by Andrews, Amy
Bushfire territory.
Roadkill central. The bloated carcasses of kangaroos, and the odd feral pig, making them grateful for reverse air cycles to avoid the putrid odour of decay carried on the hot, dry air.
They drove into Parkes for lunch, again catching up with some of the other rally teams and again finding a bakery and chatting with whichever local was brave enough to get past their starstruck shyness and initiate a conversation.
After lunch, just outside Parkes, Justin pulled the car off to the side. “There it is,” he said, pointing to the radio telescope in a nearby paddock, affectionately known to everyone as The Dish.
He parked the Monaro under the shade of a big old gum tree, but the second Edwina stuck her foot outside the door she knew it was going to make very little difference. The air was heavy with heat and she wound down her window a little so it wouldn’t build up inside while they were taking the obligatory snap the organisers had demanded.
The hot, dry air smelled like livestock and eucalyptus and a bleat drew Edwina’s attention to the sheep in the nearby paddock.
“Okay,” Justin said as he rounded the car to her side. “You got your phone?”
Edwina nodded and held it up to show him.
“Good. Let’s get this pic and get back in the air-con. I feel like I’m being burnt to a crisp out here and I’m still in the bloody shade.”
He didn’t look like it though. He looked fresh and vital, all tall and lean and tanned, like he belonged in this environment. There was something about this outdoor setting that added to his masculinity. He looked so… dominant amidst the bush. So bloody Australian. Like he could chop down the tree and rope a lamb for dinner then make a bloody big camp fire and cook the damn thing, all without breaking a sweat.
It was hot, but he looked cool as a cucumber in a t-shirt that covered his shoulders and half way down his biceps and a pair of shorts that showed off his long, tanned legs.
Unlike Edwina, who could already feel sweat collecting in her cleavage, beading on her top lip and oozing down the back of her neck.
In her three-quarter length Capris and tank top with shoe string straps, she felt like she was being burned to a crisp!
Maybe January hadn’t been the best time of year to go on an outback road trip. But, as the television world was on hiatus at the beginning of the year, it made the most sense.
They picked their way closer to the fence line, traversing the long, crackly grass that took over once they’d left the cleared edges of the road. Edwina tried not to think about any number of deadly snakes that could be poised to bite, but she forgot about them as the bite from the sun took precedence. She could feel it beating down on the top of her head and falling heavily on her shoulders, her skin tight and crackly under the ultraviolet rays.
Nature’s heat lamp.
“This’ll do,” Justin said.
Edwina agreed. They were in plain sight of the still-functioning radio telescope that had transmitted the first pictures of man landing on the moon to the world over four decades ago.
The huge dish of the telescope was currently sitting at a forty-five degree angle and it looked alien in the very rural landscape, with sheep grazing in the foreground. But they posed for the required pics anyway, Justin grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into him, her back into his front, as he scrolled to the camera and held the phone out and up. With his long arms he was able to get the perfect snaps of them, the sheep, and the dish.
He took several and they put on their acting faces, grinning and goofing it up for the camera, and Edwina pretended she wasn’t aware of all his heat and hardness behind her. That she didn’t want to turn in his arms and drag him to the ground or grind herself back against him and feel the hard clutch of his hand at her hips as he ground right back.
“That ought to do it,” he said, releasing her immediately and handing her the phone. “Now, let’s get out of this god awful heat.”
Edwina didn’t need to be told twice, her skin was already on fire from the searing rays of the direct sunlight. Or maybe that was just being plastered to Justin.
The two were a deadly combination.
Despite the open window and being parked in the shade it was still hot and stuffy inside the Monaro when they climbed inside. “You okay to load them to Twitter and Facebook?” Justin asked as he started the engine and an immediate waft of cool air blew bliss all over her skin.
Edwina shut her eyes and sighed. “So good.”
“Yes,” he murmured, his voice all low and wistful. “It is.”
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. At her face. Her mouth. Her breath stuttered to a halt. Her pulse fluttered at her pulse points. Outside, under the harsh beat of the sun, he’d looked so primal, so capable in that rugged man-on-the-land way. Sitting inside the cool bubble of the Monaro, he looked capable in different ways.
Ways that were also kind of primal. Male animal kind of ways. Like he could reach across the space separating them and haul her against him and devastate her with his mouth.
But he didn’t. He looked away, saying, “Put on your seatbelt,” as he turned on his indicator and pulled out onto the road.
*
Edwina had her ear buds in, listening to music, catching up on her emails, and spending some time on social media on her iPad when, about thirty kilometres outside Dubbo, Justin nudged her.
“Look,” he said, pointing to the windscreen.
Edwina pulled the buds out as Justin decelerated and followed the direction of his finger. “Oh my god,” she whispered as a pair of emus unhurriedly crossed the road about a hundred metres ahead. When they got to the other side they stepped just as unhurriedly into the scrub and disappeared from sight.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he said accelerating again.
Edwina stared after them in amazement. “Very cool.” She looked at him. “I’ve never seen emus in the wild.”
“Neither have I,” he said. “A first for both of us.”
