I might at that,' he drawled harshly. After all, my primary motivation was to provide Coolabra with an heir.'
Alex pretended to yawn, while her heart went cold with yearning. She would have given him anything he wanted! Now there was nothing left between them, not even to talk about. 'Where do I sleep?' she whispered, doubting she ever would.
'Over here.' Replacing the ring in his pocket, without any obvious regret, Chase guided her to a rough shelter of bark and branches. Earlier she had seen him erecting it, but hadn't allowed herself to wonder. Nervously she pulled back. 'I can't sleep there!' 'We both will.'
'You as well?' She began to tremble. 'Chase it's not possible…'
Impatiently he jerked her forward, under the crudely formed canopy of leaves. I think, girl, it's about time you faced facts. Up till now you've been courageous, so don't spoil your record. It could be days before we're found. I hope not, but it could be. Sleeping out in the open, without so much as a jacket between us, could be fatal. The nights are too cold. Even this shelter might not be enough.' 'The fire?' she protested feebly.
'Fine, if you have a blanket and are prepared to stay awake indefinitely to keep it going. Unfortunately I'm no natural hero, Alex. I'll gamble higher on our chances of survival if we keep together.'
So mixed up she couldn't think straight, Alex frowned. The night was dark there was no moon to explain the mysterious rustling sounds in the nearby undergrowth. In the distance a wild dingo howled, making a coward of her. 'I suppose so,' she agreed numbly.
It was no more than a rough construction that closed about her uncomfortably as she crawled inside. Chase followed and lay down. Quite impersonally he put an arm around her, dragging her down to him. 'Stop fighting,' he said curtly, his hand on her bare arm. 'You're half frozen already.' Alex numbled something neither of them understood. She was half frozen, but with fear more than cold, the fear being not so much of Chase as of her own feelings. At any time, when he was around, she found them difficult to control. How was she to manage them in this impossible situation? Already the heat from his body was beginning to warm her, as was the arm he was rubbing gently with the flat of his hand. Her head lay where he had pulled it, against his shoulder, she could feel his heart beating heavily under her cheek. The rise and fall of it should have sent her to sleep, but because of it she couldn't forget he was there. His hand left her arm and settled on her hair, his fingers pushing gently through the tangled strands, smoothing it off her ears, away from her nape, from her bare shoulders. His hands made soothing, circling movements, relaxing her, to begin with, as if he intended they should. She felt her body weakening, but her mouth went curiously dry. She couldn't even pretend to be asleep. To break the silence, which was rapidly becoming taut, she asked, 'Do Aborigines really sleep in a shelter like this, Chase?'
He nodded slowly, his mind not completely on the subject. 'Some of them still do.' 'However do they manage?'
'Probably much as we're doing now.' His voice was deliberately teasing. 'Many of them never wear clothes, yet they never feel the cold.'
'We aren't wearing all that much ourselves,' she reminded him, then wished she had never mentioned the subject. Chase was so near she could feel every hard muscle as he stretched out beside her. 'I don't think we need be as close as this, Chase.' She tried to edge away, surprised at her own reluctance. 'Yes, we do,' he said curtly. 'And you can believe I'm more uncomfortable than you are.' She flushed, hoping he didn't feel the heat in her face as it rested against him. Her senses stirred, her breathing quickened as her hand went defensively to her hot cheeks.
As he spoke he sighed, turning restlessly on to his back, and the hand she raised was caught on the hair roughened skin of his chest. The tips of her fingers were immediately sensitive to the sparks of electricity she found there. Her breath sucked in. Curiously riveted, her sudden panic fading, she allowed herself to explore the muscled contours which tensed beneath her slow voyage of discovery. She didn't think of it as being in any way provocative, although every intimate thought she had ever had about Chase rushed through her head in a chaotic torrent. She could feel the thunderous beating of his heart under her palm and pressed down on it experimentally.
When he stopped her, her eyes went automatically to his, wide and questioning. 'Chase—' she began uncertainly, shocked by the frank sensuality she saw there. It jerked her out of her present stupor, but into one infinitely worse.
