Kitabı oku: «Red-Hot Honeymoon», sayfa 6

CHAPTER SIX

INSTEAD OF WALKING them to their room, as he’d expected, Sarah led Finn and Callie to an open game-viewing vehicle and invited them to climb inside. As he hoisted himself up into the vehicle he noticed that their luggage was neatly stowed in the back of the vehicle, just behind the second row of bench seats.

Finn settled himself next to Callie, conscious that the sun was starting to set and the temperature was falling; the day’s heat was giving way to the chill of the first, unexpectedly early cold front, suggesting that autumn was just around the corner. Callie pulled out a shawl from her bag and wound it around her shoulders as Sarah accelerated away.

When they drove back through the impressive entrance Finn realised that they were leaving the security of the electric fenced estate and were heading into the reserve itself—wild and beautiful.

This is more like it, he thought, his eyes scanning the bush for signs of wildlife.

Within five hundred yards of the gate they saw a herd of springbok and a female warthog with her piglets. Then they saw a fish eagle in a tree, and Sarah pointed out a reclusive eland bull in a thicket of acacias.

This is Africa, he thought, breathing deeply. The sounds and sights of the bush.

A part of him wished that Sarah would dump them in a clearing and pull out a tent. He needed the solitude and peace of nature. After this crazy couple of weeks he wanted to wind down, and he couldn’t think of a better way to do it than being alone in the bush. But because this was the Buffalo and Baobab he suspected that their idea of getting up close and personal with nature would be much better.

He’d barely finished that thought when Sarah veered off the dirt road onto a grassy track. Within a hundred metres she’d stopped in a clearing and Finn looked around.

They were on the edge of a cliff, and he could hear the muted sound of a river smacking on rocks below them. In one of the huge wild fig trees overlooking the river he could see a tree house, nestled into its strong branches. Except that it was less house and more platforms—three of them in all, staggered up the tree. The bottom platform looked to be a bathroom, complete with shower, the second held couches and a table, and the highest one, he presumed, would hold a bed. A bed that was open to the African sky and the elements.

Finn hopped out and slapped his hands on his hips, grinning wildly. ‘Oh, this is so cool! But what happens if it rains?’ he asked Sarah, taking a moment to be practical.

‘Retractable roofs and screens. We monitor the weather pretty closely, and if there’s a chance of rain we come down and secure the platforms. Tonight is clear, though,’ Sarah said. ‘Cool, but no rain.’

‘Excellent,’ Finn replied. He turned to look at Callie, who was looking at the tree house in horror. ‘Callie …?’

‘My room is up there?’ she whispered, staring at the huge tree.

Oh, so this wasn’t what she was expecting. Finn hoped that she wouldn’t make a scene—not on their first night. Besides, thousands of people all over the world would give their right arm and a considerable portion of their bank account to sleep under the stars in a luxury tree house on an African game reserve.

‘Problem, honey?’

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sarah stiffening, her welcoming face turning wary. Please don’t turn out to be a city girl diva, Callie, he silently begged her.

‘Look, I think the idea of sleeping in a tree house is seriously wonderful, but—well, this is a game reserve, right? And game reserves have wild animals. And some of those animals—like leopards—like to climb trees! I do not want to be a leopard’s breakfast!’ Callie stated, with a touch of hysteria in her voice.

Sarah bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. ‘The tree house is completely animal-proof, Mrs Banning.’

Whoah—Mrs Banning. That sounded weird.

But Callie didn’t seem particularly fazed about what she was being called. She was still fixating on ending up on the local leopard’s menu. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Very. We would never put our guests at risk,’ Sarah assured her. ‘Obviously we ask you to confine your movements to the platforms. If you do so, you’ll be absolutely safe. And I’ll leave you with a radio and a mobile phone to call me if there is any problem at all.’

A hyena barked in the distance and Callie jumped.

Sarah looked around. ‘That being said, I’d prefer that we get you into the tree house. It’s not safe to hang around in the bush.’

Callie practically scampered off the seat to stand between Sarah and Finn. Finn took her cold hand in his and linked their fingers together. Sarah walked around to the back of the Land Rover and looked at their pile of luggage. Well, Callie’s pile of luggage. He just had one suitcase.

‘Let me see you inside and then I’ll come back for the luggage.’

Finn shook his head. ‘Nah, I’ll help. Cal, do you need all these suitcases or can you get away with just one?’

