Australian Quinns. Kate Hoffmann
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fingers paused when she reached his knee and Brody sucked in a sharp breath. He knew it was ugly. The scars were still sharply defined, to the eye and to the touch. “What happened?” she asked.
He didn’t want to tell the story again, especially not to her. It had been a foolish mistake that had changed the entire course of his life. But then, that course had led to her, hadn’t it?
“I tore up my knee in a motorcycle accident,” he said. “It’s not nearly as bad as it looks. It happened a long time ago. I barely even think about it anymore.” At least that was the truth, he mused.
She bent over him, her hair tickling his thigh, then pressed her lips to the scar. “There. All better.”
Brody chuckled softly. “Yes. That does make things feel much better.”
She pushed up on her hands and knees and crawled on top of him. In the soft light from the torch, Payton looked like some ancient goddess, her perfect skin gleaming like marble. He could imagine how a woman like her could drive men into battle for her favors. He was already lost and he’d only known her a few days.
“Any other interesting scars?”
“What exactly are you looking for? Defects?”
She picked up the torch again and shined the light on the tattoo on his right biceps. “What is this?” She rubbed her fingers over the inked skin.
“Nothing, really. Just something tribal.”
“I have a tattoo,” she said.
Brody pushed up on his elbow, stunned by the admission. “Where?”
She pointed to her ankle and he took the torch from her and held it there. “I don’t see anything.”
“There. It’s that red dot right there.”
“That’s not a tattoo, that’s a freckle.”
“No, it was supposed to be a tattoo. But I chickened out after just a few seconds.”
“Because it hurt?”
“No. Because I was afraid of what my parents might say. And my—” She smiled. “My boyfriend.” She shook her head. “There were a lot of things I thought about doing and then never followed through on. Spontaneity was not something that was encouraged by my family.”
“Tell me about this boyfriend,” he said.
“That was a long time ago.”
“What would they think of you now, lying here naked in a stable with me?”
“They’d probably have me committed.”
Brody reached out and picked up her hand, then pressed it to his lips. “I wouldn’t let them take you,” he said. “You’d be safe with me.”
A winsome smiled touched her lips. “I’m not sure safe is the right word.”
Brody leaned forward and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss. “Will you spend the night with me?” he whispered.
“Here?”
“Wherever you want. Here is good.”
“Gemma is probably going to wonder where I am.”
“I think Callum is keeping her occupied,” Brody assured her.
“The same way you’re keeping me occupied?”
He shook his head. “I expect my brother has his own talents. He’s—” Brody stopped short when a sound from outside the stall caught his attention. He reached over and switched off the torch, then pressed a finger to Payton’s lips.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“Someone is out there.”
The sound of horse’s hooves on concrete echoed through the silence and Brody got to his feet and moved to the door of the stall. A moment later a light flicked on in the tack room, illuminating the interior of the stable enough to see who had intruded.
Payton stepped to his side, wrapped in one of the wool blankets, and peered out through the bars on the top edge of the stable door. “Who is it?”
“Teague,” Brody whispered.
“What’s he doing?”
“I think he’s saddling his horse.”
“Where is he going to ride in the dark?”
“Hell if I know,” Brody said. He might guess where his brother was going. Hayley Fraser was back on Wallaroo Station. One plus one equaled two.
Brody thought about what Callum had said earlier. Family loyalty aside, whatever Teague was up to was his business and no one else’s. Just like what went on between Payton and him didn’t involve his brothers. They were adults now, and they made their own choices. “He’s probably riding out to check on the herd,” Brody said.
“Alone?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
They listened until the stable was once again silent, the light from the tack room left burning by his brother. Then Brody turned and tugged the blanket off of her. She squirmed playfully as he ran his free hand from her belly to her breast. “We’re alone again,” he said.
“We should get some sleep,” Payton murmured.
Brody groaned as he kissed his way to her nipple. Teasing it to a peak with his tongue, he tried to convince her that sleep was the last thing on his mind. But when she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his gaze up to hers, he realized just how tired she was. Her eyelids fluttered and she bit back a yawn.
“You’re right,” he said. “We both have to work tomorrow.” Why the hell had he decided to bring her here? Brody wondered. If she hadn’t taken this job, then they’d be free to do exactly what they wanted with their time. He should have bought them both a ticket to Fremantle and they could have spent a week in his apartment. Or he could have found some private getaway where they’d be waited on hand and foot.
Instead, he’d brought her to the station, where they had to sneak around and hide in a horse stall to find some privacy. “You know, the weekend is coming up. You don’t have to work on the weekend.”
“What? Do you send the horses off to a spa on Saturday and Sunday?” she inquired with a raised brow. “They still need to be fed and groomed.”
“But someone else can do that,” Brody said.
“It’s my job,” she replied.
He drew a deep breath and sighed. “There has to be some benefit to sleeping with the owner’s brother, don’t you think?”
She slipped from his embrace and began to collect her clothes, scattered over the straw-covered floor. “There are a lot of benefits. But I’m not sure unlimited vacation time is one of them.”
Brody wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. “But aren’t you interested in seeing some of Australia while you’re here? Isn’t that why you came? I’m sure Callum can get one of the jackaroos to take your job for a while.”
She shook her head. “Not now. Maybe after I’ve worked here longer.”
Brody understood her worry. After all, when he met her, she’d been reduced to petty crime just to survive. Here, she had a place to sleep, three meals a day and a paycheck at the end of each week. Security trumped great sex, at least for now.
“All right.” He took Payton’s clothes from her hands and grudgingly helped her dress. Though she’d removed her clothes as quickly as possible, Brody didn’t rush putting them back on, taking the chance to touch her one last time. When he finished, he pulled his jeans on, before slipping his bare feet into his boots. He didn’t want to bother with the rest, tossing the remaining clothes over his arm.