Mutely he shook his head, without words, sensing her paralysing awareness. There was a look of self-derision on his face, yet mixed with torment. 'God, Alex,' he muttered with a groan, and all her fine talk of rejection counted for nothing against the consuming desire of his lips.
Wildly she opened her mouth to protest, but her senses spun from the demanding ecstasy of his touch and she could do nothing. Her head swam, and now it was the turn of his hands. She could feel them on her savagely, holding her to him, sliding down her back to her hips, clenching on her spine, as though he was keeping a tiger at bay.
Her face was pressed against his chest now and she could feel his tongue seeking out the hollows of her cheek and neck. Darkness, full of the feel of him, made coherent thought impossible and a dizzying weakness spread through her limbs. Then his mouth was on hers again and he was crushing her passionately against the hardening muscles of his body.
'Alex?' his voice came urgently as his head lifted, his breath harsh on her face, 'Alex, listen to me. Have you thought any more about marrying me?'
Not entirely conscious, she gasped, 'Please don't talk, Chase. I don't want to.' She wanted nothing that might destroy the intimacy between them. Her blood was a churning whirlpool of feeling, whipped to a frenzy by his tortured breathing. Words could only spoil whatever this thing was between them. Talk could only drag her back to cold reality and she would rather stay in this enchanting world of the senses.
Trying to convey this silently, she placed her hands on his face, her fingers lingering on the hard bones before pushing upwards into his dark hair. 'Kiss me, darling,' she implored, never too proud to beg.
'Alex! For pity's sake!' His hands caught her, gripped her, thrusting her away from him.
Her eyes, suddenly wide and startled, sought his, and she could actually see the physical control he was exerting. He sat up and away from her, shaking his head disbelievingly. 'I guess this wasn't such a good idea, after all.'
Alex drew a deep breath, endeavouring to recover her composure. It wasn't easy, she felt completely shattered. She had been in Chase's arms before but had never felt as terrible as this. Recalling her own wanton response, she shivered, averting her eyes from the taut stillness of his figure.
He wasn't accusing her of anything, but he had been the one to call a halt. If only she had been the one to draw back. Now he could taunt her for ever and she had no defence.
There seemed nothing to say. Feeling taut as a bowstring, she heard him mutter something under his breath. She didn't need to look at him; she could sense his grimness.
'Try to sleep.' He stood up. 'I'll go and replenish the fire.'
He meant he hoped she would be alseep when he came back. Knowing this, Alex didn't fight the wave of exhaustion that swept over her. In Chase's arms she had been brought wholly alive, but now he had gone all her vitality disappeared. She watched him walk to the fire, pick up some brushwood and throw it on.
He dusted his hands, then stood staring at it. Alex's eyes grew heavy watching. She didn't remember falling asleep.
In the early dawn she woke, sleepily whispering his name. He wasn't there. Where could he be? Full recall came suddenly, bringing shock. She remembered him standing by the fire, etched darkly against the flames, but had fallen asleep with no recollection of where he had gone.
Panic forced limbs, stiff from cold and a hard bed, to action, tearing her from the primitive shelter.
'Chase!' her voice came hoarsely, but loud enough for him to have heard, had he been around. There was no answer, no sign of him!
&n
bsp; 'Chase!' she cried again, and again only silence answered her anguished appeal. Where was he? Had he slept by the campfire and wandered off in a befuddled state of mind? Vague recollections of the things she had heard could happen in the Outback struck terror into her. The trauma of the plane crash might have affected Chase, too. She would never believe he would do anything foolish when completely in control of his senses, but temporarily deprived of them he could have fallen foul of many things. Only a fool would be unaware of the dangers that lurked in such a wild country at night.
She was even more horror stricken to realise suddenly that Chase's shirt was draped over her shoulders. If she was warm, he must be nearly frozen! The creek? She would go to the creek first. He might be gathering wood. Leaving the smouldering fire and the white towel flag he had erected on a makeshift flagpole, she ran in that direction.
He wasn't there. Breathlessly Alex ran on, the absolute silence mocking her, until she came to the deeper pools, the one where they had bathed the night before. Chase was there. He had been swimming, for his hair was damp, and he had obviously pulled on his pants in a hurry, because patches of wet were coming through.
