Bare for You: Outback Skies, Book 3 by Lexxie Couper Read Free Book Online Page A

roaring, he tapped out a reply.
    “Is he discreet?”
    His thumb hovered over the send key as he stared at the question.
    Linda would not ask why he wanted to know and he didn’t question her discretion at all. That didn’t stop him acknowledging he was wading into…dangerous territory.
    How would his assistant translate such a question?
    “Let’s find out,” he muttered.
    He hit send.

Chapter Five
    His heart slammed into his throat. His gut knotted.
    Schooling his expression to a relaxed smile, he reached for the door handle, opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. “Where to next, Captain? Second star to the right and straight on to morning?”
    Ryan’s lips curled a little at his woeful attempt at humour. “If by second star you mean the Wallaby Ridge Royal Flying Doctors Service base, then yep. If you mean Never-Never Land…well, I may have to fill up the tank first.”
    Jeremy laughed, all too aware his earlier tension had evaporated. From the second he’d climbed into the chopper, he was no longer maintaining a relaxed façade. He was relaxed. For whatever reason, and despite the charged sexual tension sparking between them—a sexual tension no more deniable than the day being hot—he felt at ease in Ryan’s company.
    More real than he did amongst his political peers.
    Buckling himself in, he replaced his glasses with his sunglasses and let his grin stretch wide. “Then I guess the first stop is the refuelling station, yes?”
    Ryan smirked as he fired up the helicopter’s engine. “Done.”
    The flight back to Wallaby Ridge passed far more quickly than Jeremy would have liked. He and Ryan talked the whole way, neither raising the issue of his poorly disguised come-on that morning. Instead, they stuck to topics such as movies, sports and, to Jeremy’s great delight, art and music. For a man who’d grown up in the Outback, Ryan knew a lot about fine art and music, his tastes veering towards an eclectic mix of country and soul.
    “Mum was a music teacher,” he shared with a warm smile when Jeremy commented on the mix. “I grew up listening to Nat King Cole, Barbara Streisand, AC/DC and Slim Dusty. The first live concert I ever saw was Nick Blackthorne and my first autograph was Garth Brooks.”
    Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh.
    That joy, that contented glow of enjoyable conversation and company, stayed with Jeremy for the rest of the flight back into Wallaby Ridge. So much so that when Ryan touched down on the town’s small airport helipad, Jeremy was tempted to ask him to come along to the Royal Flying Doctors visit.
    He bit back the invitation before it could form on his lips.
    Just.
    There was no reason for Ryan to say yes. Nor any reason for Jeremy to invite him along to an official appearance.
    Unbuckling his seatbelt, he cleared his throat, steadfastly keeping his stare on the flat horizon cutting the distance in two. “I’ve got an hour to kill between my visit to the Royal Flying Doctors Service and afternoon tea with the Mutawintji Winds Gallery director. Would you…” He cleared his throat again. Adjusted his glasses. Did everything he could to not fidget on his seat. “Is there somewhere we could get a drink together?”
    Prickling heat washed up his neck and over his scalp. He cleared his throat again. Damn, who would have thought asking a man out could be so hard?
    Ryan’s low chuckle played with his sanity. “Reckon there is. How’s the Outback Skies pub sound?”
    A ragged breath burst from Jeremy before he could stop it, relieved and frustrated at once. He turned to face Ryan, his smile wry. “Very public, yes?”
    Ryan nodded, that hint of a dimple flashing. “Very.”
    With his own chuckle, Jeremy returned Ryan’s nod. “The Outback Skies pub it is. See you there in—” He checked his watch. Just as his mobile vibrated in his pocket.
    Shifting on his seat, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and checked the received text message.
    It was from