All Saints: Love and Intrigue in the Stunning New Zealand Wilderness (The New Zealand Soccer Referee Series Book 1) (18 page)

The black
sand of the west coast never ceased to surprise me, no matter how many times I
saw it. Rich in iron ore it sparkled, retaining the heat of the sun and burning
exposed flesh with its glass like quality. Teina led me down through the main
street, packed with small shops and day trippers eating at small tables outside
cafes. The area hummed with the steady buzz of satisfied humanity, backed by
the lulling sound of the sea slapping against rocks in the harbour.

Teina clasped my hand in his and
we strolled with companionable ease, further cementing a bond which began with
lust but showed signs of progressing into something more permanent. His fingers
around mine felt right and a heavy sense of foreboding grew in my chest. It
couldn’t last. Nothing good happened to people like me. My heavy sigh drew
Teina’s attention and he slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.
“What’s wrong?”

I lifted my face and sought his
lips, pausing my footsteps while we kissed. “It feels too good to be true,” I
whispered, waiting for a family with buckets, spades and grizzling children to
pass on the narrow street. “I’ll go home and all this will be a distant
memory.”

I swallowed and cast my eyes
around, soaking up the essence of the moment, wanting it to sustain me with
sights and smells when the rug-puller yanked the carpet from under me and sent
my ass tumbling to the hard ground. Teina steered me to the left of a shop
doorway and pinned me to the wall with both hands either side of my shoulders.
“You’re a conundrum, Ms Saint,” he said, his voice for my ears only. “How can I
make it better?”

“You can’t.” The words came out
in a rush, tinged with bitterness. “I’m toxic, Teina. I ruin everything I
touch.”

He ran his finger down my cheek
and brushed the pad across my lips. “It can’t be that bad, Ursula.”

“It is.” I forced myself to
smile. “But I don’t want it to spoil today.”

Teina studied me through those
penetrating dark eyes and I felt my soul being laid bare. His lips twitched and
he leaned closer. “Promise you’ll come to me if you need help?” he asked and I
swallowed and nodded. We both felt the sharp edges of the lie as it spun out
into the sunshine with effortless grace; knowing I wouldn’t.

I closed my eyes to mask the
fear, suspecting the cops would be waiting for me when I got home. The laptop
would be sitting in an Auckland police station being examined by men who didn’t
know Pete, didn’t care about his privacy and fostered no desire to safeguard my
dignity. They’d bag it, tag it and drag it out in a court case once they’d got
to grips with the complicated spreadsheets. Terry would feel betrayed and
demand his money back as Pete’s homosexuality became common knowledge at the
club. I snorted out a jaded laugh and Teina’s brow knitted.

“What?”

I shook my head, regretting my
lapse of control. “I love my new car,” I said, biting my lip to stop the inner
pain. “But I’m certain I won’t get to keep it.” Even if Terry didn’t want it
back, the chances were it was part of pecuniary gains from illegal activities
and I’d lose it anyway.

Teina tutted and drew my face
into his shirt. “Then we’ll sort it,” he said, with confidence.

“You gonna be my chauffeur?” I
joked and he smiled.

“You’d have to admit to your
family that we’re in a relationship.”

I swallowed and uttered the
hardest words I’d ever said. “I don’t have a family.”

Teina winced as though I’d
slapped him and shook his head. “Don’t say that. Family’s all we come into this
life with.”

“I don’t want mine.” I gritted my
teeth. “Dad’s taken me for a fool and I’ll never speak to him again. They’ve
all stood by and watched me suffer and done nothing to help. I hate them.”

“No you don’t,” he said,
tightening his arm around my shoulders and steering me towards a cafe. He
didn’t let go until he’d planted my bum in a seat and shoved a menu under my
nose. “Eat something. You burned off breakfast on the pitch.”

“I didn’t eat breakfast.” I
pushed a finger around the menu choices, my appetite non-existent.

“I’ll order for you then,” Teina
replied, responding to the waitress with ready choices. She blushed pink at his
smile and I excused myself as a sense of threat sliced through the air, hiding
in the bathroom to avoid my own inadequacy.

