Outback Thunder (10 page)

He inserted a
finger into her slick folds and worked her while he sucked. Zoe gripped her
hands in his hair trapping him between her thighs as she came groaning her
pleasure as her release shot through her body.

Leaning up on his
elbows he watched her come back to herself. She was panting and her breasts
heaved with each breath.

"Wow. That
was, um, really fantastic. I needed that." Zoe grinned at him before
sitting up and leaning into his face. She kept her gaze locked on his and ran
her tongue around his lips. "Hmmm, nice," she murmured before
plunging it into his mouth. Jonas grabbed her head between both of his hands
and held her tight. Her tongue was fresh and minty while his tasted of her
arousal. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, moaning low in her throat.

He found himself
pushed back onto the bed and Zoe straddled him.

"My
turn," she said, a wicked glint in her eye.

"If I
must," Jonas replied and lay back closing his eyes.

***

She had wanted
this for so long her insides were like jelly. Horny as hell but still a little
bit apprehensive about the idea of using him for sex until he left, Zoe
wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life. What if things went
wrong and she couldn't let go? To get emotionally involved would be tragic.
Being hurt by him again would be too much. Mentally shaking herself, Zoe
focused on the here and now.

Sex. That was all
it would be, plain and simple sex.

She leaned over
Jonas and smiled. "I don't want you to move, buddy. Not a single hair, got
it?"

His eyes narrowed
and Zoe could see the lust rising in his gaze. This had been one of their
favorite games. 'Don't move or I walk away.' Jonas nodded his head.

Zoe took hold of
both of his hands and lay them up above his head. His body was stretched out
beautifully showing off the mature man he had become.

Oh how she had
missed this body
.

She started at his
temple, soft kisses and licks to tease him while he lay beneath her. The only
movement she would allow would be the rise and uncontrollable jerking of his
cock.

She bit his top
lip, inflicting enough pain to make him pull back, licking it softly when the
sharp he drew in a sharp breath. Zoe pushed aside a twinge of guilt. She bit
him again, this time on the chin. Zoe grated her teeth over the short stubble,
the stiff hairs rasped on her tongue and sent small jolts of electricity
straight to her clit.

Jonas squirmed
under her when she ground her sex into him.

"Uh ha,"
she cautioned. She was rewarded with a smoldering glare. With what she hoped
was a seductive smile, Zoe grinned and lowered her lips to his throat.
Moistening her tongue, she ran it around his throat and up to his ear, circling
his lobe before sucking it into her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she
noticed his mouth pinched tight.

She smiled to
herself. They still knew how to push the right buttons for each other. Her
decision to have him for a sex friend was making more sense to her. Zoe stifled
a small giggle and slid down his body capturing his nipple in her mouth. His
cock was moving against her stomach leaving her wet and needy again. Holding
her breath she slid further down. She captured his cock in her hand, running
her thumb over the drop of moisture shining on the tip.

"Zoe, you're
killing me here."

"Suck it up,
boy. You had your chance, now it's my turn."

"You always
had to drag it out, didn't you?"

Zoe smiled at the
wanting in his voice. "Hmm, well I can and there is nothing you can do
about it now. Unless you want to forfeit, that is?"

"Not a
chance. Do your best, kid. Just please don't make it too long or I won't be
responsible for my actions."

"I'm sure you
are up for more than one tonight Jonas. Surely you haven't lost your staying
power that much."

"You'll find
out if you keep teasing me like this."

Zoe lowered her
head to his cock. Slowly at first she swirled her tongue around the tip,
nipping the edge of the soft skin. He groaned and thrust his hips up but she
pulled back and smacked her other hand on his hip.

"No."

She waited for him
to relax before lowering her head again. This time she took him deep into her
mouth and sighed with pleasure. She had missed their games. More importantly
she had missed him. If Zoe could make time go back she would change so many
things. The one thing she would never change was the relationship she had with
Jonas. Their sex games revitalized her after long days on the farm working in
the dust and the heat. It was a unique relationship she had found impossible to
replicate with anyone else.

She swirled her
tongue around and down his shaft and squeezed his sack in her hand. Jonas
thrust his hips, gently at first and when she drew him into her mouth deeper he
intensified his actions. Zoe ignored his groans coming and worked him until his
balls tightened under her grasp. He went still seconds before his cock spurted
warm salty fluid into her throat.

Zoe milked every
drop from him before she looked up. Jonas was watching her, a lazy smile on his
face.

"Well, I
guess we'll see how much go you have in you now." Zoe leaned back up over
him and rested herself on his chest with her face tucked into his neck.
Reaching up she tweaked his nipples watching them pucker up. "Have you
played our game with anyone else?"

