by Fiona Lowe
‘Does it work?’
She suddenly looked sheepish. ‘It usually gets a man to come to my aid who’s prepared to get his hands grimy and jump-start the car.’
‘Ah! So all this feminist independence is a front.’ He loved teasing her.
‘No.’ Her voice sounded huffy but her eyes sparkled above the mask. ‘I am completely independent, except for cars. I just hate getting my hands covered in grease, or anything dirty for that matter.’
‘But it just washes off.’ He shook his head. ‘You sound just like Sasha.’
‘Wise girl, your daughter.’
Her high-wattage smile radiating from her eyes hit him soul deep. Her eyes reflected laughter and affection, backlit by something more. Instinctively his hand curled around her shoulder, easing his body into hers, closing the slight gap between them.
As the ute bounced over unmade road and plumes of dust billowed out, conversation became impossible. Kate’s body was touching his as she headed Betsy toward the hut. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest, strands of her hair blown by the wind caressed his cheek and her soft skin lay against his own.
All thoughts of his work responsibilities and his worries about Sasha drained out of him. Nothing existed except the two of them alone on this long, straight and dusty track. Just the two of them.
It felt…right
He hoped it would take a really long time to get to Dog Tired Hut.
The rain started to fall three kilometres from their destination. Kate sat forward, concentrating on the track that was fast becoming red, sucking mud.
For the last twenty minutes she’d driven with Baden’s arm curved around her and his leg pressing against hers, just as if they were two teenagers sneaking off together. She hated it that it felt so good. So right.
‘I don’t like the look of this rain.’ She scanned the horizon, hoping to see the plane. ‘I thought Glen would have been waiting for us.’ A niggle of anxiety skated through her.
‘He can’t be too far away.’ Baden gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Occasional drops that splattered them turned into driving rain that came straight into the ute as they approached the hut. Kate pulled to a stop, the wheels skidding in the mud. She whipped off her mask. ‘Let’s make a run for the hut. We’ll be drier in there.’
Her feet hit the ground and she immediately sank into ankle-deep mud. ‘Oh, yuck.’ She looked sadly at the red mud that had trapped her shoes. Pulling each foot out with an audible slurp, she gingerly made her way to the back of the ute.
Baden picked up her medical bag and passed it to her. She extended her hand to grab the handle but her grip was slick with rain and it slipped. She leaned forward, reaching to catch the bag before it sank into the mud, but she overbalanced. Her feet gave way and she fell head first into the quagmire.
‘Are you OK?’ Baden extended his hand, his lips compressed, trying to suppress the laughter that shook his body.
She glanced down at herself to see red clay caking her from shoulder to toe. Rain and mud plastered her uniform to her, making her look like a cross between a mud wrestler and a wet T-shirt competitor. Her fingers pulled uselessly at her clinging shirt, which hid little. ‘I can’t believe I did this. I’m filthy.’
Baden’s hand gripped her wrist and he pulled her to her feet, his face alive with amusement and a flash of appreciation. ‘At least your hands aren’t covered in grease.’
His laughter carried away her dismay and she joined in. ‘I think I can add mud to my list of icky substances I don’t like being covered in.’ Rain ran down her neck, as well as into her shoes. She tossed her head back and spread her arms out wide, willing the plane to arrive, attempting to wash herself at the same time.
‘Come on, you’re soaked. Let’s go inside.’ Holding his medical kit with one hand and her hand with the other, he jogged toward the hut and unbolted the door.
The satellite phone rang in her pocket as they stepped over the threshold. Swallowing her horror, she wiped her muddy hands on the one bit of her shorts that was dry and punched the answer button. ‘Glen, I’m on speakerphone. We’re at the hut but where are you?’
‘Sorry, Kate, Baden, I’ve had to divert due to the weather. It’s very local but I can’t risk the plane on the strip. I can pick you up from McCurdy’s.’
Baden frowned. ‘But that’s one hundred kilometres from here and the track will be a bog.’
