Outback Thunder (3 page)

"Thanks."
She reached out to take her bags. "I was just coming to get them."

Jonas walked past
her, through the gate and into the house, a small smile playing over his lips.

She gritted her
teeth and followed him. Plastering a smile on her face, Zoe followed him.
"Thanks, Jonas, I appreciate the lift home. I don't want to keep you from
anything so I'll say goodbye now." Zoe held her hand out and waited for
him to take it.

Brandon coughed
and looked away.

"You haven't
told her yet have you, Bran?" Jonas looked at him, hands on hips as he
stood between brother and sister.

"Um, no, I
never got that far actually. Why don't you do the honors?"

Zoe stepped back,
her butt banging into the kitchen bench. She leaned back and gripped the edge
of the counter with her hands, dreading where this was going. At the same time
her pussy was clenching dangerously and her naughty girl voice was screaming
with joy in her head.

Jonas dropped the
cases and turned to her, that knowing smile of his almost doing her in. "I
live here."

"Why? What's
wrong with living in the city like you usually do and commuting? Seriously, I
don't mind if you don't adhere to the rules you put in place for me and Bran.
You could easily bunk out with the guys in the sheds, you know if you have to
stay here. I'm sure there is plenty of room for you."

"I love it
here. Always have as well you know, Zoe." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"How do you know where I spend my time anyway? Stalking me, are you?"

"No bloody
way!" She crossed her arms and pointedly looked at her brother standing
behind Jonas with a big grin on his face. "Thanks for the heads up,
bro." Putting on her best nonchalant pose, she continued. "Actually,
Jonas, I read the papers, especially the Sydney Morning Herald. It's how I keep
in touch with what is happening in Australia while I'm overseas. It's hardly my
fault if you always seem to be squiring some starlet around town and make the
news hounds happy, is it?"

"You say that
as if it mattered to you, Zoe."

"Hardly. What
you do stopped being important the day I found you in the hay with that little
slut."

"It might
been to your benefit if you'd actually let me explain what happened. But it was
easier to run wasn't it, than to get the story right?" Jonas's eyes were
dark and stormy.

"Okay, enough
you two," Brandon said stepping in between them. "Look guys, if we're
going to pull this company up and improve it, we have to let personal issues
slide."

****

Jonas pursed his
lips and nodded his head. "You're right Bran. It's been years and we were
stupid kids in love with love so I really don't see the validity of that
statement now, Zoe." He took a deep breath and looked over at her. Zoe was
no longer the plump little tomboy he'd fallen in love with. She was lithe and
supple, her cheeks now defined where once they’d full. He admired the muscles
in her arms, not over the top but a subtle show of strength. Years of being a
personal trainer and then the owner of a chain of gyms had been kind to her
body. The geeky little tomboy had turned into the svelte swan he never would
have imagined.

She had paled and
was holding her arms across her stomach. She still had the ability to make him
want her. That hadn't changed in the years that she had been away.

"So, maybe we
need to set a couple of ground rules then if we are all going to be living
together. What do you think, Zoe?"

"Um, yeah I
guess so." She looked over Jonas's shoulder to her brother.

"Okay by
me," Brandon said.

"Alright
then," Jonas said. "For starters, the past is just that, past. If I
can let it go, so can you. Also my private life is my own."

"Fair enough.
Goes for me too then," Zoe agreed.

"Bran?"
Jonas turned to him.

"Sure, as if
I care anyway. It was always the two of you who were lusting after each other,
no one else."

He ducked when
Jonas playfully swiped him on the shoulder.

"So, which is
your room, Jonas?" Zoe looked at him with wide eyes.

"The guest
room. No one has touched your folk's room, if that was what is worrying
you."

"Thanks."
She bowed her head but not before he saw the pain in her eyes and the unshed
tears.

"I'll just
take your suitcases to your old room. Then I have to go and see the boys about
getting the muster roster sorted. See you out there, Bran." He picked the
bags up and walked down the hallway, leaving brother and sister together. Jonas
listened to Brandon talking to Zoe in a calm voice, no doubt soothing her
ruffled feathers. It had never taken much to get her going, even as a kid.
Little-Miss-Fly-Off-the-Handle-Zoe.

He dropped her
cases inside the door. The room hadn't been touched since Zoe had fled after
their break up. Jonas gazed around the room. The feminine bedspread was the
same one she had as a teen. Patchwork print squares in pink and green. Not
frilly but certainly girly enough. He gazed at the French doors that opened
onto the veranda where she used to sneak out at night to meet him. It didn't
look that was on the cards again the way she was firing up being around him.
But by the same token, he knew her body reacted to his when he picked her up.
There might be a chance yet he could win her over. He would give himself until
his move back to the city to woo her and if he didn't then he would have to let
go of his childish dream of a reconciliation.

Certainly the
pulsing in his cock let him know his body wanted that to happen. He shook his
head and left the room. Walking past Zoe in the kitchen he nodded his head at
Brandon and went down the back steps.

"Right with
you, Jonas."

Brandon caught up
with him before he swung open the gate. They walked together down to the farm
manager's office.

"Pete, how's
it going?" Jonas sat on the edge of the desk and looked over the farm
manager’s shoulder.

"Good as, I
reckon. I just want a minute to get this finished." He tapped away on the
keyboard and then leaned back with a sigh. "Done. The roster for
mustering. Let me print you a copy."

He touched a
couple of keys and waited for the machine to spit out the roster. Taking it
from the printer he held it out to Jonas.

"Thanks."
Brandon leaned over his shoulder and cast a glance over the names.

"Uh, you
missed Zoe, Pete. She arrived home today. I brought her back with the new
chopper."

