by Sue MacKay
Then her hand found him again. Forget kissing. His lungs seemed to fold in on themselves as all the air hissed over his teeth. Forget everything. Absolutely everything.
Pulling her mouth away, Jess said, ‘You mentioned always being prepared for anything. I guess that means you’ve got a condom or two in your pocket.’
He froze. Swore under his breath. No. He’d been going to his sister’s wedding, had not expected to be bedding a hot bridesmaid.
Hot, shaky laughter filled the room. ‘You owe me, buster. Top drawer by the bed. They’re probably out of date but better than nothing.’
Within moments she had him covered and her hand was back on him, heat rolling through every cell of his body.
He had to touch her. But suddenly he was on his back and Jess was straddling him. Before he’d caught up with her she was sliding over him, beginning to ride him. His hands gripped her thighs, his thumbs slipped over her wet heat to find her core. She instantly bucked and for a moment she lost the rhythm.
But not for long. Her recovery was swift. This woman had to be something else. He kept the pressure on as he rubbed across her wetness.
Above him Jessica let out a long groan and squeezed tight around him and his brain went blank as he lost the last thread of control over his body.
* * *
Careful not to wake Jess, Jackson withdrew his arm from around her waist and rolled onto his back. A comfortable exhaustion lapped at him. It would be so easy to curl back into Jess and sleep for hours. Too easy, which was a scary thought. They’d made love again. Slowly and sensually, and just as gratifying. She’d been generous in her lovemaking, and hungry for her own release. He hadn’t experienced anything so straightforward and honest in a long time. And he’d enjoyed every moment.
But now he had to be thinking of getting home. Squinting at his watch, he tried to make out the time. Four twenty-four? The sun would soon be clawing its way up over the horizon. He slid out from under the sheet and groped around the floor for his clothes, which he took out to the bathroom to pull on.
He had to get away from here before there was a chance that anyone might see him leaving. He would not give anyone reason to gossip about Jess. It might be harmless but he knew how it could still hurt, ricocheting around the bay and getting more outrageous by the hour. According to Sasha, Jess wanted nothing more than to blend in around here, and to become a member of the community who everyone could rely on for help and empathy. She most definitely would not want to be the centre of idle chitchat at the corner store or in the pub. Jess wasn’t as lucky as he and Sasha were, she didn’t have her family to believe in her and stand by her.
Biting down on a sudden flare of anger, he dressed and headed to the kitchen to find pen and paper. He wouldn’t leave without saying thank you. Or something. Anything but nothing. He did not want her waking up and thinking he’d done a dash while she’d slept because he hadn’t had a good time or couldn’t face her in the light of day.
Back in the bedroom he quietly crossed to place the note on her bedside table. Then he stood looking down at her in the glimmer of light from the bathroom opposite. Sleeping Jess appeared completely relaxed. No sass, no uncertainty. His heart lurched. And before he could think about it he bent down to kiss her warm cheek. His hand seemed to rise of its own volition and he had to snatch it back before he made the monumental error of cupping her face and leaning in for one of those brain-melting, hormone-firing kisses.
Another lurch in his chest. She was like a drug; slowing his thought processes, making him forget things he should never forget. So, he was already half under her influence. If he didn’t leave immediately he might never go away. Which would cause all sorts of difficulties. He and Jessica were light years apart in what they wanted for their futures. Futures that could never blend comfortably. He didn’t need the hassle of trying to make it work and failing, and neither did Jessica.
Walking away was hard, and for every step his heart made a loud thud against his ribs. But he had to—for Jess. Making sure the front door was locked behind him to keep her safe—which also meant he couldn’t go back to her—he began the ten-kilometre walk back to his parents’ house.
Hopefully, if anyone he or Jess knew happened by at this early hour they wouldn’t put two and two together and come up with...four. Because there might be gossip about them spending the night together, but this was one story that would be based on truth.