Kate nodded and spoke to Glen. ‘Even if we could get there, which we doubt we can, we couldn’t make it before nightfall.’
‘I can’t land at night unless it’s an emergency. Sorry, guys, but I think you’re stuck for the night.’ Glen’s apologetic voice came down the line. ‘We’ll reassess everything in the morning.’
She glanced at Baden and they spoke at the same moment. ‘Sasha.’
‘Glen, we have limited battery life. Sasha Tremont needs to be collected from after-school care and looked after for the night. Can you organise that?’
‘Sure. I’ll radio Jen, who’ll sort it out. Don’t worry, Baden, she’ll be fine, and my kids will love having a visitor for the night. Meanwhile, enjoy your outback adventure, guys. Over and out.’
The line went dead.
Baden started to pace and his hand tugged at his hair. ‘Hell. How can I be a doctor and a decent father? She hasn’t ever slept over at Glen and Jen’s and she shouldn’t even have to.’
Kate put her hand on his arm as an overwhelming need to reassure him settled in her belly. ‘It’s OK. These things happen in the outback. If you were a plumber you could have got stranded by this rain and washed-out roads. Sasha knows the Jacobses. Hannah’s in her class and they’re in the same patrol at Guides. She’ll love having an unexpected sleepover.’
He sighed, his expression not quite in agreement. ‘I suppose so but I promised her we’d make toffee tonight for the stall. I hate letting her down.’
A flash of irritation sparked in her. Why was he this hard on himself? ‘You’re not letting her down. You’re raising a kid who knows she’s loved and who goes with the flow. At Guides, she’s the one who copes with unexpected things when the others panic or just get frustrated because something hasn’t gone according to plan. She knows you’re not in any danger so she won’t be stressing. In fact, if I know Sasha, she’ll be organising Jen and the kids to make the toffee.’
A wry smile tugged at his lips as his apprehensive expression slowly faded. ‘She organises me all the time so you’re probably right. She’ll be making the most out of this unexpected situation.’
Tension seemed to flow out of his body and an unfamiliar aura of lightness surrounded him. His eyes danced, his brow cleared and a sinful smile clung to his lips.
The change was intoxicating. She’d never seen him look like this. It was as if he’d discarded the burdens that had been clinging to him from the moment she’d met him.
He glanced around at the spartan hut. ‘Meanwhile, we need to make the most of this situation.’
The double entendre of his words hung in the air. Her heart hammered hard against her chest.
His desire-fuelled gaze came back to rest on her. She could feel his eyes travelling the length of her body. Her skin, cool from the rain and mud, heated up so fast she could swear she could hear the water sizzle.
He stepped in close. ‘I think the first thing we need to do is get out of these wet clothes.’ His words rolled out, low and husky.
She swallowed hard at his crystal-clear intent. ‘Really? We don’t have spare clothes.’
He tucked her wet hair behind her ear. ‘It would be the responsible thing to do. After all, we don’t want to get hypothermia.’
Every nerve ending was firing off rounds of heat and the idea of hypothermia seemed ridiculous, but her body started to shiver. She couldn’t tell if it was from cold or anticipation.
He tilted his head toward the old bed, covered with a couple of even older rag quilts. His grin—one of sheer devilment and daring
—raced across his face. ‘I think that for tonight this is our best option.’
She stared up at him, sinking into eyes so blue, completely caught in their hypnotic effect. You’re weak, Kate. This is just a moment in time. He’s only offering one night.
But he could have asked her almost anything at that point and she would have said yes. She was done with being sensible. Being sensible had only brought her heartache. She didn’t want marriage and commitment and neither did he. No promises were being made, just an agreement of a stolen moment in time.
I need this. I’m taking this one moment in time because it will never come my way again. The memory will keep me warm in the lonely nights ahead.
‘So you think that snuggling up in that bed for this one night would be the best idea?’
His expression registered the deal on the table. ‘I do. Body heat is powerful stuff, Kate.’ His finger drew a feather-soft trail down her cheek.
