Wild Nights with her Wicked Boss. Nicola Marsh

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СКАЧАТЬ she’d always loved nature, had thrived on school excursions to the Outback, to the Blue Mountains, her love of cold weather flourishing when her class had camped near the foot of Mount Kosciusko.

      She’d begged her parents to take her camping after that. Predictably, they’d turned up their noses and chosen a first-class trip to a six-star spa resort in Thailand instead.

      So she’d become smarter then, researching her favourite cold spots around the world—Val d’Isère in France, Queenstown in New Zealand, Sahoro in Japan—and pointing out the luxury accommodation and spa treatments to ensure her parents would visit. While they’d sunk cocktails in the bar and been smothered in caviar facials, she’d explored on her own, following trails off the beaten track, collecting local flora, revelling in the sub-zero temperatures.

      She’d loved every second of those trips and now she had a chance to follow a secret passion: a true love of the outdoors. No way would she allow a last-minute attack of nerves to stop her.

      Reaching the guys, she smiled and held out her hand.

      ‘Jade Beacham.’

      The taller guy shook her hand firmly. ‘Pleased to meet you. I’m Jack Summer and this oaf is Cody Winter.’

      Cody, shorter, rounder and shaggier—he reminded her of a giant teddy—elbowed his colleague and sent her a warm grin. ‘Don’t mind him. He lives in the wild most of the time.’

      She laughed. ‘Summer and Winter?’

      The guys chortled. ‘Strange, but true. Gets a laugh out of the tourists.’

      ‘I bet.’

      Jack cupped his ear. ‘Is that an Aussie accent I hear? You from Down Under?’

      ‘Sydney.’

      She loved the buzz of the Harbour city: the vibe, the excitement, the eclectic mix of people and restaurants and shops. Sydney never slept, the perfect party town for a party princess. Who had flung off her crown, kicked off her glass slippers and left her Prince Charming to turn back into the toad he was.

      ‘Did you go to the Olympics? That would’ve been awesome!’

      She shook her head, remembering the prissy party she’d attended with her folks instead. She’d been mad keen to attend the opening ceremony, but her folks had been invited to Dubai for the launch of some new hotel so they’d flown there, followed by a whirlwind visit to London and a stopover in Paris for a soirée on the way home.

      She’d missed the whole Olympics but in typical Beacham fashion, Daddy had taken her to the next Olympics in Athens, flying first-class all the way.

      ‘No, I missed out. Watched it on TV though.’

      She could see Cody, the more perceptive of the two, noted her discomfort.

      ‘Don’t worry, Aussie girl. Where we’re going you’ll see more sport than you could ever wish for.’

      ‘Really?’

      The image of fierce lumberjacks in checked jackets sprang to mind though, apart from fishing, she didn’t think Alaska had much sport.

      Jack rolled his eyes. ‘You ain’t seen nothing ‘til you’ve seen the way the tourists pour off the cruise ships, trample through the bush, jostle each other for the best position in the bus or canoe, then push and shove their way towards the food at the end of a tour. A medal-winning performance to the last person standing.’

      She laughed, relieved the boys had a sense of humour. It would make the next six months a lot easier if they didn’t resent the newbie and concentrated on making her laugh instead.

      ‘Hey, boss, come to wish us bon voyage?’

      Jack’s question came from left field as a strange prickling awareness raised the hairs on the nape of her neck.

      Someone stood close behind her. Too close. She didn’t need to turn to know who it was: her flip-flopping belly was a great recognition device.

      ‘No bon voyage. This time I’m coming along to keep an eye on you.’

       Oh, no…

      Not wanting to appear rude, she turned, sent him a curt nod in greeting.

      Rhys Cartwright had lost the suit; unfortunately, faded denim jeans highlighted lean legs, the bottle-green polo shirt increasing the impressive breadth of his shoulders. Yep, definitely a superhero bod. And now he was coming with them? No way.

      ‘That’s great, boss.’ Cody extended a hand.

       Yeah, real great.

      ‘Cool.’ Jack shook his hand too as she surreptitiously cleared her throat, trying to ease the sudden constriction at the thought of Rhys accompanying them.

      While the boys busied themselves with the luggage and equipment, Rhys leaned closer, invading her personal space with his own special brand of ka-pow.

      ‘Needless to say, I’ll be watching you too.’

      His ice-blue eyes pinned her with their brilliance as she suppressed a shudder of anticipation. Must be her eagerness to learn from him. Yeah, that was why her tummy tumbled and her palms grew clammy at the thought of spending six long months in the wilderness with her new boss. Her story and she was sticking to it.

      ‘You don’t have to worry. I’ll do my best.’

      And she fully intended to. She had no intention of botching this opportunity and ending up with her dreams in tatters. Or, worse, having to return to Sydney embarrassed.

      ‘All very well and good, but is your best going to be good enough?’

      His low voice might have been laced with amusement, but his wary stare hadn’t eased. If anything, he was studying her with a strange intentness that raised goose bumps of foreboding.

      It was almost as if he expected her to fail, as if he knew she had no real qualifications and had crammed that first-aid course over the last month to add to her CV so it wouldn’t be a total blank.

      She knew she could do this. She’d grown up around people from all walks of life, had socialised from the time she could talk, so how hard could it be leading a bunch of tourists around?

      ‘You may be used to batting those long eyelashes to get what you want back home, Princess, but it isn’t going to cut it where we’re headed.’

      Shock warred with indignation as she clamped her lips shut to stop her mouth from dropping open.

      Princess? Implying she flirted her way through any situation? Where the hell did this guy get off?

      As a host of indignant retorts pinged from her brain to her mouth, she caught the challenging gleam in his eyes, the smug expression.

      He wanted her to bite back, wanted to rile her so she’d retaliate. Why? So he could fire her before she’d really started? Or was this more of the same warped game he’d started during that bizarre interview?

      Whatever, СКАЧАТЬ