The Goodbye Girl (33 page)

Nick gave it gladly, hips pumping, pace hard and fast, plunging into Bree’s body with
insatiable hunger.

Heart hammering, blood flowing like a
fiery liquid through his veins, his shaft becoming almost impossibly thicker, harder.  He’d never felt anything like this before, this mix of love and gentleness, heat and wildness, a pure craving of her fleshly delights, those woman’s secrets that were open to his invasion.

Sac tight, drawing up, he swore he could feel his seed r
oiling down low, foaming upward, and his hips pumped harder in anticipation, thrusts forceful now, shoving into her as he drove them up that slope of debauched glory.

Again he changed angle,
almost immediately finding that spot inside her that had her writhing under him, hips straining upward, her breath coming in ragged pants.  He pounded that sweet spot, hit it ruthlessly, and he knew she was near, so very near, felt it in the spasming of her sheath, saw it in the wildness of her eyes.

With carnal satisfaction h
e watched as she broke through the surface of an orgasm, watched as she flung her head back, her grip on him tightening, thighs shaking as she clasped him tight.

It was almost enough to tip him over the edge and he continued
pumping, seeking that same pinnacle of wanton wickedness.  Harder, faster, he rode her relentlessly, and then he was there, his hips shoving hard, seed spilling from him in heavy spurts as the orgasm splintered him apart, shattering him, throwing him out in a million pieces in a vortex of pure emotion, sensation, blinding eroticism.

He didn’t know how long he was out there on that wild, erotic ride, but when he finally opened his eyes it was to find his forehead on the pillow, lips on a curvy shoulder, pressing little kisses to the warm skin.

Turning his head, feeling so drowsily content, he pressed a kiss to the elegant arch of Bree’s neck, observing as those heavy eyelashes of hers lifted, seeing the pink tint her cheeks.

Holding his breath, he couldn’t help but wonder,
Was I too rough?  Too hard?  Not gentle enough?

Turning
her head on the pillow, Bree gazed right at him.  A smile curved her lips, a sparkle in her eyes.  “Wow.  Oh, wow.”

Yep, that did it.  Grinning, Nick propped himself up on his elbows, one each side of her head, gazing down at her.  “Hello.”

“Wow.”  She blinked.

Okay, call him a caveman but he couldn’t help the male satisfaction that rolled right through him.  “I take it you approve of our lovemaking?”

“Mmmm.”  A giggle escaped her.  “I think I’m riding high on endorphins.”

“No, honey, you’re riding high on Nick.”

“Oh, he’s good.” She nodded, slipped a hand behind his nape.  “I’d go as far as to say fantastic.”

“Why, thank you.”

“No, thank
you
.”  Laughter fading, she leaned up, kissing him softly.  “Thank you so much.”

“Honey, it was
definitely
my pleasure.”  Cupping her cheek, he lightly ran his thumb along her bottom lip.  “And one I fully intend that we repeat.  Many, many times.”

“Oh, really?” She dimpled.

“Really.”  At just the thought, he could feel his shaft getting happy. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you going?”

“To clean up.”

“You…um…”

He quirked an eyebrow curiously.

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

Nick stilled.  “Do you want me to stay?” 
Please say yes, please say yes
.

“Yes.”

Hallelujah!
  Maintaining a calm exterior, he dropped a quick kiss on her nose and smiled reassuringly.  “I’ll be right back. Keep this bed warm.”

He didn’t bother to pick up his towel, walking right across the bedroom floor and out the door, feeling her gaze on him every step of the way. 
No point playing at modesty, she was going to get used to seeing him naked.

In the bathroom he divested himself of the condom, cleaned himself and returned to the bedroom to find Bree lying on her side watching the door.  Her gaze tracked him across the room.

Stopping right in front of her, he grinned when she valiantly tried to keep her gaze above his navel, meeting his eyes with a little shyness and - hell yes, a little flicker of heat.  Unfortunately, she’d be tender, too tender to initiate round two, as much as he’d be quite happy to dive onto the bed, onto her, and then into her.

