Black Ice (17 page)

Daniel frowned. 'Familiar in what way?'

'Well,' she took a small sketch pad from her bag and drew on it, 'his profile reminded me of the driver of the vehicle that hit you in Noosa.' She held up her hand as she saw the interest on Daniel's face. 'The resemblance was very strong, but I could be wrong. I only got a fleeting glance at the driver.'

'But it's worrying you?'

'Not when I saw him at the shops.' Kirri frowned, trying to brush off the feeling of foreboding that had settled on her. 'But when the cable car left the platform, I saw him talking to the attendant.'

'The automatic winch equipment is monitored by an electronic alarm system, mate, so you've got no worries on that score, either.' The attendant shook his head as the man turned away. The way some of these tourists worried, he mused, it's a wonder they even got out of their cars. But that bloke was the worst. Asked so many questions about the safety standards he felt he was being interviewed by a workplace health and safety officer. He looked quickly at the man as he melted into the crowd. Strewth, maybe he was.

 

Brett's mood was far from sunny as he waited out of sight of the Scenic Skyway platform. His pre-vocational engineering and construction course at Technical College hadn't given him the knowledge he would need to sabotage the cable car. Hardly the kind of thing covered in the syllabus, he grumbled to himself. Assuming it
was
possible to sabotage the bloody thing.

He was getting fed up with this whole accident scenario. It would be so simple just to shoot Brand, and he'd suggested this. The reasons why this was unsuitable were
patiently
, through gritted teeth he imagined, explained to him, but Brett was finding
his
patience was in danger of becoming non-existent.

 

'There's the sign for the turnoff.' Kirri pointed as the road wound its undulating way from Mt Victoria to Bell. 'Thistledown House. Not far to go now.' She looked at Daniel. 'Are you okay with this?'

'Yes. At first I found it hard to accept that my father hadn't told me everything about my mother's death. But when you lose somebody you love as deeply as he loved my mother …' he sighed. 'I can understand why he found it too painful to talk about. And losing a child at the same time would have made it worse.'

Kirri could understand that. When Catelyn had crawled into the bull's yard she had been almost paralysed with fear. If it hadn't been for Daniel …

'I haven't thanked you properly, Daniel, for saving Catelyn the way you did. When I think what could have happened …'

Daniel's hand covered hers. 'But it didn't. Mind you, I can see her giving us grey hairs before too long. My Grandma tells me my mom used to get into more mischief than a coyote in a henhouse.'

He was doing it again, Kirri thought. Talking as though they were already a family. But this time the concept was definitely appealing. As appealing as the warm rush of desire generated by his hand on hers as it lay on her thigh.

 

A plump middle-aged woman introduced herself as Mrs Anderson and welcomed them into a large foyer-reception area. The two-storey sandstone house had obviously been renovated inside to accommodate its new purpose as a bed and breakfast establishment, but the ambience of timber and cream walls had been retained.

As Daniel handed over his credit card, Kirri heard a sound from behind the adjoining wooden door marked "Office". The door had been half open, but now it was pulled further back by a stout man whose bald head was half-haloed with thin grey hair. Kirri smiled, but he didn't appear to notice her. His attention was fixed on Daniel, and a frown deepened the wrinkles above his bushy brows.

Then he shook his head and walked back into the office.

Details finalised, Daniel picked up their bags. They followed Mrs Anderson up a flight of carved wooden stairs. As they reached the first landing, Kirri looked back.

From his seat at a desk in the office, the man was watching them.

 

'I'll bring your meal up within the hour,' Mrs Anderson said as she left them in their room.

'Wow! This is certainly something, Daniel.' Kirri looked around at the candle-shaped wall lights, the ornate brass bed, fireplace, and large spa with its intricately carved privacy screen, then walked to the window. 'Look at that view, all the colours. I'd forgotten it was the flowering season for rhododendrons until we came up to the mountains. Look at the subtle undertonings in that cerise one. And the - Why are you looking at me like that?'

'Two years ago you brought more colour into my life than I would have believed possible, Kirri. Now you're doing it again. I was a damn fool for ever thinking you'd lie to me just to be kind. You're too open, too honest, for that.'

