BEFORE

Chapter 19

JESS

I couldn't stop grinning.

For the entire hour on horseback that it took us to reach our camping destination, I smiled like an idiot.

I was finally spending the night with Jack.

Okay, so it wasn't quite the dream scenario, sleeping on hard ground with the possibility of Australia's deadliest creepy crawlies attacking me in my sleep. But with a little luck Jack would feel compelled to slip into my sleeping bag to protect me.

"I'll take care of the horses if you want to find kindling for a fire," he said, looking absolutely delectable as he took off his Akubra hat and ran a hand through his hair.

The simple action pulled his olive T-shirt tight across his chest, highlighting ridges of muscles I'd already seen. And wanted to see again.

He caught me staring but rather than looking away, I raised an eyebrow in a silent dare. I had no idea how long our gazes locked, hot and challenging, before he turned away, giving me ample time to fan my face.

With one, scorching look, Jack had me hot and bothered. Incredibly hot.

Other girls in the dorm had vibrators. I'd seen them as their owners casually handed them around and discussed the pros and cons of different brands. Me? I used my hand, but that seemed pretty inadequate when confronted with Jack's blatant sexuality.

I wanted him.

I couldn't have him, in the story according to Jack.

Tonight, I really wanted to rewrite our ending.

"That fire won't start itself, you know," he flung over his shoulder and I sprung into action. I felt safe with Jack but I'd learned dusk fell quickly in these parts and I'd done enough research online to know I'd prefer a fire to keep the creepy crawlies at bay.

"Will it take long to set up the tent?"

He glanced at me, and my heart sank as I caught sight of his smirk. "What tent?"

"You're not serious?"

"Deadly." His smug grin widened, as if he knew my secret fear of Aussie fauna. "Why, nervous?"

"No," I lied, speeding up my kindling gathering. "So where do we sleep?"

"In sleeping bags with that for our roof." He pointed overhead, where I spotted the first smattering of stars. "I've done it a thousand times before. You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say, Cookie. You don't have long hair that could house a nest of those red back spiders Doreen keeps mentioning."

His gaze drifted to my hair and an amazing thing happened. His eyes blazed and his hands curled and unfurled, as if he wanted to run his hands through it.

"Plait it, and the sleeping bags have hoods." He turned away to resume tending the horses, but not before I'd seen a look of sheer longing. It snatched my breath. "Unless you want to chicken out now and head back?"

I was tempted. For all of two seconds, before I remembered this was my last night in Australia, my last night with Jack, and I wanted to make the most of it.

"No way," I said, bundling the kindling into my arms and dumping it in the clearing near our stuff. "Let's do this."

"That's my girl," he said, smiling his approval, and for a long, loaded moment I wished I was.

"You sure it's safe to camp out in the open?" I eyed the clearing dubiously. It seemed devoid of slithering nasties right now, but what about when darkness fell?