Summer Down Under Read Online Free PDF Page B

looked over at her travel clock to see
what the time was and wondered who would have the audacity to be
waking her up at 5 a.m.
    She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, threw her
robe over her shoulders, and walked to the door tying it as she
did, all the while muttering something that was best not repeated
in polite society. “The building better be on fire,” she grouched
as she approached the door, then called, “Who is it?”
    “It’s me,” the voice on the other side
replied.
    Her eyes widened and she looked down at
herself. Her robe was paper thin and she had nothing on underneath.
It certainly wouldn’t leave a lot to the imagination. There was no
way she could let him see her like that.
    Having to find things that would not take up
much space in her backpack, she had chosen a thin cotton robe,
intending to wear it over her pajamas in the hostels, but didn’t
need to sleep in anything in her hotel room; she was completely
alone, until now.
    “Just a minute,” she croaked.
    Sam scurried around until she found some
clothes and threw them on. Then she ran to the bathroom, quickly
smoothed down her hair, squeezed a dollop of toothpaste on her
finger and rubbed it over her teeth. She collected her composure
and headed towards the door again.
    Taking hold of the door handle, she took a
deep breath and opened it. A beaming smile greeted her from the
other side.
    “Do you make it a habit of turning up out of
the blue at five o’clock in the morning?” she asked, voice tinged
with irritability.
    “Only for someone special,” Daniel replied,
grinning at her with that beautiful smile, completely nonplussed by
her rather snotty welcome.
    Part of her melted; it was an affect he had
on her that was completely beyond her control and it alarmed her at
the ease with which she now just accepted this fact.
    “So, would you care to tell me what you are
doing here?” The irritable tone still audible in her voice. “I
thought you were going home today.”
    “I put it off for a day. There is something I
have to show you and we don’t have much time.”
    He grabbed her hand and all but yanked her
out of the room. Sam squealed and just managed to grab her bag
before the door closed behind her.
    “Where are you taking me?” she asked when
they were standing next to the motorbike he had rescued her on the
previous day. He got on, started it up and flipped up the
kickstand, completely ignoring the question.
    “Well, don’t just stand there. Get on,” he
said. “You’ll see when we get there.”
    Much to Sam’s surprise, she did as he asked
without hesitation, resuming the familiar position with her arms
holding tightly around the handsome Aussie’s waist. He pulled back
on the throttle and they sped off into the cool morning air.
    The streets were empty. No one was around at
that time in the morning, and a stillness hung in the air. It was
lovely and cool, a prelude for the muggy heat that would envelop
the island by midday.
    “You are going to love this,” she heard him
shout over his shoulder. “I promise you will never forget this
morning.”
    Well, that was for certain, Sam thought as
they went zooming down the road with her arms wrapped around his
waist. Breathing in his spicy scent at five in the morning was not
something she was likely to forget in a hurry. She was still trying
to get over the previous day.
    They rode for about half an hour before
pulling up in front of another beach. Although it was dark, Sam
could tell they were at the beach because she could hear the soft
lapping of the waves against the shore and smell the salty tang of
sea air, a smell she now loved.
    They stepped off the bike and, no sooner had
her feet touched the ground, her hand was scooped up again and
Daniel began dragging her down a narrow pathway. It was lined by
shadowy palm trees that loomed up on either side and crickets were
still singing their frenzied aria.
    “Hold on,” she complained. “I’m going to
trip, I can’t see