Swerve (3 page)

“You need to let go of me.” Even as she said the words a rush of feeling against them rose up within her.
Maybe it’s the heat making me crazy?

“Once caught I never throw back, Mary.”

“How do you know my name?” First at the beach and now. She had no name badge on.

“It’s written in the stars.”

“Did I mention bollocks before?”

“Bollocks did come up.” He smiled at her.

Mary caught her breath.
Lordy, he is beautiful
. “Who the hell are you?”

“Your knight in shining armor, ready to chase way your dragons and live with you in a palace of our own making.”

“Riiiight…” Mary looked at his board shorts and his black tight-fitting muscle shirt. She could see the edge of a tattoo licking out over one shoulder. The red hair tied back had a knightly look to it but palaces and dragons?
Nuh-uh
. When it came to a man, Mary didn’t want or need wealth or beauty
. Sanity would be good though
.

“Well, that’s nice and if I’m ever on your planet and need saving I’ll certainly look you up, er—”

“My name is Swerve.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Mary was agog. Normal instinct would have had her giving him a tongue lashing but all she could do was stare at him in wonder.
Who is he? Why do I feel
like I know him?
She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Of course it is.” Her hand was suddenly released from his. The sudden loss of pressure almost made her stumble. It was like being pulled from a vacuum. Mary shivered despite the heat. “I, um, have to go and do grown up stuff.”

“Your path and mine will meet once more, lovely Mary.”

Lovely Mary. Wow
. “That was you at the beach wasn’t it?” There couldn’t possibly be two men like this.

“Why question when you know the answer, my queen?” He grinned. “Wanna see tatts to make sure though?”

“I’d rather see your as—” Mary stopped herself, her face went red as he smiled at her almost said words. Seeing this man’s ass could only get her in trouble.

Undoubtedly fun, hot trouble but still trouble. She didn’t have time for that. She had to find Simon bloody Mayhew. “Okay then, I really have to go.” What were the probabilities of an insane person having a great ass?
Now I should take him to the
wedding and drive my mother crazy.
Mary had endured three phone calls and two emails from her mother so far this morning about making sure she found a man.

“So go, my beloved babe.”

The weird thing was Mary wanted to go. She had to go. Yet, she couldn’t make herself go. It was like if she did she would be missing out on something.

“You feel the urgency between us too.”

“I feel nothing,” Mary said too fast to be believable.

He nodded. “I understand. Love is a difficult emotion.”

The sudden seriousness in his eyes threw her. “Is it?”

“Yes, but worth it. When I was born, a gypsy queen decreed I would be yours and one rarely doubts Romany.”

Right. A gypsy. Okay. Serious moment over
. “It must be so nice being crazy.”

He took no offense. “I would happily teach you the art in my palace by the sea.”

Which translated to come back to my eight bed dorm with sweaty clothes, sweatier men and hot and cold running women. “Maybe another time.” Mary made herself move on which she found she had to put effort into. He was a stranger and certainly stranger than most and yet she wanted to stay with him. She almost started to look back at the man yet stopped it, telling herself not to do so because if she did it would change everything and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet. Mary scoffed at the thought as she pushed open the door to the air conditioned mail centre. “Get a grip, will you woman.”

Swerve smiled to himself. That had been fun. Mary had come across as a straight laced no nonsense women who had things to do and being waylaid by him was the last thing she needed. Yet he knew she felt something deep and intense when they touched. She had not been able to hide the spark of surprise and fear in her eyes that confused her. He watched the womanly swing of her plump ass as she disappeared inside the building. “I am going to waylay the hell out of you, Mary.”

* * * * *

The last place Simon Mayhew wanted to be was at the office of Man-Land. But he knew he had to show up and make an appearance and settle the unrest that was in the minds of the small company that had been swallowed up by his conglomerate in the takeover. Simon cared nothing for business. It was what it was. He was good at making money. The money he used on the projects that mattered to him, the ones that helped people. As corporate identities went, he was anything but one. However, he understood there were times he couldn’t leave his business interests to those he paid good money to manage. Every so often he had to make an effort and show up, shake hands and play the boss.

