by Anne Ashby
****
Embarrassing dread increased as they got nearer to the Sanctuary. Shal had given up trying to make conversation and silently followed in her wake. Jodie looked about, worrying her bottom lip. They were almost there.
What am I going to do once we reach our destination? He’ll recognise the cabin for what it is, and assume I’ve brought him here deliberately. Well, I have. But not for any debauched reason, though he probably thinks so much of himself he won’t believe that.
She plunged on, feeling restless and irritable. Taking it out on Shal wasn’t fair, but she couldn’t shake off her growing annoyance that fate had forced this onto her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she bit down hard on her lip, only releasing it when she tasted blood in her mouth. It isn’t his fault, she rationalised, wondering if she could summon up a smile. Her mind raced. But if I do, will he misinterpret it as an invitation?
His straight, unfathomable stare and that irritating raising of one eyebrow flamed her frustration. She’d become so aware of him; every move he made, almost every breath he took.
At least while they’d been with Danny, she’d been able to pay no heed to these confusing feelings. Can I be with him in a romantic setting without giving myself away?
I don’t really like him, anyway. Nothing will change my opinion, she argued. Egotistical control freaks aren’t my style. Don’t forget, a little voice whispered, he’s a townie and has nothing in common with you.
She took a deep breath and hitched her pack further up onto her back. Stop being such a woose, she derided herself. Stop agonizing. All I need to do is subdue these flashes of lust and ignore their presence.
She could be very determined once she set her mind to something, and any thoughts about Shal Gregory other than concern for his physical wellbeing were going to be propelled so far into the background, they’d die before they could take form. The next couple of days might become a struggle, but her pride would help her conceal any inner turmoil.
Anyway, the Sanctuary had shown up Jason’s less-than-redeeming traits. The same would probably happen with Shal. She hoped so, for her own sanity, she really hoped so.
If I could just see him in a negative light—instead of always rising to the challenges of the bush, despite his inexperience... Taking a deep breath, Jodie decided this attraction she felt for him would diminish once his true feelings about the bush surfaced.
Jodie was so involved in her irritating thoughts, she forgot her immediate surroundings. Propelled forward, one foot momentarily trapped under something. She twisted and landed with an almighty thump against a rotting tree stump. Instantly she knew she was in trouble.
Shal was beside her in a second, a hand out to help her to her feet. Perhaps because he’d performed that same courtesy numerous times over the last few days, there was no concern on his face.
As she continued to lie, ignoring his hand, she heard his quick intake of breath. Her eyes dropped to his hands as they gently unclipped her pack. She’d never noticed before how long his fingers were and absently wondered how they’d feel stroking her...
“Where are you hurt?”
While she was deciding she liked the smell of his toothpaste, his voice confused her. Her eyes focused on his lips. Would they taste as good as they smelt? Her tongue licked her suddenly parched lips.
He repeated his question. The urgency in his voice penetrated her thoughts and forced reality back.
Mortified at her thoughts and praying he hadn’t gleaned what they’d been, she cursed her own stupidity. “My back,” she finally admitted. “I’ve kinked my bloody back.” She took a deep breath. “Just give me a minute and I’ll be okay.”
“Take it easy,” Shal warned.
Leaning back against her pack, Jodie grumbled about her inattentiveness. Shal depended on her. Seeing his furtive glances, she presumed he was trying to figure out what to do. She moved gingerly, knowing she had to get up and at least get them to the Sanctuary.
“Don’t try anything just yet.”
“I’ll be fine,” she muttered through gritted teeth. “Give me a hand.”
“You might hurt yourself more...”
“Do I have to do this myself?” she glared at him. “Give me your bloody hand.”
She used his strength to heave herself onto her hands and knees, pausing as she stifled the groans. She could feel the muscles across her back spasm. Sweat coated her body.
“Lift me up.”
“I’m not lifting you up,” he growled, apprehension evident in his voice. “I could do untold harm.”