She swayed toward him, placing her hands on his chest, her fingers feeling the solid muscle beneath his wet shirt. ‘But I’m all muddy.’
‘I’ll wash you.’
Blood roared in her ears at the image his words created. Then his mouth came down onto hers, his tongue caressing her lips with soft and delicate touches, making her feel cherished and adored. Sending waves of longing pounding through her, setting her legs trembling.
Her hands found his hair, his curls all wet and soft under her fingers. She opened her mouth to his, welcoming him, giving herself to him, letting him take away a year of pain and loneliness. Taking a moment in time for herself.
Her hand found the buttons on his shirt and she started to undo each one, her fingers stiff and shaking with a mixture of cold and need.
Still his mouth stayed on hers, creating sensations she’d never known. Aching pleasure built inside her and her body quivered, longing for him to touch more than just her lips.
As if reading her mind, Baden eased his lips from hers and trailed kisses along her jaw. He murmured against her neck, ‘You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful covered in mud, you’d be beautiful covered in grease, and you’ve been driving me crazy for the last three and a half months.’
‘Have I?’ She needed to hear him say it again, to drive away the nightmare of her marriage.
His hands slid under her shirt, dextrously releasing the catch on her bra. ‘You have and I can’t wait to see all of you, muddy or not.’
A thrill zipped through her, heading straight to her core. She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and pressed her lips to his chest, tasting rain mixed with salt and feeling taut muscle under skin. Hers for tonight.
He pulled her shirt over her head, dropping it onto a chair before pulling her close, his hands splayed against her back, kneading her spine.
Skin against skin. Breast against chest.
Waves of need crashed through her.
She fought to memorise every moment of this brief time with him but as pleasure surged through her, she let herself be swept away on a tide of bliss.
‘You’re cold.’ He pulled her toward the bed and with a scrambling of hands—belts, bra, shorts and pants cascaded into a heap. Laughing, they both fell onto the bed, the old springs creaking under their weight and the mattress sinking in the middle, rolling them together.
Legs entwined. Cold flesh met cold flesh, instantly flaring into heat.
‘Let me warm you,’ he murmured gently into her hair as his hand cupped her breast. His thumb brushed her nipple, which instantly rose to his touch.
White lights danced in front of her eyes as rivers of wonder flowed through her. Wonder that he touched her with such tenderness, wonder that he wanted her.
She wanted him. Her body vibrated with need as her hands raced all over him, touching him, feeling him, making sure this was all real but knowing it was really an illusion—a fantasy in a moment of time.
She didn’t care.
He caught her hands loosely and held them above her head, his focus entirely on her pleasure. With a low guttural moan he trailed kisses across each breast and then closed his mouth softly over her tingling nipple, his tongue gently lashing the sensitive nub.
A groan of ecstasy escaped her parted lips, the sound completely foreign to her. Nothing she had ever experienced before had been like this.
She gripped his shoulders as she unconsciously rose toward him, never wanting him to stop.
He raised his head, his eyes simmering with wickedness. ‘So that works for you, does it? What about this?’ He dipped his head, his tongue trailing a curving path past her belly button and beyond.
Her hands frantically gripped his head as he wove his magic. It was too fast, she wanted to savour it moment by moment but her body disagreed. Her mind shut down completely, driving out all thoughts, all arguments, all common sense. Her mind gave over to her body to glory in everything being offered. She took it all greedily, like a thirsty person took water, not knowing when it might be offered again.
Layer upon layer of tingling, glorious sensation built on itself deep inside her, like a furnace being constantly stoked, intensifying with every stroke of his tongue, taking her higher and higher until she teetered on a precipice, sheer pleasure and pain blurring. She called his name, then shattered into a million shards of light as ribbons of liquid paradise poured through her, mellowing her completely.
