One-Click Buy: July 2009 Harlequin Blaze

by Julie Kenner

  Harry would have the next few days to cool off before she had to face him again. But there was no longer a reason for her to be ashamed of seeing Teague. He made her happy and she hadn’t felt truly happy since the last time they’d been together. Nearly ten years of searching for the one thing she needed, and she found it in the place where it had all begun.

  When she drove up to the plane, Teague was waiting. He helped her inside, showing her how to strap in, then circled around and climbed into the pilot’s seat. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life.

  “When did you learn how to fly?” she shouted.

  “Four years ago,” he said. “Figured I’d need a plane if I was going to be an outback vet. I bought it last year. Lived like a pauper when I was working in Brisbane, saving everything I made. This baby comes in handy.”

  Hayley had never been in a small plane before. She drew a deep breath as they headed down the bumpy runway, the plane gathering speed. She was afraid it might fall apart with all the bouncing and bumping, but then they lifted off and the ride was suddenly smooth.

  Teague reached over and captured her hand, then brought it to his lips to kiss it. She felt a familiar thrill, the same feeling she’d had when they were kids and they’d found an adventure to experience together. There was a certain satisfaction in sharing something new with Teague. As if it was something no one could ever take from them.

  “Will you tell me where we’re going now?”

  He shook his head. “Look in the bags behind your seat.”

  She twisted around and found two huge shopping bags from David Jones, a department-store chain. “What’s this?”

  “I picked up a few things while I was shopping with the girls.”

  “How long have you been planning this?”

  He shrugged. “Awhile. Well, ever since we spent that first night in the shack. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get away, but Doc Daley told me I could take a few days if I cleared my schedule.”

  She pulled out a tiny pink-flowered bikini and held it up. “We’re going to the beach?”

  “Yes.” He nodded.

  She found a matching sarong and a pretty pair of sandals in the same bag. In the other bag, she found two sundresses along with a pale yellow cotton cardie. In a smaller bag, a selection of underwear, bras and panties in pastel colors. “You bought these yourself?”

  He nodded again. “I think they’ll fit. I had to guess on the sizes.” He glanced over at her. “I don’t think you’ll need more than that.”

  “I suspect I’ll be spending a fair number of hours without any clothes at all.”

  “Yes,” he agreed with a boyish grin. “I didn’t pack much, either.”

  As they flew northeast, Teague pointed out all the major landmarks. They flew over Carnarvon National Park and then over the Blackdown Tablelands before turning directly north. Soon, the coast was visible, the turquoise-blue water shimmering in the afternoon sun. Hayley sat back in her seat, watching the landscape float by below them. When they got over the water, Teague brought the plane lower and pointed out the window at a pod of whales breaking the smooth surface. They circled once so she could get a better look, then he navigated north again.

  “It’s so beautiful,” she said. “I love the ocean.”

  “I know.” He turned and smiled at her. “You told me the day we met. You stood on the top of the rock and tried to see the ocean. And when you couldn’t, I was afraid you might cry.”

  “You remember that?”

  “I remember everything about that day,” he said.

  Islands dotted the coastline and Teague headed farther east until they could see waves breaking over the Great Barrier Reef. She’d never really appreciated the true beauty of her homeland, but here, with Teague, everything looked different somehow. The coast was greener, the sky bluer, the water sparkling with the light of a million diamonds.

  How was it possible that life seemed so much more exciting when he was near? He was just a man, nothing more. Yet, when she was with him, she felt…complete. As if all the pieces that had been missing over the years had found their place again in her heart.

  Her body buzzed with a strange anticipation. While they were on Wallaroo and Kerry Creek, it was simple to think of their time together in finite terms. But now that they were in the real world, the possibilities seemed endless. Could they continue after they both returned to their regular lives? Would there be shared holidays and weekends away? The more she thought about how it might work, the more Hayley realized that it could work.

  Lots of people carried on long-distance relationships. And she and Teague had spent nearly ten years apart, yet it hadn’t changed anything between them, except the intensity of their feelings for each other. What was a week or a month compared to ten years?

  “Which beach are we going to?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you let me surprise you,” he insisted. “I know it’s not in your nature, but give it a try, just this once.”

  “I have to warn you again that wherever we go, people will recognize me. They’ll either ask for my autograph or tell me what a horrible person I am. They sometimes get me mixed up with my character.”

  “You are a very bad girl on the program. How many marriages have you destroyed?”

  “Three, I think,” Hayley said ruefully. “And two engagements. I seem to like sex far too much for my own good.”

  “How does that work?” Teague asked. “When you have to do those scenes?”

  “Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Especially when you don’t know the other person very well. But it’s part of the job.” She paused. “And sometimes, it creates a false sense of intimacy.”

  “And how did the men in your life handle you doing love scenes with other guys?”

  “You mean my boyfriends?”

  Teague nodded. “I know you’ve had boyfriends. I’ve read all the magazines. Whenever there was a story about you and some fella, I’d have to read it. You’ve had some very famous boyfriends.”