In her relief Alex was so angry she didn't stop to think. 'How dared you frighten me like this!' she cried, her small face scarlet as she ran to him, her hands clenched to tight little fists to pound his broad chest. 'I hate you, Chase Marshall! You're a monster!' In her fury she forgot about the sacrifice he had made of his shirt. 'You're the most selfish, egocentric man I ever met!' The welcoming smile on his face faded. 'Shut up, Alex!' 'I won't! I'm sick of being told to shut up. I..'
Before she could get out another word, he caught hold of her. 'Why waste breath?' he mocked. 'This could be more effective…' without pausing he lifted her, throwing her ruthlessly in the deepest part of the pool, 'and what you've had coming for a long time,' he shouted tersely, as she sank like a stone. She came up spluttering, full of creek water, half drowning. 'And no more than you deserve!' Chase added, lowering himself to the grassy bank, to watch her.
'Oh…' Unfortunately she sank again, before she could even start on the tirade that was shooting around her head like red hot fireworks, waiting to be released. A necessity to breathe was the only inclination to survive the second immersion.
As Chase sat on the bank, considering her closely, she struck out blindly for the shore. Reaching it, she dragged her sodden body from the murky water. She must have gone deep as she seemed to have stirred up all the mud from the bottom. Wild with despairing distaste, she began wrenching off her dress. Water poured from it, mixed with red mud. She was half drowned, choking, her fury still red-hot, so she was scarcely aware of what she was doing.
Chase's smothered laughter infuriated her further. Buttons flew until her dress fell in a wet heap at her feet. Then she gasped, realising, to her consternation, that she was almost naked. 'Oh, no!' she cried helplessly, flinging back her streaming hair and beginning to weep.
'Alex!' Immediately he was on his feet, completely sober, taking charge of her. 'Don't take on so, girl. Maybe we both needed that.' 'Speak for yourself!' she gulped bitterly. 'For both of us,' he insisted firmly.
'I...I thought you were lost, that you might be hurt,' she sobbed, quite unable to pull herself together. Did you?' he said, thoughtful about that. Then, whimsically, I simply intended having the bathroom first. If I'd had anything to write with I'd have left you a note.'
'Don't joke about it, Chase!' Refusing to be so easily appeased, she stamped her small foot. 'Perhaps our sense of humour isn't up to it,' he agreed, offering her a large white handkerchief. 'Here, take this. I was keeping it for emergencies, but this might just rate as one.' She tried to grasp it, but her hands were shaking too badly. 'Let me,' he sighed wryly. Blindly obedient, Alex turned fully to him, too muddled to think and barely noticing his hands dry the water from her face and shoulders. His steady movements were soothing and she didn't see the sudden blaze of desire in his eyes.
Her lashes felt weighted, her eyes almost drowsily closed when she felt his hands tense and his mouth drop to her lightly tanned throat. 'Alex,' he groaned, his mouth hot against her skin, 'you're beautiful.'
Beautiful? How could she be, half drowned as she was in creek water? Colour flooded her cheeks as she remembered her state of semi-nakedness, that she had nothing on but her thin panties and bra.
Chase bent her head back, his mouth moving up the slender column of her neck to crush her lips, his eyes alight and burning. 'Don't fight me,' he growled.
Immediately she came to her senses. He was kissing her with a bruising intensity, seemingly uncaring that he hurt her. Frightened, she tried to struggle, but he would not release her. By coming here this morning she appeared to have released a storm of feeling he could no longer control. Last night had been but a prelude to the avalanche of savage passion that descended on her now. Under his mouth she gave a half sob, the tenseness of her body pleading with him.
He drew a shaken breath, his arms slackening, as if striving for composure. With a gasp Alex stumbled away from him, but moving too quickly she fell. The sun was already on the sandy grass. Yesterday's heat, being still trapped in it, warmed her as she lay helpless before him.
Chase knelt down beside her, turning her over gently. The clean fresh scent of him hit her somewhere in her stomach, making her legs curl.