'Shhh.' Kirri placed her fingertips on his mouth. 'We can't change the past, Daniel. Let's enjoy the time we have now.'

His lips formed a kiss against her fingers, then he took her hand as he kissed his way up the tender inside flesh of her arm. A quivering started deep in Kirri's stomach, and magnified with each caress. His mouth claimed hers as she went joyfully into his arms.

When a knock sounded on the door it took long moments for Kirri to comprehend what she'd heard. When it came again she reluctantly pulled away from Daniel, vaguely aware his hands were still on her back and bottom, his arousal too evident to be ignored.

'Go look at the view,' she whispered into his mouth, 'I'll answer the door.'

Mrs Anderson was extremely apologetic as she handed two fluffy white towels to Kirri. 'Thought I'd already brought them in. I'm so sorry.'

Kirri thanked her, closed the door, and placed the towels on the bed. Daniel was standing at the window. She walked up beside him. He slipped an arm around her shoulder, but continued to look down at the shrubbery surrounding the curving driveway.

'Fancy a walk in the gardens?' he asked.

Perplexed, Kirri followed his gaze. The gardens were beautiful, but Daniel's interest in them seemed a little excessive. 'Why?'

'I thought you might like to make some sketches.' He turned her around and began to walk towards the door.

Kirri stopped. 'You'll have to do better than that, Daniel Brand. What's the real reason?'

Daniel sighed. 'It's only an hour until Mrs Anderson serves dinner. I don't think I can stay in this room with you without being tempted to take you to bed, and an hour isn't long enough for what I have in mind.'

'Oh.' Kirri glanced down, and understood his problem. 'I'll get my sketch pad.'

 

'I wish I'd brought my camera with me,' Kirri said as she sat on a timber garden seat and began to sketch, 'Catching the late afternoon light on that cerise rhododendron won't be easy without a photo.'

Daniel stood up. 'There were some disposable cameras for sale at the reception desk. I'll get one.'

Minutes passed, and Kirri's fingers flew. The sketch was nearly finished when her concentration was broken by a white pigeon flying out of a tree close by. It flew up to the roof at the rear of the house, and Kirri turned to watch its flight.

The man from the office was standing at a top-storey window. Her gaze locked on him, and she knew he had been watching her. For a few more seconds he stood there, then he moved away from the window.

'Sorry I took so long.'

Kirri jumped. She swung around to Daniel. 'Don't
do
that to me!'

'Do what?'

'Scare me like that.'

Daniel was tempted to smile, but he handed her the camera instead. 'Better catch the light while you can.'

'Yes,' she looked back towards the rhododendron, 'it's fading fast.' She aimed the camera. 'At least this is more reliable than my memory.'

Daniel's heart lurched. He hoped the memories they were creating now would never be lost.

 

'Gran would love Mrs Anderson.' Kirri said as she placed her napkin beside her empty plate. 'She reckons a good cook is only one step below a saint.' She smiled at Daniel and sipped the last of her wine. 'I'm pleased you asked for our meals to be brought to our room. I didn't feel like dining with the other guests tonight.'

'We need some quiet time. You still don't look as though you're sleeping well.'

'I'm not. I keep thinking about Mr Woodford. If I'd told them I was going away, he wouldn't have come into my flat when he heard a noise, he'd have called the police.'

'Kirri, you don't know if that's why he was there. And you can't blame yourself.' Daniel gave her a searching look. 'Is that the only reason you're not sleeping well?'

A blush swept her cheeks, and she saw a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. 'You know full well what else keeps me awake, Daniel Brand.'

He smiled. 'Then we'd better do something to alleviate that problem.'

Suddenly the atmosphere between them was charged with electricity. Kirri felt as though every sinew in her body had tightened to snapping point, but she was suddenly anxious. She knew she'd changed, not just physically, but emotionally. What if the spark that had obviously been between them before was gone?

'You did that the first time we made love.'

'What?'

'Rubbed your neck. You told me you were nervous.'

Kirri dropped her hand to the table. 'I did?'

He nodded. 'You said you wanted me to know you had fallen in love with me, and that making love with me was not an easy decision because it left you vulnerable to twice the hurt if we broke up.'

'And what did you say?'

