We played long into the night by lantern light. Eventually the doctor retired and took Madeline off to her bed, leaving five of us to battle it out. I fell quickly to my sister’s brutal wiles, and Michael and Anahera soon joined me in bankruptcy.
Defeated, we sat back to watch the two youngest members of our groups battle it out, their faces masks of intense concentration. Then it all came tumbling down, when one unlucky roll of the dice made Hemi’s little race car land on Mayfair. It was stacked high with Skye’s motels, so that was the end of him.
“I can’t believe it. Beaten by a girl,” Hemi complained jokingly.
“And I’d beat you again, too,” she retorted, leaning over to smack his arm.
“Hey now! You’re not allowed to hit me,” Hemi protested, holding his hands up in mock defence. “That’s not fair, since I’m not allowed to hit you back.”
“Seems perfectly fair to me.” Skye grinned wickedly at him. “You think I’m only a girl. I’ll show you!”
A crack of thunder so loud that it made the windows rattle punctuated Skylar’s sentence, and made us all jump. We exchanged looks, and then melted into communal laughter at our own expense.
“Okay, children; off to bed,” Anahera commanded once the levity subsided, making shooing motions at Skylar and her son. I expected protests, but neither of them said a word. They stood obediently and departed, still teasing one another as they went out the door.
I watched them go, then turned and looked at Anahera with a raised eyebrow. “You know, if I tried that I’d probably just get jeered at. What’s your secret?”
“My secret?” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m old enough to be both their mothers. Mum will always be Mum.”
I heard Michael chuckle behind me, then felt a hand run across my shoulders. “Hear that? You’re just too young to be the boss.”
“Hey!” I pouted at him. “You’re only four years older than me. That means you’re too young to be the boss, too.”
“You’re both youngsters.” Anahera peered at us with a peculiar little half-smile on her face. “Therefore, I am the boss.”
“This entire conversation is silly,” I announced, sliding down off the couch to start picking up the game pieces and putting them away. There was a soft grunt as Michael slid down beside me to help, while Anahera watched on from her armchair.
“Yes, it is,” she agreed thoughtfully, absently crossing her long legs. “A little levity is good for everyone, though. I am glad you convinced Skylar to join us. This was a wonderful idea.”
I glanced up at her, and she smiled at me, a smile so beautiful that it made my heart do a somersault in my chest. There was just something about that woman that was so strong and so charismatic that her praise made me feel like a puppy who’d gotten a treat. I smiled back, shyly, and looked back down at the strewn game pieces.
“Thanks. I’m just glad that she agreed. I was really worrying about her.” I absently reached out to touch Michael’s hand as it happened to pass by me while gathering up motels. He hesitated, then gave my hand a squeeze, understanding my need for contact.
“We were all worried about her,” he said quietly in that deep, grainy voice of his, then shot a glance towards Anahera. “There were a few days where we thought that she might…”
He trailed off and looked at me, leaving me to finish the sentence. I did, but only with great reluctance. “…kill herself.”
“Ah,” Anahera murmured. She thought about it for a second, then shook her head. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Your sister is a very strong and determined young woman. She just needs time to sort through her grief and find her own strength again. The two of you are much alike in that manner.”
“Me?” I looked up again, bewildered. “You must be kidding. I’m the biggest wimp in the universe, just ask Michael.”
“Wimp? Hardly.” Michael laughed. He grabbed my shoulder and gave me a light shake. “You just have a warped sense of your own self-worth, sweetheart.”
“He’s right,” Anahera agreed, amusement flickering across her face. “How long were you alone out there? A decade, was it? You went through terrible things all by yourself, with no one to support you, no one to fall back on, and no one to keep you grounded. And yet, here you are, alive and well, and forming bonds with other people. You have had to learn how to have friends and how to trust all over again, and you’re doing very well at it from what I can see.”
I felt my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment, but when I opened my mouth to protest Michael cut me off.