  “I suppose they didn’t care. They never really knew me, anyway. I never let them get close enough.”

  “I know what you mean,” Teague said. “It’s never felt right with other women.”

  “So you were abstinent for ten years,” she joked.

  “No. And I don’t expect you were, either. But I never found anyone that felt as…right as you did. As right as you do. With me.”

  “What are we going to do about that?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out.”

  A long silence grew between them as Hayley considered what he’d told her. Everything he’d said had been the truth and she’d felt it as strongly as he had. They belonged together. But admitting that fact made everything so much more complicated.

  She could figure it all out later, she decided. For the next few days, she was going to enjoy her time with Teague and not worry about the future.

  6

  TEAGUE SAT on the edge of the bed and stared out the open doors onto the bungalow’s wide veranda. Hayley stood facing the ocean, her body outlined by the setting sun. The breeze caught a strand of her hair and he watched as she distractedly tucked it behind her ear.

  She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And it was obvious to him that he couldn’t consider a life without her. How was that possible? Had they really fallen in love as teenagers? Was this merely a continuation of those feelings? If he couldn’t figure that out here, alone with her, then maybe he’d never know for sure.

  They’d landed at the only commercial airport in the Whitsundays, on Hamilton Island, and then had hopped onto a helicopter for the ten-minute flight to the resort. Teague had heard of the resort when he was living in Brisbane and when he’d called to make a reservation, he’d been assured that it was very private. There were only sixteen bungalows, set near the water’s edge, the lush rain forest spreading out behind them. This being the off-season, he and Hayley were the only guests midweek.
<
br />   The bungalows were furnished in plantation style with high ceilings and polished wood floors. A fan whirred above his head, the sound mixing with the rush of waves on the shore. If they were going to fall in love all over again, this would be the place to do it, Teague mused. They had three days and nights together to figure out their relationship.

  She turned to face him, her expression soft and her smile satisfied. “It’s beautiful,” Hayley said as she walked toward him.

  “The helicopter pilot told me we’re the only guests right now. We have the whole island to ourselves. Besides the staff, the wallabies, the goannas and—”

  She put her finger to his lips, then sat down on his lap. “No people to bother me with autographs,” she said.

  “Nope.”

  “A real bed with a down comforter,” she said, leaning back to smooth her hand over the bed linens.

  Teague nodded.

  “You know how to spoil a girl, don’t you.”

  “I do my best,” he said.

  She gave his chest a gentle shove and they tumbled onto the bed together. “Now that we’re here, what are we going to do with ourselves?”

  “I have some ideas,” Teague teased. “But they all involve taking off your clothes.”

  Hayley scrambled to her feet and, without hesitation, pulled the cotton dress up and over her head. Then she kicked off her shoes and jumped onto the bed. “Now what?”

  “Use your imagination,” Teague said.

  She stretched out at his side, then ran her hand from his chest to his groin. She rubbed the front of his khakis, waiting for the customary reaction to her touch. As he grew hard, she smiled. “You’re far too easy,” she said.

  Teague caught her wrists and rolled her beneath him, pinning her hands above her head. “What about you? It doesn’t take much to make you all warm and wet.”

  “I can last longer than you can,” she said.

  Another challenge. Funny how he enjoyed these challenges so much more than the silly challenges of their younger years. He loosened his grip on her wrists and slowly slid down along her body, his lips pressing against her silken skin. He stopped long enough to dispense with her bra, then let his mouth linger over each tempting breast.

  Hayley arched beneath him as he brought each nipple to a stiff peak, then blew on it softly. Teague’s fingers twisted in the waistband of her panties as he pulled them over her hips and thighs. When she was finally naked, he lay beside her and gently caressed the damp spot between her legs.

  Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. When he looked at her, every detail of her face suddenly became important to him. Her bow-shaped upper lip, the long lashes that fluttered against her cheeks, the tiny mole on her chin. He’d known them all by heart so many years ago, but now he didn’t want to forget.

  Teague bent over and kissed her gently as he slipped his finger inside her. Hayley’s breath caught in her throat and she moaned. He knew she was close, but he wanted to prolong her pleasure. They had a comfortable bed and a long night ahead of them. There was no need to rush.

  But Hayley wasn’t ready to surrender. She gently pushed his hand away, then rolled over and straddled his body. Her hair fell in waves around her face and she smiled down at him as she tugged at his T-shirt.

  Carefully, she undressed him, Teague touching her at every turn, his hands searching out the sweet curves of her body. He’d been so long without a woman before Hayley had come into his life again. And now that he’d grown used to having her near, Teague wondered if he’d ever be able to do without. There was something so comforting in knowing that, for at least this moment in time, she belonged entirely to him.

  Her lips were warm against his bare skin. A shiver skittered over him as she teased his nipple. Then, her lips drifted lower until her hair tickled his belly. He knew her game but he also knew how close he was to losing control. Teague groaned as her mouth brushed along the length of his shaft.

  There were certain aspects of passion that they hadn’t enjoyed as teenagers and this had been one of them. But it was obvious that new skills had been acquired in ten years. Her mouth closed around him and Teague felt a current race through his body, making him flinch in response.

