Chapter 2

By the time Mark got to Winton, He never wanted to get on a plane again.

First, they had to fly from San Francisco, their closest international airport, to Taipei in Taiwan. They had three hours of waiting before they even got on the plane due to airport security. After nearly fourteen hours in the economy seats, they arrived. Four hours later, they flew to Bali. This was a five-and-a-half-hour flight.

Bambi had them booked into a hotel at the airport and they both crashed for seven of the almost eleven-hour layover. Then it took nearly five hours to get to a hot, humid Townsville.

They had to take a taxi to reach the domestic airport and then sit around for another three hours, before finally getting onto a smaller plane, which got them to Winton at around one o’clock in the afternoon.

As they exited the plane, the thirty-eight-degree, hot, dry heat, blasted them and it was only supposed to be spring in Winton. He now wished he had changed out of his suit as Bambie had recommended.

Forty-five hours after leaving home by his clock, they had arrived, yet he had managed to travel an extra seventeen hours forward in time by Winton’s time. Mark felt like a wilted daisy and his internal time clock was all over the place like a mad dog’s dinner.

Bambie, however, was wound up like a spring. At each change of plane, she seemed to get even more excited.

Mark thought the lady had rocks in her head. He had no idea that Bambie was fulfilling a dream, as the destination was not one that he had ever planned on going to. He would have been happier to stay in Bali.

Mark didn’t like the huge smile she gave the man who was here to meet them. The look of appreciation as his eyes skimmed over her body, which was dressed almost identically to his minus the hat, also irked Mark.

Mark had to admit that she did look sexy in her tight khaki shorts.

Bambie had spied the man first.

Her breath caught in her throat. She estimated that he was 5’ 10” (178cm). He had short-cropped pale blonde hair, blue eyes and he was suntanned. His widish, muscular shoulders over a sexy little arse made him look like a man’s man.

He wore half-thigh length, khaki work shorts with a collared and buttoned short-sleeved shirt. Caramel coloured, steel-capped workboots, with thick dark brown socks folded over the top, graced his feet.

A battered, tan-coloured Akubra hat was hooked over one knee. He was resting against the wall with the heel of one foot pressed against it, at the height of the knee of the leg he was standing on.

Bambie chuckled when he stood straight and his eyes flicked up and down her body in appreciation. “Wow!” she heard him say softly.

She didn’t verbalise her wow. “Mr Smithson?” she inquired as she stood in front of him smiling.

“Yes, ma’am. Most folks just call me Stuart or Smithy, like I told ya on the phone. I checked with Stella and she has your rooms ready. You will be pleased to know that your crates did finally turn up. They are all packed into the trailer at the motel ready to go. Arisin Mining even set up a special donga at the site for you,” he informed her with his sexy Australian drawl.

“Thank you. I had hoped that they would agree to the accommodations that I had asked for. Stuart, this is Professor Mark Driscoll,” she informed him as she turned to indicate Mark.

The two men sized each other up and neither came out favourably in the other’s eyes. Mark determined the Australian man was a good five years younger than he was for a start.

The Aussie was also a lot fitter and far too good-looking in a ruggedly, handsome way for his taste. He had also noticed that Bambie’s demeanour had changed upon meeting this Stuart Smith.

Mark felt Bambie stiffen when he put his arm around her waist as he extended his right hand to the younger man. He knew she would give him grief later, but he wanted to stake his claim from the get-go.

“It is nice to meet you, Stuart. Bambie and I have been looking forward to this expedition for some time.”

“Same here, Mark,” Smithy replied. He then pointed to the carousel and informed them that their baggage was coming through. He didn’t miss the glare sent to Mark when Bambi extracted herself from him.

When they approached the luggage carousel, Smithy asked Bambi to point out her luggage to him. He happily lugged the heavy bags off the conveyor as they came past. Bambi had grabbed a trolley, and they and their baggage was soon heading to the door.

Smithy heaved the bags into the back of the Landrover and then opened the front passenger door for Bambie. He even took her hand to assist her in climbing up into the high ground clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Mark climbed in the back with ill humour. After the glare, Bambie had kept as far from him as was possible and mostly talked to Stuart. She treated him as if he was extra baggage that she had been saddled with.

His mood didn’t improve as the couple in front were soon chatting away as if they were old friends.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the modernised Gregory Hotel.

Smithy had them point out which bags they needed for the night and which could stay in the Rover. He informed them as they went to the reception that they would be heading out to the mine by six in the morning.

Mark grumbled, “Why so early?”

Smithy replied, “We have a three-hour drive ahead of us over unsealed roads and driving through the heat of the middle of the day isn’t good for man or dog. Plus, I believe you have a meeting at ten o’clock with the mine manager Peter O’Toole.”

Once again, Mark had not bothered to study Bambie’s itinerary, or he would have known this. Bambie reminded the receptionist about the five o’clock wakeup call when they were being checked in. Stella elected to take Mark to his room, while Smithy accompanied Bambie.

Once out of sight of Bambie, Mark laid on the charm and started chatting up Stella. Her responses soon had him forgetting about Bambie for a while. While she was a brunette, she had a lovely figure and her boobs were even more significant than Bambie’s. They were also a lot easier to ogle since she didn’t do-up all of the buttons on her soft semi-transparent shirt.

As Bambie and Smithy walked to her room, Stuart said, “Is he always a dickhead?”

Bambie had to giggle at Smithy’s assessment of Mark. “He is supposed to be a fine geologist,” she commented.

Smithy decided to hold his judgement on that score, as Mark had not impressed him at all. “So, are you having dinner with me?” he asked her.

Bambie lifted an eyebrow at him, and he gave her a confident grin. “Great,” he then said, as he flashed the keycard to her room and opened the door for her.

“I recommend that you get a couple of hours of sleep and then go for a swim. If you don’t sleep too long, you should get a good night’s sleep tonight and adjust to our time zone faster. I’ll collect you at about seven.” He lifted his hat to her and then he strolled off.

Bambie’s eyes followed the rolling of his arse cheeks as he walked away. She’d not even gotten a chance to say, ‘No’. Well, she had wanted an adventure. She had caught the eye of a hot Aussie male and not a Halloween decoration in sight.

Happy, she stripped, showered and dropped onto the bed naked to luxuriate in the air-conditioning. She found herself thinking about Stuart. While one hand headed down to her pussy, the other cupped one of her breasts and pinched the nipple. Bambie was surprised by how fast she got herself off.

Technically, she may be a virgin, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew how to surf the internet just as well as anyone else. She had even ordered her friend BOB from an online store. Mind you, she just couldn’t put it in her bag to bring with her, so she was just going to have to resort to the old-fashioned way to get sexual relief.

She was asleep moments after she had rolled onto her side and snuggled into the cool pillow.

Bambie hadn’t brought a lot of fashionable clothing with her.