The Country Girl

by Cathryn Hein

  ‘You will.’ She kept talking as she worked. ‘You know, food isn’t just about taste. It takes all the senses to appreciate it properly. Different food makes different sounds as it cooks, as it hits the plate, even as it moves around in your mouth. Right now, you can hear water boiling and a pan working, but you don’t know what it is. They’re two incongruous sounds. What food could be boiled and fried? Or is it two dishes rather than one?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘No, but it’s intriguing, isn’t it? What could it be?’ She swirled the melting butter around the pan, then checked the tortelli. A few were starting to rise. She threw a small handful of fresh-picked sage leaves into the butter and turned the heat up slightly. ‘There’ll be a smell coming to you soon, something you might recognise.’

  ‘I can’t place it.’

  She looked behind. Patrick had turned his head side on and his nose was lifted but his eyes remained closed.

  A smile slowly crept across his face. ‘It smells like Sunday nights at Nan’s house when we were kids.’

  ‘That’s perfect. One of the things that makes food so magical is its ability to rekindle memory, to bring back emotions that you thought were lost. Special feelings that might fade over time but can be revived with a single breath. Or taste.’

  Tash glanced again to see if he understood what she was creating for them. The smile had broadened. He understood.

  ‘Keep facing away,’ she said and turned the heat up. The butter began to foam, then to turn golden, then a rich nut brown. She snapped off the heat and, working quickly, used a slotted spoon to capture the floating tortelli, draining them slightly before placing them in the pan with the browned butter and sage.

  She tipped the glistening buttery pasta into a shallow bowl, and sprinkled over parmesan.

  Patrick was obediently facing the door. ‘I can definitely smell parmesan.’

  Which was no surprise, given its distinctive odour, but Tash wasn’t about to tell him whether he was right or not. Mystery would only add to the sensuality of the exercise.

  ‘Keep your eyes closed and turn until you’re sitting sideways, and rest your hands on your legs.’ When he was ready she carried the plate over and sat opposite, the plate held between them. ‘Don’t move.’ She dropped her voice low and sexy. ‘Now for the best bit.’

  ‘You’re going to kiss me?’

  ‘No, I’m going to feed you.’ She laughed and touched his lips, only for her laugh to cut off as a volt of lust arced straight to her groin when he took the tips of her fingers into his mouth and sucked. She pulled them away quickly. She was meant to be doing the seducing here, not him.

  ‘Can I kiss you afterwards?’ he asked.

  ‘As much as you like.’

  He grinned. ‘You might regret saying that. I have plans to kiss you a lot.’

  ‘I think I’ll cope. Open your mouth, and no peeking until I say you can.’ Tash forked up a small pillow of pasta and slid it past his lips. ‘Close your mouth, but don’t chew. Just savour it. Roll it around with your tongue.’

  Patrick did as he was told. ‘It’s smooth. Buttery. I can taste parmesan.’ He frowned. ‘Something else.’

  Tash placed the plate on the bench so she could concentrate on his face. ‘Bite into it.’

  Patrick’s expression crossed from surprise to pleasure as the tortelli released its magic. She knew what he was sensing and was almost jealous of it. An explosion of nutty, roasted pumpkin, nutmeg and cheese, all coated in butter and earthy sage. Eating tortelli di zucca was like eating the colours and scents of autumn, except better.

  ‘What does it taste like?’

  ‘You.’ He swallowed and opened his eyes. ‘Sweet, gorgeous, perfect.’ He cupped her face and drew her close. ‘I don’t want to eat anymore, Tash. I just want you.’

  Patrick’s mouth closed over hers and all thought of Tash’s seduction plan was lost in that single moment of heart-stopping sensation. This was nothing like their previous kisses. This was combustion. Tash’s blood whooshed. Fire ignited every sense while at the same time her skin shivered with goosebumps. Their mouths were perfect together, as if nature had formed them whole and split them at birth and now they were joined again.

  What started tender rapidly turned demanding. Little moans formed in the back of Tash’s throat as their connection turned desperate. For a fraction of a second Patrick pulled back to regard her in wonder, then with a ‘Jesus, Tash,’ he kissed her even harder.