She smiled, liking the sound of it. Looked like this was going to be the trip for firsts…
*
They pulled into the grounds of the Zoofari Lodge at Dubbo Western Plains Zoo half an hour later. Two giraffes grazed on trees in the nearby savannah. Most of the rally participants had already arrived and claimed their accommodation for the night, which was in canvas covered lodges, complete with en suites and air-conditioning.
“So, this is what they call glamping,” Edwina murmured as she was directed to the lodge she was sharing with the two women who ran the channel five’s most successful cooking show, Menu In A Minute, and Faith Allen – who was one half of the six-o-clock news team.
She knew all three women, and with accommodation at a premium, Edwina was more than happy to share. Ecstatic, actually. It might just keep Justin at bay for a night. He was sharing with some reality television guys who were in their early twenties and already drinking beer, thrilled to have a movie star in their midst.
Thankfully, the media were at the Billabong camp further away on the zoo grounds – where there was no such thing as glamping – so all the stars had a night off from close media scrutiny, although Edwina had to remind herself, as she headed for the pool, attached to the main house, late that afternoon in her black one-piece, that some of their stars were news people too and it would be foolish to forget that.
The pool already had a good crowd either swimming in it or sitting around it at tables, chatting about their day as they drank cocktails out of long, tall glasses. Everyone greeted her with gusto and before she knew it, she was immersing herself in the cool clear depths, the sweat and discomfort from the still insanely warm day, washing instantly away.
Someone shoved a cold drink in her hand and she struck up a conversation with Faith about the rally. It was hard to concentrate though, with her gaze constantly wandering to Justin, hanging out in the corner with his homies who said dude a lot.
Edwina liked Faith a great deal. She was super sma
rt, and had cut it in a world where she was only expected to be a pretty, smiling face. She’d shaken up the news team, and the coverage and content were the stronger for it, but Justin was sitting on the edge of the pool, beer in hand, boardies hanging low on narrow hips and nothing else.
It wasn’t a fair fight.
Especially when she’d realised the hair on his chest was no more. He’d never had a lot, a light smattering on his pecs and that narrow trail of hair that headed south from his belly button. But he was all smooth now and she wondered if that was one of the demands that Hollywood had made on him.
Wondered how it would feel beneath her hands.
“He looks good, doesn’t he?”
Edwina blinked as she realised that Faith had stopped talking about whatever the hell she’d been talking about and was looking at Justin. He was laughing, his whiskery neck exposed, his wet hair slicked back. “Er… yes.”
“Hollywood clearly agrees with him,” she said, quirking an eyebrow at Edwina.
Edwina nodded. Justin definitely had an extra layer of gloss to him now. “Yes.”
Faith laughed. “Queen of the understatement I see.”
Edwina shrugged. “He’ll always just be Jus to me.”
“Well he can park his boots under my bed any day,” she murmured with a wink. “Want another drink?”
“No, thanks,” Edwina said, her glass still half full, forcing a smile to her mouth, despite the punch to the gut Faith’s words had delivered.
Women all around the world wanted Justin Wilde, which was kind of intimidating.
“Suit yourself. Nothing like a cold cocktail or two on a hot day, I always say.”
Edwina watched her swim off in the direction of the pool stairs where Steven Carlings, her co-anchor, was lounging. They had a brief conversation and then he laughed at something Faith had said as she swept out of the pool.
“Hey.”
Edwina startled at the familiar voice suddenly so close. “Hey,” she said, her pulse fluttering like crazy as Justin’s naked chest loomed in front of her. His smooth, naked chest. Her fingers itched to touch it.
“I’ve been waiting for you to appear,” he said, taking a suck of his beer. “I was hoping you’d be in that sexy red bikini you wore during that beach episode in season one, remember?”
Remember? How could she forget? Justin hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. She’d felt his gaze on her constantly. On the way her nipples beaded through the wet fabric, on her ass, on her belly button.
She’d been in a perpetual state of arousal all freaking day.
“I don’t wear a bikini anymore,” she said. “Not in company anyway.”
He smiled. “Why? Have you found Jesus?”
“No,” Edwina laughed. “But the splenectomy scar is pretty impressive. I try not to show it off.”
“Oh, god,” his teasing expression turned instantly contrite. “Of course, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think.”
“It’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s not really a thing, I just don’t like to flash it around everywhere. Ever since the accident, people have a kind of a ghoulish fascination with it. I don’t like to encourage it.”
“Couldn’t they do it laparoscopically?”
“Not in an emergency situation, no. I’d lost a lot of blood.”
“Jesus.” He shook his head, his gaze locking with hers. “Every time I think about it, I want to throw up.”
Edwina shrugged, she’d gotten past that, but she’d never forget how banged up she’d been. “Thank heavens for the RFDS.”
She held her glass up and he clinked his beer bottle against it.
“To the RFDS,” he murmured.
“Justin. Dude.” The interruption boomed across the pool and Justin rolled his eyes at her. “We have to know how you do all those wicked stunts.”
“Sorry,” he said to her on a sigh.
“No worries, dude,” Edwina said, biting down on a laugh.