"Are you
sure, Jonas? You don't want to give her time to settle back into it? It's been
ten years since that one's been on a horse, out here at any rate. Um, looking
at her when she came back for the funeral, I don't know if she would be happy
working with you guys anymore. Bit more of a lady, hey with her painted
fingernails and done up hair."

"She's a
partner the same as me and Bran. She has to pull her weight too." He
thrust the sheet back at Pete. "Adjust it and print out copies for
everyone and I'll make sure she gets hers. Can't have her sleeping in on her
first day."

With that he
turned on his heel and walked outside.
Damned if I'll let her laze around
the house playing ladies. She needs to get back to her roots and do the things
we used to enjoy doing together, pretty make up or not.

Jonas headed for
the stables with Brandon shadowing just like when they were kids. "Let's
make sure all the horses are up to scratch. Is Zoe's horse still around, the
one she had before she left?"

"Yeah, old
Midnight is still full of beans too. He will be fine for mustering."
Brandon stopped at Midnight’s stall and stroked his hand over the horse’s nose.
"I hope you're prepared for some fire from her, Jonas. You know she is
going to spit when you tell her that she has to go out tomorrow with the rest
of us."

"She'll be
fine, Bran, you worry too much. She's a country girl at heart and we both know
it. If it wasn't for my fuck up and her stubborn pride she never would have
left."

"Your head,
my friend."

Brandon opened the
stall and walked in, his hand on the dark horse. Sliding his hand down the rear
flank, he picked up the back hoof and checked it. "Shoes are fine. He
should be okay once she gets back on him. The boys have been keeping him fit
but he's always been a handful for anyone but Zoe."

"A good run
out with the others will calm him soon enough," Jonas said.
Let's hope
the same can be said for your sister.

Zoe smiled and
turned toward Jonas. She sighed and lifted her breasts up toward him, her
nipples budding up with anticipation. Running her hand down her body, she
slipped her fingers under the elastic of her pajama bottoms. She groaned when
her fingertips found the damp heat pooling between her thighs. She clenched her
legs together trapping her hand while she pleasured herself waiting for Jonas
to touch her.

He shook her
shoulder. "Zoe, wake up damn it. You've slept in."

Her eyes shot open
and she looked around the room. She was in her own bed alone and Jonas was
standing above her, fully clothed. She withdrew her hand from her pajamas and
groaned. Luckily her blanket covered her waist but the movement was duly noted
if the look in his eyes was anything to go by.

"Fuck off,
Jonas." She grabbed the blankets to her chest and rolled over.

"You have
five seconds before I pull the covers off you Zoe. Work today, remember?"

She wanted privacy
to finish the job she'd started in her sleep. Her clit was throbbing and she
was so close to pulling him down and ripping his clothes off. Her body was
shaking, bare seconds away from release. Her climaxes were few and far between
and she wanted to finish this one.

"One, two,
three, four—"

She groaned and
threw back the covers before rolling out of bed the opposite side to where
Jonas was standing. "Happy now?"

"When you get
your butt in the saddle I will be. You have ten minutes before briefing. Make
sure you're there. It won't look good if the boss is slacking off in bed
enjoying herself while the workers get the job done, will it. Oh and excuse the
pun." He stood looking down at her with a smart grin on his face.

"Get
out," she screamed with frustration

His footsteps
faded away and then her bedroom door slammed. Her shoulders slumped.

 He had seen
her playing with herself. Fuck how bad was that?
Should she finish the job in the shower or would that be pushing her luck. Damn
it, she had time and didn't need to spend the rest of the day in the saddle so
horny with each movement threatening to send her off the edge. Zoe quickly went
to her bathroom and stripped off.

***

She grabbed her
old hat from the hook at the backdoor, an apple from the bowl on the kitchen
bench and ran down the back steps. The men were milling around the barn in a
group when she arrived. Greeting them and swapping pats on the back, she made
contact with old friends. After a few minutes of 'my how you've grown up Zoe,'
and 'looking hot,' comments, Jonas snapped.

"If you have
quite finished with the meet and greet, perhaps we can get on with it. Everyone
has been waiting for you, Zoe." Jonas stared at her.

"Sure, knock
yourself out, Jonas." She smiled at the snorts of laughter that met her
comment.

"Okay, this
is the first year we’ll be mustering with a helicopter. That in itself will
give us a bit of grief until we all get used to a different way of
working." Jonas looked around and nodded when murmurs of agreement met his
announcement. "To make things easier we will be working in teams and each
team will have a radio so I can keep in contact with them. Pete has a list of
the guys and who is to lead that team. I’ll be in the air doing the search and
spot." He paused for breath. "This year the mustering should be
easier on all of you. I'm going out shortly with Bran to do a quick recon of
the area so you have an idea of where you are headed tomorrow. I need all of
you to make sure your gear and bedding is ready for you to start out. Any last
minute things need to be dealt with today." His gaze found Zoe's. "If
I hear any weak excuses for not being ready to ride tomorrow, you're fired,
understand?"

A few of the guys
nodded their heads and a couple of the older hands laughed good- naturedly. Zoe
shook her head. The guy was being an ass already and it was her first day back
on the job.

"So, Jonas.
Are you going to be checking that we have our girth straps done up tight and
our teeth brushed as well?"

The men sniggered
as he glared at her. "If that is what you want Zoe, I will. What we are
doing is making sure everyone is safe, not something I call trivial. This is a
dangerous country and we’ll be away from home for days at a time. Forgive me if
you think that I'm overdoing it."

The heat ran up
Zoe's face and she dropped her head.