She waited with
bated breath for him to answer. He ran his fingers down her arm before speaking
and her flesh tingled. Winding her fingers through his she brought them up to
look at. Zoe wanted to bring them to her lips but needed to hear the answer
first.

"No. That was
our special thing. Have you?"

"I couldn't.
It was something sacred for me." Ever so slowly she brought his hand to
her mouth and caressed it with her lips, kissing his knuckles in turn.

Then Zoe leaned up
and looked down at his erection twitching against his stomach. "Ready for
the next round I see."

Jonas flipped her
over on her stomach and stood up, pulling her to the edge of the bed. Parting
her legs he ran his finger over her slick sex. Zoe opened wider for him and
thrust her bottom up, the cool air and the thought of what was coming making
her twitch.

"God Zoe, you
are one special woman."

She sighed in
pleasure and waited for him to enter her. The sound of a drawer opening and the
rip of a tin foil packet reached her ears while she waited. His hands grasped
her hips and he plunged into her. Zoe pushed back against him, taking him all
the way in. He stilled for a moment and she relished the way he filled her.

It became a
joining of two souls. They moved with a dance of knowing what the other wanted
and needed. The ten years apart had not damped the sexual freedom they gave
each other. Zoe held back a sob of pleasure as Jonas increased his pace. She
leaned down and with one hand cupped his balls, squeezing gently.

They grew heavy in
her clasp and she let go when Jonas increased his pace. With her hands on the
bed in front of her, she pushed back against his thrusts, her climax building.
Zoe let the orgasm wash over her, clenching his cock with her muscles not
wanting to let him withdraw. Seconds later he stilled and groaned. Zoe wrapped
her body around him in a tight clasp, milking him of every last drop.

She leaned her
head on the bed, exhausted but elated now she had finally had decent sex. Jonas
pulled out of her and walked to the bathroom. She heard the flush of the toilet
before he came back and lay beside her.

"That was
good, Jonas. Thanks."

"Since when
have you thanked me for sex? It's not like I didn't enjoy it either, Zoe."

"Yeah but
it's different now. We're not a couple anymore."

"We were kids
then. We can work this out."

Zoe bolted upright
and slid her feet to the floor. She rummaged around in the bedding and threw
her clothes on the sheets looking for her underwear.

****

He lay back on the
bed and watched Zoe pull her clothes on. Every line of her body was neater and
trimmer than he remembered but it was as though they had never been apart. He
reached out and ran his palm down her hip and cupped her butt wondering if
another round was on the cards.

"Why don't
you stay with me the night?"

Zoe glanced at
him, a look of panic in her eyes. "Jonas, that isn't going to happen. This
was sex, you scratch my itch I'll scratch yours. I don't want any more than
that." She closed her eyes and sighed before looking at him again. "I
thought you wanted that too."

He sat up,
shocked. "When did I give you the idea that was what I wanted?"

"You never
wanted the things I did, even when we were younger. Why would that suddenly
change?" Her hand was at her throat.

"We were kids
and I wasn't ready for the whole kids and marriage scene. You knew that. I'm
talking now, what just happened here."

"You never
gave me the idea you wanted any more than sex."

"When did I
ever say otherwise?" He stood up and looked down at her, his good mood
darkening dangerously.

"Just forget
it. My mistake, your gain." She pulled the front of her shirt together and
stormed from the room slamming the door behind her.

Zoe reached her
room and shut the door, leaning against it. Her breathing had turned shallow
and she fought the panic threatening to surface
.

He thought I
was making up with him. The idiot. Why would he think that I would forget being
taken for a fool. It was sex, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.
Shame it would only be the once by the look of it.

Calmer now, Zoe
walked over, threw herself down on the bed and grabbed her pillow in a big hug.
She snuggled down and relaxed, the endorphins of her sexual encounter easing
the tension in her body from the last two days in the saddle. Closing her eyes,
she replayed the sex in her mind and fell asleep clinging to her pillow wishing
for things she could not have.

When she woke the
next morning it was to the noise of the kookaburras outside her bedroom window.
She rolled over and stretched ignoring that she was still in her sweatpants and
old shirt. Her body hummed with relaxed pleasure and she opted for a shower
before going for breakfast.

She stood under
the spray of water her fingers trailing over her body following the path of
Jonas's hands last night. It was a shame she had misunderstood him but the sex
was worth the grief she knew she was going to get from him.

 
Fancy thinking
she had forgiven him for treating her like that.

Ten years wasn't
long enough to burn the picture from her mind. On the other hand, if she could
convince him her idea of a relationship was the only possible thing for them
for the foreseeable future, she would be happy. At least that is what she was
trying to tell herself. No point in hoping for something long term because Jonas
was moving on anyway once the farm was going according to plan.

