“What is it?” Ethan asked, sitting up.
“Oliver’s been texting and calling.” Ethan’s body stiffened against her.
She didn’t open the message and put the phone back in her pocket.
“You’re still in contact with him?” Surprise underlined his tone.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him since we broke up. He says he’s in town and wants to meet.”
“Are you going to?”
Holly turned to face Ethan. “No, when I told him I never wanted to see him again, I meant it.”
He let out a rough exhale. “Good, he doesn’t deserve you back in his life.”
Leaning forward, he claimed her lips. Maybe he wanted to kiss her for pure enjoyment or maybe to get Oliver out of her mind. Whatever the reason, when their mouths fused together and his tongue entered her mouth, no other man consumed her thoughts. There was only Ethan and being kissed by him was her new happy place.
She shuffled on her butt to get as close to Ethan as possible and pressed her chest against his. Was it her heart pounding hard or his? The erratic rhythm was probably a combination of both.
One of his hands slid on her hip, while the other trailed a gentle path along her arm, over her shoulder and cupped the back of her neck. Ethan’s fingers tangled in her hair at the base of her head as he deepened the kiss. The gesture had all her sensitive parts heating up like an inferno and made her want to strip out of her clothes.
Behind them bushes rustled.
“What the hell are you doing here?” An angry voice yelled from the dark shadows of the night.
They broke apart and jumped to their feet.
Chapter 19
“I’m sick of you kids hanging around here and leaving a mess, which flies onto my property and I have to clean it up. I’m calling the police.” A short, round man with a grey combover, wearing blue boxer shorts, white singlet and a thick gold chain glared at them. If he wasn’t swinging a baseball bat in their direction, he’d comical.
Holly quickly picked up the bag of the rubbish and Ethan held out a hand to try and placate the angry man.
“We’re sorry, sir, we didn’t come here to cause any trouble. We’ll leave right away.”
The man pointed the bat at Holly, and Ethan stepped in front of her. “I’ve chased her off before.”
Ethan flicked a questioning glance over his shoulder. Holly pulled a sheepish grin.
“I’m calling the police,” he said again, taking a phone from the waistband of his shorts.
Holly poked Ethan in the back. “Run!”
She took off toward the trail they’d trekked through to get there.
Ethan followed, fleeing blindly through the dark, shrubs and branches slapping him in the face and body, hoping they didn’t get off track and stumble over a cliff to their deaths.
Soon they were back in the car park panting for breath. Holly was bent at the waist with hands on knees. Her body shaking. The old man must have terrified her.
“Are you okay? I don’t think he chased us.” Especially with his short stumpy legs and barrel stomach.
He placed a hand on her back and she straightened. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wasn’t crying from fright. She was laughing! She found almost getting bashed with a baseball bat… funny?
“You… should have seen… your face,” she said breathless with laughter.
“It’s not every day you’re threatened with a deadly weapon and warned about being reported to the police.” He tried to sound stern but his lips twitched and seconds later, he laughed along with her. “How many times has he busted you there anyway?”
She ducked her head. “Once or twice.”
