Page 58 of Road to Rosalee

A sigh slipped from her lips, her eyes closing softly. Then, without a word, her arms went back around him and she rested her cheek upon his chest. Breathing a sigh of silent relief, he laced his hands around her waist. The closeness between them right now was unfathomable, the intensity of the all-consuming passion limitless. The rain had eased to a soft sprinkle, the thunder and lightning was now off in the far-flung distance. Resting his head against her wet hair, he swayed her around the backyard – it was as if the universe was conspiring to make this the most romantic night ever. And he thanked the powers that be for such a beautiful blessing. Heat swirled deep inside him. His heart raced with quick, hard beats, and he hoped she could feel it. He wanted her to know just how deeply he felt for her without having to utter a single word. By god, he so desperately wanted to make love to her. But he wasn’t going to go that far. This, right here, was everything they needed, for now.

They swayed like that for a while, until he felt her shiver within his arms. ‘Are you getting cold, beautiful?’ he asked, gently.

She nodded against him. ‘I am, but I don’t want this night to end.’ She brought her eyes to his and blinked faster, as if she were warding off tears. ‘I’ve never felt so …’ She cleared her throat and shook her head, then buried her head against him once more.

‘So what?’ he dared to ask.

‘So … everything,’ was her muffled reply.

His heart reached deeper into hers and tightened around it. ‘I’ll take that,’ he said, smiling. ‘I should let you get some sleep, gorgeous lady.’ He stopped swaying and untangled them enough to be able to look into her eyes. ‘We have to be up in less than …’ He took a moment to see the time on his watch, ‘… five hours.’

‘Oh, wow, is it that late already?’ She sniffed, hard, and then slowly stepped out of his embrace. ‘Time flies, hey.’ Her hands went into the pockets of her cute denim shorts.

‘Whenever I’m with you, damn straight it does.’

The way she looked at him made his heart skip a beat. ‘Thank you, Zai, for another amazing night beneath the stars, and the rain.’ She sucked in a breath and then slowly exhaled it away.

‘Yeah, we seem to be making it a habit.’ His hands went into his pockets now. ‘A habit I’m really liking, by the way.’

‘Me too.’ Rocking back and forth on her heels, she did that thing that drove him nuts and bit her bottom lip ever so coyly.

‘Come on, then.’ He gestured to the homestead with a tip of his head. ‘I’ll walk you to the door.’

She laughed softly, pointing towards it. ‘It’s just there. I’m sure I can make it safely.’

‘That’s not the point.’ He reached out and tugged a hand from her pocket.

She allowed him to lead her across the back lawn and up the steps, the distance between where they’d danced and the door too short – every second with her counted so very much. Facing him, she rested against the screen door and held his gaze. He almost took her back into his arms and told her how deeply he was falling in love with her, but fear and a shot of willpower stopped him. It was an unfamiliar sensation – he’d never been afraid of anything.

He rubbed a hand over his stubble. ‘Well, night, lovely.’

She licked her lips. ‘Night then. Have a good sleep, won’t you.’

‘I will. You too.’ Forcing himself to turn and walk away, he took one last look over his shoulder and then disappeared into the blackness of night, taking a piece of her with him – it was a lot more than he’d expected to leave with.

Twenty minutes later, after pacing his back verandah while staring at the homestead, Zai found himself back at her front door, standing before her. She looked at him with wild passion in her eyes. Something fierce and possessive rose within him. He was helpless and there was nothing he could do to stop himself from grabbing hold of this moment, no matter the consequences. So he took her in his arms and kissed her, hot and hungry, his desire building like a wildfire. To his relief, she gave in to the moment too, begging him to follow her inside so he could make love to her, all night long. He didn’t need any further invitation. Picking her up while kissing her, he carried her into the house, and to her bedroom. Finally, they were going to jump over the edge and freefall into one another – she was going to be his, now and forever. He would make it so.

Placing her on the bed, he undressed, as did she, each of them watching the other the entire time. Revealing his body, heart and soul to her with absolute abandonment, he climbed on top of her and, taking her wrists, held them to the bed as he kissed her long, slow and deep. Her breathing quickened, became raspy. She pleaded with him to be at one with her. Wanting to make their very first time last, he held off surrendering until he couldn’t take it any longer. Then, he slowly slid inside her, taking great pleasure in her sharp inhalations and her pleasure-filled exhales as her nails dug into his back. Arching into him, she hooked her legs around him, begging him to go deeper, and he gave her what she hungered for, making sure to slow it down so she felt every skin-tingling stroke. She rolled her hips in unison with his, and they moved with one heartbeat, one soul. Climbing to dizzying heights he’d never been to before, he teetered there until he didn’t know how much longer he could last. His fingers dug into her hips as he thrust faster, harder, and it was only when he felt her tighten, when he heard her shuddering gasps, that he too let go, tumbling into the euphoric abyss with her, swirling in each other’s arms until they were breathless.

And that’s when Zai woke, hot and heavy, to the dawn sunlight creeping between his curtains, with a hunger fiercer than he’d ever felt before. His erotic dream was going to leave him feeling ravenous for her. He sat up, growling beneath his weighty breath – if he could get his hands on Melody right now, she’d be in trouble. Running his hands through his short-cropped hair, he tried to shake the yearning from his heart, and other places that didn’t need any more temptation. Tossing the sheet back, he climbed from the bed. He needed a cold shower. Now. Before he drove himself totally insane with need for her. Miranda Lambert’s song ‘I Feel a Sin Comin’ On’ came to mind as he plucked his towel from behind the door and sauntered down the hallway absolutely butt-naked.

An hour later, after he’d eaten satisfying breakfast of baked beans and fried eggs, the cattle lifted their heads as he and Melody tore alongside the rustic picketed barbed-wire fence on the quad bike, her arms wrapped around his waist to secure her seat, her hair blowing wild in the wind. He was enjoying his sneaky glimpses of her in the rear-view mirror, her face a picture of utter contentment. Her spirit was alive here – he just needed to get her to see it for herself, if she didn’t already, so he could persuade her to stay longer. The city didn’t suit her. He – they – needed more time here, where their hearts were at home and free.

Spotting where two wires were broken, he pulled to a stop, grabbed his tools from the crate roped to the front of the four-wheeler then, after Melody had leant back, jumped off. Once the wires were taut, he used pliers to join the ends, loving the way he could sense her eyes burning into his back. The attraction between them was unmistakable, although neither of them had mentioned a word about last night. He wasn’t sure if that was a good, or bad, thing.

‘Good job, cowboy,’ she said. Her smile was different since last night’s kiss. Instead of companionship, it was filled with tantalising sensuality.

‘Why, thankya, cowgirl.’

Climbing back aboard, he revved the bike to life and cut across an open paddock, towards the homestead. Next on the agenda was a flutter in the chopper, to check on the far-reaching paddocks.

They pulled up beneath the shade of the shed. ‘You want to grab a drink before we head off again?’

‘Sounds like a plan.’ She hitched her leg over the bike and hopped off. ‘You keen for a can of cola?’

‘Is the pope Catholic?’ Falling in step beside her, he shoved his hands into his pockets. He was doing everything he could to keep his hands to himself, but if she flashed him that come-hither gaze one more time, he was seriously a goner.

Just as they were nearing the homestead steps, she turned to him. ‘I’ve been meaning to tell you, I really enjoyed last night, Zai.’ Her eyes fluttered. ‘Thanks again for asking me to dance in the rain with you. It was something I’ll never, ever forget.’