The Australian Affairs Collection. Margaret Way

      ‘Good idea,’ he said.

      They climbed in and belted up, both of them reaching for their sunglasses at the same time, Jess careful not to look over at him lest she give away even more of her vulnerability to this man. She hated Ben thinking he was onto a sure thing tomorrow night. Though, of course he was. No point in denying it to herself. But that didn’t mean she had to act like some gushing nincompoop who was overwhelmed by his attentions.

      ‘I thought we’d stop at Cassilis for lunch,’ she said matter-of-factly as she started the engine. ‘Sandy Hollow is the next town but it’s too close. After that, it’s straight to your friend’s place.’

      ‘Sounds like a good plan.’

      ‘We should easily arrive by mid-afternoon, depending on how long you want to stop for lunch.’

      ‘I guess that would depend on how quickly we get served.’

      * * *

      Very quickly, as it turned out. They settled on a pub lunch, eaten out in the very pleasant beer garden. Jess ordered just the one glass of white wine with her steak and salad, since she was driving, whilst Ben decided on a schooner of beer with his. But they ate slowly and talked a lot. And, whilst the conversation was very superficial, all the while Jess was aware of a dangerous excitement growing deep inside her. Every time she looked at Ben a sexual image jumped into her head. When he forked some food into his mouth, she found herself staring at that mouth and thinking of how it would feel kissing, not her mouth so much, but other more intimate parts of her body. His hands brought similar sexy images. They were rather elegant hands. Well-manicured with long fingers and rounded tips. Jess imagined them doing darkly delicious things to her.

      Her bottom tightened with shock at her thoughts, for Jess was not that sort of girl. Or so she’d imagined up till now. Her boyfriends so far had been rather lacking in imagination when it came to foreplay, which was perhaps why she hadn’t come every time. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed herself. She liked male bodies, especially well-built ones. Sex with Colin had been somewhat better, perhaps because he liked her being on top. Which she liked too. Perhaps because of that controlling nature of hers, or because she always came that way.

      Jess glanced over at Ben and wondered again how many women he’d had in his life. Which sent Amber into her mind.

      Jess wished Ben had already broken up with her. She wanted to tell him to ring her and do it, right now! But she didn’t have the courage—or the gall—to say so. It would be a waste of time, anyway. For what would it matter in the end? The cold, hard truth was that eventually he would leave her and go back to America anyway. He didn’t want marriage. She was just a girl he’d met out here whom he fancied and whom he meant to have.

      A part of Jess was flattered by his determined passion for her. But she didn’t deceive herself into thinking this would ever be a serious romance. They were just ships passing in the night. She decided—perhaps in protection of her fluttering female heart—that she would think of him as an experience. An adventure. Possibly even an education. For Jess knew, as surely as she knew the house wine she was drinking was rubbish, that sex with Ben would be unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

      Falling for a man like Ben, however, would be a stupid thing to do. Very stupid.

      ‘You’ve gone quiet on me,’ Ben said.

      Jess perked up immediately. She didn’t want Ben to think she was worried about anything. Which she was, somewhat. But forewarned was forearmed. Now that she’d decided to go down this road, she was determined to do so in a positive state of mind. There were worse things that could happen to a girl than an affair with the handsome son of a billionaire. Not that Ben’s having money mattered to her. Jess had never been overly impressed by wealthy people. They never seemed all that happy, for one thing. But Ben’s privileged background had given him a confidence and polish which was very attractive.

      ‘I was thinking I should ring Mum soon,’ she said with a quick smile. ‘And reassure her that I’m still alive.’

      ‘What? Surely she wasn’t worried about you driving? You’re an excellent driver.’

      ‘No. Mum has every faith in my driving abilities. She was worried that you might be a serial killer.’

      The shock on his face was classic.

      ‘I assured her that you weren’t. You were just a rich businessman with not an ounce of intelligence to save your soul.’

      He pretended to look offended. ‘You do have a sharp tongue, don’t you?’

      His eyes narrowed as men did when they were challenged. ‘I’m actually quite intelligent.’

      ‘I’ve yet to see evidence of that fact.’ Lord, but she was actually loving this. She’d never sparred verbally with Colin, or any of her other boyfriends. She’d never flirted like this either. But it was such fun.

      ‘I’ll have you know that I was dux of my school.’

      ‘Yes, but that’s just school smart, Ben, which is a lot different from street smart. How can you possibly be street smart when you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth?’ It was a lovely mouth, though. The more she studied it, the more she liked it. His bottom lip was full and sensual, whilst his top lip was thinner and harder. She suspected Ben could be stubborn as well as arrogant. Maybe even a little ruthless. But there was something decidedly sexy about a man being ruthless. You wouldn’t want to marry a ruthless man, but having an affair with him was a different matter entirely.

      ‘Keep that up and your mother might have something to worry about,’ he quipped, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with good humour. ‘Women have been strangled for less.’

      She smiled, and was still smiling when they left the hotel and set off again. It wasn’t till they were well down the road to Mudgee that she realised she hadn’t rung her mother.

      ‘Is this the road Andy lives on?’ she asked.

      ‘Yes, I’m sure it is.’

      ‘Are we nearly there yet?’

      ‘I think so. It’s been a while since I’ve been up here but I’ll recognise the place once I see it.’

      ‘In that case I’d like to stop for a sec and make that phone call to Mum,’ she said, pulling off the road and parking under the shade of a tree.

      Her mother answered on the second ring.

      ‘Jess?’

      ‘Yes, Mum.’

      ‘Are you okay? Are you there yet?’

      ‘Yes, Mum, I’m almost there and I’m fine. Mr De Silva wasn’t a serial killer after all,’ she added, at which Ben shook his head at her. ‘He’s really quite nice,’ she added, and pulled a face at him.

      He smiled a crooked smile.

      ‘That’s a relief. A girl can’t be too careful, you know.’

      ‘Mr De Silva’s friend lives at a winery along this road. After I drop him off, I’ll head into Mudgee and book into a motel. Look, I’d better go. I’ll give you another call later tonight. Bye for now. Love you.’

      ‘Why didn’t you tell her you were staying at the winery?’ Ben asked as she gunned the engine and pulled out onto the road. ‘I thought you didn’t like lies.’

      ‘Don’t be silly, Ben. She’s my mother. All girls lie to their mothers. We do it to protect them from worry.’

      He laughed. ‘That’s a good one. But I suppose it would be a bit hard to explain.’

      ‘Very. Now, how far along this road is Valleyview Winery?’

      ‘Not too far now. I recognise that place over there. I’m sure it’s just along here on the left. Yes, there it is now.’ And he pointed high up to the left.

      Her