“Oh no, I know what you’re going to say,” he scolded gently, sliding an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t you even think about it. She’s bang on the money, and you know it.”
Tears sprang into my eyes. Suddenly, I found myself fascinated by the tiny game pieces in my hands, unable to meet their eyes. “I don’t feel like I’m doing very well.”
“You are.” Anahera joined us on the floor, and reached over to take the game pieces from my hand. She set them aside, and then wrapped her hands around mine. “Darling, I know that you struggle. I saw the way you looked at me when we first met, and I know that look. You have been trapped for a very long time in a prison fate made for you, and now you’re learning to cope with the world outside that prison.” She reached over and cupped my chin in her hand, forcing me to meet her gaze. “You are doing very well, and I want you to remember that. Promise me.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that so I mumbled something inarticulate. She smiled and shook her head but let it pass. She eased herself back into her chair, leaving me to resume picking up the scattered toys.
Michael was never one to leave me to sulk when he knew I was feeling a bit down, so he distracted me with a playful pinch on the bottom. I squealed in surprise and leapt away from him, then laughed and gave him an equally playful slap across the shoulder in return.
“Ow! I was just about to point out that it’s been weeks since you hit me, too. So much for that,” he teased. I flung a tiny metal shoe at him in retaliation. He yelped as it bounced off his arm and tumbled away, then went scrambling after it. When he found it, he flung it right back at me. It missed me and hit Anahera in the shin instead.
“Hey now, you two,” she scolded us with amusement, leaning down to grab the fallen toy and toss it into the box with the others. “I thought you were supposed to be the responsible ones?”
“Me?” I snorted indignantly and flapped a hand. “God, no. He’s the responsible one. Did he tell you he used to be a police officer?”
“He did mention it, yes.” She gave Michael a long, pointed look. This time, it was Michael’s turn to look flustered by her scrutiny.
“I was a constable, yeah,” he admitted. “I guess that’s why I feel like I’m responsible for protecting these troublemakers. Or arresting them, I haven’t decided which yet.” He shot an impish grin at me, and I laughed.
“Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “If you arrested me, where would you put me?”
“Oh, I have some ideas…” he teased right back, and then gave me a wink that made me start blushing all over again.
Anahera watched with amusement, clearly enjoying the sight of our youthful exuberance. Then, out of the blue, she hit us with a question that stunned us both. “So, when are you two getting married?”
I stared at her, and then glanced at Michael to find him looking just as dumbstruck.
“Er… well, but we’ve only known each other for about six weeks…” he stumbled awkwardly, absently rubbing at the back of his neck. As I watched, I saw a flush of colour rise in his cheeks and the side of his throat, mirroring the rush of heat I felt in my own face.
“Life is short and brutal in this day and age,” Anahera said with a shrug. “You two are clearly besotted with one another. God only knows how much time you’ll have together. You should make the most of it while you can.”
“But, we haven’t even… you know, done ‘it’,” I stumbled, feeling complete
ly out of my element; I’d never discussed my personal issues with anyone besides Michael.
Anahera’s brows shot up. “Really now? I never would have guessed.” She paused to think about it, then a flicker of understanding passed through her eyes. “Ah, but I suppose I should have. Alas, that is something I cannot advise on.”
“It’s okay.” I looked down at my feet, pretending to be fascinated by anything that didn’t involve making eye-contact with anyone. I heard rather than saw when Anahera stood up and stretched, in a rustling of cloth and denim.
“I’m sure the two of you will resolve that matter in your own time, when you’re ready,” she said in a gentle, maternal tone. “For now, I believe I shall retire. Assuming the storm passes by morning, we have a journey ahead of us.”
Then she was gone, stepping around our mess to leave Michael and me both feeling awkward and trying very hard not to look at one another. After the door clicked closed behind her, it left the room nearly silent. The only sound was the shuffling of paper and the clicking of metal and plastic pieces, barely audible over the raging storm outside.