Callie pointed to the smaller case and her tote bag. ‘I just need those two.’

Sarah looked relieved as she reached for Callie’s bag.

Finn leaned past her and snagged his suitcase and Callie’s tote bag. ‘I’ve got it,’ he told Sarah, who had started to protest.

‘I’ll store your other bags at the lodge, Mrs Banning.’

Mrs Banning. Still weird.

‘We’ve set out a picnic dinner for you, including some wine and beer. There is also a selection of spirits and mixers. If you are unhappy with our selection please just call Reception and we’ll have someone deliver anything you require,’ Sarah said as she led them to the tree house.

As they walked up the stairs Sarah secured a gate behind them, and Finn could see the unobtrusive but strong netting under the first platform that would prevent leopards or any other creatures from making a nocturnal visit. He pointed out the animal-proofing to Callie and watched her shoulders drop a half-inch. He allowed himself a small grin as Sarah showed them the facilities, which included a shower, his and hers basins, and a slipper bath on the edge of the platform that overlooked the river and the valley below.

The second floor held comfortable couches and chairs, a hammock strung between two branches, and a small dining table covered with cloche dishes and champagne bottles in ice buckets. There was a small chest freezer containing soft drinks and beer, and a steel wine rack holding five bottles of exceptional red wine.

How much did they expect them to drink in one night? Finn wondered.

‘I’ll leave you to explore the bedroom on your own,’ Sarah told him, gesturing to the mobile and the radio on a side table. ‘You’ll hear lions and hyenas, typical bush noises, but do not hesitate to radio or call me if you are uncomfortable or encounter a problem. Nick will collect you at six a.m. for a guided tour—which is a pretty big deal because he rarely does them any more.’

‘Why not?’ Callie asked.

‘Pretty wife in his bed …’ Finn explained, and was enchanted by her blush.

‘Also the fact that he has two kids under the age of three who are up and roaring around at that time,’ Sarah added, before bidding them goodnight and leaving them to their night under the African stars.

Within minutes they heard the Land Rover pulling away and Finn turned to Callie and gestured to the view. ‘So, what do you think?’

‘Pretty shoddy digs …’ Callie teased. ‘They’ve gone to absolutely no trouble at all.’

Finn watched as she walked to the edge of the platform and placed her hands on the safety railing. ‘Want some champagne?’

Callie looked at him over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. ‘No, thanks. Actually, I’d love a beer.’

Finn poured beer into a glass for her and brought it and his own bottle over to where she stood. In silence they scanned the river, saw a pod of hippos on the far bank, and watched as the sun tossed ribbons of gold over the treetops.

Finn saw her shiver as the temperature dropped further and allowed the backs of his fingers to drift over the bare skin of her shoulders. ‘You’re cold … This wind has a bite to it. Why don’t you change into something warm and I’ll start a fire in the pit?’

Callie looked around. ‘Where are our bags?’

‘Sarah took them to the bedroom area,’ Finn replied.

‘Ah, the bedroom area. Bet you it’s a massive bed covered in white linen and a mosquito net, surrounded by candles.’

‘That’s a sucker bet,’ Finn replied.

Callie took a nervous sip of her beer before lifting her eyes to Finn’s. ‘So, are we still paying it by ear?’

He’d never met a woman as direct as Callie before. He liked that—respected it. He didn’t need to play games with her.

But she wasn’t ready to share herself with him yet, Finn realised. He could see reluctance in the hitch of her shoulders, the slight shake of her fingers—although that might be from the cold—and in the worry in her eyes. She would share his bed one of these days—just not yet. And that was okay. He could wait until the time was right.

And, in the spirit of honesty, he knew the more time he had between his break-up and sleeping with her, the better handle he’d have on this entire situation. Damn, it would all be so much easier if he didn’t like her quite so much—and if she didn’t make his junk want to do a happy dance whenever she breathed.

So. Much. Easier.

Finn’s expression turned serious. ‘I have the sense that your flirty nature doesn’t often translate into bedtime fun.’

Callie tipped her head. ‘How do you figure?’

‘Well, if it meant less to you then we’d have already ripped each other’s clothes off.’

Callie looked out at the stygian darkness. ‘It wasn’t always like that. I was a lot more impetuous when I was younger.’ She held up her hand to explain. ‘I wasn’t a slut—I just didn’t take sex as seriously as I do now. It used to just be a romp … some slap and tickle … fun …’

‘It still can be,’ Finn said, his eyes locked on her face.

