CHAPTER1
Ashley
Even though it’s early,the day is already humid and warm, more so than usual because of the storm rolling in. That doesn’t stop me from taking my coffee outside. I don’t lie to myself that it’s for the fresh air. It’s to watch some of the security guys train.
They’re ex-military and they’re out there every morning before work. Some days it’s a circuit one of them put together, others it’s a game of basketball or soccer. Today they are hauling an old tire that must have come off a truck. They all have their shirts off and glisten with sweat.
“Joining us today, Ashley?” Hargrave calls as he sucks in several breaths before taking a drink of water. Tall and dark-haired, he was the first one to catch my eye, but he’s always serious and rarely smiles.
These workout sessions clearly work because they are ripped. I think I’d die before I’d moved that tire a meter…or as he’d say, a yard.
“Maybe when I finish my coffee.” I smile and lift the cup.
One of them asks every morning, and I say something similar. Sometimes some of the local security guys join in and the mood shifts. There’s more competition. There was an incident before I arrived three months ago that meant the mining company brought in external security to oversee things, which put the local guys offside. Priest has been working hard to bridge that gap.
He also broke our game about six weeks ago by asking if I wanted to have a drink with him. How can I say yes to him, when it means saying no to the others? I don’t want to come between them, or at least not in the kind of way that breaks them up.
Priest is the oldest of the four, and there’s a trace of a British accent. He’s got a couple of mean looking scars on one shoulder and arm. The kind some men would be self-conscious about. I want to know what they’d feel like. Are they rough or smooth? And how did he get them?
Heat rushes up my cheeks and I’m sure they are red. At least if I was dragging a tire, I’d have an excuse. I stare at my cup and pretend I’m lost in thought.
Thinking about getting naked with the four of them is unfortunately, the thought that is stuck in my head. Probably because I entertained it a few too many times.
There is no way that is ever going to happen.
“We’ll get you out here eventually.”
I don’t need to look up to know it’s Reed speaking. He’s the only other Australian out here, which gave us an instant connection. As well as the occasional stab of homesickness.
“Got a plan, do you?” I smile, enjoying the banter.
“I’m working on one, Ash.” Reed gives me a wink. He seems like the typical larrikin that I grew up with. He should be surfing, not wearing cams. I don’t know how much of it is an act to balance out Hargrave or get my attention. Either way, it works.
He’s the only one that calls me Ash. And he’s the only one I’d let call me that. I’ve never been a fan of having my name shortened, yet when he says it, I don’t mind.
Colton slaps him on the ass and tells him to move.
Those two are close, like they met and decided to be best friends on the spot. Sometimes I wonder if it’s more, from the looks that pass between them. The unspoken communication. When Colton speaks, he’s got a Southern drawl that can drop panties at ten paces. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t say much.
I lean back in the plastic chair, running through my to do list as I finish my coffee, my gaze is still tracking the guys even though I’m not really paying attention.
I’ve been doing some work at a few of the other sites that have historic mines that were abandoned because they’d apparently dried up. But they were mined before modern technology for both finding the emeralds and digging them out. I’ve already located a couple of emerald veins in one location.
I blink and glance up as Colton steps in front of me.
“Apologies in advance.” He takes the cup out of my hand and puts it on the ground.
My heartbeat kicks up, and it has nothing to do with the caffeine. “Why?”
I yelp as he puts me over his shoulders.
“Please don’t report me to HR…I lost the bet.” Then he starts running a lap of the area.
I squeeze my eyes closed and pray that he’s not going to drop me. “Whose idea was this?”
“Reed’s.” He huffs out a breath.
His skin is hot and slick but I’m in no danger of falling even though it’s not what I’d call comfortable. One of his arms is wrapped around my knees and he’s holding my arm to keep me in place. Every step bounces me and I’m sure that my glare at the other three is ineffective, as they are all doing their very best not to laugh.