Three hundred metres on and headlights swept over him. A car sped past, the horn tooting loud in the early morning. Again anger flared, sped along his veins. So much for being discreet. It just wasn’t possible around here. Increasing his pace, he tried to outrun the temper threatening to overwhelm him. When would these surges of anger stop? It had been more than a month since the attack. He should have got past that terrifying night by now.
The nearly healed wound in his side pulled as Jackson swung his arms to loosen the knots in his neck and back. There was another reason for leaving before the sun came up. That bloody scar. If Jess saw it she’d have a stream of unwanted questions to fire his way. Somehow she hadn’t noticed the rough ridge of puckered skin during the night. Amazing, considering he doubted there was a square millimetre of his body she hadn’t touched at one time or another.
‘So, Jackson,’ he muttered, as he focused on the road and not tripping over some unseen obstacle in the semi light of dawn, ‘where to from here, eh?’
His lips tightened as he grimaced.
‘That’s a tricky one. I don’t want commitment, gossip or questions about why I’ve got an ugly red scar on my body.’ That about covered everything.
If only he’d worn running shoes he could be jogging now. Like they’d have been a good match for the wedding clobber he still wore. But who was around to notice? It was weird how quiet it was around here. No hordes of people bumping into him, no thousands of locals talking nonstop as they began their day. Very, very quiet. Peaceful. A complete contrast to Hong Kong.
‘Don’t get too comfortable. You’re heading out of here before the end of April.’ He spat the words. ‘But I wouldn’t mind a repeat of last night with Jess.’ Just the mention of her name calmed him, slowed his angry thoughts. A smile began deep in his belly, sending tentacles of warmth to every corner of his body, curving his mouth upwards. ‘Oh, yeah. I could do that all over again.’
But would he?
Even if it meant talking about things he preferred buried deep inside his psyche?
Right at this moment he had no damned idea.
CHAPTER THREE
KEEPING HER EYES closed, Jess reached across the bed for Jackson and came up cold. What? She scrambled up and looked around. She was alone.
‘Jackson?’ she called.
Nothing. No cheeky reply. No deep chuckle. Silence except for the house creaking as the sun warmed up the day.
‘Great. Bloody wonderful, even. I hate it when the guy of the night before leaves without at least saying good bye.’ Her stomach tightened. Jackson had enjoyed their lovemaking as much as she had. She’d swear to it. ‘Maybe he didn’t want the whole bay knowing we’ve been doing the deed.’
Was that good or bad? Did she want the whole of Golden Bay discussing her sex life? Nope. Definitely not. The muscles in her stomach released their death grip.
Did she want to do it again? With Jackson? Oh, yes. Her stomach tightened again. Absolutely wanted that. Which was a very good reason not to. Already she felt the need to see him pulling at her, wanted his arms around her, to hear his sexy chuckle. And that was after one night. Blimey. Was she falling for her best friend’s brother? Even when she knew she shouldn’t? That was a sure-fire way to fall out with Sasha, especially once Jackson packed his bags and headed back to his job. But there was no helping those feelings of want and desire that seemed to sneak out of her skull when she wasn’t looking.
/> Throwing the sheet aside, she leapt out of bed. He might’ve left but, darn, she felt good this morning. Despite the uncertainty of today and, in fact, every other day of the coming months with Jackson in the bay, she felt great. Just went to show what a healthy dose of sex could do for her.
‘What’s that?’ A piece of paper lay on the floor by the bed. Picking it up, she read:
Hey, sleepyhead, thought I’d get away before the bay woke up. Thanks for a great night. See you at brunch. Hugs, Jackson.
Hugs, eh? That was good, wasn’t it? Seemed he wasn’t hiding from her if he’d mentioned the post-wedding brunch. What was the time? Eight-thirty. Yikes. She was supposed to be at the Wilsons’ by nine-thirty and she had to pick up Nicholas. Her boy, the light of her life. She might’ve had a fantastic night but she missed him.
The piping-hot shower softened those aching muscles that had had a rare workout during the night. Singing loudly—and badly—she lathered shampoo through her hair while memories of last night with Jackson ran like a nonstop film through her mind. Hugging herself, she screeched out the words to a favourite song.
