‘Wait up, where are we going?’
He turned to her and grinned. ‘My place.’
‘Your place?’ Ellie stared at those beguiling brown eyes while her heart thudded loud and strong against her ribs. ‘I thought you lived here when you come to Melbourne.’
‘Nope. My place is down the coast a bit along the Great Ocean Road. Lorne has the best view in the world.’
‘But Lorne’s a couple of hours’ drive away.’
‘Less if the traffic’s light. It’s a clear night. What better way to dust off the cobwebs and get that adrenaline pumping?’
‘Hang on…’ A frisson of something like excitement inextricably bound with alarm zipped down her spine. ‘A motorbike was mentioned. You’re going to ride there?’
‘No, we’re going to ride there.’ When she just stared at him while that adrenaline geysered up and churned with her dinner, he smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Ellie. I’ve got two helmets and I don’t take risks.’
‘But it’s already nearly ten o’clock.’ She did not add that 10:00 p.m. was her routine bedtime. Although tonight she wasn’t anywhere near ready to sleep.
His eyes darkened and his voice deepened. ‘Guess that means we’ll be staying the night.’
STAYING the night. In Matt’s house. Just her and him and…Ellie’s pulse leapt. And…? And if she wanted, she could let herself go for once and give in to this attraction.
One night with Matt McGregor.
She steeled herself to hold his gaze and that now-familiar current of energy arced across the space between them, sparking flashes of anticipation along every nerve ending. ‘I’ll need to collect a few things on the way.’
His eyes twinkled with something like amusement. ‘I have a spare toothbrush.’
Her jaw firmed at the timely reminder. She just bet he did. Probably a whole box for all those unexpected female guests who slept over. She refused to let the doubt demons get to her. Tonight Ellie was going to be that guest, and tonight was all that mattered.
‘And an efficient underfloor heating system,’ he went on smoothly. ‘So you don’t need a thing.’
No, she didn’t imagine she did. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. ‘I hope the view’s worth it.’
His gaze flicked briefly to the cleavage she’d unwittingly created, then just as quickly back to her face. ‘Oh, it will be, I assure you.’
Her nipples tingled and tightened as heat spurted up her neck, bled into her cheeks. Were they talking about the same thing? She’d not participated in this kind of sexual innuendo in more than two years. Not since Heath…
‘Grab your jacket and I’ll meet you out front in a few minutes.’
She grabbed her backpack from the couch in the lounge room, her problems shoved to the back of her mind and a sense of anticipation rocketing through her as she slipped a cardigan over her sweater and dragged on her jacket before hurrying downstairs.
He’d changed and wore a black leather bomber jacket over his white T-shirt and jeans and was holding two helmets. The evening breeze slid through his spiked hair, giving it a reckless windswept edge. He looked more than a little bit dangerous.
Her heart skidded to a halt, then resumed at twice its speed. Beneath the canopy of inky sky with a whiff of motor oil in her nostrils and the throaty sound of the black-and-silver monster warming up beside him…well, it felt like some sort of illicit fantasy.
He must have transferred that recklessness to her. The spine-tingling prospect of freedom and being with Matt on that metallic beast as he whisked her away from reality…Just for tonight she wanted to forget everything and enjoy the ride—and it wasn’t only the bike she was thinking of.
As he settled the helmet on her head, helped her adjust it, she admitted, ‘I’ve never been game enough to ride on a motorbike.’
He climbed on, turned the key, patted the seat behind him. ‘It’s easy,’ he said over the noise. ‘Just hang on and let me do the rest.’
Still, perching herself behind him—
‘Closer,’ he ordered, voice muffled through the helmet as she wiggled into place. ‘Don’t be shy.’
Easy for you to say, your private parts aren’t touching mine. She did as he requested, scooting close. His body heat warmed her inner thighs through the double layer of denim, her hands slid around his waist and over the soft leather.
At first the ride jerked and twisted as they crossed the suburbs, stopping for traffic lights and accelerating away at what felt like breathtaking speed but probably wasn’t. But once they hit open road she relaxed, leaning into his sheltering body, revelling in the way the chill wind snuck under her visor and skimmed over her knees.
The cold was exhilarating, invigorating and a stunning contrast to his warmth all down the front of her body. The monotonous hum of the powerful machine vibrated through her bones, soothing her into a soporific state of well-being.
They stopped briefly near Geelong for hot coffee and cruised down Lorne’s main street soon after midnight. A moment later Matt extended one arm to the view at the top of a crest in the road where she saw white foam curling and crashing over worn rocks along the shoreline.
A short distance from the township Matt turned off the main road and followed a track through tall skinny eucalypts, coming to a stop in front of a sprawling dwelling cleverly camouflaged to blend with its surroundings. He parked beneath a wide verandah, switched off the ignition.
Ellie climbed off, removed her helmet. Salty air heavy with the fragrance of eucalyptus swept through her hair and filled her nostrils. After the noisy journey the sudden silence rang with the sounds of the bush. An animal scuttled through the undergrowth, the soft clack of higher branches as the wind buffeted treetops, all against the background sound of distant surf. A gibbous moon spangled the leaves with silver.
‘Here we are. Home sweet home.’
He produced a key and unlocked the front door, flipped a switch, illuminating dozens of downlights, giving the room a mellow ambience as she followed him in.
It had to be the most unique home she’d ever seen, all odd angles and glass and slabs of colour that blended with the natural environment outside. A ceiling that soared and dipped, invoking a feeling of space and movement. ‘No walls.’
‘Don’t need them.’
Her brows rose in surprise. ‘Not even the bathroom?’
He grinned. ‘The exception. Through here.’
Huge. With a spa big enough to need its own lifeguard, double shower, double vanity. It was another fantasy of glass, but private at the same time, and looked out onto a roomy columned courtyard of lush native flora accessed only through the bathroom.
‘Cyathea australis.’
‘If you say so.’ Matt grinned. ‘I prefer to call them tree ferns. It’s easier to say.’
‘You designed all this?’ she said, following him to the living space.
He nodded, removing his jacket, tossing it over a wide leather couch. ‘It’s flexible in that I can add modules to extend living space as required. This suits me fine as it is for now.’
Ellie stared at the expensive fittings, the flow of honeyed wooden flooring. ‘Not bad for a weekender.’
‘Not