Once we put the last of the pieces away, I slid the lid back onto the box and shoved it into a corner where it was out of the way. Finally, I glanced up and found Michael watching me with a look of pure confusion on his face. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second before he looked away, studying his hands with great interest. Neither of us knew what to say.
Finally, he broke the silence. “Do you… think she’s right?”
“No, I don’t think so.” I drew a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Marriage? Good God, I barely knew the man. “It’s way too soon. I mean, yes I love you, but… I think we need to give it time. We have no idea where this might go. Marriage is a huge commitment, and we have no idea what will happen once the hormones wear off.”
“Yeah…” he trailed off, staring thoughtfully down at the ground. Suddenly, he looked up at me with the strangest look on his face. “But the possibility is still open for the future, right?”
My heart just about broke at the expression on his face. I smiled and shuffled over to cuddle up against him. “Definitely still open, when the time is right.”
His expression relaxed, and his arms slid around me to hold me close. “Okay. Good. You know, one day. Just in case.”
“Right.” I hid a smile against his broad chest. Sometimes he could be such a little boy. Sweet, but completely transparent and utterly without guile. It was all part of his charm, though. Thirty-two years old and built like a brick shithouse, but so emotionally inexperienced that I could see right through him. At least I had the experiences of my rambunctious youth to fall back on. As far as I could tell, he’d never even kissed another woman unless you included his mother.
As though reading my mind, I felt strong fingers cup my chin again and then his lips closed over mine. He had learned a lot in the time since we’d met, and apparently he was determined to show me just how much. I definitely wasn’t complaining. Practice makes perfect – and we were getting a lot of practice.
Chapter Four
We spent a noisy night huddled in our room, hiding from the storm’s wrath. Every so often something would bang, or crash, or rattle and wake us up, so by the time morning came none of us felt like we’d gotten much sleep.
The sunrise was a beautiful thing, though. The world took on a rosy pallet that cast tendrils of colour across the arc of the heavens. Clouds still marred the sky, but the sunrise turned them from grey to pink, and made them seem impossibly beautiful.
I awoke nestled in Michael’s arms, like I did every morning, except this time the dawn light had painted our room in lovely colours. I stretched and rolled over, studying Michael’s profile in the vivid dawn light. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, so young and vulnerable. A surge of hot emotion welled up in my belly; I found myself struggling to stay in control.
I lay my head back down on the pillow beside him, watching him sleep. With one hand, I reached up and trailed a finger along his jaw, feeling the fascinating roughness of his stubble beneath my fingertip. He grimaced in his sleep, wrinkled up his face and mumbled something I couldn’t hear, then let out a deep breath and relaxed again. Something deep inside me quivered.
Soon, I promised it, and this time I really meant it. For all the pain I’d suffered, no matter how broken my psyche was, I really did love that man with an intensity that almost hurt. We lay together in sleep, nude and yet innocent, comfortable with one another in a way that I’d never experienced before.
I slipped a hand beneath the blankets and trailed my fingers down his chest. His skin was so smooth, with a light dusting of dark curls in just the right places. My fingers drifted lower, tracing the line of hair that adorned his belly just below the navel. Thoughtful and inquisitive, I followed it lower…
I suddenly realised that he was aroused, and the discovery sent a flash of heat tingling through my limbs. Was he dreaming about me? I often dreamed of him, of all the wonderful things we would one day do together. Equally often, I woke confused and excited, with my most basic animal instincts at war against learned behaviour.
Oh, but he wasn’t asleep anymore. His dark eyes were open just a sliver, watching my face. He shifted and drew me closer, burying his face in the curve of my neck.
“Taking advantage of me in my sleep again?” he murmured, his voice so soft and deep that it sent a shiver down my spine. Suddenly, his arms tightened and he had me on my back, belly to belly, chest to chest. His lips closed on mine, a hot, deep kiss that told me so much more than he meant it to. I understood intuitively that yes, he had been dreaming about me.