The phone was ringing as she towelled herself. Knowing she had no babies due at the moment, she wondered who’d be calling. Sasha would be too busy with Grady, it being the first day of married bliss and all that.
‘Hello,’ she sang.
‘Is that Jessica Baxter? The midwife?’ a strained male voice asked hesitantly.
Her stomach dropped. ‘Yes, it is. Who’s this?’
‘You don’t know me, but my wife’s having a baby and I think something’s wrong. It’s too early. Can we come and see you? Like now?’
No. I’m busy. I’m going to have brunch with the most amazingly attractive, sexy-as-hell guy I’ve ever had the good luck to sleep with. Except, as of now, she wasn’t. She swallowed the disappointment roiling in her stomach. ‘Let’s start at the beginning. Yes, I am Jessica. You are?’
‘Sorry, I’m panicking a bit here. I’m Matthew Carter and my wife’s Lily. We’re up here for the weekend from Christchurch. Staying at Paton’s Rock.’ The more he talked the calmer he sounded. ‘She seems a bit uncomfortable this morning.’
‘How far along is your wife?’ Why had they come away from home and their midwife when this Lily was due to give birth?
He hesitated, then, ‘Nearly eight months. Everything’s been good until this morning, otherwise we wouldn’t have come away. But my cousin got married yesterday and we had to be here.’
‘You were at Sasha and Grady’s wedding?’ She didn’t remember seeing any obviously pregnant women, and as a midwife she usually noticed things like that.
‘No, Greg and Deb Smith’s.’
No one she knew. There were often multiple weddings in the bay in January. The golden beaches were a huge attraction for nuptials. ‘Right. Tell me what’s going on.’
‘Lily’s having pains in her stomach. Personally I think she ate too much rich food yesterday but she wants someone to check her out.’
‘That sounds wise. They could be false labour pains. Can you drive into Takaka and meet me at the maternity unit? It’s behind the medical centre. I’ll head there now.’ She went on to give exact directions before hanging up.
Immediately picking the phone up again, she called the mother of Nicholas’s friend and asked if it was all right for him to stay there a while longer. Then she phoned Sasha’s mother.
‘Virginia, I’m very sorry but I have to bail on brunch, or at least be very late. A pregnant woman from Christchurch is having problems.’
‘That’s fine, Jess. You can’t predict when those babies will make their appearance.’
Yeah, but this wasn’t one of hers. Then there was the fact it was coming early—if it was even coming at all. ‘Can you tell Sasha and Grady I’m sorry? I really wanted to be there.’ And can you let your son know too?
‘Sure can. What about Jackson?’
Ahh. She swallowed. ‘What about him?’
Virginia’s laughter filled her ear. So that’s where Jackson had got that deep chuckle. She’d never noticed Virginia’s laugh before. ‘Seems he had a bit of a walk home at daybreak. We shared a pot of tea when he got in. He doesn’t realise how little I sleep these days. It gave him a bit of a shock when he crept in the back door just like he used to as a teenager.’
So much for Jackson trying to stop the town knowing about their night of fun. But his mother wouldn’t be one for spreading that particular titbit of gossip. Or any other. She didn’t do gossip. And...Jessica drew a breath...she didn’t need to know what he’d got up to as a teen.
‘Tell him thanks.’ Oops. Wrong thing to blurt out to the man’s mother.
‘For what, Jess?’ That laughter was back in Virginia’s voice.
Too much information for Jackson’s mother. ‘For...’ she cast around for something innocuous to say, came up blank.
Virginia’s laughter grew louder. ‘I’ll tell him thanks. He can fill in the blanks. Good luck with the baby. Come round when you’re done. We’d love to see you.’
I’m never going to the Wilson house again. My face will light up like a Christmas-tree candle the moment I step through their door. Apparently Virginia had a way of getting things out of a person without appearing to be trying.
