don’t ride my bike on the road.’
The dog, who up until this point had been perched—somewhat precariously in Kellie’s opinion—on the back of the bike jumped off, and with an agility she could only envy wriggled on its belly underneath the fence and came over to nuzzle against her.
She bent down in delight and gave his velvet ears a gentle stroke, crooning to him softly. ‘Well, hello, there, gorgeous boy. Have you been helping your daddy on the farm? What a good dog you are, and very clever too. I saw you balancing there like a gymnast on the back of that big bad old bike. Not many of the city dogs I know could do that.’
Matt felt like rolling his eyes but secretly he was a little impressed. Spike wasn’t usually so good with strangers. He was a cautious dog, leaning a little towards the anxious if anything, but that was because he had been badly mistreated before Matt had rescued him from the dogs’ home in Brisbane.
He watched as the dog melted under her touch, Spike’s brown eyes turning to liquid as Kellie tickled him under the chin.
‘Here, Spike,’ he called, and whistled through his teeth.
Spike pricked his ears and looked at him, but then turned back to Kellie and rolled over in the dust, exposing his belly for a scratch.
‘Oh you darling, darling boy,’ Kellie gushed, scratching and stroking him simultaneously. ‘You like that, huh? Yeah, well, I’ve never met a man yet who didn’t like his stomach stroked, or his ego, too, for that matter. But you don’t strike me as the overblown-ego type. You’re a real sweetie, aren’t you?’
Matt could feel his blood surging to places it hadn’t surged to in years as he watched Kellie’s hand move over his dog’s exposed belly. But then the long length of her toned legs in those shorter-than-short running shorts was enough to set anyone’s blood boiling, he thought. Her soft, sensual voice was like a whispery caress along the stiffness of his spine, and his deep abdominals switched on with a deep clench-like kick as he thought of how it would feel to have those slim, soft fingers skating over his naked flesh …
Kellie grinned as she straightened, the dog still nudging her hand with its head. ‘He’s so cute,’ she said. ‘I was just thinking last night how much I’d love to have a dog. Do you know anyone who’s got one for sale?’
Matt hastily assembled his features into a stern frown. ‘Dogs are not like toys to be picked up and played with at random. It takes commitment and patience to own and train one, especially a working dog. Besides, what would you want with a dog? You’re only here for a few months. What will you do with it when you leave?’
She rolled her eyes at him. ‘Duh! I’ll take it with me, of course,’ she said. ‘I love dogs. We’ve had dogs ever since I was a toddler. Our last one only died a few months ago. That was another reason I took this post. I couldn’t bear to leave before Sadie lived her last days. I wanted to be there when she died.’
‘And were you?’
Kellie couldn’t quite read his expression due to the angle of the morning sun. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I was the one who took her to the vet when I realised things were rapidly going downhill. When she was put down the vet left me alone with her and she died cradled in my arms. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. It reminded me of my mother’s death. It made me realise no one should ever die alone, not even the family pet.’
Matt looked at Spike, who was still licking Kellie’s fingers as if they were coated in thick chocolate. ‘If you want to share the space with Spike on the back, I’m willing to give you a lift back to the homestead and then on to town,’ he said gruffly.
She raised her brows at him. ‘On the bike?’
‘Only back to the homestead,’ he clarified. ‘After that you can have the assurance of airbags, stability control and ABS brakes all the way into town.’
‘We-ll,’ she said, shifting her lips from side to side as she considered his offer.
‘I promise to drive extra-slowly,’ he added.
‘OK, then,’ she said, and moved towards the fence with the dog at her side. ‘Now, then, Spike, I’m not sure I’m going to do it your way. I think I’ll go over the top.’
Matt propped his bike on its stand so he could offer his assistance but she had already snagged her jogging shorts on the top rung of barbed wire by the time he got there.
She looked down at him sheepishly, her perfect small white teeth sinking into her plump bottom lip. ‘Oops,’ she said, giving her shorts a little tug.
‘Here,’ he said, moving closer. ‘Hold onto my shoulders and I’ll unhitch you.’
Kellie put her hands on his shoulders, her belly giving a little quiver of reaction as she felt his hard muscular warmth seeping through the palms of her hands. Her fingers dug in a little further as she felt one of his hands releasing the fabric against her bottom and a shiver ran up like a startled mouse the entire length of her spine. Wow! Those hands of his sure had some magic about them, she thought as she hastily tried to disguise her reaction.
‘There,’ he said, his voice sounding a little scratchy. ‘You’re undone.’
‘Th-thanks,’ she said, locking gazes with him, her hands still on his shoulders.
The sounds of the bush seemed to Kellie to intensify the fact that apart from the dog and the herd of cattle they were not only totally alone but still physically touching.
Her fingers splayed experimentally, relishing the feel of toned male flesh, her belly doing another little flip-kick movement when she saw the dark unshaven stubble on his jaw. She suddenly wanted to run her fingers over the prickle of his skin, to feel it against the softness of hers, on her face, her mouth, her breasts and the silk of her inner thighs.
She looked back into his deep blue gaze and saw the unmistakable flare of male desire burning there. Her chest began to feel as if a moth was fluttering inside the soft cage of her lungs.
His hands went to her waist, the long fingers resting against her for perhaps a second or two longer than necessary before he lifted her from the fence. Kellie felt every angle and plane of his tall lean body on the way down, her breasts brushing against his pectoral muscles, her belly against the hard buckle of his belt, her trembling thighs against the rock-hard length and strength of his.
He set her on the ground and stepped back from her, his expression instantly shutting her out. ‘Come on, then, hop on,’ he said tonelessly, kicking the bike stand with his foot before straddling the bike.
Kellie had never realised how arrantly masculine such a simple action could be. ‘Um … where’s Spike going to sit?’
she asked, trying to sound calm and cool and totally unaffected when inside she felt every secret place pulsing with a need she had never felt in such strong, insistent waves before.
‘He’ll run alongside,’ Matt said, and gave the dog a signal with one of his hands. ‘It’s not far and he’ll enjoy the exercise.’
Kellie put one leg over the bike and moved as close to him as she dared, her inner thighs having to stretch to accommodate the muscular width of his. ‘R-rightio,’ she said a little uncertainly. ‘I’m all set.’
He
