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  light, yet sultry or was that just the natural scent of this woman? He was looking

  forward to finding out.

  “What do you know about Flo and Jo?” Evan fell in step beside her.

  “Why are you following me?”

  “I’m walking beside you. A gentleman escorts a lady.” He liked how her eyebrow

  arched at that.

  “Uh-huh.” She glanced at him. “As for Flo and Jo? They’re a couple running a

  hotel. From their emails they seem nice.”

  “They’re gay.”

  “Well, so are you, but I don’t hold that against you.”

  Cass smiled as she passed by the man who stopped dead in his tracks at her

  words. Good. Smart ass. As for Flo and Jo? It was no business of hers what or who

  they were. They were people and employers. Part of her did understand why Evan

  told her. She might have been a prude. But she wasn’t. As for Evan being gay? She

  strongly doubted it but it was fun to say it.

  “Cass.”

  “Yes, Evan?” She asked as she passed by shop fronts that looked like they hadn’t

  changed in decades. Butcher. Tailor. General store. Hardware. Post office. She was

  waiting to see a Blacksmith. Cass smiled when she did. Two horses and one cow

  stood patiently tied up out the front on one shop. A cow?

  He caught up with her. “I’m not gay.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Sure. If you say so then I believe it.”

  “Are you still upset about the heifer thing?”

  She glanced at him. Tall, dark and handsome. Down girl. “As if, I as a woman,

  would hold that against you for the rest of your life and remind you of it—much.”

  Actually, Cass was over it but it was a bonus to play with his mind.

  McNally’s Hotel came into view. “Wow.” She stopped in her tracks when she

  saw the sign. “This is beautiful.” Gleaming creamy timber, heritage green lacework

  and rust red gutters and downpipes gave the century old hotel a grandeur that she

  hadn’t expected to see. Clearly the owners took pride in what they had and looked

  after it. As Cass climbed the four well-worn, but gleaming oak stairs leading to the

  entrance, she knew inside would be just as well maintained as the outer facade.

  “Flo and Jo have done a lot of work to restore it.” Evan caught up to her and

  stood at her side on the landing.

  “I know you’re not gay.” She turned to face him and patted his cheek. Cass felt

  the bristles under her palm. Raw, rough man. Shame I’m over them. “You’re not good

  looking or sensitive enough to be so.”

  The door opened before Evan could speak and two ladies appeared. One had very

  short pink hair and the other’s was jet black and hanging down her back. If Cass had

  to guess their ages, she would have said mid-fifties.

  “Evan Bates, you look stunned,” replied the one with pink hair.

  “I told him he wasn’t handsome or caring enough to be gay,” Cass said, holding

  out her hand and introducing herself. “I’m Cass Kelly.”

  Both ladies burst out laughing. “I like you already.” The pink haired lady took

  Cass’s hand. “I’m Flo Kinneally and this is my partner Jo Dowd.”

  Jo turned to Evan. “This one may be a harder nut to crack, young Evan.”

  “Nothing to crack here, ladies.” Cass held up her hands. “I’ve sworn off men.”

  “Us, too,” replied Jo with amusement dancing in her eyes.

  Chapter Three

  “Evan’s quite the ladies man,” Flo said handing Cass another cup of tea.

  Cass wasn’t a tea drinker but she took the fine bone china cup and saucer from

  her hostess, knowing she would hunt down coffee later. It had been a long day what

  with flights, chooks, hot men and now dainty cups of tea. “I can see that. He’s very

  sexy and confident. But I’m over dealing with that type.” She reached for an oatmeal

  cookie from the plate before her.

  “You were in a bad relationship?”

  She told them about Wade. It was good to let it out of her system. She’d been

  bottling it up for too long. Mundabucka was a fresh start and the past need to be that.

  Jo clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up with merriment. “Oh, my God! You’re

  the ‘eat dirt and die’ girl from the Cairns Post. We loved that advertisement.”

  Cass shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t surprised they had seen it. The Cairns

  Post would be the nearest big city paper in the region. “I was a tad drunk. I don’t

  regret it. I just had to say it to move on.” She had received a very short, sharp text

  message from Wade indicating she was ‘being childish.’ She responded to that with a

  smiley face with its tongue stuck out. She had considered photographing her mooning

  him but he lost the privilege of looking at her ass.

  “Well, it was a great piece of writing.” Flo and Jo smiled at her.

  They were nice. Despite her first thoughts at the salubrious Mundabucka

  International Airport, Cass was glad she was there. Like minded souls made life

  easier. “Thank you but I’ve decided no more men—not that I’m about to er—” She

  hesitated, not wanting to sound rude or offensive to these two women.

  “Bat for the other team?” Jo suggested.

  Cass shrugged. Exactly. Everyone had their personal preferences and she knew

  where she stood. She liked dick. Problem was dick could not always be trusted. “Well

  yeah. I just want some peace and quiet.