She lay back on the lumpy pillow, Baden’s smiling face above her, looking very self-satisfied. The wondrous feelings suddenly faded, leaving her muscles twitching, aching and empty. She reached for him. ‘That was very nice, thank you, but I think you can do better.’
He brushed her damp hair from her face. ‘Is that so?’
‘Hmm, yes.’ She traced the contours of his face, the pads of her fingers absorbing him like a blind person absorbed Braille.
He lowered his head and whispered deliciously wicked suggestions into her ear.
All thoughts of teasing faded as her body thrummed with aching need for him. She rose up against him, welcoming him into her, needing him to complete her in an age-old way. Glorying in his need of her.
Together they created a rhythm that drove them higher and higher until they cried out together and tumbled over the edge, freefalling—forever entwined.
Baden stoked the fire and spread Kate’s rinsed clothes out along the fireguard to dry. Kate stood beside the fire wrapped in a quilt, all rosy pink after her wash in the hipbath, all dark hair and dark eyes. She looked lush and delectable.
Memories of how lush and delectable she was had him pulling her into his arms. He sat down with her cuddled on his lap.
‘Your clothes will be dry soon.’
She snuggled against him. ‘Thanks for looking after me. The bath was divine and somehow you even made instant noodles taste palatable.’
He laughed and dropped a kiss into her hair, which smelt of lavender shampoo. ‘I think you were just so hungry you weren’t as discerning as usual.’
‘Perhaps.’ She stifled a yawn. ‘What time is it?’
He glanced at his watch. ‘Nine o’clock. Why?’
She put a finger to his lips before slipping off his lap and pulling him to his feet. ‘Come and look at this.’ With the quilt trailing behind her like a bride’s train, she padded over to the door and stepped outside.
He’d never seen a sky like it. Silver lights danced across the ink-black sky. Twinkling stars in all their sparkling glory rained their light down on them. The Southern Cross constellation hovered on the horizon and the moon was yet to rise. ‘It’s beautiful.’
Kate picked up his hand and pointed with it. ‘Look over there.’
He peered up, his eyes straining to discern something special amongst the mass of stars. Then he saw a streak moving across the sky. He couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘Is that a comet?’
She turned to him, her face alive with excitement. ‘Yes, and not only is tonight the best night to see it, we’re out here with no light pollution.’
He pulled her
close, loving the way her curves fitted into him. ‘It’s a special night all round.’
She laid her head on his shoulder. ‘One worth remembering.’
Her quiet words unexpectedly speared him. One night. It was what they both wanted, what they had both agreed to. Neither of them was able to offer more. He couldn’t risk loving again, he had to protect Sasha. Kids loved easily, but as Kate didn’t want a relationship he couldn’t risk Sasha getting attached. Another loss could devastate her.
But he had tonight. They had less than twelve hours before real life returned. Before he was a doctor again, before he was a father again. Before life returned to what it had been.
So why the hell was he out here, looking at stars?
He swung her into his arms and took her back inside.
CHAPTER NINE
‘MINE!’ Sasha dived for the ball, catching it and hugging it to her chest with one arm as she swam with the other toward the water polo goal.
‘Not likely.’ Baden ducked under the water and came up next to her, tickling her around the waist until she surrendered the ball.
‘That’s cheating.’ Her indignation came out on a wave of laughter as she grabbed her father by the feet.
Baden disappeared under the water in a haze of bubbles, the ball bouncing up to the surface of the water.
Kate grabbed it, shimmied up onto the edge of the pool and sat watching father and daughter do battle, not even aware their target had been poached. She hated to admit it but she could watch them together for hours. Baden was a wonderful father and he and Sasha had a very close relationship, which wasn’t surprising, considering what they’d both been through.
It couldn’t be easy, raising a daughter on your own, and she was happy to help but Baden kept Sasha to himself. Stupidly, she couldn’t shake the irrational thought that after their wonderful night together at Dog Tired Hut, he might just want to spend a bit more time with her. That he might want Sasha to spend some more time with her. She sighed. It seemed that was just a giant flight of her imagination.