Mentally locking the door on that tantalising thought, he slid into the other side of the bed, saying when Bree made to roll over, “Stay right there.”  Shifting across the bed to curve around her, his
chest to her back, his knees behind hers, and oh God, he
was
a glutton for punishment, her bottom snugged into his groin, Nick draped his arm across her waist, kissed the back of her neck and sighed blissfully.  “Now this is cosy.”

“
Isn’t it, just?”  She paused.  “I’ve never actually slept with a man in my bed before.”

“Nice to know.”

“Just Sheba and Bast.  I’m used to them.”

“I promise not to shriek at you like
Sheba would.”

“Sheba purrs.”

“Honey, I’m not far off that now.”  He snuggled closer.

Bree laughed, relaxing a little more.

Not wanting her to feel awkward, he sought to ease her.  “I promise not to kick you in bed.”

“I appreciate that.”
  She yawned suddenly.  “Oh, crap, I’m so sorry.”

Laughing softly, he kissed her temple.  “We’ve had a bit of a workout.  Turn off the light and let’s get some sleep.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Honey, men like to sleep after making love.  It’s
usually women who want to chat.”

“I guess I’m not like other women.”

“That’s putting it mildly, and I am so glad.”

“You’re so sweet.”  Coming up
onto her elbow, she leaned over to the bedside table.

Nick nearly swallowed his tongue.  Her position gave him a world class peek at the rounded
derrière shadowed by the covers, the smooth expanse of back as she stretched out.  Then the light went out and darkness took over the room.

Bree
lay back down and Nick settled himself against her once more, arm over her waist, chin just touching the top of her head.  At the sound of rain starting to patter down more heavily on the roof, he curved around her a little more, drew her in a little tighter, and completely satisfied he closed his eyes and slipped into sleep, cradling Bree in his arms.

Chapter 10

When Bree woke the next morning, she stretched, immediately feeling aches in places she’d never ached before, or thought was possible to ache.  Then she remembered.

Whipping around in the bed, she found herself eye-to-eye with Sheba, who screeched happily.  Next to Sheba on the pillow was a rose that had obviously been mangled by her or Bast, and a note that had a few tooth marks in the edges, c
ourtesy of the same miscreants.

Sitting
up in the bed, Bree picked up the paper and read the scrawl with which she was so familiar from all the letters she’d received from Nick over the last nine months.

Hi honey,

I didn’t have the heart to wake you this morning.  You looked thoroughly loved up and contented, sleeping like a baby.  I’ve gone back to Alex’s for a change of clothes.  I’ll see you for morning tea, how about ten o’clock at Maryanne’s café?  If this time doesn’t work for you, call me.

Love

Nick

Bree grinned.  He still wanted to see her.  She definitely wanted to see him.  Oh boy, did she.

Checking the clock on the bedside table, she saw that it was already nine o’clock.  “Oops, better get a move on, Sheba.”  Flinging back the covers, she bounced out of bed.

And immediately felt a lot of previously unused muscles reminding her that hey, they were actually there, even if she’d never acknowledged them until now.

“All Nick’s doing,” Bree said to Sheba, still unable to get the silly grin off her face.

Sheba followed her to the bathroom and proceeded to scream her opinion while Bree showered, following her back to the bedroom while Bree dressed.

In the kitchen, she discovered that Nick had fed the cats, the biscuit bowl full and two other bowls holding the remnants of fish.  “Oh yeah, he’s a keeper, Sheba.  What do you think?”

Sheba squinted her eyes and thought about it, only to be knocked flying by
Bast pelting around the corner to tackle her.  There was hiss, a spit and Sheba took off into the hallway with Bast on her tail.  Seconds later, Bast shot past the door with Sheba chasing her.

Just another day.

Only this day the sun seemed a little brighter, the breeze a little fresher, and the birds - well, there really was nothing very relaxing about the shrieking of cockies when they got going in the morning.

That’s what love did to you
.
  Bree was smiling all the way to the Ford Transit, only to stop with the key in the door. 
Love?  Wait…what?

She stood there, waiting for it to hit her, waiting for the panic, the uncertainty.  It didn’t happen.  She
just stood there, the sun shining brighter, the breeze fresher, the cockies flying off in a rowdy flock towards the creek.

Nope, no shock.