  They rose at the same time, laughing but continuing to kiss as Patrick steered Tash backwards towards her bedroom. One hand slid to her hip and found its way inside her top. Tash did the same with him, rejoicing in the strength and warmth of his belly, in every delicious centimetre of him.

  ‘Hang on,’ she gasped, and changed direction to the door. She tried to flick the lock but Patrick’s fingers had reached the underside of her breast and his mouth was on her earlobe, scrambling her brain. Finally, the latch snapped up, keeping them safe from interruption.

  Somehow they bumped across the room without knocking anything over. By the time Tash had backed Patrick to the bedroom door her top was rucked up under her armpits, the button and zip of her jeans undone. Patrick was in a similar state. Both of them were panting hard but this wasn’t garden-variety lust. This was different to anything she’d ever experienced, like she’d swallowed electricity and every touch from Patrick discharged sparks. From the way he was reacting, he felt the same.

  Tash arched her back as Patrick kissed his way down her neck and scraped his teeth over the skin at the hollow of her collarbone, his hard cock pressed against her stomach. She shivered at the feel of it and slid her hands inside the back of his jeans to cup the deliciously firm globes of his arse and pull him even closer.

  His mouth worked back up to hers again and lifted. ‘I’ll probably last about five seconds.’

  Given how turned on Tash was she wasn’t sure she’d last much longer. ‘That’s okay. We have all night.’

  ‘More than that, Tash,’ Patrick murmured as he bent to kiss her again. ‘Much more than that.’

  Chapter 35

  Patrick smiled as Tash snuggled her bum even closer against his hips. He was hard again, but he’d been that way most of the night. He splayed his fingers over the soft form of her stomach, savouring the round lusciousness of it, and breathed in the scent of her hair.

  His heart felt huge with her, like she’d poured herself inside his ribs and now sat curled up and smiling behind them. Nights didn’t come much more memorable. Tash made love the way she kissed and cooked—generously and with passion. He couldn’t get enough of her, of the way she made him feel with her sweet giggles and gasps. The way she gazed at him like he was some sort of superhero.

  His confidence had been shot since Maddy’s accident, pounded by guilt and grief and shame at his weakness, but in one night Tash had brought it all back and made him feel like a proper man again. If he hadn’t already loved her for a million other reasons, he would have loved her for that alone.

  Dawn was breaking past the curtains. Soon it’d be daylight and he’d have to leave. He should leave now but couldn’t bring himself to slip away from her warm body.

  Patrick nuzzled her hair, his fingers creeping to the lower slopes of her breasts. Christ, she had great breasts. His brain had gone completely blank the moment he’d peeled off her shirt and then her bra, and he’d faced the utter gloriousness of them for the first time. His palm brushed her nipple and he smiled when it puckered and pebbled against his skin.

  Sometime during the night when hunger had overtaken passion and sleep as a priority, Tash had cooked another plate of tortelli wearing nothing but a cloth apron, while he’d watched with a hard-on stretching his trunks. They’d shared the bowl of pasta, which had led to Patrick dripping buttery sauce over her nipples and licking it off until she’d squirmed with need. He’d kept sucking, bringing her off with his fingers, elated and smug at how easy it was. How much she wan
ted and responded to him. Tash had paid him back with warm chocolate sauce, finger-painted onto places it was never meant to go and licked off with a teasing leisure that had made Patrick’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

  She shifted and sighed.

  Patrick nuzzled her ear. ‘Morning, gorgeous.’

  ‘Mmm,’ she said, wriggling her bum. ‘This is nice to wake up to.’

  He closed his eyes and smiled. A girl who didn’t mind a bit of morning glory. Tash couldn’t get any more perfect. ‘I could make it nicer.’

  ‘Could you now?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he whispered and proceeded to do so.

  By the time they’d finished, the dawn glow had reached the bed. Tash was curled under his arm with her ear pressed against his heart, one leg draped across his thigh. ‘Morning’s nearly here,’ she said and looked up. ‘I don’t want this to end.’

  ‘It won’t.’

  She smiled and tickled his chest hair. ‘You can’t stop in bed all day.’

