Kate Hewitt - Tempted By The Rock Star

‘Now to the falls,’ he said, and Aurelie followed him to a tin-roofed garage where he conferred with a young man who couldn’t be more than sixteen before leading her around to the back where a battered-looking Jeep awaited.

‘Your carriage, madam.’

She eyed it dubiously. ‘I don’t particularly relish breaking down in the middle of the jungle.’

‘Don’t worry, we’re not taking this into the jungle.’

‘Where, then?’

‘A car park about five kilometres from here. Then we walk.’

‘Walk? In the jungle?’

‘It’s worth it.’

‘It’d better be.’

Luke stowed their provisions in the bag, handed her a sun hat, and then swung into the driver’s seat. Aurelie could not keep her gaze from resting on his strong, browned forearms, the confident way he manoeuvred the rusty vehicle through the crowded streets of Mambajao and then out onto the open road, no more than a bumpy, rutted track.

The breeze was a balmy caress on her skin, the sun a benediction. In the distance the lush mountains—active volcanoes, Luke had told her—were dark, verdant humps against a hazy sky. Aurelie leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

When had she last felt this relaxed, this happy ?

It was too long ago to remember. Smiling, she let her thoughts drift as the sunlight washed over her.

‘We’re here.’

She opened her eyes and saw that Luke had pulled into a rectangle of gravel and dirt that was, apparently, a car park. Their Jeep was the only car.

She rubbed her eyes. ‘I must have dozed.’

‘Just a little.’ There was something intimate about the way he said it, and Aurelie imagined him watching her sleep. Had she rested her head on his shoulder? Had she drooled ? More blushing.

‘So where is here exactly?’

‘Well, nowhere, really.’ Luke slid out of the Jeep and reached for their basket. ‘But we can follow a path through the jungle to the Tuwasan Falls. It’s about a mile.’

‘A mile in the jungle?’ She glanced down at her leather sandals dubiously. ‘You should have told me we were enacting Survivor .’

He made a face. ‘Sorry. But it’s mostly wooden walkways, so I think you’ll be okay.’

‘If you say so.’

She followed him away from the car park and onto exactly what he’d said—a wooden walkway on stilts over the dense jungle floor. Within just a few metres of going down the walkway she felt the air close around her, hot, humid and dense. Birds chirped and cicadas chirrupped—at least she thought they were cicadas—and she could feel the jungle like a living, breathing entity all around her. A bright green lizard scampered across the walkway, and in the distance some animal—Aurelie had no idea what—gave a lonely, mournful cry.

‘Wow.’ She stopped, her hands resting on the cane railings, her heart thumping. ‘This is … intense.’

Luke glanced back at her. ‘You okay?’

‘Yes, I guess I just thought, you know, first date, maybe a movie?’

He smiled wryly. ‘I know you think I’m boring, but Jeez. A movie? I think I can do better than that.’

‘I don’t think you’re boring.’

‘You think I’m the human equivalent of vanilla ice cream.’

She gazed at him, the railings slick under her palms. Her heart was still thumping. ‘I do,’ she admitted quietly, and it felt like the most honest thing she’d ever said. ‘Completely trustworthy.’

Luke’s eyes darkened and the moment spun out between them, a thread of silence that bound them together, and tighter still. ‘Don’t speak too soon,’ he finally said, and turned away from her to walk further down the path.

‘You mean you’re not?’

‘I mean you don’t trust me yet, and why should you? It’s something I have to earn.’

Despite the damp heat all around them her mouth felt dry. She swallowed. ‘And you want to earn it?’

He glanced back at her, and his eyes were darker than ever. ‘Yes.’

Her mind spun with this revelation. She wanted to tell him that he’d already earned it, that she trusted him now, but somehow the words wouldn’t come.

They didn’t talk for a little while after that, because the wooden walkway became decidedly rickety, and then it stopped altogether at the bank of a rushing stream.

Aurelie raised her eyebrows. ‘What now, Tarzan?’

‘We cross it.’

‘Did I mention my leather sandals?’

‘You might have.’

‘And?’

‘I didn’t think you were the type to care about shoes.’

She wasn’t. ‘No, but I’m the type to care about getting my big toe eaten by a giant barracuda.’

He laughed then, a great big rumbling laugh that had a silly grin spreading wide across her face. She liked the sound of his laughter. ‘I don’t think there are any giant barracudas.’

‘No?’

‘Only medium-sized ones.’

She pursed her lips, hands firmly planted on her hips. ‘Is that your sense of humour appearing on this rare occasion?’

‘Oops, it darted away again.’ He stepped onto a flattish rock in the stream, the water flowing all around him, and stretched out his hand. ‘Come here.’

Cautiously she reached out and put her hand in his. His clasp was dry, warm and firm, and with his other hand on her arm he helped her onto the rock. Their hips bumped. Heat flared.

‘This is cosy,’ she murmured and he gave a tiny smile.

‘That’s the idea. Next rock.’

He stepped backwards onto another rock, sure and agile, and Aurelie followed him. She could hear the water rushing past them, felt the warm spray of it against her ankles. In the middle of the stream she looked down and saw a bright blue fish darting very near her toes. She slipped and Luke slid an arm around her waist, balanced her. Easily.

‘The secret is not to look down.’

‘Now you tell me.’

Another rock, and then another, and then they were on the other side. Luke smiled at her rather smugly, and Aurelie shook her head.

‘This is all a big lesson, isn’t it? How to Trust 101.’

‘Is it working?’

‘A little,’ she admitted. ‘What if I’d fallen?’

‘But you didn’t.’

‘But what if I had? What if you’d slipped?’

‘Me? Slip?’ He shook his head, then gazed at her, his head tilted to one side. ‘Do you think it would have ruined everything?’

Her lips curved. She liked being with this man. ‘Not everything. But after the lanzone …’

‘It was delicious.’

‘The second one.’

‘Exactly.’

He hadn’t let go of her hand, and now he led her alongside the stream, the ground soft and loamy beneath them. Aurelie found she quite liked the feel of his fingers threaded through hers. They walked along the bank, winding their way up through the dense foliage, until Luke stopped suddenly.

‘Close your eyes.’

More trust. ‘Okay.’ She closed her eyes and felt Luke tug on her hand. She took a step. Another.

‘Open them,’ he said softly, and she did. And gasped in wonder.

‘WOW.’

‘Definitely worth it, huh?’

She turned from the stunning view of the falls to Luke’s rather smug smile. ‘I wouldn’t say definitely. I think my sandals are ruined.’

‘Leather dries.’

‘It is amazing,’ she admitted and his smile widened. Not so smug, she decided. More like … satisfied. Happy .

‘Let’s find a place for a picnic.’ He tugged on her hand again and they picked their way along the rocks until they found a large flat one, warm from the sun and perfect for a picnic.

Aurelie stretched out on top of it as Luke unpacked their lunch, her gaze on the waterfall once more. It truly was a spectacular sight, a crystalline fountain flowing from the fern-covered rocks, falling in a sparkling stream to a tranquil pool fifty feet or more below.