Page 1 of Into the Tempest

CHAPTER ONE

TULLY

I wasnervous waiting for Jeremiah’s plane to land.

Two weeks after being at the Darwin Bureau of Meteorology, he’d made a quick trip back to Melbourne to collect some of his personal belongings, pack up his apartment, and clear out his desk at work.

One night.

He’d been gone for one night and I missed him like crazy. How he’d turned my life upside down in a matter of just a few weeks I’d never know. The first week at the bunker in Kakadu had been awesome, and the two weeks helping him get his new office into some kind of workable space had been fun. But gettin’ to watch afternoon storms with him, havin’ him in my home, and in my bed had been the very best two weeks of my life.

I was besotted with this man, and I was nervous as hell waiting for him. Nervous that he’d get off the plane and tell me he wasn’t staying, that he’d be goin’ back to his old life in Melbourne. That his life was there and not here with me.

I was nervous that he wouldn’t get off the plane at all.

I’d spoken to him this mornin’ when he was on his way to the airport, but a lot coulda happened between then and now, and maybe he’d realised that this was all too much too soon. Maybe he didn’t want to pack up his entire life and move five thousand kilometres away.

Maybe he didn’t feel the same about me as I felt about him.

I was just about ready to puke by the time his flight landed. I noticed a few familiar faces in the terminal and a guy I knew from the bank made an attempt at small talk as he waited for someone to deplane as well.

“Everything okay?” he asked, glancing from me to where people were coming in through the Arrivals door.

“Oh, yeah,” I mumbled distractedly. “Sure, just waitin’...”

Waitin’ for him not to show. Waitin’ for him to break my heart.

He’d nodded and, thankfully, said nothing else. His person arrived, and they left smilin’ and as happy as could be. Everyone else came in greeting their familiar faces, their loved ones, their people. All smiles and hugs and laughter.

And no Jeremiah.

The doors closed and people wheeled out their luggage, leaving my stomach in knots, my heart thumping and heavy. My chest felt all too tight, and that nervousness from before was quickly becoming a sinking realisation that Jeremiah hadn’t got on his flight.

He didn’t want me. He didn’t love me...

“Please be careful with that,” a familiar voice said as airport staff wheeled through a cart with two large black crates. Jeremiah was ushering alongside them, frantic and frazzled.

And fucking gorgeous.

The tight band around my chest let up and, just like that, I could breathe.

“Hey,” I yelled, making them stop, and in a few quick strides, I collected Jeremiah in a crushing hug, surprising him and the man pushin’ the cart.

“Oh,” Jeremiah squeaked, red faced and flustered, now for a whole other reason. “Tully, what are you...?”

“I missed you,” I blurted out, squeezin’ him tight. “And I didn’t see you get off the plane. I thought you mighta decided not to come back. I’m so happy to see you.”

He pulled back, seemingly confused by this. “I told you I was coming back just this morning. Actually, my employer insisted I take this job. I wasn’t allowed tonotcome back here; I believe that was the term they used.”

Laughing, I cupped his face and pulled him in for a quick kiss. His magnificent blue eyes widened.

“Tully,” he hissed.

I just grinned at him. I didn’t give a fuck what people thought. I wanted to kiss him, so I did. “Need help with your gear?”

With his hand to his forehead, still flustered, he blinked a few times. “Ummm.”

“You okay?”

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