  ‘I could take the day off.’ His dad would probably have his guts if he did but it’d be worth it.

  ‘That’d be lovely, but I have work to do and …’ She tapped out the words with a pointed finger. ‘So. Do. You.’

  Patrick caressed his knuckles up and down her spine. ‘Tonight?’

  She rolled onto his chest and wriggled up to kiss him, and rested on her folded arms. ‘You have footy on Saturday. Isn’t there some rule about sex before a game?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of.’

  She bit her lip and looked at him from under her lashes. ‘I wouldn’t want to wear you out.’

  ‘Is that a promise?’

  Which only made Tash giggle and kiss him.

  Patrick folded his arms around her, holding her as close and tight as he dared but it still didn’t seem close enough. The words ‘I love you’ tipped his tongue and were lost when she pulled back and tapped his nose lightly.

  ‘Come on, big boy. Shower and breakfast time.’

  The shower took longer than it should have but Patrick didn’t mind, and neither did Tash. Breakfast was hastily scrambled eggs and dirty talk about the more interesting places they could be eaten off than plates. Even when he was forking up food Patrick couldn’t stop touching her, half afraid she might disappear. It was pathetic and needy, but that didn’t stop him doing it.

  After helping her tidy up, Patrick walked reluctantly to his ute with his arm over Tash’s shoulder and her body tucked tight against him. He leaned against the door and drew her between his legs, kissing and nuzzling, and whispering plans for the evening and what he was going to do to her.

  ‘Your dad must be wondering where you are.’

  ‘Probably,’ said Patrick, not caring. He looked past her and lifted a hand to wave.

  Tash twisted to see who he’d spotted, then quickly pressed her face against his chest. ‘God, is there anything worse than your parents knowing you’ve had sex?’

  ‘Yeah. Getting caught in the act. Mum caught Maddy and me once.’

  The change was so fleeting, if he hadn’t been holding her so close, Patrick might have missed her stiffening. He couldn’t blame her. If she’d mentioned anything about Thom or Mitch or any other bloke in the same moment, he’d have been pissed off too. He hadn’t meant to say Maddy’s name but it just came out and now he felt like shit. He closed his eyes and kissed her damp hair, making a silent promise to keep his big mouth shut in the future.

  To his relief Tash appeared to let it slide.

  ‘Please don’t ever let that happen to us,’ she said with a groan. ‘I’d die.’

  Patrick kissed her again. ‘I won’t.’ He smiled as he spotted Baz’s ute rumbling down Castlereagh Road. Everyone’s timing this morning had been so perfect he could have sworn it had been staged. ‘Your Pa’s just pulled in.’

  She groaned again and lifted her head from his chest to look at him. ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘That we spent the night together?’

  ‘I meant everyone knowing.’

  Did he mind? Was she kidding? Patrick wanted to yell it to the universe. ‘No. Do you?’

  ‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’ She looked away and Patrick’s mood buckled under her uncertainty.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing.’ She shook her head and raised on tiptoe to kiss him. ‘Just me being silly.’

  Patrick turned her light kiss deeper. A car horn honked. Tash tried to ease away but fear had him holding on. She acted like she felt the same as him, so how could she mind about anyone knowing?

  A car door slammed, footsteps headed their way.

  She squirmed against his hold. ‘Please, Patrick.’

  He let her go and glowered at Baz but it seemed nothing was going to break the old man’s good mood.

  ‘Tash, Patrick.’ He grinned. ‘Bout bloody time too.’

  ‘Pa …’

  Baz lifted his hands. ‘What? Can’t a man be happy his granddaughter’s found herself a decent fella at last?’

  Patrick supposed that was something. He studied Tash’s face. It was pink with embarrassment and, he hoped, the intensity of his kiss, but he had no idea what she was thinking. He reached for her hand and squeezed. She glanced at him and smiled, squeezing his fingers in return before letting go and holding one arm across herself as she traced an arc in the dirt with her toe.

  ‘I won’t be long,’ she said, ‘if you want to get started.’

  Patrick looked pointedly at Baz, who finally got the message.

  ‘No, no. Take your time. Might go up to the house for a cuppa.’ And with that he strode off grinning, no doubt eager to discuss this development with Peter and Liz.

