Page 49 of Possession Under the Southern Stars

She looks down at it as if she’d forgotten it was there, then picks up her fork and has a mouthful. Gradually, her gaze creeps back up to me. The redness in her face has faded a little, but the look in her eyes suggests it’s not far away.

“Did you say that to make me feel better?” she asks suspiciously.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I made it all up.”

“You didn’t think I was bad in bed?”

I laugh as I cut up another piece of toast. “Oh yeah. Terrible.” I stab a piece of sausage with it, then lift it to my mouth as I meet her gaze. As I see her pained expression, I stop and lower my fork. “I was teasing you,” I say softly. “Hallie, for God’s sake. Last night was amazing. The best sex I’ve ever had.”

“What? I don’t… it can’t… but… what about Ginger?”

I shake my head and eat the toast and sausage. “Nowhere close. Now you know why I lay awake half the night.” I’m serious. Ginger liked sex, but she was a tad aggressive, and even though it’s nice to know a woman’s enjoying herself, and I don’t mind a girl taking the initiative from time to time, I’d much rather lead in the bedroom. Hallie’s quiet reticence, her wide-eyed innocence, and the way she slowly succumbed to her passion… that was more of a turn on than any other experience I’ve had.

And… now she’s turned scarlet again.

I take pity on her and rest my hand on hers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” she whispers. “Just shocked.”

I brush the back of her hand with my thumb. “Last night was very special, and I’ll always treasure it.”

Her eyes meet mine. They’re very dark, full of emotion. But she doesn’t express it. Instead, she just says, “Me too.” She turns her hand palm up and squeezes mine. Then she removes hers, looks down at her breakfast, picks up her knife and fork, and continues eating.

She changes the subject, talking about some archaeology news she read on her phone this morning, and I relax a little as I realize I haven’t ruined everything with my little speech.

We talk for a while, then rise from the table and help ourselves to some more breakfast. Hallie has a plate of small buttermilk pancakes with berries and whipped cream, then a bowl of yogurt with more fresh fruit before she finally declares she’s full up. The cooked breakfast was very filling, but I have a banana smoothie and a blueberry muffin for something sweet, and we both order a cappuccino to finish.

“I probably won’t fit in my dress now,” she states as she scoops up the last mouthful of yogurt.

I chuckle. “Maybe we should go for a walk to help it go down.”

She brightens. “That would be nice.” I think maybe she was worried I wouldn’t want to spend any more time with her.

I knock back the last mouthful of coffee and say, “Come on, then. It’s such a great day. We’ll have to be careful not to get burned though.”

Thanking the waitress, we go out and return to our suites where we put on some sun lotion, collect our sunglasses, and Hallie finds the sunhat she brought with her, and then we head out of the hotel.

It’s only a short walk to the beach. We decide to head north toward Mount Maunganui, which is an extinct volcano and a sacred Maori site.

The light breeze brings with it the salty smell of the sea. The tide’s in, the sand just a narrow strip, so we both take off our shoes and walk along the water’s edge. Warmed by the sun, the water washes over our feet. The sand is the color of latte where it’s dry, and treacle where it’s wet.

“Is there anything you’d like to do today?” I ask. “Anywhere you want to go?”

“We’ve got until three p.m., right?”

“Yeah. They’re serving cocktails at three, then there’s some kind of presentation in Sebastian’s honor. After that there’sa buffet, and then drinks and dancing, I think. Do you like dancing?”

“I love it.”

“Then we’ll have to make sure we take to the dance floor.” I smile.

Her eyebrows rise. “You dance?”

“Absolutely. You look surprised.”

She smiles back slowly. “I assumed you were like most men who stand on the sidelines while the girls dance around their handbags. You don’t seem like the dancing type.”

“Mum and Dad made sure all three of us could hold our own.”

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