Hauling on some knee-length shorts and a sleeveless shirt, she gave her hair a quick brush and tied it in a ponytail. There wasn’t time to blow-dry it now and as she wasn’t about to see Jackson it didn’t really matter any more.
Pulling out of her driveway, she saw her neighbour, Mrs Harrop, waving at her from the front porch. They both lived on the outskirts of town in identical little houses built back in the 1950s. Mrs Harrop took care of the gardens for both of them while Jess made sure the other woman had proper meals every day by always cooking twice as much as she and Nicholas needed.
‘Morning, Mrs Harrop. Everything all right with you today?’
‘The sun came up, didn’t it? How was the wedding? Who was that man I saw leaving your place in the early hours?’ There was a twinkle in the seventy-year-old woman’s eyes.
Damn. Usually her neighbour was half-blind in full daylight. ‘Mrs Harrop...’ Jess couldn’t help herself. ‘You won’t mention anything to your friends, will you?’
‘Get away with you, girl. My lips are zipped.’
Now, why did she have to mention zips? Jess’s brain replayed the memory of Jackson undoing the zip of her dress last night. Oh, and then of her hand on his fly, pulling that zip down. Turning the radio onto full blast, she sang some more cringeworthy words and banged the steering-wheel in an approximation of the song’s beat, and drove to town.
Jess made it to the maternity unit fifteen minutes before the distressed couple arrived. She filled in the time making coffee and nipped next door to the store to buy a muffin for breakfast. Nothing like the big cook-up she could’ve been enjoying at the Wilson establishment. But way better for her waistline.
The man she supposed to be Matthew helped his wife into the clinic and stood hopping from foot to foot, looking lost and uncomfortable.
After the introductions, Jess helped Lily up onto the examination bed. ‘This is where they used to tell the husbands to go and boil water.’
Matthew gave a reluctant smile. ‘Thank goodness the world is far more modern these days. But I admit having something concrete to do would help me right now.’
‘You could hold your wife’s hand while I examine her.’ Try being a comfort to her, rubbing her back. She’s the one doing the hard work here.
‘Speaking of water, Lily did pass a lot of fluid just before I rang you.’
‘You’re telling me her waters broke?’ What was wrong with letting me know sooner?
Matthew looked sheepish. ‘Lily wouldn’t let me look and I wasn’t sure.’
&nb
sp; Jess wanted to bang her head against the wall and scream. These two really weren’t dealing with this pregnancy very well. After an examination she told them, ‘Baby’s head’s down, and its bottom is pointing up. You’re definitely in labour.’
Lily said nothing, but her face turned white. ‘Now? Here? We shouldn’t have come.’ The eyes she turned on her husband were filled with distress and something else Jess couldn’t quite make out. Blame? Fear?
‘Matthew told me you’re nearly eight months along.’ When Lily nodded slowly, Jessica groaned internally. She’d have preferred to be dealing with a full-term baby when she didn’t know the patient. ‘I need to talk to your midwife. Lily, have you timed how far apart your contractions are?’
‘She wasn’t sure they were contractions,’ Matthew replied.
‘So this is your first baby?’ Jess asked.
‘No, our second.’ Matthew again.
So far Lily had hardly got a word in. Maybe that boiling water was a good idea after all. Jess pasted on a smile before saying, ‘I really need to talk to Lily for a moment. Have you timed the pains?’
Lily nodded, her face colouring up. ‘They’re four minutes apart.’
‘Okey-dokey, we’ve got a little lead-in time, then.’ Possibly very little, if this baby was in a hurry, but there was no point in raising Lily’s anxiety level any further. ‘You can fill me in on details. Like who your midwife is and how I can get hold of her for a start.’
I so do not like flying blind. A perfectly normal pregnancy so far, according to Matthew, but that baby was coming early. Too early really. Jess punched the cellphone number Matthew read out from his phone.
‘They’re where?’ the other midwife yelped when Jess explained the situation. ‘I warned them not to leave town. Lily has a history of early delivery. She’s only thirty weeks. The last baby didn’t survive.’