He looked at the façade of the small office. It looked tired and outdated and he knew it was not profitable to keep such a small business running. It would have to be closed. From the reports he received, it was losing money hand over fist and the employees, but for one, were doing very little to stop that trend.

Simon pushed through the door and into the office. He smiled as the office manager came out from her office.

“Holy fucking hell,” exploded from Mary Dalton’s lips.

Her response delighted Simon. It was perfect. It told him everything about the woman. Unpretentious, said what she felt, and passionate without worrying about consequences. “Hello Mary.” He walked toward her, his hand outstretched. “I’m Simon Mayhew.”

“You.”

“Me.” Instinctively, Simon was aware she was scared to take his hand. He knew she had felt the power between them before. It was something so raw and need driven that he wasn’t surprised she was reluctant to touch him again. He stepped closer and reach down for her hand. It had been clenched at her side in a fist. He wrapped one hand, then the other, around it and felt once more the amazing power of the women warm him body and soul. Was she aware of the intense power she radiated? Did she have any inkling how intrinsically their lives would be bound?

Yes, he could feel she was turned on by him as he was her.
But does she know we’re
destined to be in love forever?

To say Mary was gob smacked was an understatement. This was the man with the ass. Swerve—the surfer dude from the post office who talked of palaces and gypsy queens. In her office. Making her body shake at his touch. This was Simon Mayhew? Her boss? The man that owned half of Australia yet who dressed in board shorts, rode a motorcycle and pretended to be someone else?
What the hell?
“I—

well—I probably shouldn’t have said ‘holy fucking hell’ but I’m not taking it back.”

His appearance had thrown her. He was the last person she expected to see.

Simon laughed. “Nor would I have wanted you to.”

A man with sexy green eyes filled with amusement and a grin that would lead a nun to sin was in her office. With her. “Who are you?”

“I just told you, Mary.”

“Yes, yes, you own this place but why the split personalities?” What was the story there? Who did that without reason and what was his?

“Don’t we all have those?”

Mary looked down at the hands that held hers. Her fist had flattened out and was encased by his two strong hands. It felt right and good and yet, all the same, she wanted to run away from him because what she was feeling was scaring her. It was not normal to have such intense emotions over a stranger.

“You feel it, too, don’t you?”

Yes. Who am I to you?
“I feel like you’re playing a game with me.” No wonder he knew her name. Undoubtedly he had seen her staff file and seen the rat-shit photo personnel took that made her look like a deranged woman with fifteen years still to serve on her jail sentence. There was nothing karmic in that. Mary tried to pull her hand from his. She needed to clear her head and touching him wasn’t doing it.

“I never play when it’s important, Mary.” Simon let go of her hand reluctantly.

“I better get the boss.” Vernon could deal with him. She wasn’t high enough up the food chain to do that.

“Aren’t you the boss, Mary?”

“I should be.” The twinkle of amusement she saw in his eyes made her heart jump in excitement.
Oh, what the hell, it was not like this was a conventional
meeting after the past couple.
“I would be better at running this place but I suspect you’re going to close the office so the point is moot.”

“Yes, you would be and yes I am,” Simon agreed. “How do you feel about that?”

“I’ll get by.” And she would. Besides, it would give her mother something extra to moan about. No man, and now no job. She could almost hear her mother now.

What will become of you Mary?

“Will you?”

“Yes.” Defiance was better than whining at fate. Jobs came and went and life still went on.

“Do you ever need help from anyone, Mary?”

“No. Vernon!” She yelled, now aware that the whole office had heard what they had been talking about but they were too scared to acknowledge their existence in case they had to be answerable to someone.
Yep, I won’t miss this place.

“He’s not in,” responded the small voice of Duane, the computer nerd, hiding behind his monitor. “It’s only you, me and him.”

That was the computer nerd for you. People were either ‘her’ or ‘him’ and no one had names unless they were made up cyber women in some gamer world he invented.

