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“In one kilometre, turn right onto Quilpie Thargomindah Road,” his navigation app announced. Road was a stretch of the imagination. It was a dirt track, as red as the fire he’d sat around the night before, that cut through the desolate landscape. Somehow, it was full of life. The land was dying of thirst, old-growth trees slowly fading, and animals dying where they fell. And yet, despite all the odds, nature rallied. It fought. Kangaroos bounded along the side of the road, and he’d seen emus dart in and out of the fences, crossing the road and dashing away. Eagles circled high above, riding the thermal breezes as they searched for prey. He hadn’t seen a single vehicle in hours, though, and that was a good thing. His hands shook and his breathing was choppy. Phoenix didn’t trust himself to manoeuvre his BMW in traffic. He hated this version of himself. He hated the uncertainty that clouded his thoughts and the weakness that had taken root deep within.
But he was an adult, and adults faced up to the messes they’d made.
“In one hundred metres, turn right onto Quilpie Thargomindah Road.” He could see the sign up ahead. The T-intersection he was coming up on. Quilpie was straight ahead and hours beyond that, the ocean. Brisbane and the Gold Coast. His parents. To the right was the road to Sydney. His apartment, his job. Everything he was working for. Behind him was the comfort of a family he had just met and never wanted to forget.
He slowed down, his finger hovering over the indicator.
His heart rate spiked, his hands shaking harder. Phoenix’s vision dotted. He braked, stopping his car in the middle of the deserted road as his breath squeezed his lungs. The instinct to breathe was strong, but the crushing weight on his chest stalled his ability to inhale. The road before him swam in his vision, and light-headedness threatened.
“Breathe,” he ordered himself, forcing down the urge to vomit. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, and in that moment, he knew.
His decision was made, for better or worse.
Fifteen
Jacob
“C
assie,” Jake called, walking through the house they called home. He was proud of their efforts in the three short years they’d lived on the Gold Coast. The restored Queenslander was evidence of the hard work they’d put in building and growing their business. Phillips Real Estate had been open almost as long as they’d made the impulsive decision to move to the Gold Coast. They had initially operated from Cassie’s family holiday home, then when the business had a regular clientele, he and Cassie had moved to the shack they’d purchased, slowly renovating every inch of it. The location was a dream—a couple of blocks away from the rolling ocean waves along Main Beach—one they’d never dreamed of being able to achieve in Sydney.
But it was a reality. Their reality.
Jake placed the success of their business solely on Cassie’s shoulders. She was a natural entrepreneur and an expert at research. When he’d agreed with his father not to return to Sydney, he’d feared Cassie would up and leave. Instead, she had demanded silence, gone to bed early, and come back out the next morning with a determined set to her lips.
She’d spent the whole night researching, looking at which “it” agencies there were to work for. It led down a rabbit hole, and within a couple of days, she’d identified a gaping void in the market. With the help of a friend of hers in banking, she had the bones of a business plan to achieve a dream she had hatched because of him. They’d used their last dollars to transfer their licences to Queensland, register a business name, and buy ramen noodles to eat. Jake had a couple of early successes, first getting listings, then selling the homes to interstate contacts within a few days. They hadn’t gotten paid those commissions until the keys changed hands four weeks later, so they’d maxed out their credit cards, sold everything they could to stop haemorrhaging money on debts, and eaten more ramen. It had taken a few months of hard work and financial stress, but once the word got out, they’d gotten ahead in leaps and bounds.
In less than twelve months, they’d saved a large enough deposit for their house, and with no need for a storefront office, were still able to happily operate their business from home.
Jake paused at the front door looking over the garden oasis to his beautiful girlfriend. Despite it being winter, she was on her knees wearing only a bikini, white linen shirt, straw hat, and gardening gloves. Cassie’s hands were buried in the dirt, shifting it around and lovingly cradling a worm that she moved out of the way of her trowel. The woman before him was completely different to the uptight, angry one he’d met at his university alumni event. Now, Cassie was laid-back and quick to laugh. She was happiest dedicating her time to a few loyal clients rather than fighting her competition to become the biggest and best. It didn’t matter to her anymore. Climbing the corporate ladder meant one thing—less free time for her. As the joint owner of her business, she knew she was already at the top. Working more also meant that she had to put on a suit more often, and Cassie was happiest dressed down in casual gear.
“Yeah, babe. I’m out front.” She stood and dropped the gloves she’d been wearing, flashing Jake a smile as he padded down the steps. Eyeing the tanned strip of flesh that peeked between the open lapels of her shirt, Jake licked his lips and held up the phone.
