21
Heath
It was edging towards eight p.m. and Heath was starting to get twitchy. His dinner arrangement with Rhett was looking like a no-show as each minute ticked by. He couldn’t understand what he’d done wrong. Something must have changed her mind. Yes, his work took a bit longer than expected, but he was still ready for her by half seven.
Enough with the pacing.
He came to an abrupt halt and reached for his phone. Normally, he wouldn’t contact her if she failed to show for something, but there was little about his year so far that was normal.
Voicemail kicked in, and Heath hung up the call, then noticed a message in the Pepper Bay group chat.
What?
Without thinking, he flew out the door, heading straight to the stables, knowing that if Rhett had seen the news, that was where she would be.
He thumped on the closed doors of the large dark building, then banged his fist some more when no one answered.
‘Hang on,’ said Rhett, her voice muffled on the other side.
The locked clicked, and Heath stepped back. He went to speak, but she balled his shirt in her hand and tugged him inside before locking back up.
‘Heath, what are you doing here?’
‘I just saw Tessie’s message on the group chat. I figured you’d be in here. Is it true?’
She nodded as she walked over to an inflatable mattress to fit a sheet. ‘Can you believe it? I checked the news, then told Florence I’d stay with the horses till it’s sorted.’
Heath picked up one of the two pillows resting up against a storage room door. ‘I think the horses are safe. Wolves can’t pick locks.’
Straightening the edges of the duvet that she draped on the makeshift bed, she glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘I know they can’t get in, but if they come here, and chances are they might, then I want to be inside to help calm the horses, especially Luther. He’ll not take kindly to predators lurking nearby.’
Heath dropped to his knees at the end of the mattress. ‘They’re from the zoo. I’m not sure they’ll be the predator type.’
‘Oh, Heath, they’re still wolves, and thanks to a bunch of stupid idiots, they’re now roaming around the island.’
‘Yeah, Tess said they were last spotted close to Wishing Point.’
Rhett flapped one hand towards the door. ‘See. They’ll sniff out the animals.’ She jerked up, furrowing her brow. ‘Has Nate put his cows away?’
‘I would assume so.’ He started to untie the laces on his boots. ‘Who the hell breaks into a zoo and lets animals out? Do you think it was those animal rights people?’
‘No. I think it was the same thugs who broke in your farm.’ She pointed over at a small brown radio on a wooden footstool. ‘I was listening to the local news before you arrived. The zoo wasn’t just broken into. They trashed the place. Smashed the window on the café, poured paint into the penguin enclosure, and released the tarantula. I think I fancy my chances with the wolves than that thing.’ She frowned and gestured at his feet. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting comfy.’
‘Well, I guess you can’t go back outside now. You shouldn’t have left home at all. Everyone’s being told to stay indoors till the wolves have been rounded up. The zebras have already been found. But wolves, Heath… wolves!’
He pulled off his top and removed his jeans, placing them neatly over the back of an old chair. Rhett’s eyes were wide as he slipped into the bed, squashing a pillow behind his back.
‘Make yourself at home, Heath.’
‘I figured we’re spending the night, so might as well.’
Rhett glanced down at her blue summer dress. ‘I forgot my PJs.’
It was a rare sight seeing Rhett in a dress, and it was definitely a look he liked on her. The pale colour and flow of the material brought a gentleness about her that only he knew she possessed.
‘You look beautiful,’ he whispered, his words not daring to come out at all.
Rhett chewed her bottom lip, then scrunched her nose. ‘Not practical for in here tonight.’
She dressed up for me. Huh!
He gestured at his green tee-shirt over the chair. ‘Pop that on and get in bed.’
The corner of her mouth curled, then straightened as she went about undoing the line of buttons down the front of her dress, causing Heath to swallow hard. ‘I’m not sure we’ll both fit in that bed.’
He turned his attention to the single mattress and laughed to himself. ‘We’ll manage.’
Rhett’s dress fell to the floor, and she quickly swiped up his top, placed it over her head, then removed her bra, draping it over the chair.
Heath was at a loss for words. All he could do was sit in silence as she moved the radio closer before squeezing herself into the bed. His arm automatically wrapped around her, not that it had anywhere else to go, and he shuffled as close to the edge as he could go before toppling off.
Rhett’s giggle vibrated on his chest. ‘I feel like a teenager again.’
If only we were.
Sometimes the years that had passed them by seemed like such a long time, and then there were moments when their teens seemed like yesterday. Heath was having one of the latter moments. Back then he would have been kissing the life out of her. He so wanted to right now. She smelled like peaches tonight, which made the scene even more surreal. He was used to the scent of horses on her, and he wasn’t used to their closeness.
‘Heath,’ came her husky voice. ‘Do you remember the last time we slept in here?’
‘I remember every time I slept with you.’
Her head rolled up his chest, revealing a softness in her gaze, and Heath’s past with her flooded his soul. Heartbeat after heartbeat banged inside him as adrenaline shook his core. He lowered his head, connecting their foreheads, and slowly stroked over her nose with his own. His breath had buggered off to who knows where, but somehow his brain carried on.
‘Heath,’ she mumbled, lightly touching his lips with her own.
All control left the building. Heath pressed hard against her mouth, feeling his heart melt into a pool of slush. He was already so lost in her, he felt as though it were just a dream.
Rhett’s hand slid down to his boxer shorts, pulling them down his thighs.
Definitely wasn’t a dream. Heath was wide awake, taking full advantage of the life in him. He trailed kisses along her jaw, tasting the light trace of foundation on her skin. Her neck held a fruity fragrance he knew was just for him, because Rhett didn’t wear perfume.
She removed her top, leaving no barrier between them, and Heath had to take a moment to steady his overwhelmed feelings.
Every time in the past when they had curled their bodies around each other, the world outside disappeared. There had been times over the years when he wished so hard he could recreate that moment with her. The fact he was doing exactly that now brought about a need to laugh at the amazement of his dream coming true.
Rhett shuffled herself beneath him, forcing his body on top. He gazed down into her glassy eyes, then cupped her face and kissed her tenderly on the mouth. It was her sniffle that pulled him back.
‘You okay, Rhett?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re a bit teary.’
‘I know.’
He nudged her nose with his own. ‘I feel it too.’
‘I want to feel every part of you.’
He placed his lips on hers and joined their bodies, neither of them moving for a moment.
‘Oh, Heath, I wish we could stay this way forever.’
He knew how she felt. There wasn’t anywhere else he wanted to be. The flurry of love overtaking him was mind-blowing. He wasn’t quite sure what to do first. Part of him didn’t want to start something he knew would finish at some point. If he just stayed still, their bodies locked, perhaps life would leave them alone.
Rhett moved her hips, and life told Heath to wake up and get involved. She mumbled his name over and over, and there wasn’t a force in the world strong enough to remove his body from hers.
Cradling her in his arms, he gave her every ounce of love he had about his being, knowing he could go on that way forever.
As the time ticked by, and the radio presenter’s muffled voice babbled on about the zoo break-in, escaped wolves, and blah, blah, blah, Heath remained glued to the love of his life, taking it slowly, absorbing her fully and making every second of their time together count. He had years to make up for, and a tiny worry of never being able to hold her again.
Rhett came undone beneath him, but he held off, refusing to give in to his body. Being with her was way more important. He had to make it last as long as possible. Her mouth lightly trailed his jawline, then gently tugged his bottom lip. The warmth of her breath met his ear, where she whispered out his name once more as her hands pressed on his thighs. ‘I need all of you.’
Heath lost all control. He gave himself over completely.