‘At the risk of being called blunt again, how does “take me, I’m yours” sound?’

  They laughed and Jy wondered when he’d last felt this alive in a woman’s company.

  ‘Can I eat first? I’m starving.’

  She picked up a menu and handed it to him. ‘Sure, go ahead. You’ll need all the energy you can get to keep up with me.’

  His gut clenched and he shot to half-mast behind his fly. Summer was a firecracker and he couldn’t wait to get her naked. But first, he had to spell out what this thing between them was so there could be no misconceptions.

  ‘I like that you’ve been more than upfront in your intentions to have your wicked way with me, so I want to return the favour.’

  She exaggerated batting her eyelashes. ‘Oh, I’m hoping you will, many times.’

  He grinned. ‘Whatever happens between us is two adults having fun, with no expectations, yeah?’

  A tiny dent appeared between her brows. ‘Of course. You don’t need to spell it out.’

  ‘Actually, I think I do, because the way those folks at the bar glared at me for simply being near you? Imagine what they’d do if I broke the heart of the town’s darling.’

  ‘My heart’s in no danger,’ she said, pressing a hand to it. ‘I know this is a fling, Jy. It’s all I’m interested in. You’re an out-of-towner and transient, and technically still the enemy no matter how hard you try to schmooze me and everyone else, so rest assured, there’s absolutely no danger of me getting emotionally involved or risking my heart.’

  ‘Great,’ he said, but somehow it wasn’t, because hearing her articulate how she could never get emotionally involved with someone like him stung.

  ‘Now, can we order please? You’re not the only one who’s hungry.’

  As they pored over the menus and he listened to her recommendations for the veggie lasagne, the chickpea burger and the tofu Caesar salad—choices he’d eschew in favour of a good old-fashioned lamb roast—he couldn’t help but wonder if he was making a giant mistake. Summer may appear bold and confident, but he had her mother’s words ringing in his ears. ‘Summer may come off like she’s tough and independent and can handle anything, but she loves this town. It’s in her blood, and if you mess with it, you’re messing with her.’

  After he’d placed their orders at the bar—roast of the day for him, vegetable lasagne for her—he brought a bottle of cab sav back to the table and poured them each a glass.

  ‘I met your mum yesterday.’

  ‘You don’t seem the type to browse The Knick-Knack Shop?’

  ‘I’ll thank you not to stereotype. I was out walking, she was locking up, so I introduced myself as the guy who wants to ravish her daughter.’

  She laughed so loud the bartender looked over. ‘Mum would’ve loved that, seeing as she hasn’t dated in a hundred years.’

  ‘Really? She’s gorgeous. I can see where you get your looks from.’

  ‘Thanks. But dating isn’t her thing since my dad left …’ She trailed off and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. ‘Think I already told you he took off one day out of the blue not long before I got shipped off to boarding school and hasn’t contacted us since. Mum pretended like it didn’t affect her. In fact, she threw a party about a week after he left to celebrate, but she hasn’t gone near a guy since, so I’m guessing he broke her heart.’

  ‘So you’ve never heard from him since he left?’ Jy refrained from saying her father was an utter bastard to turn his back on his wife and daughter like that, but it wasn’t his place to comment.

  ‘No, and I’ll never forgive him for that. I mean, what kind of a father leaves and never reaches out again, ever?’

  ‘A bad one,’ he muttered, unable to say nothing.

  Thankfully, she didn’t mind and merely nodded. ‘The worst kind. I asked Mum about it a lot over the years, but it always made her upset, so I gave up after a while.’ She held up her thumb and finger an inch apart. ‘A small part of me resented her, like she must’ve done something to drive him away, but even when I flung that accusation at her she never told me a thing, so …’ She shrugged and picked up her wine glass. ‘I think it’s time we made a toast. To forgetting the past we can’t change and focussing on the future we can.’

  ‘I’ll drink to that.’

  However, when they tapped glasses, she still hadn’t lost her moroseness, so he tried to lighten the mood.

