Outback Wife and Mother. Barbara Hannay

apartment’s only two blocks away. We could walk there if you like—for coffee.’

      ‘Great idea,’ he said with an easy smile and took her hand as they set off.

      You’ve only just met the man, Ally kept reminding herself as they passed late-night coffee shops and silent, darkened office buildings. So, your hormones have come out of hibernation, but just remember you never, ever sleep with anyone on a first date.

      ‘How long are you in town for?’ she surprised herself by asking. It was a question she’d avoided all evening.

      ‘Three days.’

      Only three days! ‘Oh.’ Ally bit down hard on her lip, but it was too late to stifle the cry of disappointment.

      Perhaps Fletcher shared her reaction, for he paused and, drawing her into the shadows of a shopfront, gathered her closer to him.

      ‘And that reminds me...’ he murmured.

      ‘Reminds you?’ Ally’s voice trembled, her breath snatched away by his proximity. Up so close, she could feel his warm breath on her cheek, sense the strong muscles beneath his suit jacket and smell the spicy tang of his aftershave. In the scant light thrown by a street lamp some distance away, she could see his delicious smile. His eyes held hers and as she looked into the blue depths, she knew she had never wanted to be kissed more than she did now.

      If only he needed to kiss her as much as she needed to taste his beautiful, sensuous mouth. Her ears buzzed, her heart had surely stopped beating. Was she breathing? Everything seemed to have stopped.

      ‘I’m reminded,’ he whispered, ‘that it’s time to start kissing you now. We really don’t have time to waste, do we?’ His hand cradled her cheek. ‘I’ve been wanting to kiss you all evening,’ he said. Then he lowered his lips to hers, to take her mouth gently in a kiss so tender, so tempting, that it only served to fire a desperate longing for more. Her lips parted eagerly as his mouth met hers again, to kiss her more deeply, more urgently, his arms binding her hard against him.

      Ally hardly knew how to cope with the jolt of wild sensations that surged through her.

      ‘O-oh,’ she moaned softly, wondering if her feet still touched the ground, knowing at once that she belonged in this man’s arms. Not wanting his mouth to ever leave hers. Nothing had ever felt so right.

      He broke away as footsteps approached.

      ‘We need somewhere private where I can kiss you very thoroughly.’

      ‘We’ve nearly reached my place. It’s just around the corner,’ Ally replied, ignoring with reckless ease the alarm bells rung by her well-exercised conscience.

      They walked quickly. The lift shot up to her apartment, and once inside, Ally switched on the low table lamps. In the warm pool of light, Fletcher looked at her, holding out his arms with a smile that banished any lingering inhibitions. And she walked into them, as eagerly and gladly as if it were what she was born to do. He threaded his fingers through her dark hair.

      ‘You know, Ally, I don’t consider myself a wolf. It’s not usually my policy to rush these things.’

      She felt a ridiculous stab of dismay at the note of caution in his voice.

      ‘Well, to be honest, I like to get to know a man before I let him...kiss me,’ she forced herself to admit.

      ‘It’s a bit reckless, can be dangerous in fact.’

      ‘It certainly can be,’ she muttered, burying her head into his chest and breathing in the mixture of cotton and silk of his clothes combined with the cleanly masculine scent of his skin. Hearing the pounding of his heart.

      ‘So perhaps I should leave now?’ he breathed against her cheek, as his fingers gently stroked the nape of her neck.

      ‘Do you really want to know what I think?’ she asked, closing her eyes and arching her curves closer into his strength.

      ‘Uh-huh,’ he murmured, while his lips trailed dizzying circles over her jaw in a manner that could elicit only one possible answer.

      ‘I think we’re wasting valuable time standing here talking.’

      CHAPTER TWO

      ALLY looked up sleepily as Fletcher emerged from the bathroom, a huge white towel looped around his lean hips. Her breath caught in her throat. All this dark-haired, broad-shouldered, lean-and-muscled masculine perfection was about to walk out of her life just as abruptly as it had appeared. How could the time have flown so quickly?

      Monday morning had never felt so bad.

      Over the weekend, she and Fletcher had been together for every moment their work commitments spared them, and Ally was delighted to discover that there were so many other wonderful qualities about this man apart from his superb body. She and Fletcher had meshed on so many levels—emotional, physical and intellectual. It had been like meeting a soul mate.

      But it had been all too short.

      ‘Did we really only meet two night’s ago?’ she asked, while her thoughts echoed silently—I feel as if I’ve known you all my life.

      Her knees tucked under her chin, Ally watched from the bed as Fletcher slowly buttoned his shirt, looking down at her with a regretful, thoughtful smile.

      He crossed the room to sit on the edge of her mattress. ‘I think there’s a New Age term for the way we met,’ he said. ‘We experienced a defining moment.’ He lifted his hand as if he were going to reach for her, but stopped, the hand hovering in midair. He sighed and stood up again, reaching instead for the lavender lace nightdress which was crumpled at the bottom of her bed. Tossing it to her, he flashed a cheeky smile. ‘And I’d say you’ve been redefined as a purple passionfruit.’

      Ally plucked at the garment. Her fondness for all shades of purple had amused and enchanted Fletcher. Until now it had simply been a colour she often chose to wear because it complemented her dark hair, pale skin and clear, grey eyes. But Fletcher had insisted her favourite colour was symbolic of the newly discovered passionate side to her nature she had never known existed.

      She tried desperately to smile back at him. But it was difficult to hide the despair she felt at the reality of Fletcher’s leaving. Any minute now the taxi would be pulling up in the street below and he would be walking out of her life, catching the early flight back to North Queensland and his cattle and his outback. He might as well be heading for Mars.

      ‘I suppose you could call our meeting a defining moment,’ she said, but then in the next breath, she blurted out, ‘But what about the old-fashioned description—love at first sight across a crowded room?’

      ‘Love?’ Fletcher looked down at her, startled. ‘When I’m about to catch a plane to the back of beyond...’ He paused in the act of threading a plaited leather belt through the loops of his jeans and his eyes darkened to a worried navy blue. ‘We can’t afford to get overly romantic, Ally.’

      She felt her face flood with scarlet and a cold hand clamp tightly round her heart. She’d been caught out making the oldest mistake of all. Confusing passionate sex with love and respect and compatibility. Fletcher had never promised her anything more than three nights.

      And now their time was up. And she was grown up. This was the real world.

      But how could she bear it?

      Then it happened just as Ally knew it would. The taxi arrived, with a screech of tyres and a blast of its horn. Fletcher clasped her to him, kissed her, held her, whispered soothing nothings, kissed her again. And then he was gone. The door closed behind him with a soft sigh and she heard his footsteps on the pavement below, the slam of a car door. And it was all over. Just like that.

      She couldn’t move. She should have been eating breakfast, dressing for work, but she lay there in the bed wondering how something so wonderful could leave her feeling so lonely and desolate. The usual expectant tingle she felt at