Wilderness Liaison

by Anne Ashby

  Moments later when she felt him crouched beside her, she opened her eyes. She told herself she was relieved he was now dressed in a clean, respectable shirt and shorts that covered all the vital parts. A sly smile, which she chose to ignore, covered his face. She forced herself to glare into his eyes.

  “How do you feel?”

  Like a wanton woman. She mumbled something unintelligible.

  “Would you like some more pain killers?”

  “Thanks.” She had to speak; and maybe, as well as dulling the pain in her back, the pills would slow down her racing heart. “The pain isn’t as bad. I’m sure it’s nothing serious. Just a kink.” She thought she’d done quite a good job of trying to keep her voice even.

  “I found some muscle relaxant in the bathroom.”

  Jodie cringed as she imagined what else he might have found there.

  “How about I give your back a rub?” he asked.

  Jodie felt the heat building up and rising from the tips of her toes until it covered her whole body. She wasn’t having him touch her, much less touch her so intimately.

  He seemed unaware of her reaction to this suggestion. “I had a gammy shoulder all the years I was playing rugby. I reckon I learnt quite a bit about physiotherapy.”

  Jodie stifled her groan, supposing the visual springing into her mind could have been worse. He could have suffered a groin strain.

  She quickly refused the offer. “It’s okay. Thanks, anyway.”

  Jodie breathed a sigh of relief, glad he’d left and accepted her refusal without argument. No matter how bad her back might be, the feel of his hands on her could do her much more damage.

  She was unprepared when a split second after sensing his presence behind her, her baggy T-shirt was stretched up over her head.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she gasped.

  “This should at least ease those muscle spasms,” he mused, apparently unperturbed. He even had the gall to pull her shorts a little further down over her rump.

  “I don’t want a rub down,” she snapped. She was terrified that her awareness of the man, or even worse, her response to his touch, would change their uneasy relationship.

  “Don’t be silly.”

  Silly! She flattened her hands against the wooden floor and began to rise, albeit more slowly than she would have wanted. Her movement was frustrated when his one hand on her shoulder forced her back down. Jodie swore.

  “I’m only going to gently rub this stuff in for now.”

  Her teeth ground together at the smile she heard in his voice. She just knew, if she’d had the guts to look, it would accompany a knowing expression.

  “You’re in too much pain for me to try any deep tissue massage.”

  Is this a genuine offer to help? He sounded like he actually did know what he was talking about. Then I should accept it in the spirit it’s offered, and not make a big deal about it. She turned her head aside, hiding her embarrassment, forcing her body to relax.

  “Okay,” she murmured. “Thank you.” She bit her lip, dreading the moment his hands would connect. Not because they would be working at the pain in her back, but because she might wish they were doing much more.

  Jodie had little time to worry about the effect of his closeness when it was all over. He’d been true to his word. The deep heat cream had been softly rubbed into the area she’d indicated. He readjusted her clothing and stood up, all without a word or further look.

  She felt quite vexed.

  “Are you okay down there for now?” He had his back to her and was rustling around in a cupboard. “I thought I’d make up the bed, you might be more comfortable in there.”

  “No. No.” Jodie jerked her head and shoulders off the floor, forgetting her back until pain sliced through it. “Don’t worry about making it.” She gulped. “My sleeping bag will be fine.”

  “Your sleeping bag is far too restrictive.” He backed out of the cupboard. “I’ve found the bedsheets. I won’t be a minute.”

  This time Jodie made no attempt to smother her groan. Coming here was even more embarrassing than she’d imagined.

  Uncertain what she might find, Jodie had never fully searched through the cabin, as Shal appeared to have done. This place belonged to her parents, for God’s sake. She didn’t want to picture what they did here. The black or red satin sheets they’d bring home for laundering after a weekend away told her more than she wanted to know.

  Looking under the sofa toward the bedroom, Jodie glimpsed Shal’s bare feet as he groped his way around the king-sized bed, tucking in the black satin.