“Very funny,” he grinned as he pushed lazily away from the side and joined his new best friends over the other side of the pool.
*
A special poolside BBQ was put on that night for the rally participants and the party didn’t break up ’til close to ten. Edwina made sure she stayed to the end this time, given that she’d piked early the two previous nights. And it was nice, lazing around the pool and hopping in for an occasional dip when the still, warm night got too oppressive.
Edwina arrived back at the lodge with her three roomies and they chatted for a while, taking it in turns to shower. She sat on her bed, still in her one-piece and towel, and reached into her bag to check her emails and twitter stream, while she waited but her iPad wasn’t there.
Damn it. She must have left it in the car.
She rang Justin on her mobile. “Hey, dude,” she said when he answered, and laughed at his corresponding groan. “Can I have the keys to the Monaro? I think my iPad must still be in there and I hate surfing the net on my mobile.”
“Sure thing. I’ll drop them over to you.”
“No.” The smiled dropped pretty damn quickly. She was trying to break the pattern of the last two nights. “I’ll come to you.”
“Suit yourself.”
Edwina slid off the bed. “I’ll be back,” she said, “Just getting my iPad from the car.”
“Oh that’s what they call it these days,” Faith said, winking. “Getting my iPad from the car.”
Edwina forced herself to laugh along with the other women, but she was pleased to get out of the tent and away from Faith’s tweaking radar.
Grabbing the torch hanging up outside the tent, she made her way through the pitch black night to Justin’s. He was waiting outside for her still in his boardies. She thanked god it was dark. She didn’t trust her eyes not to check him out thoroughly.
“Thanks,” she said, reaching for the keys.
“I’ll come with you,” he said.
Edwina shook her head. The last thing she needed was to be alone out here with him, both barely dressed. “There’s no need. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not going to let you walk around by yourself in the dark, Ed, and anyway—” Raucous laughter burst out of the open door to his lodge, interrupting him. “I could really use the break from all the hilarity.”
He didn’t give her any choice, setting off in the direction of the car park, leaving her to follow behind. The further they got away from the lodges, the more the night enveloped them and the quieter it became. Only the trilling of insects accompanied them as they followed the path.
They were at the Monaro in under a minute. Justin opened the door for her and after a short hunt around she retrieved her iPad, which had fallen down beside her seat. “Got it,” she said, raising it triumphantly as she backed out and turned around, practically running straight into Justin who was still standing there.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, taking a step back, bumping against the car.
“No need to apologise,” he murmured, “I shouldn’t have been standing so close.”
The car park was quite well lit, but they were on the shadowed side of the car and at the very outer edge, a garden bed of manicured bushes next to them. His gaze was hooded, unreadable. But she could feel it on her skin.
Hot and hungry.
Her heart beat a little faster. They were out here all alone, away from prying eyes. Her gaze dropped to his smooth chest. “You wax now.”
She didn’t know why she said it. She should have said something like back off, buddy, anything to diffuse the slow, steady burn between them. But ‘you wax now’ had just popped out of her mouth.
“Just for my last role. Too much of a wimp to keep it up.”
Edwina nodded absently, not really hearing him as she lifted her hand and lay her palm flat against a smooth pec like she’d wanted to earlier. His harsh indrawn breath seemed loud in the night.
“Smooth,” she said, trailing her hand down his ribs to the flatness of his bell
y, her index finger travelling the path of his non-existent happy trail to as far as his boardies allowed it.
His muscles quivered under her touch.
“Ed,” he groaned. “Have a heart.”
Edwina looked up into his shadowed face, his brows were drawn together, his jaw tense. God. What was she doing? She dropped her hand. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do,” he muttered.
She raised her hand to his chest again, trying to get him to step back this time. He was so close – too close – the long lean line of him and the wild chlorine smell playing havoc with her senses.
“Back up,” she murmured when he refused to budge.
“No,” he said, his voice rough, almost like he was in pain. “I’m sorry, Ed, I just don’t want to anymore.”
And then his hand was sliding onto her cheek and his head was swooping down and his mouth landed, hot and fast, on hers, drowning her in a heady flood of lust and chlorine.
Edwina gasped, no plans to do anything other than hang on and go with him. His body followed his mouth, getting up close and personal, his hands landing on her butt, ripping the towel off her waist as he yanked her against him, his chest squashing her breasts, her nipples hardening into stiff aching points.
This wasn’t like any kiss they’d had in the past. No one was watching and there was no one to care and it combusted under the pressure of too many years of yearning.
“Fuck. Ed,” he muttered against her mouth, his hands kneading her ass, her cheeks mostly exposed in her one-piece. “I want you.”
And, god help her, she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything. He ground his erection against the juncture of her thighs and she moaned as the hard, heavy length of him burned straight through her flimsy swimming costume.
“I want to be inside you,” he muttered, his hips grinding and grinding as his mouth left hers to devour her neck.
“Yes,” she gasped.
“I want this,” he said, his hand reaching the neckline of her one-piece and yanking it down to expose a breast. “Fuck, yes,” he muttered. “I want that.”