She toweled her
hair off and pulled it into a messy knot on top of her head and then pulled on
a clean pair of jeans and a work shirt before heading out to the kitchen.
Brandon was standing at the sink and Jonas was at the table, a cup of coffee in
one hand and the newspaper in front of him.

"Morning,
boys."

Jonas nodded in
her direction and went back to his newspaper and Brandon smiled shrugging his
shoulders. "Coffee kid?"

"Please. I need
some breakfast. Anyone else want toast?" She looked around.

"No
thanks," Jonas replied. He folded the paper, got up and put his cup in the
sink before walking out the door.

"What
happened last night? Anything I need to know about?" Brandon asked. He leaned
against the kitchen counter and watched her making toast.

"Nope not
unless you have something to share as well. Why?"

"Jonas seems
in a pissy mood today and you are super chirpy." He crossed his arms and
glanced at her, a frown on his face. "From memory, it means you two had
words and you came off best."

"Nothing
doing, Bran. I have nothing I want to share. Now what's on the agenda for
today?" Zoe took her coffee and toast to the table and sat down.

"We need to
clean up and sort out the cattle we brought in before the auction. I want to
see what's for sale anyway so that will take a couple of days. I think Jonas
has to go into the city for a meeting tomorrow. You can give us a hand to get
most of it done before he goes if you don't mind."

"Sure.
Dipping and tagging the calves while we are at it, I assume?"

"May as
well."

"Okay, give
me half an hour and I'll meet you out there." She grabbed the paper and
scanned the headlines while she ate her breakfast.

****

Jonas was in
Pete's office when he heard her voice. His gut tightened and he tried to ignore
the rich tone that sent a tremor though his body.

Sex friends.
Where the hell had she gotten that idea? He would never do that to her.
Sure he had been offhand since he picked her up from the airport but
hell, the woman was standing in a damp shirt showing off the most delightful
breasts he had ever had the pleasure of intimately knowing on a body made for
ogling. The first thing she did was snap at him demanding to know why he was
picking her up instead of her brother.

Now she wanted to
treat him like her own personal sex toy and he was just supposed to go along
with it.

Fuck that!

While he was
insane to turn her away, he wanted an arrangement on his terms and that didn't
include her leaving his bed once she had her fill. They were both more mature
now with careers behind them. None of it would have happened if Zoe had had her
way when they were kids. It would be all or nothing and he would do everything
in his power to get things his own way. She wasn't immune to him, and he knew
it.

Her voice reached
him.

"Who owns
that car and why is it in here?" Jonas could just imagine the way she was
standing when her voice was that tone, uppity and petulant.

"Jonas's, who
do you think?" Brandon replied.

"Oh for
fuck's sake, why would he bring that here? This is the bloody country for God's
sake. Not the place for a machine like this."

Jonas walked out
of the office and around the corner to the shed where he had parked his Porsche
Cayman 'S.' "Because I can, that's why."

"Aren't you
scared you might chip the paint, Jonas? I mean, there's a big difference
driving in the city to our roads out here."

"No." He
knew she was more pissed off because of where the car was, in their special
place, not the fact he had his town car on the farm.

"Well, why is
it here then? Not like it will get much use out here unless you enjoy showing
it off."

"I think you
know me better than that, Zoe. If you must have a reason for my actions it is
because I choose to drive myself to the city and back, the limousine service I
used to pick you up is on an as needs arise contract. No point owning a car
like this and never using it." He leaned against the wall of the shed and
stared at her. He could see in her eyes she was remembering this was their
favorite spot. The place where they spent a fair bit of their time, especially
at night when the farm was quiet. Time exploring each other's bodies just as
they had again last night. The sparks flew between them heating his blood
leaving a bitter sweet hole in his gut.

Jonas watched her
eyes going through a myriad of changes. She was cocky one minute then a glance
passed between them and she faltered. How did she manage to come across so sure
in the bedroom last night but out here seem like a skittered foal?

"Let's get
this job done." Zoe stormed away leaving Brandon and Jonas shaking their
heads.

"I suppose
you aren't going to share what that was all about then?" Brandon quirked
an eyebrow at him.

"Nope."
Jonas followed Zoe, determined that he too could play her game.

****

Zoe wiped her
hands over her face. The sweat was pouring down her cheeks and the breeze was
hotter than she had felt it in days. In her mind she was heading for the dam
once this day was finished. And she was taking a cold beer with her.

"Zoe, look
out!"

Too late Brandon
called out and she was hit from behind with the force of a rocket and sent
flying to the side of the coral. Pain burst like an exploding fire cracker in
her skull when she connected with the steel post and everything went black and
silent.

"Zoe, Zoe,
wake up."