  She groaned again, and noticing Shal’s pause, knew he’d heard her. He was laughing at her. She just knew it.

  ****

  “This is quite a place.” Shal sank down on the sofa when he’d finished making the bed. Jodie ground her teeth at the smirk on his face. “Who does it belong to?”

  “My parents,” she grated. She was pleased to see a flush come into his face.

  “Oh.”

  “Yes...oh,” she muttered turning her head away. “This isn’t funny.”

  “No,” he mused. “No. I can see that now.”

  “They built it when we were little. Having four kids didn’t give them much chance to be alone. Our holidays were always family holidays, but a few times a year, Poppa and Nanna would come and stay and Mum and Dad would disappear.”

  She rambled on, filling the silence with anything to overcome her embarrassment. “We didn’t have a clue where they disappeared to, and then, when we found out, we couldn’t understand why this was the one place we were never invited.” He smiled when she rolled her eyes.

  “One summer Rhys and I tramped up here and sneaked in. Oh, my!” She smiled as her memories surfaced, not even realising she was actually talking about her twin. “We were scarred for life.”

  She laughed, the movement giving her back a little tweak. “It was not a nice experience, I tell you. I mean, our parents didn’t do stuff like that. They were far too old.”

  Shal’s responding chuckle lightened the atmosphere a little.

  “Rhys thought it might be a great place to bring his girlfriends, as long as Mum and Dad never found out.”

  Jodie felt the blood drain from her face. Rhys had never got the chance to bring a girlfriend here or anywhere else, as far as Jodie knew.

  “Did you ever invite anyone here?” Shal was half-lying across the sofa, one leg hooked over the armrest, his eyes half shut as he questioned her.

  A cold shiver spread over her, despite the warmth inside the cabin. “Only once.”

  “What happened?” his voice was soft, his tone encouraging.

  “It was a mistake.”

  “Why?”

  “He was a townie,” she snapped.

  Using the sofa as a support, Jodie slowly struggled to her feet, ignoring Shal’s concerned offer of help, and uncaring that her movement bought her so close to him.

  Remembering Jason and the episode here had soured her thoughts, driving away everything but the pain and anger. She needed space.

  Not realising he’d followed her as she shuffled to the door until he held out her two sticks, she gratefully accepted them. She knew her progress down the step and across to the knoll by the stream, would have been impossible without them. She felt his gaze on her as she stumbled across the uneven ground.

  She kicked herself for her big mouth. During a five-minute conversation, she’d not only talked about Rhys, but had also told Shal about bringing Jason here. What was the matter with her?

  She slid to the ground. Stretching out on the mossy grass, she cursed under her breath that her painful back must have destroyed her common sense.

  Shal wasn’t someone she intended sharing anything of herself with. She didn’t trust him, and she most definitely didn’t want to get to know him better. She just wanted him gone, before she succeeded in making a complete idiot of herself.

  Chapter Nine

  Shal left Jodie alone.
She was so tense and uptight about this place, and now he had a better idea why. It wasn’t, as he’d hoped, because of him at all, but another man. A townie—the townie—the love affair that went wrong and distorted her impression of city dwellers.

  Plucking a paperback from the cupboard and pretending to start reading it, Shal knew she must have loved him for it to leave such scars. He’d done quite a number on her.

  There was an atmosphere in this cabin. While its bedroom might resemble a bordello, warmth surrounded it, spoke of love. Now he understood it was Doug and Lynette’s. They’d designed it as a place of togetherness, away from the commitments of home and family. Anyone visiting here must feel that peace and tranquillity, be surrounded by that feeling, surely? Had Jodie been engaged to her townie? What happened? What had he done?

  ****

  Although there was little conversation during the rest of the day, the atmosphere wasn’t tense or uncomfortable. Shal became immersed in the suspense novel he’d started.