I had no chance to answer his accusation; my breath was stolen away by the passion of that kiss. He had me pinned, his hands roving across my body, and yet I felt no fear of him. My policeman, my lover. He would never hurt me. I could feel his body pressed against me, but true to his word, he resisted every one of his natural impulses and held himself back until I could tell him I was ready for him.
His lips left mine and drifted lower, seeking out that sensitive spot just below the corner of my jaw. Nibbling, kissing, driving me wild. Oh, I was so ready for him.
I struggled to draw the breath to tell him that, but just as I did, I opened my eyes–
–and found myself face to face with the most enormous, horrifying insect I’d ever seen in my life, squatting on the pillow right beside my head with its talons waving threateningly in the air. The breath I had drawn to surrender myself to him completely turned into a bloodcurdling scream. Poor Michael just about levitated off of me and ended up on the floor, while I fled to the far end of the bed and had myself a nice little heart attack in the corner.
The weta – a huge native insect that resembled nothing so much as the offspring of a gigantic cricket and the Devil himself – was not impressed.
Michael shoved himself up off the floor in a tangle of blankets, trying to figure out what had me so horrified. He spotted the enormous insect immediately, and then flopped right back onto the floor laughing himself silly at my expense.
“That is so not funny!” I was almost in tears, huddled up at the end of the bed. Then it hit me all of a sudden. It was just a bug. I’d seen them a hundred times before. It wasn’t really dangerous, despite its horrifying appearance. The worst it could do was draw a little blood. Okay, it was slightly funny.
I burst out laughing, the romantic mood completely gone. I hurled one of our non-bug-covered pillows at Michael. It hit him square in the face, but it was only a pillow so all it did was make him laugh harder.
With great difficulty, he pried himself out of his tangle of blankets and snatched up his hat from where we’d left it the day before. Naked as a jaybird and armed only with a hat, he captured the offending insect, then yanked open the window and flung the creature outside. I joined him at the window just in time to see the huge bug hit the ground below and roll a couple of times. A second later, it was up and off at a run, uninjured but
horribly offended by our rude behaviour. Michael looked at me and I looked back, both of us still struggling to control the urge to laugh.
“Fear not, madam! Captain Bugcatcher is here to protect you,” he announced, flailing a playful salute.
I’d had about as much as I could stand, and that crossed the line. I dissolved into hysterics and collapsed back into bed, laughing until tears rolled down my cheeks and my stomach hurt. It was clearly not going to be a morning for love-making, but at least we both got a good laugh out of it.
***
Later, dressed and finally back under control, we descended the stairs to the kitchen. There, we found Anahera, Hemi, the doctor and Maddy sitting around the table, while Skylar stirred something savoury-smelling on top of a bench-top gas cooker.
“Power’s still off?” I queried, fighting down a wave of relief at the sight of my baby sister back in the kitchen. Not only did that mean she was feeling better, but she was the best cook we had. All our bellies welcomed the sight of her with a spatula in hand.
“Yes,” Anahera answered, then she turned and gave us a strange look. “Glad you could join us. When we heard all that screaming, we were concerned someone was getting murdered.”
“All that… oh.” I stared at her, unsure what to say. Although I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, I couldn’t fight the uncontrollable urge to start laughing all over again. Luckily, Michael found the willpower to answer while I was still in stitches, with an enormous grin on his face.
“She woke up to the biggest weta I’ve ever seen, on her pillow,” he explained, using his hands to indicate the size of the beast. “It scared the hell out of us both. I guess it must have come inside on one of those branches that got blown about yesterday. Fear not, good citizens! The demon has now been evicted from the building.”
He promptly struck a heroic pose, and soon everyone was laughing right along with me – except for little Madeline, who sat regarding us with eyes that said she thought we were all crazy.
The Survivors (Book 2): Autumn Page 4