‘I know, but these days I prefer to have a little bit of friendship with my sex. Just a smidgeon—I don’t expect more than that—but liking is a prerequisite, respect is a bonus.’

‘I like you.’

‘I like you too, but …’

Finn quirked an eyebrow. ‘But?’

‘But …’ Callie sighed. ‘I’m just not—’

Callie stopped speaking and Finn waited for her to finish her thought. She just wasn’t what?

Callie sighed. ‘Ready. I’m just not ready.’

Yeah, and that was a lie. There was another reason why she was hesitating, why she was treading carefully. She wanted him—he knew that … had no doubts about that. So something else was causing her to hesitate. What was it and why was he so desperate to know?

Callie was waiting for his reply, buy there was nothing that he could say except, ‘We won’t be doing anything together until you are a hundred per cent comfortable with me, Cal. So try and relax, stop worrying, go and get warm. We can share a bed without me jumping you, I promise. Actually, tonight I’d love to sleep in this hammock. It looks super-comfortable and I’ve slept in far worse.’ Finn took a long sip of his beer. ‘Go and put something warm on, honey.’

Callie nodded, put her untouched beer on the table and walked to the stairs leading to the sleeping platform. Finn watched her gorgeous ass moving up the spiral staircase and felt the action in his pants.

All he had to do was follow her, start kissing her, and she’d be his. He knew that. God, it was tempting. But he didn’t want to have to coerce her, tempt her, persuade her. When they made love it would be because it was a mutual decision.

It had something to do with the respect that Callie had been talking about earlier.

‘Finn! This bedroom is amazing!’ Callie called down to him. ‘Come up here and look at this place. It would be like having sex in the clouds—I mean, sleeping with you in the clouds—I mean … Aaarrrgggh! Dammit!’

Finn grinned, happy that he wasn’t the only one who had his mind in the bedroom.

‘Ignore me.’ Callie’s low voice drifted down to him.

Yeah, not easy to do, Finn silently assured her as he swallowed his chuckle.

Callie pushed her plate away and groaned as she leaned back in her chair. She’d expected a cold supper. She hadn’t expected delicious prawns, spicy fish fillets and perfectly cooked steak. There’d also been a couscous salad and a watermelon, olive and feta salad, along with crusty bread and a variety of dips.

After the flight from Cape Town and two glasses of red wine she was feeling lazy and hazy and very sleepy. At nearly eight it was fully dark, and the soundtrack of the African bush had started to play. The crickets chirping was a familiar sound, and there was the power saw noise of the African cicada beetle. Occasionally a fish eagle would let rip with a heee-ah, heeah-heeah, and from somewhere that sounded far too close they heard the yelping, woofing and whining of what Finn said was a family of black-backed jackals.

It was noisy, Callie realised. Very noisy.

Finn, his strong features looking even more handsome in the low light of the paraffin lamps, looked at her across the table. ‘There’s chocolate mousse in the cool box.’

‘I wish I could. I’m stuffed.’

Like her, Finn had pulled on jeans and a hooded sweatshirt against the cool night air. The blazing fire in the pit kept the worst of the chill off, but this was a place that invited you to have a warm shower and then to snuggle under the down duvet on the bed upstairs, warm in each other’s arms.

It was an attractive proposition, Callie thought. But Finn had reiterated his wish to sleep in the double hammock. He’d found another down duvet in a storage cupboard on the bathroom platform and announced that he’d be super-warm wrapped up in it in the hammock.

‘You look tired,’ Finn commentated, lifting his glass of red to his lips.

‘I am.’ Callie leaned her arms on the table. ‘It’s been an interesting week.’

‘You should’ve been in Paris by now.’

Tearing around the city, rushing from designer to designer, not having a moment to enjoy the city in the spring … Callie thought that she would much rather be here.

‘You never told me what happened that you could suddenly take me up on my offer to be a fake wife.’

Could she tell him? Would he understand? Callie ran her finger around the rim of her full glass. He was treating her to three weeks in luxury—maybe he deserved an explanation. And, geez, they were going to be in each other’s company for three weeks—they were going to have to talk! They were going to be friends whether they liked it or not. It was up to her to keep things casual.