  After a scrumptious evening meal of curried lamb and rice followed by a treacle pudding smothered with tinned cream, the quiet finally got to Jodie. She rifled through the bookshelf until she found a romance novel. She grimaced at his smile when he saw her choice, jutting out her chin and inviting comment but none came.

  As the sun disappeared behind the trees, Shal put down his book, and rose. Jodie averted her eyes as he stretched, accentuating his muscles alluringly. Words on the page blurred. She hadn’t even been aware of the breath held in her throat until it escaped in a rush when he slipped out the door.

  “Any idea how long that tub takes to heat up?”

  The possibility of a soak in a hot bath sounded like heaven until she realised she wouldn’t be able to get in and out of the tub alone.

  “Ah—I—umm.”

  “I’ll check in fifteen minutes.”

  “Maybe—”

  “The heat should help your muscles relax. Give you a better night’s sleep.”

  “It’s okay, I’m fine, you go ahead if you’d like.”

  “I’m heating it for you, not me. I’ve been in the lake...”

  Yes, she did know that.

  “The shower is more dangerous, you could slip or fall.”

  Chewing her lip, Jodie warred with herself. He was right, she hated to admit, washing in a shower right now was asking for trouble, unless he was with her...her mind boggled. But oh, to be clean again.

  Perhaps she could manage the bath, the sides weren’t that high. As long as she had the sticks with her, she should be able to get back out.

  Jodie knew Shal guessed exactly what was going through her mind. Catching her eye when he glanced up from his book a little later, he subdued a smile as her cheeks coloured. She wouldn’t be asking him for help, that was for sure.

  “I’ve turned off the heat.” He didn’t look at her as he returned from outside. Instead he fetched a couple of towels, talking as he ferreted into the cupboard. “Come on, I’ll help you get undressed.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.” Jodie had managed to get to her feet and faced him crossly. “I can manage.”

  “Don’t be silly. Of course you can’t manage. Let me help you.”

  His hands were slapped away when he reached out.

  “All right then, if you want to be so damned independent,” he smirked. “I’m staying right beside you though.”

  Her desire to bathe and her opposing desire to have him nowhere near while she did so fought it out.

  “Here.” He handed her the two sticks and followed one step behind her all the way around into the tub enclosure. Throwing the towels onto the punga fence, he leaned over to test the water again.

  “Jodie.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Your back will feel so much better after a hot soak. Not to mention you can clean yourself up.” She felt heat rush into her face.

  “I will admit the thought of stripping you naked and having my wicked way with you has crossed my mind.” Stiffening indignantly her head shot up. Hopefully the glare she sent him left him in little doubt as to the unlikely success of that little venture.

  “But now is not the time or the place. You need help to undress, and to get in and out of that tub. I’m going to help you, one way or the other.” He stared into her eyes. “I can control any lustful thoughts I might have.”

  Jodie couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran through her, or the uncomfortable heat that rushed into her cheeks at his inference. She looked away from his quirking eyebrows, horrified he might be right. Can I ignore my racing heart and the tremors weakening my knees? They had started when he first mentioned the bath. Thinking about it had been bad enough, now he expected to help her remove her clothes.

  If only she could go back to thinking of him as a safety number, a necessary extra body to assist with any emergencies; but that was impossible. This was Shal, he had long since stopped being an extra number, if he had ever been one.

  She leaned against the side of the tub, her fingers slipping into the water, knowing its appeal was too great. Her back protested as she tried to struggle out of her T-shirt. She held her breath as his gentle hands slipped it over her head.

  “I can manage,” she snapped, as his hands reached for the button on her shorts. There was such an air of efficiency about him as he ignored her and unclipped her bra; she wondered how many other women he’d undressed. Trying to keep that thought in the forefront of her mind as he dropped to his haunches in front of her, Jodie bit her bottom lip hard and closed her eyes to block out the sight of his crisp hair as he quickly slipped down her shorts and briefs.