It was impossible
to open her eyes. Pressure gripped her skull to the point of the breeze moving
over her hair was painful. The trickle of warmth running down the side of her
face and pooling in her ear before flowing down her neck notched up her
breathing and she
started to
hyperventilate. The smell reaching her nostrils was one of blood and she
shivered. She could stand blood anytime so long as it wasn't her own and the
smell was making her stomach heave.

A firm hand rolled
her over to her side and her morning coffee and toast was vomited onto the
ground. She struggled to breathe evenly and strong arms wrapped around her
body. The voices surrounding her argued over each other until a sharp order was
snapped out.

 Jonas
.

He was issuing
orders and directing the men while holding her safely in his arms.

When her retching
ceased, he pulled her close and stroked the hair from her forehead. "Just
keep calm Zoe. You're going to be okay."

***

The blood running
down her face scared him more than he would have imagined and he knew he was
being snappy with the sheer fright of seeing her like this.

"Brandon, go
and grab my car keys. We need to get her to hospital."

Jonas held her
gently in his arms while issuing orders for the stock to be released into
another paddock until he got Zoe out of danger.

The deep throttle
of his car sounded amongst the mooing of the cattle and the commotion of the
cowboys trying to follow his orders.

"Open the
passenger door and let the seat right back Bran."

He accepted a
clean bandage from Pete and pressed that to the gash on the side of Zoe's head,
holding it while the older man attached it with tape. When the gate was open
and the car ready, he lifted her as gently as he could in his arms.

"I'm taking
you to the hospital, honey." He held her tight as she tried to protest.
"You have a nasty cut and you went out like a light. The doctor will want
to see you for that alone. I don't want you moving too much, okay? The less you
make it bleed, the better for your stomach." He set her down on the plush
leather seats and reached for the seatbelt bringing it across her chest and
snapping the buckle in.

Brandon leant down
and put his hand on his sisters arm. "Take it easy, Zoe bird and do what
you're told. No answering back to the doctors, okay?"

He stood and
turned to Jonas. "Call me as soon as you can."

"You make
sure you call ahead so they will be expecting us."

Jonas shut the
door. Hurrying round to the driver's side, he slid in the seat. Without another
word, he floored it and the car shot off down the metal driveway leaving a
trail of dust behind them. The drive into the tiny town hospital was fast and
fraught with tension. Zoe whimpered as the wheels of the car found every rut in
the dirt country road.

Jonas wiped the
sweat from his forehead. A quick glance at Zoe showed how pale she was. Whether
that was shock, pain or blood loss he couldn't be sure but it made him sick to
the stomach that she had been hurt and he hadn't been able to do anything to
stop it.

She had her back
to the stock when a young steer had decided to bolt to the other side of the
stock yard and she just happened to be in the way. It could have happened to
anyone but to see her flying through the air head first into the steel barrier
had taken his breath away.

Jonas finally hit
paved road and put his foot down even harder. The high performance car leapt
forward and hugged the tarmac.

"Don't kill
ush
,"
Zoe said, her voice slurred.

Jonas looked over
and sucked in a breath. The blood was flowing freely down her face and the
front of her work shirt was soaked. He was concerned about the pallor of her
skin and ignored her plea to slow down.

"Tell me if
you want to throw up again. I'll pull over."

Zoe tried to grin
but failed and the gesture ended on a sob. "
Shorry
, so sore."

"Don't talk.
I've got you covered, honey. We'll be there soon."

Jonas breathed a
sigh of relief when the small town came into view. "Here we go, Zoe,
nearly there," he said when he drove through the hospital gates.

He squealed to a
park outside the emergency department and raced around to her side of the car.
Lifting her from the seat, he turned to carry her inside kicking the door shut
with his boot. As he walked through the door he was relieved to see the waiting
room empty and a nurse hurried toward him.

"Mr. Ward, I
was expecting you bring her in here."

He followed the
nurse into the treatment room and laid Zoe on the bed. The nurse twigged
something in his mind but now was not the time nor the place to think.

"Doctor will be
here in just a second." She pulled the curtain and left them alone.

He held Zoe's hand
standing beside the bed ready to go on the hunt for the doctor if he didn't
materialize shortly.

“
Shtop
stressing," Zoe slurred squeezing his fingers.

"No. You know
how I hate seeing you hurt. I'll just go—"

The curtain parted
before Jonas could leave to find help and an elderly gentlemen in a white coat
with a stethoscope around his neck came into the room.

"Well well,
what do we have here? Zoe Walters I assume. I haven't seen you for a few years,
my girl and you appear to have grown up very nicely." The doctor pushed
Jonas to one side and took her wrist in his hand. "Been fighting with your
brother again or is this a little bit more serious?"