  ‘You okay?’ Patrick asked Tash.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re not acting it.’

  ‘Sorry.’ She stared at him with both palms cupped around her face. ‘I feel about fifteen.’

  ‘I’m not embarrassed.’

  ‘You’re a man. Men never get embarrassed about this stuff.’

  ‘Yeah, we do.’

  ‘It’s not the same though. Sons can do what they like. Daughters and granddaughters are meant to stay innocent until they’re old.’

  Patrick reached for her again. He checked quickly to see if anyone was watching, then snuck his hand up her jumper and tweaked her nipple. ‘I’m glad you’re not.’

  As he’d intended, it broke her mood. Tash squealed, wriggling as she draped her arms around his neck.

  Patrick sighed and nuzzled her ear. It was dumb, but he was feeling like a teenager too. Lovesick and horny as hell. ‘I want to take you back to bed.’

  ‘You can do that tonight.’

  ‘Too far away. What about lunchtime?’

  Tash tipped her head back and regarded him sternly. ‘No.’

  ‘You’re no fun.’

  She raised an eyebrow.

  He grinned and kissed her. ‘Okay, so you’re lots of fun.’

  ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet, baby.’

  ‘Not helping.’

  It took Patrick another ten minutes to force himself from Tash’s arms and into his ute, then another five before he stopped kissing her through the window. Even as he put the car into gear he was holding her hand, their fingers parting only as he released the brake and headed slowly for Wiruna.

  But as he approached Springbank, Patrick felt the same gut-deep tug of guilt as he had the night he’d first kissed Tash. He didn’t love Maddy, there was nothing between them anymore and she was gone. Yet still it remained.

  He knew why too.

  The question was what he planned to do about it.

  Chapter 36

  The moment Patrick slid the door open that evening Tash was kissing him. Within seconds, they were backing into the bedroom, laughing at their excitement, hands greedy and roving.

  ‘So,’ said Tash, curling up afterwards to what was rapidly becoming her favourite spot under his arm against his chest, ‘how was your day?’

  ‘Okay.
Yours?’

  ‘A bit trying.’

  He lifted his head slightly off the pillow to look at her.

  Tash sighed and toyed with his chest hairs. She really liked his chest. It was manly and sexy, and fun to play with. He had nice nipples too. Not that she’d ever found a man’s nipples particularly appealing before, but Patrick’s were small and firm and she liked the way they pebbled when she teased him.

  ‘Pa was insufferable. Couldn’t stop grinning and telling me how thrilled he was. In the end I got snappy and told him off, which made him all huffy and grumbly about ungrateful granddaughters. Then Mum came over while I was riding Khan this afternoon and kept asking questions she already knew the answers to, when it was pretty obvious that the real question she wanted to ask was how serious it was between us. And Dad …’ She sighed again. ‘He was fine. Just nodded and said as long as I was happy.’

  ‘Dad just nodded at me too,’ said Patrick, drawing circles on her shoulder with his finger. ‘But Mum was like yours, bursting to say something. In the end I put her out of her misery and said I’d be stopping with you again tonight.’

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘She made this funny noise and her eyes went bright. Then she said “I’m so pleased” in this choked-up voice, then muttered something about a cold and rushed off to blow her nose.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  She felt his shrug. ‘Followed her and gave her a hug. Told her I loved her, even if she was a silly duffer.’

  Tash continued to caress his chest and belly. Patrick had a nice stomach too, hardened and lean from footy and work. ‘They’re really happy for us, aren’t they?’

  ‘Seems like it.’

  She closed her eyes. ‘It’s nice, but also a fair bit of pressure.’

  ‘Pressure?’

  ‘We’re carrying their expectations as well as our own. Not that I have any,’ added Tash quickly.

  The finger circles stopped.

  Tash shifted to look at him. ‘What?’

  For a fleeting moment she thought she caught hurt in Patrick’s eyes, but a smile covered it so fast she couldn’t be certain. ‘You’re worrying about nothing.’ He hoisted her up onto his chest and kissed her. ‘I have big shoulders. I can take their expectations and more.’