Leaning on the sink, I stared at
myself in the mirror. Long, dark curls tumbled down my back, a fuzzy halo
hovering above where the wind had whipped it into a mess. My straighter fringe
dangled in front of eyes which looked sad and filled with foreboding beneath
their black lashes. I washed my face in cold water and patted down the loose
tendrils of hair, neatening my appearance and trying to match the strong,
graceful man who waited for his lunch and an unworthy companion. It dawned on
me that he’d referred to our union as a relationship and I’d missed the cue,
seeing only problems without solutions.

I sat at the table, glancing
around me with unease. Teina studied me with calm interest, breeding a greater
sense of panic in my heart. It couldn’t last; it was an illusion. Everything
about him seemed too good to be true. “We should go,” I said, casting my glance
towards the open door and shifting in my seat.

“No.” He placed his hand over
mine and kept it in place. “The food will be here in a minute and I need to
eat.”

I nodded and let his fingers
caress mine, wrestling with feelings of lust alternating with guilt. The vicar
at the local Anglican church taught about the sins which kept Jesus writhing on
a cross, greed, sex outside marriage and theft. There were others, but I
focussed on those of mine which he suffered for. I wanted to keep the car but
knew I would lose it. I wanted to go to bed with Teina and be able to blame
stale wine for my enjoyment of his body, but the truth was I didn’t need
alcohol to lose myself in him. I laid the issue of theft on my own shoulders. I
wasn’t involved with any gambling ring at the soccer club but the loan Terry
finished early made me a recipient of the proceeds by implication. I declared
myself guilty in God’s court and waited for the gavel to fall on my head.

The waitress brought two plates
of scrambled eggs to the table and I stared at mine. Teina leaned over and
sliced off a piece of toast with his cutlery, pressing it between my lips.
“Want me to feed ya?” he asked and I smirked.

“Idiot!” I picked up my cutlery
and ate the egg, scraping it away from the bread. “You have a food fetish,” I
commented, watching him tuck into his plate.

“Have to be,” he said. “I’m
diabetic. Insulin and regular meals. Best way to stay alive.”

“Oh.” I leaned forward and showed
an interest. “There’s a little boy at school with diabetes. My teacher aide
takes him to do his bloods before meals and I keep chocolate in my drawer for
him, just in case.” I jerked my head towards his hands. “I didn’t see you do your
bloods.”

Teina winked. “That’s because I’m
fast.” He pulled a pouch from his trouser pocket and laid it on the table. I
recognised it as a diabetes kit. “I’ve been doing it so long, it’s second
nature. I tested my bloods while you were in the bathroom and gave myself a
shot in my stomach.”

I glanced around the cafe at the
other diners, expecting covert, curious looks. Nobody looked in our direction.
“Didn’t they see you do it?” I leaned closer.

“Na. I turned towards the corner.
That’s why I sat here.” Teina poured us a glass of water each and I realised
the flaw made me warm to him even more. The attraction hung between us like a
fog and I slipped off my shoe and laid my bare foot over his crossed ankles
under the table.

I finished the egg and left the
toast, copying Teina and drinking the iced water instead of coffee. The day
moved along regardless of our temporary halt and when I pulled Teina’s hand
towards me to look at his watch, my eyes widened at realising three o’clock
approached.

“I haven’t seen the sea yet,” I
said, imagining the cool surf brushing over my toes.

“Let’s do it,” he replied and
stood, stuffing the dark pouch back into his pocket and retrieving his wallet.

I grabbed at his wrist as he
passed, feeling the strong tendons and sinews beneath my fingers. “I’ll pay you
back,” I said, my face communicating sincerity. “I promise.”

“No need.” Teina shook his head
and brushed his lips over mine. His sexy smile lit his face and left my stomach
pitching into my shoes as I fell even more under his spell.

The harbour bridge teemed with
people as day visitors and tourists left the black beach and headed back into
town to their vehicles. We walked against the flow, pausing to watch daring
teenagers clamber onto the railing in the centre of the bridge and dive off.
Their squeals and splashes added to the sense of excitement in the air.