  “You’ll get it here. Mostly we get folks following the Gray nomad call, bus loads

  of Chinese tourists looking for an outback adventure, Yankees looking for Crocodile

  Dundee and fly in, fly out mine workers. Then we have Adele who works part-time at

  the Hotel as a cleaner. Her family is quite rich in these parts,” Flo explained, taking a

  sip of her tea.

  “Let me guess. She’s working for experience? To see how the other half lives

  before marrying a wealthy grazier.”

  Jo smiled. “Something like that. Problem is there are no available rich, young

  men out here that she deems suitable.”

  “Ah, she’s snotty then.” Cass has met her type before. She wanted the wealth but

  needed a man she could carry around like an expensive, good looking handbag.

  Flo nodded. “Exactly. So she works here to make her Daddy happy. He’s a

  throwback to a generation where women learned to cook and clean to look after their

  man. Unfortunately, Adele is not great at either.”

  “She goes out with Murdo, our cook,” explained Jo.

  “Murdo?” What sort of name was that?

  “He’s Evan’s cousin. He’s a great cook but he can be temperamental and wild.”

  “Like all good cooks,” mused Cass, thinking about one chef she worked with at a

  temp job. He yelled and swore and after a shift could often be found naked fondling

  sides of beef in the cold room. The first time, it had surprised Cass. After that, she just

  took the money and never ate the beef on her meal breaks. “So this Adele chick likes

  a bit of rough?” She’d met her type before. Wade had got himself engaged to her

  like.

  “Yes, let’s just say there’s going to be a lot of whispering when she undoubtedly

  marries.” Jo winked at Cass. “She’s been around.”

  “And around and around. Basically she’s a slut,” added Flo. “They’re a weir
d

  couple but love is blind.”

  Jo snorted. “And deaf, dumb and stupid. They yell and shout at each other all the

  time. His side of the family emigrated from Scotland and Adele’s Italian. It can get

  pretty messy when they’re going at each other.”

  “I’ll steer clear of them then.”

  “We’ll also make sure Murdo knows your chooks are pets.”

  “Good point, Flo. There was the issue with Mabel the goat and old Mrs. Grainger

  never got over her pet being made into a slow cooked curry.”

  “Mabel was delicious though,” conceded Flo.

  “Right.” Cass hadn’t thought about temperamental chefs having culinary designs

  on her birds. They had been let out of their cages and left to wander around the large

  backyard adjoining the hotel.

  “Now, to your room.” The two women exchanged glances.

  “Problem?” Cass wondered what concerned them. She wasn’t expecting

  something glamorous. A bed, a shower and somewhere to hang the few clothes she

  had brought with her was all she required.

  Jo placed her teacup down on the table. “Well, no, but you should be aware that

  when Evan’s in town he sleeps in the room beside yours.”

  “You see he does odd jobs for us like fixing the roof and the plumbing. “You do

  have your own bathroom but you will see him,” Flo explained as she reached for

  another cookie from the plate.

  “That’s fine. I can deal with that.” And she would. Her focus was to recharge.

  Men were the last thing on her mind. “He’s just a man—okay, yes he’s handsome, hot

  bodied with a rakish charm but I am steel-knickered and not available.”

  “I think you actually believe that.” Jo sounded less than convinced.

  “I do.” Pretty much. “Besides it’s all mind over matter.”

  “Well then. I don’t anticipate any problems. Welcome to McNally’s.”

  * * * * *

  The next morning her steel-knickered resolve was challenged. A naked man

  could do that to a girl.

  “Put some clothes on!” Cass barked out at a naked Evan. She flattened her back

  against the wall. The hallway was narrow and he was big and broad. She had been on

  her way to the kitchen in search of coffee. Look away, look away. But it was hard.

  Very. And long and so close to her she could reach out and touch it. She pressed her

  back into the tongue and grooved wood trying to become one with it. Her hands went

  down to pull the tie on her old, pink bathrobe tighter.

  Evan stopped and grinned at her. “I always sleep naked.”

  “You’re not sleeping! You’re in the hallway—naked.!” She knew that she was

  sounding hysterical but hot, naked men were the last thing she wanted to consider.

  And yes, her friend Lorelle had suggested a fling with one to forget Wade but Cass

  hadn’t seriously considered it. Until now.

  “I left my swag outside. It has clean clothes in it.”

  “Why didn’t you bring it in when you brought my suitcase in?” It was hard to

  decide where to look. If she averted her gaze it’d look like she was scared. If she

  looked at it, bouncing merrily as it was, he would think she was interested in dick and

  while normally she enjoyed that, dick wouldn’t solve any problems. It would only

  create them. Cass decided to let her eyes settle on the tanned, muscular expanse of

  hair roughened chest before her. Much safer.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t think about it. What? Are you scared of nudity?”

  “No—yes—fuck—I don’t know! Just put some pants on.” The only thing scaring

  Cass was her sudden craving to press herself against his large frame and see what

  happened from there.

  “I’m quite comfortable as I am.”

  She stamped her foot. “How would you like it if I walked around naked?” The

  minute Cass said it, she knew it was the wrong thing to say.

  “I’d like it a lot.” Evan took a step towards her.

  It was then that a voluptuous, raven hair beauty appeared. “What’s going on!”