  ‘So how do you feel about doing a walk of shame from my motel room in the morning?’

  She choked on her wine, half-spluttering, half-laughing as she lowered the glass and reached for water. ‘I’m shameless, so no shame here.’

  ‘Excellent. Then let’s have dinner and get to the good part.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Me proving to you that those who can’t, write about it, and those who can, teach.’

  Her lips curved into a coy smile. ‘We’re not talking about maths, are we?’

  ‘No, but there’ll be figures involved.’ He winked. ‘Yours and mine.’

  Her good-natured groan made him laugh but the way he saw it, he couldn’t eat quick enough. Every moment spent with Summer made him want her more.

  Who knew, spending time in this backwater town wasn’t so bad after all?

  CHAPTER

  18

  Summer parked outside Jy’s motel room. It wouldn’t matter if she’d left her car up the street, the news she’d been here would spread around town regardless. Besides, she didn’t intend to stay long, for despite her joking about doing a walk of shame, she had no intention of strutting out of his room in the morning. She may be confident in knowing what she wanted, but she was a teacher and she wanted to set a good example. That was one of the reasons she took her nocturnal activities out of town on the rare occasion she hooked up. Hard to demand respect if the kids didn’t respect her.

  ‘Not having second thoughts I hope?’

  ‘No, but you know all those jokes you made about sacrificing virgins? Well, I am one.’

  His eyes widened in shock as he shifted in the passenger seat but she couldn’t keep a straight face, laughter bursting from her lips.

  ‘You should see your face.’ She pointed at him and pulled a stunned expression. ‘This doesn’t come close.’

  ‘You’re a funny girl,’ he said, leaning across the gearshift. ‘I wonder if you’ll find me giving you multiple orgasms so hilarious.’

  His bold proclamation sobered Summer up quickly and a deep throb started between her legs. ‘Now you’re just boasting.’

  ‘Am I?’

  His wicked grin made her pulse race, her heart thudding so loudly she could hear the beat in her ears. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

  ‘That’s not the only thing you’ll be holding,’ he deadpanned, and she laughed again. Jy may be easy on the eyes in his navy polo and designer denim, his dark brown eyes perpetually twinkling and his grin only a quip away, but it was his sense of humour that had her hot and bothered and eager to tear his clothes off the second they made it inside.

  ‘I like the way you look at me,’ he murmured, switching from playful to serious as he reached out to cup the back of her head. ‘You’re honest about what you want and aren’t afraid to show it.’

  ‘Already told you, I’m too old to play games.’

  Her breath hitched as he leaned forward, his lips tantalisingly close. ‘You’re magnificent.’

  Her lips parted, ready to devour him, but he surprised her with his control as he brushed a kiss along her jaw, another, followed by soft, barely there kisses edging towards her mouth, driving her crazy.

  ‘So beautiful,’ he murmured, his lips grazing her cheek, moving across to her mouth with infinite slowness. ‘I want you.’

  ‘The feeling’s mutual—’

  He finally claimed her mouth with a kiss so commanding, so demanding, that it stole her breath. After his gentle, teasing lead-in, it shocked her, this masterful ravishing of her mouth, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip before a soothing sweep of his tongue. A long, hot, open-mouthed kiss that left her gasping for air and reeling from how seductive it was.

  As he angled her head with one hand, his other hand palmed her breast and she groaned, straining towards him, ready to clamber over the console and ride him in the passenger seat, teacher reputation be damned.

  Sensing her lack of restraint, he eased his lips away and rested his forehead on hers. ‘I’m about to lose it. Shall we go inside?’

  ‘Thought you’d never ask,’ she murmured. ‘And for the record, if the way you kiss is anything to go by, those promised orgasms are guaranteed.’

  At thirty-six, Jy had no reason to doubt his prowess. Not that he’d slept with a lot of women. Aggie had been his first and they’d been married for eight years, and since the divorce he’d slept with twelve women. Casual dating, women met through colleagues and friends, nothing serious. The sex had been good, fun, but nothing like sex with Summer.

