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Kate Loveday
Escape Publishing
Category:
Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Escape
ISBN-10: 1525232797
Type: Fiction
Pages: 181
Copyright: 2016
ISBN-13: 9781525232794
Price: $3.77 (eBook)
An adventure set in the Australian rainforest, where a race is on to discover a precious plant-and an even rarer kind of attraction.
Elly Cooper is looking forward to a weekend away with friends - including Jackson Lee, who she believes may become more than a friend during the trip. When he doesn't turn up, and keeps sending messages with excuses, she doesn't know what to believe. Then he goes missing - along with an important journal that contains her dead father's life-long work, with details of how to make a beauty product that he described as the 'fountain of youth', potentially worth millions.
The catch is that the main ingredent is a rare plant found only in the Daintree. And only her father knew where to find it.
Elly enlists the aid of handsome ex-policeman Mitchell Beaumont to help her find Jackson, the journal, and the plant. But someone else now has the journa,l and is on the trail of the precious plant.
It is a race against time to see who can find it first, and it seems as if whoever else is searching, they will stop short of nothing - even murder.
And as Elly and Mitchell search together, will their friendship develop into something more?
Excerpt
The next day they were up early again and, after a quick breakfast, drove to the edge of the forest and parked as usual, then made their way towards the granite outcrops at the edge of the mountain. With Mitchell leading the way they followed a narrow animal trail as it wound its way between the trees. Palms and ferns nestled among the taller trees along the way, and at one spot Mitchell had to duck to avoid a vine, as thick as a man’s arm, that draped from side to side across the track.
The forest was quiet. It seemed as if even the birds lacked the energy to call to one another in the heat of the day. When a bush rat scuttled across the path in front of her, Elly jumped, and her surprised yelp sounded loud in the stillness. Mitchell stopped and turned, but Elly waved him on.
As they neared the mountain a giant python, all of two metres long and with the girth of a small tree, uncoiled itself from a branch overhead and lowered its head to sway slowly from side to side, level with Elly’s face. Its beady eyes stared straight into hers as its tongue flicked in and out. Her screams rent the air as she jumped back, her heart racing.
Two things happened. Mitchell turned and covered the ground between them in seconds, while the python hastily retracted itself back into the security of the tree.
Mitchell wrapped his arms around Elly and pulled her to him, her face against his chest, trying to calm her as she continued to scream. ‘Shush, shush, it’s all right,’ he said, holding her tight. ‘It’s gone now. It can’t hurt you. You’re safe now.’
Elly’s screams stopped as she realised where she was, and heard his words. Shaking, she struggled to regain her composure, then lifted her head and tried to step back, but he held her tight.
‘Stay here,’ he told her firmly. ‘You’ve had a terrible fright.’ One hand came up to stroke her hair, while the other arm held her firmly against him.
‘Did you see it?’ she asked him, her voice coming in ragged gasps. ‘It was huge.’
‘Yes, I saw. But it’s gone now. Way back up into the tree. I’m not sure who got the biggest fright, you or the python.’
Elly shuddered and tried to slow her rasping breath, feeling the blood still pounding through her veins. ‘It was big enough to squeeze a man to death,’ she said shakily, looking up at him.
‘It certainly was,’ Mitchell agreed. ‘You had every reason to be frightened.’
‘I-I’m sorry,’ she said, trying to take a step back, but he still held her tight and she couldn’t leave his arms. Not that she really wanted to, she realised. She liked the feel of where she was.
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