“Shall I just stay here until the ambulance arrives?”
There was a long, brittle silence finally that was finally broken when he rubbed his hand very softly across her hunched back. “I’m scared I’ll hurt you.”
The concern in his whispered words almost had her crumbling at his feet. “Come on!” she snubbed her fuzzy response to the look in his eyes. “I’m not in the mood to hang about here all day.”
His touch was too gentle, too hesitant. She grabbed at his forearms and forced herself upright, sucking in great mouthfuls of air as shooting pain flashed across her back. She stood slumped against him, trying to breathe through the pain. Despite the agony she was conscious of the rasp of his whiskery face against her cheek.
“Of all the stupid...” She pulled herself slightly away and looked down at what had caused her fall, a small root. After the horrendous terrain they’d covered in the last few days, a small root on a reasonably dry trail had been enough to mess her up completely.
She felt his firm hands gradually loosen until she balanced alone. “Can you stand?”
“I’ll be fine.” She tried twisting her body, but stabs of pain stopped her instantly.
“Do we have anything in the first aid kit to—?”
“I’m sure it’s just a kink. It’ll work itself out.”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied sceptically, watching her. “What’ll we do until then?”
“We keep going.”
“You’ve got to be kidding? You can’t go anywhere like that.”
“Different rules out here, buddy,” she reminded him. “Sitting on our chuffs won’t make anything happen.”
Jodie heard the growling deep in Shal’s throat and watched his eyes darkening like angry thunderclouds. Her breath burned in her throat as she hastened to diffuse his anger with a tentative hand on his forearm.
“We don’t have far to go,” she spoke with desperate firmness. “I can make it.” She closed her eyes against a wave of pain. When she opened them, there was a strange glint in his as he stared down at her upturned face.
“You okay for a moment?”
Jodie watched him ferreting around in the undergrowth until he found a long broken branch that he towed over to her side. “How long?” he asked, holding the long wavy stick alongside her.
The first break he managed across his knee, but when he tried a second time, the hard wood resisted and he ended up leaning it against an exposed root and jumping on it several times before he presented her with two, almost similar length, walking sticks.
She forced a smile when he made his presentation, bowing from the waist in a flourish not unlike a hero in a Shakespearean play. “Very ingenious.”
He bent to her backpack. “Leave my pack here,” she ordered. “Just grab the radio. There’s first aid where we’re going. I can make do without anything else.”
“You said it wasn’t far?”
She nodded.
“I’ll carry it for a while, then.” He smiled as he threw it up on top of his own, awkwardly clipping her fasteners around some of his straps. “Depending on where you lead me, I might be able to manage them both. Or I’ll come back if necessary.”
Jodie stood open-mouthed as he jiggled the weight into a comfortable position on his back and threw her a challenging look. “Lead on, McDuff.”
****
Finding the strength to put one foot in front of the oth
er kept Jodie’s previous thoughts at bay. Shal never left her side. More times than she could count his hand shot out to grasp her arm or steady her. He seemed unaffected carrying the added weight on his back.
As much as Jodie’s determination would not let her stop, she felt the breath rush out of her as she whispered a silent word of thanks when the little brown cabin became visible through the trees. In too much discomfort to appreciate its beauty, Jodie struggled toward it, as she heard Shal’s surprised reaction.
A stream meandered from beneath the heavy undergrowth behind the cabin, the water speeding up and gushing across the rocks of a little knoll into a small lake the size of two football fields.
Built facing the north, the cabin looked more like a little granny flat from suburbia than what one would expect to find in the middle of the bush. Although it sat away from the trees, its brown and green wood stain and the wooden shingles on its roof made it virtually indiscernible from above—exactly what Doug and Lynette had intended.
She absently noticed that the large green water tank and little shed to its side, once out in the open ground, now had trees growing around them.