Mary looked at Simon. “Well
him
, unfortunately our fearful leader has scarpered for the day.”

“Does it happen often?” Simon didn’t look pleased.

“Do you want a lie or the truth?” Mary had nothing to lose. Her job was ending so there was no need to be politically correct any more.

“There can only ever be truth between us, Mary.”

Yes.
Why she thought that she would spend many nights to come lying awake pondering it. “Maybe you should—”

“Mary, you cannot keep avoiding this issue.” June Dalton, matriarch of the Dalton clan, chose that moment to sweep into the office.

“Fuck,” Mary mumbled under her breath as her mother, hot, sweaty and dressed too young and inappropriately came to stand before her.

“You need a man.”

Simon smiled from one woman to the other. “I’m a man.” He held out his hand.

“Simon Mayhew.”

June Dalton looked at the man with an eager greediness. “Well, yes, you are.”

Mary knew her mother was measuring up wedding gowns in her mind. To Mrs.

Dalton, though there had never been actual Mr. Dalton, the only good woman was a married one. The rest were doomed. “Mother—”

“Shush, Mary,” declared June Dalton, her gazed fixed on her prey. “My daughter needs a date for his sister’s wedding this Saturday.”

Mary blew out a breath in resignation. She was no longer surprised at anything her mother said or did any more.

“I’d love to take Mary.”

The ‘take Mary’ bit and the look in his eyes indicated he was looking at the taking being something more than a drive in his car and a moment by her side as

‘Oh, Promise Me’ was sung. To her surprise, Mary blushed. She never blushed.

Blushing gave away feelings. As far as she was concerned she had no feelings for Simon Mayhew. “I’m sure you won’t be in town.”

“I will be. I promise.”

June was delighted. “See, Mary? If you just make an effort a nice man will come along.”

Mary could have pointed out to her mother that the nice man swam naked and had a tattooed back and acted like a surfer dude for some reason that was totally beyond her, but her mother wouldn’t have cared if he was an axe murderer as long as she had a date.

“I’ll see you there, Mr. Mayhew.”

“Simon,” he insisted.

June giggled “Simon.” She looked at Mary. “If you won’t wear that pretty red dress then at least make sure you wear something nice.” Her eyes cut back to Simon. “If she only made an effort, Mary would be married by now.”

“Lucky for me, she’s not.”

“Well, this has been pukeable as always, mother.” Mary ushered her mother out and made sure the door was shut behind her.

“Pretty red dress?”

“It makes me look like a cheap hooker.”

Simon smiled. “I take it you’re a failure because you’re not married?”

“Correct, though my other sister Clare is a lesbian, so I guess I have the edge on her.” Mary didn’t want to smile at the rich, husky sound of Simon’s laugh. She was feeling too much, too soon and it was confusing her. “Anyway, I’ll make up an excuse why you can’t go.”

“Oh, I’m going.” Nothing was going to stop him. Simon was intrigued and excited at the idea of knowing more about this woman.

“Why?”

“Because I like you.” It was as simple as that. Powerful emotions like love came in a rush and overwhelmed. ‘Like’ enfolded you and drew you in closer with the need for more.

“You don’t know me.”

Liar.
“Tell me I’m the only one of us who feels something when we touch hands.” He saw her pretty brown eyes widen in shock. Simon would teach Mary that love was not just detailed plots in the carefully thought out chapters of romance novels. It was fast, messy, fun and it rarely made sense.

“It’s the heat and the humidity. People go troppo and have crazy thoughts this far up north.”

“Are you ever out of control, Mary?”

“Who are you, really?”

Her answering a question with a question gave him the answer. Simon was looking forward to this woman letting loose any carefully held inhibitions she had.

“I own companies which I let others run for me, but in reality I am responsible for hunting down paranormal beings who are hell bent on destroying the world.” He waited for Mary’s response.

“Right, back to being Swerve are you?”

He was so many things and yet essentially just the one man who wanted to do the right thing and love one woman forever. “Did you like him?”

“Why do you act like him, when clearly, you’re not some no-hoper pothead?”