  She was afraid to meet his eyes as he rose in case her own smouldering feelings were reflected in his. Jodie wasn’t prepared for him to immediately lift and place her into the hot water. Her desperately held breath rushed from her lungs as the water closed over her body.

  “Okay?” he asked, his arms already back at his sides.

  Jodie nodded. Concerns about her nakedness disappeared as she gasped out loud.

  “I put some antiseptic into the water.”

  “I guessed,” she muttered as the myriad of small cuts and scratches over her arms and legs protested.

  Shifting a sawn-off stump to within her reach, Shal placed a wash cloth, some soap and a towel onto it.

  “How’s your back feel?”

  Jodie shifted about cautiously. “Actually, it feels better already.” She managed to look up at him without blushing, probably because she focused her eyes on the bridge of his nose. “Thank you.”

  Shal smiled. “Have a nice long soak. Call me when you’re ready to get out.” He looked at her sternly, his eyes remaining locked on her face. “Don’t try by yourself, will you?”

  She glanced away. She wouldn’t be calling him back.

  “Promise you’ll call me, Jodie, or I’ll stay right here.” He sank down onto the stump, on top of the towels and soap, his arms folded across his chest.

  “All right, all right,” she muttered ungraciously. “I’ll call you. Now go away.”

  Having him help her in and out of the tub was embarrassing enough; she wasn’t washing in front of him.

  “I’m just going to have a dip in the lake. I’ll still be able to hear when you call.”

  ****

  Shal rubbed frustrated fingers through his hair before throwing off his clothes and plunging into the lake’s cold water.

  He thought he’d managed to keep his body’s response hidden from her, but he’d had to leave quickly, not knowing how many more seconds he could force his eyes to focus on her face and not fall to survey her beautiful curves shimmering through the water.

  Ploughing from side to side across the lake Shal needed some time before the cool water returned his body to a more controlled state.

  Leaving the coolness of the lake and keeping a close ear for a call from the tub, Shal dried himself, urging his mind onto ordinary, mundane things in an attempt to forget his attraction to Jodie. He forced himself
to think of work, to wonder how his brother was coping.

  He tried to bring forth images of other lady friends. Nothing stayed in his mind for more than a few seconds before he imagined her lying in that tub. Getting her out would be far more exacting than dropping her into it had been. Hopefully the evening’s darkness would cloak the reaction his body was sure to show.

  Jodie’s face was rosy red when he responded to her call, but whether it was embarrassment or just a result of her long soak in the hot water Shal didn’t know.

  “If you could just steady me as I get out, I’m sure I can manage.”

  He nodded, having decided he wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night in that lake trying to cool his impassioned thoughts. He intended avoiding as much physical contact as possible.

  ****

  Shal swung through the punga fence. Jodie felt heat suffusing her body even though the bath water had cooled significantly. Now she had to grit her teeth and not allow any wayward thoughts to surface while he helped her out of the tub.

  Her heart thumped as she watched him pick up a large towel and drape it in front of himself, securing it under his chin. She pretended not to notice the huge deep breath he took before slipping his hands under her arms and lifting as she thrust herself upright. In a split second he’d wrapped the towel around her and was searching her face for signs of pain. It was almost an anticlimax.

  “Okay?”

  He has to be kidding, right? What woman would be okay in this situation?

  “Fine,” she mumbled, tightening the towel around herself, and tucking in the end.

  Ignore his warm hands, she told herself sternly, and his concerned look.

  As much as she’d enjoyed the bath, and relished feeling clean again, the whole time she’d laid there her mind had been focused on Shal. As the water became cold, she’d vowed to overcome this attraction she felt for him. It wasn’t going anywhere. It couldn’t.

  His ideals and attitudes were too different from hers. He’s a townie, after all, she reminded herself, doubting they’d have even one thing in common. Hopefully tomorrow they’d be picked up and she’d never see him again.