  After their third time in two hours, he was seriously starting to wonder if that Serenity community was a front for some kind of cult and she’d cast a spell over him. Athletic, open and enthusiastic didn’t come close to describing Summer during sex. She’d blown his mind. Several times.

  ‘You’re sweating,’ she said, placing a palm on his chest a few inches from where her head rested. ‘Sure you’re not having a heart attack?’

  ‘With your acrobatics, I may well be.’

  She chuckled, a soft, happy sound that made his heart turn over under her palm.

  ‘I thought you said you were fit? That you went to a gym in Melbourne?’

  ‘What we just did was more strenuous than any workout I’ve ever done.’

  ‘So I’m guessing round four is out of the question?’

  He moaned and pretended to half-heartedly wriggle away. ‘You’re killing me.’

  ‘You love it.’ Her hand slid from his heart to his stomach, which she patted appreciatively. ‘And I love feeling you, all over.’

  ‘Keep doing that and round four may not be as far away as you think.’

  She pressed a kiss to his chest. ‘I actually have to go.’

  Disappointment skittered through him. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I’d rather leave here at one in the morning than seven and announce to the whole town that I slept with the enemy.’

  He knew what she meant but her words still rankled. ‘I’m not the enemy, not anymore.’

  ‘Why, because we had sex?’ She lifted her head and edged away, leaving a sudden chill between them. ‘I thought we’d already established this is just a fling and it doesn’t affect anything else.’

  What could he say? That while he knew this thing between them had an expiration date, he genuinely liked her and for him this was beyond sex? He’d never been the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type and while she obviously viewed their evening as nothing more than a physical release, he felt … more.

  So he did what he always did when something bugged the hell out of him. He retreated behind a protective mechanism he’d used his entire life and pretended to be blasé.

  ‘You’re right. I must be tired.’ He forced a yawn and sat up. ‘Do you want a shower?’

  ‘No, thanks, I’ll have one when I get home.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Hating their stilted conversation which was at total odds with the seductive whispers and commands of the last few hours, he leaned over and placed a brief kiss on her lips. ‘I had a great time.’

  ‘Me too.’

  She hesitated, as if wanting to say more, before giving a slight shake of her head. ‘I’ll see you at the school Friday?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Two days to get his head back in the game and try to forget the whimpering sounds she made when he licked his way up her inner thigh, the low growl when he entered her, her excited pants as he slid in and out …

  As she clutched the sheet to her chest, unmoving, he realised she didn’t want to get dressed in front of him.

  ‘I’m going to the bathroom. Let yourself out?’

  ‘Sure.’

  Wondering what the hell had just happened to turn their former ease with each other into this, he headed for the bathroom, waiting until he heard the motel door shut a few minutes later before coming out.

  To an empty room that still held the faintest perfume of vanilla and rose.

  Summer liked her jobs: teaching full time Mondays and Tuesdays, and mornings Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays so she could work at her mum’s shop in the afternoons. Working with kids was great but she liked the laid-back vibe of The Knick-Knack Shop and today, after the sleepless night she’d had, that’s exactly what she needed.

  For all her bravado about a woman being in control of her desires and taking what she wanted, her night with Jy had rattled her. She’d never been so turned on and had responded like a sex-starved maniac, giving him the wrong impression.

  What impression’s that? How much you like him?

  That was another problem. She may have spelled out that their interlude could be nothing more than a fling, but some time during the night when she’d been curled into the crook of his arm, her ear pressed to his chest listening to his steady heartbeat, she’d found herself wondering what it would be like to have a guy like him in her life.

  Dating had never been a priority. Living in Acacia Haven narrowed her options considerably and she accepted it. She’d never been one to envisage marriage and kids and happily ever after. She was … content. If it happened, it happened. If not, she’d witnessed plenty of happy single women in the community who didn’t need some guy to complete them.

  So what was it about Jy that made her yearn for something more?

  He may be transient, he may be the enemy; tell that to her heart, which had warmed to a guy for the first time in forever.

