Outback Sunset by Lynne Wilding

each other and, with stumbling steps, bumped their way down the narrow passageway to the main bedroom in the forward section of the barge. By the time they reached the bed, they were half undressed.
    Bren rained a dozen feather-light kisses over her face, but then moved back to regard her seriously. ‘You’re sure you want to …?’
    Vanessa’s fingers explored the contours of his face, noting the hesitation in his eyes, his concern for her. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. Suddenly, without forethought, without analysing it, she knew she had never been more sure of anything in her life. Amazing as it seemed, considering the brief time they had known each other, she was falling in lovewith Bren. And it was the most marvellous feeling. She couldn’t recall how or when the attraction had deepened to something more serious, and neither had she expected or wanted it to happen, but it had. The symptoms that went with being in love were not unknown to her — blood racing through her veins, feeling dizzy and the next second giggly, and shy. Neither did she want to think about later, about tomorrow or next week, next month, she just wanted
now
… with him.
    Smiling at the reverence of his touch, she let him finish undressing her, her self-consciousness at being naked on the bed betrayed by the rosy flush that coloured her cheeks and warmed her body down to her toes. His caresses were gentle, almost as if he feared she would break, until she showed him she wouldn’t and began to boldly stroke his body and show him what she wanted. She quickly learned that Bren was a well-built man. His shoulders were broad and his torso muscled from years of working out of doors and he was deeply tanned to below the waist. Curiously, her fingers began to undo the belt on his trousers, then fiddle with the zipper. At that, his hand rested over hers, stopping her.
    ‘I think I can manage,’ he said with a husky laugh, his eyes glinting with desire as they roamed over her.
    ‘I-I’m being too forward,’ she said softly, embarrassed.
    ‘No, I love your honesty, darling. It’s so refreshing.’
    The smile she gave him was a trifle wobbly around the edges. Seducing a man was an experience she lacked. In the past the opposite hadoccurred. There had been men, not exactly a stampede of them, only five full-on affairs over her adult life, and in the lovemaking her partner had taken the initiative. She didn’t know why she was behaving differently with Bren, maybe it was because she wanted him so much. Deep inside an unsatisfied ache resided and feelings — she had been keeping them suppressed for fear of being hurt again — bubbled and boiled, creating a head of steam that craved release.
    She shivered, not from the cool air inside the barge, but with anticipation as he lay on his side next to her on the bed. He wasn’t going to rush things, though she could tell he wanted her quite badly. His breathing was heavy, his eyelids were drooping, his body, hard and tense, touched her from chest to knees, exposing the evidence of his arousal. Its heat scorched against her lower stomach, tantalising and tormenting her with the promise of fulfilment.
    He kissed her again, deeply, passionately, then he rolled her onto her back and began a trail of kisses down her chin, to between her breasts. He paused there to suckle each one until she writhed against him with impatience. His lips moved lower, to her navel, to the dark vee of curls at the junction of her legs and, lower still, exploring, tasting, anointing her with his hot, wet tongue.
    Was his intention to drive her insane, she wondered as wave upon wave of desire, each stronger than the last threatened to shred her self-control? In a half-strangled voice she whispered close to his ear, ‘Bren, I want you … Now.’
    Knowing she was ready he plunged into her, long and deep and hard. Vanessa’s body bucked as the first orgasm shuddered through her. Her fingers dug into his buttocks, urging him on further