I love him. I love Nick
. 
He loves me.

Okay, that last bit should have caused her all kinds of uncertainty, all kinds of possible doubts, but again, it didn’t, instead all she felt was…calm.  Accepting.  Happy.

Very happy.

Grinning widely, she looked in the driver’s door mirror.  “You’re in love.”  Unlocking the door, she got into the van to look in the rear-view mirror.  “Bree, you are
in love
.”  A giggle escaped her, a gleeful sound.  “Holy crap, I’m in love!”

Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she’d meet one of her soldier boys, yet after all these years of writing to lonely soldiers, trying to offer them a bit of comfort, she’d met one - met, bedded, and fallen in love.

Okay, it was early days, she reasoned.  They’d just discovered each other -
oh boy,
had they ever!
- and they were still getting to known each other, though to be honest, she felt like she’d known Nick forever.

Pulling out
of the driveway onto the road, she headed for Whicha.  Man, this really was a whole new beginning - home, job, two miscreant cats, though to be fair she’d had those two for a couple of years, and now a boyfriend she
luuuuurved.

Cripes, she better get a grip on herself or
Nick would take one look at the dopey expression on her face and think she’d gotten hold of a stash of whacky baccy.

The hands-free mobile rang and still smiling, Bree turned it on.  “Hello.”

“What’s the password?” Jackie demanded.

“Hey,
you
rang me.”

“I still need the password.”

Bree looked out at the peaceful fields.  “I can always hang up.”

There was silence on the other end of the mobile.

Well, good job.  For the first time that she could remember, instead of amusement, Bree felt a sliver of annoyance.

There came the sound
of muffled arguing, then Mick’s voice came on.  “Hi, Bree.”

“Hey,
Mick.”

“Look, for some reason you were upset last night, and we understand.”

They did?  Maybe they weren’t so hopeless after all.

“Just download whatever footage you have
of the lights and email them to us, and then you can work on sorting yourself out.”

Bree’s eyebrows shot up.  “What?”

“Once the important stuff is sorted, you can have a rest.”

Was he kidding?  “
Mick, we fell into a creek last night.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“It was freakin’
freezing
.”

“But you’re fine, right?  No harm.”

“We weren’t far off hypothermia!”

“But you’re
fine,
right?”

Bree rolled her eyes.  It was just
no use.  “Yeah, we’re right as rain, no worries. Thanks for your concern.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

“If you say so.”

The sarcasm was
obviously lost on him.  “Good.  So the recordings, did you get any?”

Before
she could answer, Jackie’s came back onto the phone.  “If you have good recordings, we’re coming out there.”

“You are?”  Bree’s almost ran into a pothole, managing to avoid it at the last second.

“Yep.  A sighting of the lights last night coupled with the lights you saw awhile ago would indicate there is UFO activity happening in the Whicha area.”

“Yeah,”
Mick added enthusiastically.  “We’ll be there along with a horde of others.  You know what a UFO sighting means, remember?  We’ll camp out in the fields, take electromagnetic readings, bring the Geiger Counters, everything we’ve got.  This would be big, Bree, I mean
big
.  Like what happened in Barterons twenty years ago.”

That took a little mental searching, but when she remembered, Bree stared out the windscr
een at the road and passing fields.

Yea
h, she remembered Barterons.  Her mother had dragged her there, left her running wild while she joined the UFO hunters.  Sightings in the sky, a couple of crop circles, a woman claiming to be an abductee.  The UFO hunters had descended on the little town in droves, camping illegally on the river banks.  Farmers had called in the police because people were wandering in their fields without permission, carelessly stomping on crops and scaring livestock in their search for evidence.  They’d been unable to find that evidence, and it turned out the abductee was a would-be actress trying to get her face and name in the papers.

The
town’s people had not been happy.

She looked at the passing farms, the quiet, thought about the happiness and
peace she’d found here.  Thought what an invasion of UFO enthusiasts would do to it.  Sure, there were some serious hunters who were respectful of property, but there were also those there just there for the excitement, the prestige, those who'd do whatever it took to get evidence.

Barterons’s
river banks and caravan park had not been left in the pristine condition they’d been in before the arrival of the hunters.

