away when the stewardess cleared her throat, and we quickly put our seats into the appropriate positions for landing.
His hand entwined with mine as we began our descent, and we landed in Australia with little aplomb.
An hour later, baggage in hand, and through customs, we took our first breath of non-airport circulated air.
It smelled of diesel and gas, nothing special, but the sun was warm, even if the skies were gray.
Adam remained behind the trolley with the bags, while I only carried my purse as we sought out a taxi.
It didn’t take long, and we were suddenly driving through the Gold Coast heading to Broadbeach.
The city blurred past us, even though things were so much different here. I’d been to Australia a few times, but had never traveled up to Queensland. It was why I wanted to vacation here and why I didn’t care that the taxi driver had definitely taken us on the longer route to our destination, because I wanted to see it from this angle, while I was relaxed and a little sleepy with Adam at my side.
The vibe in Australia was like nowhere I’d ever been before. There was an expectancy in the air, like each man, woman, and child was trying to figure out how to get the most out of their day.
We passed parks where people were stretched out on the grass, napping, and so many churches and schools all along one stretch that I had to figure this was their Bible Belt.
But as we veered toward Broadbeach, things grew a little more touristy, just with that twang that was unique here.
I saw dozens of different restaurants, huge swathes of lawn and fountains, but more importantly, I saw the ocean.
Somehow, we’d driven toward it without seeing it once—damn highways—but the second I did?
I sighed.
As we stepped out of the vehicle and Adam handled the fare, I sucked in a deep breath.
Here was the tang I’d been waiting for.
The air was sticky with salt. There was a different humidity here, and in the near distance, I could hear the roar of the ocean, could feel it in my veins like I could feel arousal when I was near Adam.
I stood on the sidewalk, just beside the building where we’d be staying, and I peered down toward the beach.
The urge to run across the sand, toward the rugged shoreline, was a tempting one. I could feel the beat of the tide pulsing like a song I wanted to dance to.
“It’s a shame there are cars parked there,” Adam murmured, stepping to my side and curving an arm around my waist as he supported me.
It was, I guessed, but I shrugged. “They have to park somewhere.”
“So practical,” he teased, laughing as he did so.
I shrugged. “I don’t care. I bet, once you’re on the sand, you feel like you’re in your own world.”
“It doesn’t look busy,” he agreed. Then he tipped his head back and looked at the sky. “Might rain.”
“You afraid of a few drops of water?”
He snorted. “No. But I don’t think we should go swimming in the middle of a storm.”
Though I agreed, I muttered, “Wuss.” Then I squealed when he tightened his arm around my waist and dove into my throat. When he bit me, I moaned, my knees sagging. The groan escaped me before I could contain it, but there was no need to hide what he did to me.
He already knew.
His arm around my belly had tightened up in anticipation of my sudden drop, and I was hauled even more into his side.
“We need to sleep first,” he rumbled against the tender skin he’d just bitten.
“Spoilsport,” I whispered.
“No. Someone’s got to look after you,” he retorted. Then, he was shaking his head. “If you’d come alone, you’d have gone into the ocean, wouldn’t you?”
I shrugged, but that was answer enough.
“You have to look after yourself, Thea. You can’t put yourself in danger.”
I knew my eyes were blank when I turned to face the ocean. “I’m never in danger in the water.”
“You might swim like a fish, but you aren’t one. Nor are you a goddamn mermaid,” he rattled out, and I knew his temper was founded in concern for me, so I didn’t rise to the bait.
I wasn’t alone.
He was here.
I was safe.
“You have to think about me, Thea,” he rumbled, making my heart stutter.
“I always think about you.”
The confession was one another woman might not have made, but I wasn’t another woman, and Adam wasn’t an ordinary guy.