Summer Down Under Read Online Free Page A

in her self-defense
classes. Those were more for one-on-one, not for a mob of excited
vendors trying to sell you stuff. She was totally naïve as to just
how much attention a girl walking alone in Bali would attract, and
it was making her very uneasy.
    Her hotel was nowhere near. As she looked
around for somewhere to escape to, she couldn’t see anywhere that
would fit the bill. None of these people would take no for an
answer. They swarmed around her and seemed to increase in number as
each minute passed. Sam’s breathing increased, her heart started to
race, and a feeling of claustrophobia crept over her like hands
around her neck.
    She didn’t do well in crowds, and certainly
didn’t like attention. Her head started to go fuzzy; she couldn’t
think how she could get away from them. All she wanted was a
peaceful walk, but that peace was turning to panic and no amount of
telling herself to hold it together was helping in the least little
bit .
    Someone shrieked, a horn beeped madly like an
angry buzzing wasp, and all kinds of commotion broke loose behind
her. She spun around to see a familiar figure riding up onto the
sidewalk on a small motorbike. He came hurtling towards her,
forcing the locals to part like waves to either side as he rode
through the mob, leaving them shrieking expletives as they jumped
out of his way. Not speaking the language, she guessed they were
expletives by the hand gestures they were making. The bike pulled
to a stop just in front of her. Sam’s eyebrows shot up in
surprise.
    “Daniel?” she gasped. “What are you doing
here?”
    “You look like you need a ride. Care to hop
on?”
    She gave a fleeting glance around the crowd
that was now glowering in her direction. It didn’t take her long to
make the decision. With barely a hesitation, she threw her leg over
the seat, wrapped her arms around her rescuer’s waist and held on
for dear life. Daniel kicked the motorbike into gear and went
speeding off through the crowd, narrowly missing a couple of
vendors, with more fake watches, who had turned up just a minute
too late. Sam dared a glance back as they fled the scene. She
didn’t want anyone to have been hurt, even though they’d made her
feel so uncomfortable. To her relief, no one looked like they’d
been harmed, although, a couple of them were shaking their fists at
the departing duo.
    It took a few moments for Sam’s thoughts to
calm, but as they did, she became aware of the fact that she was
holding her arms tightly around Daniel’s waist. It was impossible
not to feel the hard planes of his muscles beneath the very thin
layer of cotton that was masquerading as his shirt. She tucked her
head against his shoulders, a feeling of reassurance crept over
her. She liked how it felt. She realized a moment later that the
spicy scent she was breathing belonged to her rescuer, and she
liked that, too. She then realized what she was doing and snapped
her head up not wanting to give into her body’s temptation of
getting too close to this man she hardly knew.
    They rode in silence for a few minutes, his
soft hair flowing in the warm breeze, tickling her nose. At least
from this angle, he couldn’t see the need burning in her eyes. She
chastised herself once more as they rode through the streets. She
didn’t need a man. She was perfectly capable of looking
after herself, even if that meant having to ignore the episode from
which she was now escaping.
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    After a while, Daniel turned down a little
dirt road and the cerulean blue ocean came into view. They came to
a stop at the end of the road where it opened up onto a beautiful
white sand beach lined with palm trees and more brightly colored
tropical plants.
    The crystal clear water was lapping against
the shore, making a peaceful swooshing sound as it did. The beauty
of this location took Sam’s breath away. She had never experienced
anything so picturesque before. She doubted if there would ever be
a time when