarsely. “God, Ellie, you stole my heart all those years ago in Sydney. You have no idea how I tried to resist you. I really didn’t want to mess up our travelling by having you on my mind the whole time.” He heaved a huge sigh.

  She nudged him in the ribs. “I’ve had you on mine ever since.”

  He smiled, and stroked her hair back from her dusty face. “I felt the electricity between us the moment I set eyes on you. And you were giving me a good going over in return.”

  “I was hidden behind my sunglasses,” she protested.

  “Looking straight at me, all the same. I could tell by the angle of your head.”

  “You were beautiful,” she said. “The most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I didn’t mean to stare, but I couldn’t stop.”

  He dropped a kiss on her brow. “And I didn’t mean to ask you out. But some little devil made me do it anyway. And look where that got us...”

  The corners of her mouth lifted. “I wanted you so much. I’d never felt that way about any other man.”

  “As I discovered.” He grimaced, looking straight into her eyes. “When I found I was your first lover, I wanted to start the whole evening over. Seduce you gently. Make it wonderful for you.”

  He ran his hand through her hair again, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, absorbing his caress.

  “I didn’t seem to need much seducing,” she admitted. “And you did make it wonderful, Tony.”

  “That was an incredible week. It ripped me apart when you went home.”

  “But you had to keep travelling. I knew that.” She raised her head and nipped his neck. “That’s for going away for so long.”

  She kissed the same spot. “That’s for rescuing me just now.”

  Then she bit him hard enough to make him jump and swear. “And that,” she said with satisfaction, “is for never mentioning you loved me.” She pushed herself away from his startled face and glared down at him. “Don’t you know that would have made all the difference, Tony? If I’d known you wanted me as much as Cal, I might... might have said yes.”

  “You might have? You would have!” His eyes reflected the sudden joy her words brought.

  She sniffed. “Only might. Don’t get too hopeful.”

  He laughed as she tried to maintain her outraged expression. “Is your heart going as fast as mine?” he asked, slipping a hand under her T-shirt to cradle a lace-caged breast.

  Ellie knew her pulse would be thundering under his fingers. “That’s just terror,” she said, smiling.

  “Is the other one as scared?” His hand roamed further sideways, gentle and loving. “You’re shaking all over,” he whispered, pulling her against him again to comfort her and reinforce his fervent pledge of love.

  She sighed and laid her face against his chest. “You’re still a bit shivery yourself.”


  “Reaction to extreme physical effort,” he countered. “I’m not in the least affected by the fact you’ve agreed to marry me.”

  “But—”

  “Sorry—might have agreed to marry me.”

  “Yes, I might. Possibly,” she said, snuggling closer.

  “Give me a definite yes or I’ll throw you back over the edge.”

  She grinned, and raised her gaze to his. “Dangerous idea, Tony. We’re still tied together.” Her eyes followed the rope back to the shining black dragonfly which sat a little distance away, rotors slowly turning.

  “Where you go, I go...?” he suggested.

  “Yes please,” she whispered, as the shock of her rescue hit home and tears started to wash pale furrows down her dusty face again. He pulled her even closer as she wept.

  “Would it have held us both?” she asked, minutes later, looking sideways at the gleaming machine.

  “It weighs well over half a tonne,” he said, relaxing his fierce grip on her. “It can lift a steer. I helped rescue some in the winter floods over on Miller’s Flat. God knows what they thought, poor beasts, slung up and flying through the air.” He smoothed a finger along her eyebrow. “I don’t think the two of us would weigh more than a steer, do you?”

  She managed a weak chuckle at the thought of it.

  “Frankly I didn’t care, Ellie. It was both of us or neither of us. If we’d dragged the chopper over the edge, at least we’d have gone together.”

  He ran a tender hand along her cheek, wiping at the occasional huge tears that still welled from her eyes. “Can you move yet? Can you move at all? We need to get you to hospital.”

  “I don’t think I need hospital, Tony. If you wash me off a bit and clean up these scrapes with antiseptic I’ll be fine.” She cast a doubtful glance downward. “I’m sure I can move if I lean on you. I’d better get your nearest doctor to look at my ankle, I suppose.”

  He drew a deep breath. “We’ll see about that. I’m almost steady enough to fly you home now, but I think we should get the air ambulance out for you.”