“What was that night for you, Lee?” It was a quiet request which demanded the truth.
His heart ached, and he answered the plea before he could think better of it. “A revelation.” It sounded trite and Nhiari’s snort made it clear she thought so too. “I’ve not had a lot of practice putting my feelings into words.”
She shifted to face him. “I’m listening.”
Those two words resonated with him and all his caution slipped away. He didn’t want to be the villain. Not with her. This might be the only chance she gave him. “We met at the brewery and I remember walking in, telling myself I was only there for the information you could provide.” He shook his head, amused at how stupid he’d been. “It was a gorgeous night, the perfect temperature and a clear sky with so many stars above. Some low, chill music was playing, and I spotted you sitting at a table, the fairy lights above you and you were stunning. The brown top that made your eyes deepen like pools of chocolate and those jeans…” Like they’d been painted on.
Nhiari lowered herself onto a rock on the other side of the cave.
“You wore a manta ray necklace that drew my eye right to your chest.”
“So you found me attractive.” Her statement was unimpressed.
Lee shook his head as panic threatened to take control. “No, I found you beautiful, stunning…” He couldn’t find the right word. “Perfection.”
She flinched and shoved a mouthful of the noodles in her mouth, chewing quickly as if she wanted to end this conversation. He hurried on. “Then we started chatting, and it was as if we were two old friends getting together after not seeing each other for a while. We just clicked. I know you felt it too. There were no awkward silences, and we had a lot in common.”
She stared at him. “You still brought up my work.”
He nodded. “It was a struggle. I felt awful doing it, but I still needed to stop Stonefish.” It had been the first time he’d questioned whether what he was doing was the right thing.
“So you slept with me.”
Irritation bubbled through him. Why wasn’t she hearing what he said? “I didn’t sleep with you for information,” he snapped. “I slept with you because I never wanted anything more in my whole life. You might not have realised it, but you captured me that night. From that moment, there was no way I could hurt you or anyone you cared about.” Idiot. He was saying too much. He was giving her control over him. Did she understand?
He couldn’t read the emotion on her face. She exhaled, but her mask didn’t shift. “I didn’t realise I was that good at sex.” She finished the last mouthful of her noodles. “You promised me a swim. Let’s go.” She placed her bowl on the rock next to her and hobbled out of the cave.
Lee rubbed the ache in his chest. He’d hurt her just like so many other men in her life. She’d whispered her past pains to him in the dark after they’d made love.
The boy who’d dumped her after she’d given him her virginity. The taunts and teasing about her body when she’d matured faster than others. The man at the academy who had made her life hell after she’d turned down his advances.
Hindsight was a bitch. Lee shouldn’t have spoken about how beautiful she was. He should have talked about the connection between them, the way he’d felt no one had ever listened to him before, the feeling he’d found his missing piece. He should have told her about his desire to hunt down those who had hurt her and make them sorry.
With a sigh, he grabbed a towel and a change of clothes for them both and followed her out of the cave and into the night.
Nhiari’s ankle was nothing compared to the ache in her heart as she made her way down the slope to the motorbike. She would have preferred to take the four-wheel drive, but she had a desperate need to go to her waterhole and settle the emotions swirling around her. The motorbike would get them there.
She got on, glancing behind her as Lee said, “I’ll steer.”
She shook her head. “I know a better place for swimming.”
He hesitated and she felt his doubt. Would he trust her?
Almost before she’d finished the thought, he said, “All right.” He slid on behind her and placed his arms around her waist.
She closed her eyes as his warmth seeped into her. This was far closer than she wanted to get to him right now. She swallowed hard even though he kept his hands still.
She turned the key and the roar of the engine helped to clear her mind. On auto-pilot, she headed south.
He spoke about caring for her, but he’d started with her body. As if realising his mistake, he’d tried to regroup and mention the connection he’d felt, but they were just words he spoke hoping to seduce her.
He wouldn’t sway her with his declarations of being caught, no matter how much her heart had yearned when he spoke those words.
Talk was next to impossible over the noise of the engine. It was a short trip, covering the couple of kilometres to the creek which flowed through the canyon.
The only person she’d brought here was Dot. Few people knew about it as there was no four-wheel track in and no hiking trails. The waterhole only contained water at certain times of the year, but the massive storm they’d had a few weeks ago would have filled it.
The silence seeped into her and so did her first wave of doubt. This was a bad idea. She’d always run here when she’d needed peace, but now Lee would be one of her memories.