Struggling onto the verandah, Jodie opened the door, hoping everything was okay inside. Although the cabin was on their land, trampers in other emergency situations had used it before. A quick glance inside showed nothing untoward and Jodie felt her breath escape in a rush.
She heard a thump as their combined packs landed near her. Taking another deep breath, she shuffled into her parents’ love nest.
The lounge and open-plan kitchen gave nothing away. Perhaps she could keep him out of the bedroom. Before she could come up with a reason why he shouldn’t explore the tiny cabin, he’d wandered over and opened the door. She felt heat flood into her face as his mouth dropped open.
Whatever he’d expected wasn’t this. The impact of the dark red paintwork must have hit him between the eyes, followed by sight of the huge four-poster bed enclosed in a frilly mosquito net. Candleholders were positioned around the walls. The dominance of the bed—there was nothing else in the room, save a small bedside cabinet—must suggest the purpose of this room. He’d have to be dumb not to see it. It screamed out.
She turned away as he shook his head in apparent wonderment. An embarrassed moan escaped her lips, but thankfully he appeared not to hear it.
As he swaggered back into the lounge, out of the corner of her eye she noticed him registering other things that now lent weight to this being a “seduction palace.” A huge sheepskin rug lay in front of the open fireplace. Large, tasseled cushions were piled up in a corner.
She wished she could tell him not to touch when he bent and picked up one of the many candles scattered around and breathed in its musky scent. Her hands clutched her walking sticks as the smile twitching at his lips grew into a fully amused grin.
Even as he tried to lose the grin Jodie felt more heat flooding into her cheeks. The sparkle in his eyes conveyed quite enough laughter despite his attempt to control his features.
“This is very—aah—nice.”
Silently challenging him, Jodie’s embarrassment was turning to annoyance.
“What shall I do?” his tone was brisk as he turned from opening the small kitchenette window to see her unlatching the lounge windows. “No,” he barked as he shot toward her. “Don’t try to do anything. Just sit down.”
She swallowed. Inside, the tight ball of nerves relaxed a little. He hadn’t taken advantage of the situation to rag her.
“I think I might just lie on the floor for a moment.”
Initially ignoring his offered hand she hobbled forward. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she sank to her knees and with his supporting arm finally down prone on the floor.
“I’ll get you a drink and some pain killers.”
“Thanks,” she muttered. “Second drawer next to the sink.”
“Do we need to boil this water?”
“No.”
Filling her water bottle and taking the two small pills, he slipped them into her mouth. The touch of his fingers against her lips dried her mouth and had the pain in her back dull miraculously.
Shal sidled away before Jodie could do anything stupid, like beg for more of his touch. She watched him search the well-stocked kitchen.
“Hungry?” he asked. Her stomach rumbled at the very thought of food. Their last power bar had been shared a long time ago. “Any requests, Madame?”
“Anything, as long as it’s edible.”
Shal smiled at Jodie’s poor attempt at humor, and began rifling through the cupboard, selecting some tins.
“You need to turn the gas on,” she remembered to tell him. “Out the back, in the shed. There’s a tap under the gas bottles.”
While Shal prepared food for them, Jodie tried to concentrate on isolating her pain and figuring out just how badly she’d hurt herself—and how long before she could ease the contorted muscles back into working order. Needing him to wait on her hand and foot was not a welcoming thought. It put her at too much of a disadvantage. He’d enjoy lording it over her, being able to prove his superiority.
His offer to assist her eating of the steaming, hearty beef stew was just the beginning, Jodie knew. He wouldn’t hesitate to rub it in, not after all the flack she’d given him.
Glancing at him sitting at the table as he tucked into the meal, all she could ascertain from his expression was extreme contentment at getting his stomach filled. Jodie struggled to eat in an awkward manner, taking far longer to appease her appetite than she would have if she’d accepted Shal’s offer.
The cabin was so well-equipped, she knew they could stay there for a month. Boredom wouldn’t be a problem; there were books and board games. Jodie had been surprised to find them years ago, although she wondered if her parents ever bothered to open that cupboard. She was mature enough now to accept they didn’t come here to read.