“I know.” He smiled as she let her shirt fall from her shoulders before she pressed herself against him. Jake leaned in and kissed her in a slow melding of their lips, his tongue sneaking out to tease hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hitched a leg around Jake’s hip. He plucked the strings on her bikini top, tossing the triangular panels away to reveal her pert breasts. Still holding the phone with her client waiting on hold, he nibbled his way down to her nipples and sucked on the pebbled tips until she rolled her hips against him, seeking friction. “Your muffins are cooling on the rack, and I have Kevin on the phone,” he breathed against her chest as he lapped at her skin, still salty from their morning swim.
“Mhmm,” she moaned as he fell to his knees and eased the tiny white bottoms down her legs.
“Answer the phone, Cass,” he teased as he nipped her hip. Licking across to her pussy, he spread her lips open and tasted the sensitive nub before sucking it between his lips. Cassidy ground against his face as she plucked the phone from his hand and answered the call.
“Hello, Kevin, Cassidy here. How can I help?” Her voice was surprisingly even as Jake slid two fingers into her channel and curled them, finding her G-spot. She hissed quietly before sliding her fingers into his hair. Rocking her hips, Cassie rode his digits as she chased her release. He loved her like this. Completely debauched and taking her pleasure. On display for the world to see, even if the only eyes who could peer in on their oasis belonged to the birds, she was still that confident, driven woman he fell in love with. But now she concentrated on the things that brought her the most reward, and orgasms morning, noon, and night was one of her favourites.
“Mhmm, yes. Not a problem,” she gasped as Jake hooked her leg over his shoulder and ate at her like a man starved. Her juices coated his fingers, and he resisted the temptation to suck on them, capturing the rich flavour of her essences as he pulled them free from her depths. Her fingers tightened in his hair, his scalp screaming in a clear message. But Jake wanted to take her higher, and it had been far too long since they’d had another man in their bed to slake her lusty needs.
He brushed his middle finger over her star, and she pushed back, silently begging him to do it, the tight muscle quivering in anticipation. She’d loved being taken like that—he and Phoenix inside her at the same time had taken her higher than he’d ever managed since. But it had been years since then. Their imaginations and a collection of toys were the only additions they’d brought into their bedroom since him.
Before the memories could bury his libido, Jake doubled the attention he was giving to Cassie. He refused to think about that fateful time, not while the woman of his dreams—the one he loved with his whole heart—was in his arms.
“Okay, I’ll call them, propose it, and let you know.” She dropped the phone, the case clattering on the concrete path, and she moaned. “Jake.” She cried out when he penetrated both her openings together. She rocked her hips, pushing back against his fingers, then thrusting forward so he could press his tongue against her clit again.
Her orgasm rocketed through her when he eased a second finger past her sphincter and sucked hard on her clit. He flicked the bundle of nerves with his tongue, and that was it. Her pussy clamped tight around the thumb he had lodged there, and she shouted his name, the contractions in her core going on and on.
When she settled, he withdrew his fingers, his mouth trailing a path up her body as he stood. Cassie gripped his face between her hands and pressed their lips together, no doubt tasting her essence on his lips. He clenched his hands, digging his fingertips into the soft flesh of her arse, trying not to come in his pants like a teenager. With Cassie rubbing her naked body all over him like a playful kitten, his dick was happy for her to go to town, but it became increasingly difficult to stave off his orgasm. She was more like a sex kitten than a playful one.
Cassie stepped backward, a sexy swing in her hips as she tiptoed along the curve of the path she knew by heart. He followed—like he would always do, without reservation. She reclined back against the timber railing on the stairs leading to the apartment they’d built above their garage, arching her back and presenting her breasts to him. Jake’s moan turned into a growl of desire when she trailed her fingers down his bare chest. Following his happy trail, she circled the button of his cargo shorts, sliding her pointed nail along the waistband. He squeezed his eyes closed, hissing as she teased him. His cock throbbed, pre-cum soaking his briefs. Her husky laugh was a puff of breath against his cheek as she palmed his straining erection.
Jake gasped. “Damn,” he moaned, opening his heavy lids to gaze at her. Naked as the day she was born, her skin glowed a golden brown. It was all the hours she spent outdoors now, working in their garden, swimming at the beach and naked in their pool. Jake could get off staring at her fully clothed, but naked, she was something else. Now, her eyes had a sated glow, her cheeks and lips flushed pink. Her breasts rose with each inhale as she caught her breath, and she rubbed her thighs together like she hadn’t yet had enough. He wouldn’t need much more than her teasing touch to set him off like a firework.
“You know you want to,” she challenged, biting down on her still glistening bottom lip. She reached up, grasping the thick timbers of the railing, and bent her knee just enough to invite him to take what he so desperately wanted. Jake gripped his shaft through the layers of material, his nostrils flaring as he took her in. She had him wild with lust. Completely out of control.
