Outback Love

First Nigh In Australia

Luke walked out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had deliberately stayed there long enough for Emily to dress. He didn’t think he could take much more of her teasing.

He walked into the room they would be sharing and found Emily in her underwear.

“Em!” He sighed as he walked towards his suitcase.

“I couldn’t decide what to wear.” She smiled innocently. He didn’t believe her for a second, but he couldn’t help but smile. His mate had spirit.

“Jeans and a tshirt.” He said, pulling on a pair of jeans himself.

He turned to find her putting on a mini summer dress. It flowed beautifully over her curves, and he had to admit, she looked amazing.

“Perfect.” He smiled.

Emily loved his smile. Sometimes he and Blane would get so serious when they discussed work. Blane was one of the youngest billionaires in the United States and he had made Luke a very rich man as well. Not that you would know. They were more comfortable in jeans or sweats; they drove $50,000 cars when they could afford a garage full of sports cars. They had expensive suits for when they were at work, but outside of the office, they were just normal guys. 

“I am starving.” Emily complained as she watched Luke pull on a t-shirt.

“ OK, OK.” Luke laughed as he pulled on his socks and shoes. “Let’s go!”

They walked out of the room and into the hallway, banging on the doors of the other two rooms as they went. The other men walked out and followed along behind. When they arrived at the bar, Kiwi was sitting there already with another man. The man had a very large briefcase.

“Hey mate, I have someone here I’d like you to meet.” Kiwi began. “This fulla works at one of the local phone retailers. Since we know you are in a hurry, we thought he could come to you.”

Luke sat down on the stool next to the guy and extended his hand.

“Luke Matheson, pleased to meet you.” He smiled. The man shook his hand then pulled out a laptop.

“Now, is it a phone each, one to share?” The man asked.

“I want my own.” Emily called out, putting her hand in the air.

“You heard the lady.” Luke shrugged. “Let’s just go with one each.”

Luke sat down and negotiated phone plans while the others wandered into the dining room for a meal. When he had finished, he found a seat next to Emily, who had ordered him a meal.

“I got you a ‘snitty parma’.” Emily shrugged.

“Sounds good to me.” He smiled.

The meals were not even remotely what they had expected. It was always a problem eating in public because they tended to eat a lot. The meals that came out were huge and they were suddenly less concerned about being hungry after.

Luke cut a piece of his snitty and looked at it. He shrugged and put it in his mouth.

“Oh wow.” He looked at Emily, who was nodding her agreement. The meal was amazing!

They could hear noise coming from the bar and it sounded like a crowd was building. They finished their meals in record time and sat back to relax and let their food settle.

“You gotta try the Pav sista. Aussies like to claim it as theirs, but between you and me, it's from my home country, New Zealand. We just let our cousins from across the ditch claim it.” He said with a big belly laugh.

Emily looked at the menu again.

“Pavlova?” She asked.

“Yeah, Pav. You’ll love it.” He winked.

Luke called a server over and they ordered the Pavlova.

“Do you know the band playing tonight, Kiwi?” Emily asked.

“Aww, you are in for a treat.” Kiwi began. “It’s the Waifs. A bit of Aussie folk music. It’s got some real soul. Good people.”

“Sounds great!” Emily smiled.

When the pavlova arrived, Emily couldn’t wait to try it. She put the first bite into her mouth and rolled her eyes with delight.

“Was I right, Sista?” Kiwi asked.

“This is the best!” Emily squealed as she ate more.

The others finished their dessert and wandered into the front bar leaving Kiwi, Luke and Emily.

Luke was watching Emily as she savoured every bit of her dessert.

“So, you’re mates aye?” Kiwi began.

“Are you asking if we’re in a relationship or friends? I know mate has a different meaning here.” Emily asked, looking sideways at Luke.

Kiwi looked at them and suddenly his eyes glowed red. “I am asking if you are mates.” He smiled.

Luke instinctively used his body to block Emily.

Kiwi put his hands up and laughed. “I am no threat, my friend. I am part Maero. My people have evolved since the days of the old myths and have developed the ability to shift.”

“Maero? The word is new to me,” Luke admitted.

“We are seen traditionally as cave-dwelling cannibals who club beings over the head to eat them. We have evolved and become more urbane. We eat meals the same way you do now. I rarely shift, but when I do, I take on an appearance similar to an ape I guess.” Kiwi explained.

Luke nodded his head thoughtfully. “I arrogantly thought only us wolves shifted.” He smiled.

Kiwi laughed his big belly laugh. “Naahhh Bro, brother behind the bar is a weredingo. I could smell you guys a mile away when you first arrived. That’s why I approached you. You two in particular were throwing out some crazy pheromones.” He winked.

“We are not mates.” Luke smiled.

“Yet,” Emily piped up from behind him.

“You probably should be, but hey, what do I know?” Kiwi chuckled as he stood up.

Luke and Emily also stood up and they walked out into the front bar.

“I’ve negotiated 3 cars, 4WD with all the kit outs. You will need to come down and pay for them.” Kiwi said as he made his way to a free table.

“Not sure if we need 3,” Luke began.