Jodie kept her eyes screwed shut while Shal checked around. She’d heard him in the bathroom and prayed some of the necessities of her parents’ visits had been depleted.
Now a surprised whistle suggested he’d found the old cast iron bathtub at the back of the cabin, surrounded by its high punga fence. The fragrant creepers Lynette had planted would be in flower. Jodie groaned aloud. An image of her and Shal together in that bathtub had flooded into her mind.
Shaking her head to dispel the erotic thoughts, and tweaking her back at the same time, Jodie was painfully reminded there was no way she’d be welcoming Shal into any sort of romantic tryst—even if she’d been so inclined…which she wasn’t.
Her eyes popped open. Of course I’m not interested in Shal Gregory. He’s a townie, not my type at all. He’s dictatorial, a control freak, a protector of women. Not the sort of man who’d ever attract me. We’ve got on okay these last few days, but he’s a million miles from my ideal man.
The lake looked so inviting, shimmering in the afternoon sun. Watching the sparkling water through the open door, Jodie cursed she couldn’t just run out there and jump in.
Her breath caught in her throat as Shal appeared in her line of vision. Dropping a towel onto a small manuka bush, he proceeded to shed his clothing at the water’s edge and wade in.
Her heart thumped in her throat. Jodie boggled as for a moment he just stood there knee deep, in all his glory, before wading further out and diving under the water.
Jodie couldn’t breathe. Her pulse was racing, the roaring in her ears was deafening. What’s the matter with me? I’ve seen a naked man before. It isn’t as if he’s nearby.
She could hardly see anything from this distance—except that his body was beautifully sculptured and flawlessly set off by his olive skin. She gasped as he rose from the water before diving under its surface again. He looked as perfect as any image she’d seen on the silver screen or doing the rounds of the internet.
Trying to shift her thoughts away from the erotic journey they were taking, Jodie moved cautiously. Pain would dampen them,
she determined.
Clenching her muscles a little at a time, she isolated the worst of the pain to the small of her back. She turned her head, inadvertently looking out the open door again.
Gasping, she froze. Shal stood on the lake’s edge. He threw back his head, shaking the water from his hair as he invited the sun to worship his magnificent body. Jodie felt a long-dormant yearning deep in her stomach as her eyes feasted.
Shal reached for the towel and mopped his face, ignoring the rest of his naked body. Jodie willed her head to turn away, her eyes to close—but they ignored her bidding.
She recognised the stirring in the pit of her stomach. Lust, she berated herself, it’s only lust.
She almost groaned aloud as he turned and she was given an even more detailed look at his golden physique. Blood roaring in her ears, she continued to stare. She wanted to look away—knew she must look away—but instead ached to run her fingers across those rippling muscles.
So mesmerised, when he swung his head and saw her, Jodie could do nothing. Breathing was impossible as heat burned her whole body. Making no attempt to cover himself, Shal stood there, hiding nothing. A faint, knowing smile was visible even from this distance.
She groaned as he casually spread the towel onto the ground and lay down. A shiver ran through her as she buried her boiling face in her hands. Jodie cursed again and again under her breath. To be caught looking at him...it hadn’t been a quick glance...he knew that. His vain little smile made that pretty obvious.
She groaned again. How could she face him after openly admiring his body? His naked body. The vision returned in blazing Technicolor. The way he’d stood there, unashamed, suggested he was used to women’s appreciative looks.
Jodie prayed she’d be able to act normally when Shal returned to the cabin. Surely she could avoid blushing if she kept her mind on other things. For heaven’s sake, she wasn’t some silly teenager.
His arrival in the too-skimpy towel had her hastily averting her eyes as he dug around inside his pack. Expecting him to throw the towel aside to dress, and imagining the sight of his body at closer quarters, Jodie clenched her eyes tightly closed.