'Well, up until that moment I hadn't told you I loved you. I think I was just as scared as you of being rejected. But when you said you loved me,' Daniel's eyes shone with so much love Kirri's breath caught in her throat, 'I felt invincible.'

Daniel stood up. 'Why don't we have a spa?'

'I'll …' Kirri fought to regain control of her thoughts, 'just give Dad a quick call first and check on Catelyn."

 

Kirri pinned her hair up, and walked out of the bathroom. The spa nestled into an adjoining corner, with luxurious plants in brass pots spilling their greenery almost into the bubbling water. Daniel had dimmed the lights, and the cream walls reflected their warm glow.

Daniel was sitting in the spa, waiting. Before, she thought the spa looked enormous. Now, it seemed to be filled with a broad chest sprinkled with curling dark hairs.

As she slipped off her robe, Kirri watched Daniel's reaction. To her relief, the warmth in his eyes flared into hot desire. Good. At least he still found her physically attractive.

She stepped into the spa, and sat down. The water was warm, soothing yet stimulating as it frothed around her, the foaming bath gel scenting the air with lemon and lilac.

'Daniel, is there anything between you and Stella?' The doubt had niggled at the back of her mind since the day before, but the shock on Daniel's face was more reassuring than his firm denial.

'No. There's something …' Daniel searched for the right word, '
compelling
about her, but no, I'm not attracted to her.'

Kirri allowed herself a sigh of satisfaction. 'Anyway, she dyes her hair.'

Daniel chuckled. This woman he loved was so unaffected she even let her jealousy show. It was one of the many things he liked about her.

'She does,' Kirri insisted. 'I saw the re-growth.'

'Come here.' Daniel reached for her, his hands clasping her waist, and lifted her onto his lap so she faced away from him. 'Relax. I'm going to massage your neck.'

Kirri didn't think it would be possible to relax with Daniel's hair-roughened thighs under hers, or the hard evidence of his arousal pressing against her smooth legs, but his fingers gently kneaded and stretched at her neck and shoulders, and soon she felt herself swaying gently with the rhythm of his hands.

As her tension eased, the steady throb of desire increased. His hands slipped around and caressed her breasts, teasing the nipples until she pulsed with need, and she began to push herself against him.

'Time we got out.' The words were a thick rumble in Daniel's throat.

 

Daniel watched the way her breasts rose as Kirri reached up and unpinned her hair. As the last russet curl bounced down, he swung her up in his arms and walked over and placed her on the bed. She lay there, smiling softly, and love and need rushed through him so hard he shuddered.

'Daniel?'

He bent over, kissed her as gently as his self-control would allow. 'I love you,' he whispered into her mouth. Hell, this wasn't going to be easy. He only hoped he could last long enough to make it good for her. He lay next to her on the bed, determined not to rush, and gently stroked the soft curves of her breasts as he kissed her again.

Tiny shivers ran through Kirri at Daniel's touch. The feel of his skin on hers was unbelievably erotic. There had been few lovers in her life, but none of them had made her feel the way Daniel did. His hand moved lower, caressing her stomach, then the soft, smooth skin of her inner thighs. She moaned into his mouth, her legs parting, inviting his advance.

But his fingers kept their feather-touch, tracing a tantalising path down her inner thigh to her knee; then, slowly, back again; travelled lightly across her silken curls and sensitive flesh, down the other thigh, and back to delicately tease once more.

As his hand continued its exquisite torture, his lips left hers. Her fingers had curled into his hair, and reluctantly she eased her grip.

Daniel looked down at Kirri's desire-flushed face, at the breasts that had suckled his child, at the areole, rosy tinged and puckered with arousal, and was swept by an intense surge of love and possession. He took one small breast in his mouth and sucked. Kirri arched up, her fingers digging into his scalp, whimpering her need.

His deep masculine smell invaded her senses, swirling colours through her mind. Kirri knew she couldn't endure much more. If she didn't have Daniel inside her soon she would go insane.

'Please, Daniel.' Her voice shook with need, and Daniel raised his head to look at her. His eyes were fever-bright with arousal, and she felt a deep satisfaction that she affected him like this. He reached back and grabbed a condom from the bedside table, his breathing deep and fast as he slipped it on.