‘I’m running away—trying to avoid someone,’ she said, looking into the fire pit. So much for keeping it casual!

‘Yeah, I sort of realised that.’ Finn stretched out his legs and rested his wine glass on his folded arm. ‘So, who is Laura and why are you avoiding her?’

Callie jerked her head up. ‘Where did you hear that name?’

‘The other day, when you were arguing with your brother. Who is she?’ Finn asked again.

Well, she’d started this conversation, she couldn’t shut it down now.

‘My mother,’ Callie said, slouching down in her chair, crossing her feet at the ankles. ‘She left us. We haven’t heard from her since I was seven. Seb, my brother, has been tracking her movements around the world for years—he’s a hacker and can do that—and they started exchanging emails. The result of which is that Laura is coming home for a three-week visit, landing—’ Callie checked her watch ‘—in about an hour. She and Seb are going to reconnect, and everybody wants me to meet her too. Well, “everybody” being Seb.’

‘And you made damn sure that there was no possibility of that happening by leaving the city with me? That’s why you changed your mind about coming?’ Finn said, his voice deep in the darkness.

‘Yeah. I needed to leave and you gave me a damn good excuse.’ Would he think she was a coward? That she was being immature? Why did it matter so much that he didn’t judge her?

Finn pulled his legs in and sat up. ‘So why don’t you want to meet her? Why don’t you want to hear why she left?’

That question again, Callie thought.

‘Because it doesn’t matter! Because nothing she can say—and, trust me, I’ve thought of every excuse she could come up with—would make me feel better, would make me understand. I was seven, Finn. Seven! I needed a mother. Especially since my dad dealt with my mother leaving by hooking up with younger and younger women. They were mostly after his money, and weren’t interested in his little daughter hanging around. Seb was twelve, and he dealt with her leaving by withdrawing into his sports and computers.’

Callie heard her voice rise and made a conscious effort to remain calm.

‘If it wasn’t for Rowan, who lived next door, and Yasmeen—’

‘Who is she?’

‘Our housekeeper—and I suppose my real mother in every way that counted,’ Callie explained. She pushed her hair off her forehead and shoulders. ‘Look, I know I sound harsh, but I can’t meet Laura. I don’t want to …’

‘Don’t want to meet her, like her, risk being hurt by her again?’

‘Yeah.’

He got it—he understood. Damn. There were those fuzzies in her tummy again. She could get used to those. Not a good idea.

Finn rested his forearms on his thighs and looked up at her, sparks from the fire reflected in his eyes. Callie, feeling as if he’d taken a peek into part of her soul, thought that he’d heard enough from her, so she turned the spotlight onto him.

‘So, you mentioned your stepbrothers? How many do you have?’

Finn half smiled. ‘Three. All younger. They’re driving me nuts lately.’

‘Why?’

‘They were, to put it mildly, upset that the wedding was called off. As I said, because they know me, and know that I never go back on my word, they assumed that the break-up was Liz’s idea. I haven’t bought food for two weeks because someone always pitches up at my house with beer and take-out.’

‘Nobody rocked up that night I had dinner at your house,’ Callie pointed out.

‘I sent them a group message while I was upstairs and told them I would kick their ass if they didn’t give me a night on my own.’ Finn pulled a face. ‘The next night I had all three of them coming to check up on me and had to spend half the evening reassuring them that I was okay.’

‘And are you?’ Callie asked. ‘Okay?’

‘Mostly. I’m glad to still be on this assignment, working. Glad of the distraction that is you.’

Callie smiled at that. Whatever they had cooking it was, she had to admit, a hell of a distraction. ‘It’s surprising that your younger brothers are so protective of you.’

‘We’re protective of each other. They’re my brothers. My mum married James when I was fourteen and he already had the boys. Mum died when I was seventeen, and James acted as my legal guardian for a while.’

‘Where’s your real dad?’

‘Who the hell knows? Jail? Dead? In a gutter somewhere?’ Finn said harshly.

He rubbed a hand over his face, and when he finally met her eyes she made sure that her face was impassive.

‘Pretend I didn’t say that, please? I never talk about him and I have no idea where that came from.’

Maybe their bottle of wine had contained some magic truth potion, because she’d had no intention of telling him about Laura. Or maybe it was the fact that they were absolutely, utterly alone under an African night sky …

Or maybe it was because they liked talking to each other.