Teina kept hold of my hand as we
walked along the beach, waiting while I slipped out of my tennis shoes and
knotted the laces. He laughed as I hung them around my neck to free up my
hands. “How long have you reffed?” I asked, dancing through the shallow waves
as Teina strolled along the dry sand in his polished shoes.

“About ten years,” he replied,
calling over the sea noises. “I started after I stopped playing.”

“You must have started young,” I
commented, bending to pick up a shell and frowning as my shoes bashed my knees
and dipped in the water.

“You think?” He chuckled to
himself and I rejoined him, trying to guess his age. His muscular frame seemed
deceptive and his wavy hair flipped into his eyes as he walked along, hands
stuffed into his pockets. I halted in front of him and stopped him walking,
pulling his left hand out of his pocket and placing the heart shaped shell into
his palm.

“How old are you?” Curiosity
showed in my face.

“Thirty-eight,” he answered and I
watched the shutters come down over his face. The age gap made him afraid but
for me it brought comfort. His steady, assured demeanor and the air of maturity
fit with the older man image and satisfied my need to be cosseted and nurtured.
I closed his fingers around the shell and lifted my face for a kiss.

“That’s so hot,” I breathed onto
his cheek. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer into my body and
offering reassurance in a curious role reversal.

His face smiled with relief and I
noticed the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. “It doesn’t put you off?”
he asked, sounding like a man who’d held his breath too long.

“Not at all.” I kissed him again,
pressing my tongue between his lips and feeling the sexual tension between us
heighten. “I like it. It explains why you’re so commanding on the pitch. You
must be an amazing lawyer.” I released him and took his right hand, stepping
along next to him.

His face showed confusion and he
seemed lost for words. “Right,” he said.

We walked for ages, Teina
watching me with amusement as I played in the sea and explored the tarry sand
with childish enjoyment. By the time we reached Ngarunui Beach, favoured by
surfers and boogie boarders, the sun was lessening its furious grip on the hot
sand and I could walk on the drier surface next to Teina. The beach looked
deserted apart from the die-hards and it felt peaceful and calm. A few brave
souls surfed the unpredictable waves with wind sails puffed out above them and
families gathered children and belongings and headed home. We sat with a dark
dune behind us and watched the tide creep towards us.

“Do you defend criminals?” My
voice wobbled beneath the weight of a gnawing fear. I watched the water
encroach and recede, wondering how much longer I had before life engulfed me
for real and washed me away on a white crest.

Teina turned towards me, kicking
sand over my feet with his movement. “Ursula, I don’t think you quite...”

I held up my hand, silencing him.
“It’s ok.” I released him from the rejection and knelt up, pressing my lips
over his. He met my kiss and used his arms to brace himself against the
pressure of my body. I pushed and he lifted his hands off the sand, laying
backwards and sighing as I covered him full length. His palms felt gritty on my
skin as he caressed my back and I straddled him, getting hotter and more
frantic as we kissed. My hands spread sandy sparkles through his dark hair and
I groaned as his roved inside my dress and fingered the outer edge of my
underwear.

“What you doin’?” The voice made
me jump and Teina’s body went still. I slid off sideways and Teina cleared his
throat and spread my skirt over his crotch, revealing my knickers to the small
child stood on top of the dune. I wrestled the fabric back out of his fingers
and he sat up using his stomach muscles and wrapped his arms around his knees.
I shielded my eyes and looked up at the little boy, fixing an appropriate smile
on my face.

“Hello.”

“My sister an’ her boyfriend’s
been doin’ that.” The child wiped his nose on his hand and pointed at Teina.
“Me dad’s just give ‘im a slap.”

“Oh.” I snorted and Teina shoved
my leg. “We’re going home now,” I said, hoping the child would get the hint and
leave. I rolled my eyes at Teina and his body rocked with silent laughter. I
stood up and sand coursed down my legs, feeling as though it had gotten
everywhere. I hauled Teina up whilst trying not to laugh and the small boy
watched us walk away.