  He slid his fingers through her hair, holding her back when he felt too close, then loosening his grip when he wanted more. Teague lost himself in the wild sensations her mouth and hands were bringing him.

  “All right,” he groaned. “You win.”

  “Not yet,” Hayley said. “Not until you give up.” She went to work and Teague knew she wouldn’t be satisfied until he was. Did he want to surrender? Or would he rather find his release inside her?

  In the end, Teague didn’t have a choice. The feel of her tongue on his cock was more than he could handle. He held his breath and felt his body grow tense with anticipation. And then, a spasm shook his core. His fingers tangled in her hair, gently pulling her away as the warmth of his orgasm pooled on his belly.

  When it was finally over and his body had relaxed, Teague opened his eyes to find her looking up at him, her chin resting on his chest. “I win,” she said, a satisfied smile on her face.

  “No. I’m pretty sure I won that round.” He reached down and drew her up alongside him, tucking her into the curve of his arm. “If this is any indication of the rest of our holiday, I think I’m going to need a holiday from our holiday.”

  “I like this,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “It feels so grown-up.”

  “We are grown-up,” Teague said.

  “Sometimes I don’t feel like an adult. I keep waiting for my life to start, as if there’s supposed to be a big sign that tells me when I need to begin paying attention. Your Life Starts Now,” she said, emphasizing each word with her hands.

  “Your life has started.”

  “But it doesn’t seem like it’s mine,” Hayley said. “It feels like it belongs to someone else.”

  “What did you think it was supposed to be?”

  She considered his question for a long moment. “I thought that you and I would live on a station and we’d raise horses and spend all day riding them. And at night, we’d live in a little shack, like the one on Wallaroo. And we’d sleep in the same bed and wake up together every morning. And that would be our life.”

  “It sounds pretty nice to me,” Teague said. “Not very practical, though. Where would we have found the money to buy a station and horses? How would we have supported ourselves? It was a silly dream.”

  Not so silly, Teague thought to himself. He’d had the same dream himself when he was younger. Only, he’d have a job as a vet to help support them both. They’d work the station together and breed the best horses in all of Australia.

  But as he looked at Hayley now, he wondered whether she’d be happy with station life. He’d seen what it had done to his own mother, driving her away after eighteen years of marriage. And raising a family in the outback wasn’t a piece of cake, either.

  Hayley had a glamorous life in Sydney, enough money to live quite comfortably. She was a celebrity, people recognized her. That wasn’t the kind of life someone walked away from.

  But he could walk away and join her. His deal with Doc Daley wasn’t finalized yet. Though they’d reached a verbal agreement, they were due to sign the papers at the end of the month. If he backed out, there would certainly be other vets who’d jump at the chance to take over the practice. Teague could return to clinic work, like he’d done after he graduated from vet school. City life hadn’t been that bad. He could get used to caring for dogs and cats again and forget about horses.

  Teague closed his eyes. He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t think about the future while they were at the resort. There was time enough for that later.

  “There’s a very large shower in the bathroom. I think we should try it out,” he said.

  “We’ve never had a shower together,” she said. “Or a bath.”

  “Well, if you don’t count the time you snuck o
ver to the pond on Kerry Creek and talked me into skinny-dipping.”

  A smile spread slowly across her pretty face. “I remember that.”

  “Yes. You spent half the night laughing at the effect the cold water had on my bits and pieces. I was humiliated.”

  “Yes, but you forget that a few days later, we found something much more interesting to do with your bits and pieces.” She dropped a kiss on his lips. “We had sex for the first time.”

  “That’s right,” he said. “And look where we are now. Still naked, still having sex. And you’re still issuing challenges.”

  “We have come a long way,” Hayley said. She rolled off the bed and held out her hand. “Shower. I think it’s time we ticked that off the list. I’ll wager you dinner that I can wash your back better than you can wash mine.”

  Teague followed her into the bathroom, his gaze fixed on the sweet curve of her backside. If this was the way their holiday was starting, three days and nights would never be enough.

  HAYLEY SAT on the wooden lounge chair, her feet tucked under her. The sun was beginning to brighten the morning sky. The mist rising from the dense rain forest on the island would soon burn off, leaving them with another beautiful day.

  She’d learned to love mornings on the island. Right before the sun came up, birds would awaken and begin chattering in the trees that surrounded their bungalow. Teague slept so deeply he never noticed. But for Hayley, they were like an alarm clock, reminding her that she had another whole day to spend with Teague.

  They’d walk on the beach or take a trek on the paths through the forest. They’d sip fresh juice for breakfast and enjoy a gourmet meal for dinner.

  Sadly, this was their last day on the island. At noon, they’d take the helicopter back to Hamilton Island and then Teague’s plane home to Wallaroo. She didn’t want their holiday to end. It had all been too perfect.

  Was she wrong to believe that real life would never match the fantasy of their time on the island? It was easy to fall in love in this place. They had no responsibilities, no worries, no careers tugging them in different directions.