No.  No way could Bree allow that to happen here, not to her town, her friends, the
farms and farmers.  Not to herself, for she had no doubt the whole lot would descend on her property expecting to camp there, use her facilities, and in the case of some of them, have no respect.  A couple she knew for certain would get on the grog, some were hippies trailing from place to place smoking dope, and the serious enthusiasts, well, there were some responsible ones, but others would do whatever it took to get evidence, and that definitely included the UFO Hunter Team.

The proof was in the pudding, so to say, or more to the point, the proof was in the fact that they were more concerned about her recordings than in her well-being.

Taking a deep breath, Bree did something she’d never done before in her life.  “Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that a couple of teenage boys were responsible for the lights in the fields, remember?”

“Yeah, you told us.  But last night?”

“Hate to disappoint you guys, but I didn’t see any lights last night.”

“Can’t be true,” Jackie objected.  “One of your townspeople reported those lights.  He posted it on social media.”

“And who might that be?”

“Kid called David.”

“David, huh?”  Okay, she could use this.  “Dad’s name is Ted?”

“”Yes.  You know
him?”

“Sure do.  Nick
and I investigated the light show that turned out to be David and his friend playing silly buggers in the fields, trying to spread rumours of UFOs because of me.  Did he by any chance get footage of these so-called lights?”

“No.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Ah shit.  You sure this
is the same boy?”

“Y
ep.”

“And you didn’t see anything?”

“I was out there, remember?  Fell into a creek while on a hunt?  Saw nothing.”

Jackie was silent.

Bree crossed her fingers.  “Trust me, have I ever lied to you?”

“Nah.  Nah, you
haven’t.  Damn, I really thought we were onto something then.”  Jackie disappeared.

Mick
came back on.  “Okay, gotta go.  Jackie’s on to the next town, see if anything was reported about fifty miles from you.  Bye.”

“Toodles.” 
Bree turned the phone off as she passed the beginning of Whicha, the sparse houses becoming more regular until they were side by side. 

Wondering just what she’d done, she turned into the café, parking beside Nick’s
Landcruiser.  Leaning against the side of the car with his arms and ankles crossed, his eyes crinkled in that engaging way they did when he was genuinely happy.  By the time she’d turned the engine off, he’d opened the door, leaned in and kissed her.

Deeply.

Hotly.

Leaving her panting and clinging to his jumper when he attempted to pull back.  “Oh boy.”

“You are so good for my ego,” he teased.

At the knowing glint in his eyes, memory came rushing back and she couldn’t help the blush that heated her cheeks.  For several seconds she didn’t quite know where to look, after all, this man had intimate knowledge of her body that no one else had, and heck, he’d been places inside her
she’d
never gone.

O
bviously reading her mind, he unclipped her seat belt and slid it back into the holder on the van wall before taking her hand and stepping back, gallantly guiding her out.  When she stood before him, he smiled down at her.  “It’s just me, Bree.”

“Yeah, I know.  That’s why bits of me are tingly.”

He burst out laughing, hugging her close.  “Oh, honey. I love you, whacky sense of humour and all.”

And just like that she was at ease, slapping him lightly on the arm.  “That’ll be enough of that, or I’ll get Sheba to talk to
you.”

“Oh, Jesus.  That’s punishment.”

“Hey, we come as a package deal.”

“The Goodbye Girl, the Air R
aid Siren and the Weapon of Mass Destruction?”

“’Fraid so.”

“Good thing I like package deals then, isn’t it?”  Hand at her back, he steered her through the café door and over to a table and booths.

Sunday morning was cosy in the café, Maryanne’s son, Mark, working the floor.  The smell of food drifted through from the kitchen out back.  An older couple sat at a table at the window, Jack, one of Paul’s mechanics, sat at a table on his own, sipping coffee and reading the morning paper.

Mark stopped at their table.  “What’ll it be?”

“Coffee for me, thanks, white with one.”  Bree smothered a yawn.  “Sorry.”

“Up late?” Mark asked.

“Uh…”

“I bet you were chasing those so-called UFOs,” he continued.  “David was all over social media bragging that he’d seen strange lights in the sky last night.”