  The angry look in her eyes was directed at Cass.

  “’Morning, Adele,” replied Evan, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Adele glared at Cass. “Who’s she?”

  Cass glared at Adele. So this is the spoilt, rich girl. “I’m Cass Kelly and I work

  here now.” And I will kick your ass if you give me any attitude, sweetie.

  “Why are you naked with her?” Adele’s attention turned to Evan.

  “Oh, he’s not with me. He’s just naked all by himself.” At that stage, Cass really

  wanted a coffee. Naked men and pissy women were the last thing she felt like dealing

  with. And why is it bitches always look good in the morning?

  Evan smiled at Cass. “You could get naked with me.” His voice was low and

  suggestive.

  Cass felt hot all over. “You’re a pig.” She tightened her belt a little more.

  “Hey! He’s my boyfriend. You can’t talk to him like that!” The other snapped at

  her.

  “Your boyfriend? I thought you were just screwing his cousin, the cook? That has

  to be complicated.” Honestly some men would have sex with anyone. Cass ignored

  the sudden start of laughter from Evan. “Well sister, you tell your boyfriend to put

  some pants on.”

  Adele stiffened at her words. “He looks fine.”

  Yes, he does. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.” She turned and started to walk

  back down the hall it her room. She would hunt down caffeine later when things were

  less complicated.

  “Scared?”

  Cass turned her head to look at him. “Not at all.” Her gaze travelled down his

  body to rest on the hard shaft and bulbous head of his dick. “Seen one, seen ‘em all.”

  She smiled sweetly and continued on her way. “I have to check on Bert and Mitzi.”

  They would be much easier to deal with than this pair.

  “She has children?” Adele scowled at Cass’s back.

  “Nah. She has chooks.” Evan chuckled as he watched Cass stomp off. Some

  women just got to a man straight away. Cass Kelly was one of them. She had a smart

  mouth that he wanted to taste and the swing of her ass under the terry toweling of her

  robe made him want to strip her and squeeze that flesh.

  “Evan?”

  He looked down into the big, blue eyes of Adele Andriotti. On the outside she

  was beautiful. There was no doubt about it. But inside? He had no idea what Murdo

  saw in her. Sex could get a relationship so far but without a good heart it would

  flounder. Adele was heartless, spoiled and petulant. There was not enough sex in the

  world to make him want to be with her. He understood why his cousin was bonking

  her. She was available. Murdo had no morals. They were a good match. “Yeah?” He

  knew he had to get some clothes on. Not only did he have work to do on the hotel roof

  but giving Adele any ideas was not healthy for any man.

  “I’m sorry about last week.”

  Evan sighed. He had been in the shower when she had walked right in, dropped

  to her knees and gobbled his dick down her throat. At the time, he had been stunned.

  Evan enjoyed sex and surprises but not with his cousin’s girlfriend and not with

  Adele. “Look it’s okay. I’m not going to tell Murdo.” It had taken every ounce of

  willpower to push her mouth from hi
s flesh and get out of the shower to wrap a towel

  around his body.

  “I want you not him,” Adele told him.

  Evan knew Adele wanted everything and everyone. It was her spoilt nature to

  take. “We’ve been through this. We’re not right for each other. Murdo’s more like

  you.”

  She reached down, her hand encircling her shaft. “Do you really mean that?”

  He closed his eyes. A hand on a dick was always going to turn him on. But this

  was not the woman for him. “Adele, I have to tell you the truth. I met Cass in Cairns a

  month ago when I was there. I suggested she come outback so we could continue the

  relationship.” He winced when her hand squeezed his flesh.

  “Liar.”

  Evan gently pulled her hand off. If she continued touching him he would not be

  able to stop her. If he came in her hands, that would give Adele a power over him that

  would be dangerous. He liked his cousin, but Murdo was a little nuts and inclined to

  overreact. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, but that’s the way it is.” At that

  moment Cass reappeared in the hall, scraping her red hair up into a ponytail. She was

  dressed in simple khaki shorts and a white cotton knit top.

  Cass dropped her hands when she spotted the couple. “Oh, jeez,” she muttered as

  she started to move past them.

  “Cass?” His hand reached out to touch her forearm.

  “What?”

  Evan knew she would be mad as hell but a man have to do when he had to do. He

  reached out, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  A very naked, hard, hot man was kissing her and it felt good. Real good. Cass

  was momentarily stunned when his mouth descended on hers and their bodies molded

  together. Some men knew how to kiss. This was one of them. Her thoughts went from

  annoyed to I-want-more as her hands slid up to his shoulders and pulled him closer to

  her. Tongue, lips, hot, naked flesh, angry woman wailing like banshee. Cass opened

  one eye. Frigging Adele. And the noise that was coming from out of her collagen

  lips? It would put a siren to shame. It was hard to kiss someone when that was going

  on. Talk about a mood killer. Not that I’m in the mood to be manhandled by some

  naked man I barely know and pretty sure don’t like. Cass dropped her hands and

  pushed away from Evan, her fingers momentarily brushing the head of his spongy,