'Darling,' he said thickly, I would never hurt you.'
She looked at him, realising the longer he held her the less was her desire for escape. When she didn't move he began kissing her again, as if he couldn't help himself, and after a moment she relaxed, the pressure of his mouth obliterating everything else, the touch of his hands sensually arousing.
Surrendering to the strength of her own feelings, Alex put her arms around his neck, arching her slender body against his. Between them there sprang to life a sudden urgency. She began returning his kisses eagerly, her hands trembling as much as his, her breath shuddering.
Beneath the insistent pressure of his mouth her own parted, with a helpless cry, admitting his passion.
His breath was as ragged as hers as his lips burned over her, pillaging her face and throat, and, when his hand thrust her flimsy bra aside, the throbbing fullness of her breasts.
Alex went tense, quivering, her nails digging into the smooth skin of his shoulders, her emotions roused to such a pitch she could deny him nothing. She opened glazed eyes, seeing, in odd wonder, his darkly flushed face. Chase moved restlessly, as if desire was building up in him a kind of agony. His breath was hot and rasping on her face, his hands moved tentatively to her narrow hips, tightening over the warm curve of flesh he found there.
Urgently he groaned against her soft mouth, 'I want you, my darling, but I don't want to hurt you.'
He might have been giving her a last chance to go, but she was past all caring, only aware she could no longer refuse him, whatever he wanted. Her entire body was on fire with a need as great as his own.
When his control went, she found herself melting, her fears fading, utterly pliable as he pressed savagely down on her. There was her startled, whimpering cry at the beginning of pain then, suddenly, an explosion of noise, roaring from the sky above them, thrusting them immediately apart.
It was a helicopter. Dimly Alex realised this almost before she heard Chase's harsh exclamation. When she opened dazed eyes he was already on his feet, away from her.
'They've found us, Alex.' For a second he stood quite still, his broad shoulders rigid, then, without looking at her, he strode from the protective cover of the trees which lined the creek. 'They're coming down beside the plane,' he called back.
Alex was hurrying to tidy herself up as best as she could with a mild still numb and butterflies dancing in her stomach. Feelings of shame were storming over her. The helicopter had saved her in more ways than one, she supposed, but if she'd used her common sense it shouldn't have been necessary. How could she have let her feelings run away with her to such an extent? Another moment her ch
eeks colouring painfully, she remembered.
Managing to pull herself together, she stared with dismay at her ruined dress. It would be difficult to put back on. If she did manage to do it, she couldn't imagine what she would look like in it. 'What am I to do, Chase?' she cried, cold with embarrassment.
A quick glance, which she felt though did not see, told her he understood.' Stay there while I fetch a rug.
'They're sure to have one.'
'But what will they think?' Wildly anxious, her eyes rose at last to his face, seeing in confusion how grim he was. His face was grey, his eyes bleak, and his mouth seemed to have a harsh ring around it.
'If they're my men, which I'm almost certain they will be, they aren't paid to think, Alex.'
She heard his breath released on a note of hard impatience, which might have been because of her. Her nervous reactions obviously irritated him. Any other girl might have been dancing about his feet, throwing her arms around him, instead of cowering here, shivering over something that had never even happened. She couldn't even find the courage to say she was glad they had been rescued.
No more than five minutes later Chase was back, carrying, of all things, a pair of jeans and a sweater.
'It's Drew all right,' he said. 'And Harriet sent you these. She remembered you were only wearing a thin dress that might not have survived an accident. Anyway, these are more practical.'
Gratefully she took them, but her voice was still frozen as she thanked him. Her hands seemed frozen, too, as she struggled into the jeans and fumbled clumsily with the zip.
'Can I help you?' She was so bemused she forgot he was standing watching her awkward efforts. His tone was somehow so intimate she coloured faintly. 'Oh, no, thank you,' she replied, catching her finger and wincing painfully.
With a terse snap of his white teeth Chase thrust her hands away, completing the job for her. When she gasped he seemed less intent on her slender body than the extreme whiteness of her face. 'For God's sake, Alex, you don't have to look so injured! Nothing happened.'
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