“Well, I thought I might come with you. Help you negotiate the wilds of the outback. I’ve done the trip; I know where to stop and I can do it all on what you have already offered.” Kiwi shrugged.

Luke looked at Kiwi and shrugged. “I’ll talk it over with the group.” He promised. The band was just starting, and they all turned to check them out.

A woman walked out on the stage and the crowd went wild.

“Crazy Train!” A man yelled from the audience.

“Oh, look you. It always comes, it always comes. 11 years of Crazy Train!” The singer winked.

She sat on a stool and the guitarist began to play. Luke looked over to find Emily's face glowing.

“This is more than a Haircut, I’m wearing on my head. I thought I’d dye it red, but got it cut instead.” The singer began.

Luke walked over to the group he was travelling with and began to speak to them about Kiwi. They all agreed a fellow shifter with knowledge of the outback could really come in handy. Luke was just returning to Kiwi and Emily when the lyrics of the song hit him.

“Now when I make love,

I make love to myself,

I got no disease and it’s good for my health,

I got my hands in my pants down my Kalvin Klines

I don’t need you no more baby,

I can c*m every time.”

Emily roared her approval and clapped her hands, looking at Luke with a wink. He mentally stored those lyrics away for later.

“Kiwi, we’re happy to have you onboard and happy to finance the extra car for you. I am even happy for you to keep it after we’re done.” He smiled.

‘Aww, nah bro, I couldn’t ask for that.” Kiwi began. “But I’m grateful for the offer.”

“It’s yours, we will have no need for it when we return to the states.” He smiled.

Emily had jumped up and was dancing with a small crowd on a tiny dance floor. Scott and Anton were standing nearby making sure no one touched her.

“How does your wolf control himself when he sees that?” Kiwi asked, looking from Luke to Emily.

“Well, we are not yet mates,” Luke began. “If you met her brother, you might have understood. His father was Alpha for a long time, Blane didn’t take over until he was 25 and even then, James constantly interferes. Blane has had to learn an enormous amount of self-control to deal with that man and, as his second, so have I. Emily is Blanes sister, so I have also had to learn to control myself, so her brother didn’t rip my head off. To be honest, I have loved her forever and I just want her to be happy and be herself. She never could be herself around her parents,” Luke explained.

Kiwi nodded his head. “If she is your mate, what is stopping you?” Kiwi asked.

“She is not yet 20, and her wolf has not appeared. I am a patient man; she is worth it.” He smiled.

“How long have you known she was your mate?” Kiwi asked.

“Three years.” Luke grinned.

“I respect that, my bro, I do. You’re a good man.” Kiwi lifted his glass towards Luke. “To you and your mate.”

Luke looked back at Emily and saw a man moving way too close to her. He was clearly drunk and had his eye on her. Luke put his glass down and jumped up, striding across to the dance floor. Scott and Anton also moved in closer.

“There you are!” Luke smiled as he took Emily by the hand and moved closer to her. Luke held her as she danced along to the music.

“Dance with me!” Emily cried out happily.

“You know I can’t dance!” Luke laughed at her.

“Wont dance.” Emily pointed out. “There’s a difference!”

“I’ll dance with you.” A man said, moving his body in to try to mould in with Emilys.

Luke heard a growl come from both Anton and Scott and held his hand up to stop them attacking.

“Thank you for the offer, but as you can see, my girlfriend is quite content to dance with me.” Luke smiled at the man.

The man snarled at Luke but moved away to a group of women dancing together. He began to do the same thing, touching them inappropriately. Luke looked over at Anton and Scott and nodded. They began to walk towards the women on the dance floor.

“Do you mind?” Scott asked, holding out his hand towards one of the women.

“Not at all.” She replied, taking in his broad shoulder, large chest and washboard abs. He smiled as she took her hand and danced with her, making sure he kept his body away from hers. 

Anton walked over to the woman currently being harassed. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm possessively around her waist.

“Sorry I’m late, traffic.” He smiled as he began to dance with her, making sure his body wasn’t touching hers.

“ Thank you.” The woman whispered in Anton's ear.

The man must have got the message because he moved away. The band was finishing for the night and the bar tender called for last drinks. Everyone raced to the bar to get one more drink before they closed.

Luke and Emily returned to the table where Kiwi sat.

“You know, in the states, last call means finish your drink.” Luke laughed as he watched several people ordering two drinks each.

“They’ll call last drinks 5 more times before people are finished drinking.” Kiwi grinned.

“That band was amazing!” Emily raved.

“You should hit them up on Spotify. They’ll appreciate the downloads,” Kiwi began.

“Ooohhhh, yes, I want their music now!” She laughed, handing Kiwi her phone. Kiwi began to download some music for her.

“Some Aussie classics there sister.” He smiled.

The man who had been harassing the women was loitering around the front door. Scott could see they were nervously watching him. He looked at the other men and nodded towards the door. They went outside and stood in a line out the front to the curb where a taxi was waiting. Scott and Anton walked the women to their cab and helped them in. They closed the door and the taxi drove away.

“You’ll regret that.” The man snarled.

“I doubt that,” Scott replied as they walked back inside.