  ‘Hey, honey, you’re early.’ Rayne enveloped her in a hug and the familiar fragrance of her mum’s signature blend, ylang ylang, orange and cinnamon, infused her with instant calm.

  ‘Thought I’d get a head start on the hand-painted vases that came in yesterday,’ Summer said, forcing a smile when her mum studied her with a way too intense stare.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing. Can’t a girl help her mother without something being wrong?’

  ‘I didn’t say wrong. I asked what’s going on. So if something’s wrong you should tell me—’

  ‘Everything’s fine, Mum. I had a date last night so I’m a bit tired.’

  ‘Oh.’

  How her mum could inject humour, curiosity and innuendo into one simple syllable, Summer would never know.

  ‘Let me guess.’ Rayne tapped her temple, pretending to think, her wide smirk alerting Summer to the fact her mother knew exactly who she’d been out with. ‘I bet your date was that handsome young principal. He took you to the pub for dinner. You had the veggie lasagne, he had roast of the day and you made goo-goo eyes at each other before scampering out of there.’

  Summer groaned and covered her eyes with her forearm. ‘I love living here, I really do, but the grapevine is the pits.’

  Rayne laughed and lowered Summer’s forearm with a gentle hand. ‘What did you expect? You hardly date, so waltzing into the pub with a good-looking guy is like prancing down the street in your undies hand in hand with him.’

  Summer screwed up her nose, but couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Nice analogy.’

  ‘So did you?’

  ‘Did I what?’

  ‘Do any prancing around in your underwear but behind closed doors?’

  ‘Mum!’

  ‘I should’ve waited to have my lunch. I could cook eggs on your cheeks.’

  ‘Mum, I’m not a teen anymore. I don’t need the interrogation, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’ Rayne held up her hands in surrender, but there was a glint in her mum’s eyes she didn’t understand. ‘Actually, speaking of dating, I want to talk to you about something.’

  ‘Sure.’ Summer perched on a stool behind the counter and watched her mum fidget with an opalite bracelet display.

  When Rayne didn’t speak, Summer said, ‘Mum?’

  ‘I may be dating too,’ Rayne blurted, stopping her fiddling fingers by folding her arms. ‘Online. I know it’s crazy and it’s so not me, but Heidi and I have reconnected and she’s doing it and she talked me into it—’

  ‘Whoa, slow down.’ Summer had never seen her mum date anybody and she wanted to shout, ‘About bloody time.’ But she could see how big a deal this was for her mum to even admit and she didn’t want to shut her down. ‘I think it’s great, Mum.’

  Rayne visibly sagged in relief. ‘You do?’

  ‘Of course. You deserve to be happy and I could never understand why you’ve never dated anyone since Dad left.’

  As usual, the vaguest reference to her father made Rayne pale a little.

  ‘I had you, and this place to run. Dating was never high on my agenda.’

  Summer had heard that edge in her mother’s voice before too. She did not want to discuss anything remotely to do with her ex-husband. But her mum dating was a monumental step and now was as good a time as any to delve into her father’s absence.

  ‘Do you ever hear from him?’

  ‘No.’

  A short, sharp, decisive rebuttal Summer had also heard many times before.

  ‘He must’ve done a number on you if you’ve avoided dating for sixteen years.’

  Predictably, the shutters descended over her mum’s eyes, her gaze becoming dark and clouded. ‘The day your father walked out is the day I forgot about him. I wanted to move on with my life and I did that. Where he is now or what he’s doing is no concern of mine.’ She gave a little shake of her head. ‘I gave up caring about that man a long time ago.’

  ‘He’s still my father,’ Summer murmured, wishing she had more answers but knowing her mother was the last person to give them to her. ‘No matter what happened between you two, I can’t believe he walked out on me and never reached out.’

  A deep frown dented Rayne’s brows and her crossed arms tightened, giving the illusion of folding in on herself. ‘I can’t believe anything that man did, which is why I’ve wiped him from my mind. And you should too,’ she added, almost as an afterthought. ‘No good comes from rehashing the past. Focus on your future.’