And she thought that she had had a messed-up childhood. God, they were a pair, Callie thought.

Finn cleared his throat before speaking again. ‘I’ve always protected my brothers—yanked them out of scrapes, had their back. I’ve been their rock, their calm in the storm. This break-up has been the first crisis I’ve had that they’ve witnessed and they want to be there for me.’

‘And your stepdad? How does he feel about your break-up?’

Finn shrugged and kept his shoulders up around his ears. ‘Dunno. He died about six months ago.’

‘I’m so sorry, Finn. You two were close?’

‘Yeah. He was the best man I ever knew …’ Finn cleared his throat. ‘I adored him.’

God. He had a waste-of-space father, a dead mother, and his stepdad, whom he’d loved, had recently passed away. He’d broken up with his fiancée two weeks before his wedding. Was there anything else that life could throw at the poor guy?

Enough now, she told the universe, annoyed on his behalf. Seriously. Just enough, already.

Callie leaned forward and touched his knee in silent support. He hadn’t stopped grieving, she realised. Probably wouldn’t for a while. Losing his fiancée had undoubtedly pulled all those old feelings of grief over losing his stepfather to the surface again.

Oh, yeah, there was far too much emotion swirling around for them to sleep together. Because there was no chance that sex would be about just sex after a conversation like this. For her it would all be tangled up with the urge to soothe, to comfort. And to him she would be just a distraction …

Thinking that it would be prudent, and smart, to close this conversation down, Callie pushed her chair back and stood up. ‘I’d really like a shower. I feel grubby.’

Finn stared up at her for the longest time before lifting one broad shoulder. ‘Sure.’

Callie looked at the stairs that led to the dark bathroom area below them and bit her lip. ‘Is there a torch anywhere?’

Finn stood up. ‘I’ll go down and light some lamps for you. There’s a big tub on the deck if you’d prefer a bath.’

A hyena whooped in the distance and Callie shivered. ‘Not that brave. I’m not entirely sure if my standards of animal-proof are the same as the lodge’s, so I’d rather not take the chance.’

‘The bath is at least twenty foot off the ground, Hollis,’ Finn told her, smiling.

‘There might a genius leopard out there who has the situation sussed,’ Callie suggested, only half joking.

‘You’re a nut,’ Finn said with on a shake of his head and a grin. ‘Go get your PJs while I sort out some light for you.’

‘Thanks.’ Callie bit her bottom lip. ‘I don’t suppose you’ll stand guard, will you?’

Finn touched her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. ‘The only way that will happen is if I’m in the shower with you.’ Finn dropped his thumb when she shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t think so.’

Snuggled down in the enormous bed on the top platform, Callie couldn’t keep her eyes off the magnificent night sky. It looked as if God had taken a handful of diamonds and tossed them against a sticky backdrop, allowing them to hang there in a perpetual grip. She’d never seen stars like this before—she almost felt she could reach out and touch them.

She was beyond tired, Callie thought, and wished that sleep would come. But every time she closed her eyes she was jolted by another strange sound. The rustle of something in the tree—probably just the breeze, or a bird—had her constantly on edge. It was not the genius leopard, she kept telling herself. And just when she felt her eyelids starting to close those pesky jackals would start their yelping again, and then something would grunt and the hyena would laugh.

Callie was over her night under the African stars and was not finding anything remotely amusing. She was exhausted, slightly chilled, and—though she hated to admit it—a lot scared. She realised she liked having walls and windows between her and the night, locks and safety chains. She didn’t like feeling as if she was a snack on the buffet of the African savannah, and it didn’t matter how much Mr Cool downstairs reassured her: this was not natural! Or maybe it was too natural.

Again—walls, doors, windows! That was what God had created them for!

The sounds of the night dropped away and Callie felt her eyelids drooping. She was on that wonderful edge of sleep when she felt a rumbling in her chest, felt electricity charge the air. Instantly the night sounds ceased as a deep-throated grunt echoed across the bush. Oh, crap!

Callie scrambled up in bed and pulled the duvet over her head.

The grunt increased in intensity and she felt the sound invade her chest, skitter down to her nerve-endings. Lion! Callie sucked in her breath and wished that she could belt out of bed and run all the way back to Cape Town. The deep grunts tailed off and she bit her lip, waiting for the next sound. Just when she thought that the lion had stopped he let out a massive, deep-throated roar that raised every hair on her arms.