"No harm done."
"I need you to believe me. I don't want you getting the wrong idea of me. If we are going to have a relationship, I want it built on trust not illusion."
"We don't have a relationship. We have an understanding, two very different things. Don't go making this into something it's not." Magnus ground the words out before taking a large gulp of wine.
He could see that his words hurt her, and he regretted the tone he'd used.
"Of course I won't. I know what's going on here, Magnus. You paid for me. How could I possibly forget that," she spat out and pushed her plate away. "But just so you know, it's not all one-sided. This is the modern era where women get to choose their sexual partners too. You can't tell me that we don't have great chemistry between us even if it just in the bedroom or shower or wherever you damn well want it. If I decide to make the first move one day before your allotted time slot, I bet you won't turn me down. I believe it's called friends with benefits these days. That, buddy, is a relationship of sorts whether you like it or not."
Kate sculled the last of her wine and slammed her glass down on the table before she stalked off to the bedroom. He could hear her gathering her clothes before she stormed back to the kitchen. "I might see you tomorrow night if I get horny enough," she said as she stepped outside and picked up her boots. "Then again, I might not."
Magnus sat unmoving as she marched down the steps to her truck and drove away. What the hell made me snap like that? If he was honest with himself, he knew exactly why. She was getting under his skin, and it made him wary. He hadn't let anyone get close to him since Adele had left him, and he didn't know if he was ready now. Magnus poured himself another glass of wine and sat at the table mulling over the way his brilliant idea of taking a mistress was turning around to bite him in the ass.
Chapter 5
Kate deliberately stayed away from the dam paddock so she wouldn't have to see Magnus. If she was braver, she would have slapped him the other night, and it would be just what he deserved. They had something together; she knew they did, and it wasn't just her imagination, either. He couldn't keep his hands off her, and she wasn't complaining in the slightest. He just has issues with commitment. That's all it is. If I stay away from him for a few days, he will no doubt realize that. Then we can move on with building a decent relationship. Happy with her train of thought, she dismounted from her horse and strained another portion of fence line.
Her decision made, Kate prettied herself up and drove over to Magnus's farm. They hadn't seen each other for over two weeks, and she had heard the helicopter a few times and figured he had gone back to Brisbane for business. She drove in the entrance, her body heating with desire and raw need. She slowed at the house and looked at the slick black BMW in the drive. Getting out of her old truck, she peeked in the tinted windows at the baby car seat in the back, her heart plummeting as she headed for the house.
Mind racing, she walked through the gate and up the back steps to the open door. The sound of a sobbing woman reached her. Kate backed away and pressed herself against the outside wall while she listened to the sounds of frustration that were coming from Magnus.
"Christ, Nell, you need to see reason here. I can't just drop everything and go back with you. I have so much on my plate right now."
"I can't take much more of this, Magnus. Surely you can see that," a woman's voice cried. "I am sick of playing second fiddle to some dream and sitting at home in Brisbane with a new baby. It's time you did something."
Kate didn't wait to hear anymore; her heart broke as the words reached her ears. Rushing down the stairs with her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes, she jumped in her truck and tore down the driveway toward home.
That bastard. No wonder he didn't want to risk a pregnant mistress. He already had one baby and a wife in Brisbane who was obviously sick of his double life. She had made the worst mistake possible telling him she was on the pill. Stupid, stupid girl, she cursed herself as the tears streamed down her face.
Kate slammed the door and stormed into the house. She threw herself across her bed, pulled her knees to her stomach, and she rocked herself.
The mattress sagged as Tilly lowered herself down next to her. "What is it, child?"
"That mongrel has a wife and child," Kate sobbed. "How could he do that to me?"
"What makes you think he's married? I always thought he was single." Tilly brushed the hair from Kate's brow as her tears turned to anger. "Surely the gossip magazines would have said if he was hitched."
"Well, maybe she's his secret girlfriend, then," Kate said, rubbing tears and snot on her sleeve. "She was there, some female in a posh BMW with a baby seat in the back. She was complaining that she couldn't do this anymore while he chased his dream."
"Did they see you?" asked Tilly, her eyebrows raised as she looked at her.
"No, at least I don't think so. They might have heard me tearing down the drive when I left, but so what? I saw all I needed to."
"Well, we both knew that he wasn't for you, but you insisted on having your fling with him. I guess it won't be the last time you fall in love. Sometimes
