“Joe, we can’t!”  

He was unbuttoning my dress and I was feeling faint at the mere brush of his fingertips against my skin. 

“Ah now Kate lass, of course we can. Who’s here to stop us?”  

His hands found my breasts, thumbs brushing over nipples and I was lost but with the last thread of my sanity I tried again. 

“But… what if someone comes?” 

“I don’t think your friend Constable Kennedy has taken to inspecting all the barns in the Woolshed yet, and I really don’t see anyone else having any business here at this time of day…” His lips were on mine and I couldn’t do anything but surrender. My fingers seemed to have developed a mind of their own, pulling at his shirt and undoing buttons at the same time. 

“Don’t worry lass, we’ll be quite safe and undisturbed here.” 
 
He let me go for a minute to lay his pistol on the ground, within easy reach, but the momentary chill it gave me was forgotten when he sat me down on the blanket he had brought and spread out on top of the hay. He knelt in front of me and pulled the dress off my shoulders. His mouth on the soft skin of my breast seemed to connect straight into other parts of me and my body reacted instantly. 

“Joe…” 

He took a nipple in his mouth and I buried my fingers in his hair and looked down at the sun-browned shoulders and strong arms. His thumbs were drawing tender circles on my skin, making it tingle. 

“I missed you,” he was speaking against my breast while his hands moved up my legs, his thumbs on the inside of my thighs. I held my breath, waiting for his reaction when he realised there was nothing in his way. 

“Jesus Kate! What ever happened to yer underwear?!?” 

For a moment I couldn’t answer as the first touch of his thumb took my breath away, and then I managed to gasp: “I thought… in case we have to make a quick getaway… one less thing to worry about…” 

The sound of his laughter filled the hay-scented air and then he kissed me hard on the mouth, his fingers working away all the while.  

“Spoken like an outlaw’s girlfriend! I appreciate the thought Kate, but I’m still planning to take me time…” 

And he did. With practised and unhurried ease his fingers gave me such pleasure that I was writhing against his hand, biting my lip to keep from crying out, and he was watching me, savouring every moment of it with me. 

“Joe…” 

It took me a moment to focus again, and he pulled me into his arms and held me against him. 

“My beautiful lass… You know what it means to me that you’re here, don’t you?” 

The blue of his eyes was like the sky and I felt like I was falling even though his arms were tight around me. He kissed me and I closed my eyes. He was pulling the pins from my hair and it fell around us when he lay down and pulled me on top of him. 

“Love me, Kate.” 

A long, tender kiss and then his hands were on my hips as he gently pushed me to sit up. And at long last we were joined again. My hands on his chest, I was moving against him and he was talking to me softly, telling me how good I was making him feel. My eyes never left his face, I loved watching the way he furrowed his brow in concentration, the way he looked down to see himself, and the way he was trying to hold on for just a moment longer, his eyes squeezed shut and the head pushed back. And then he opened his eyes and lifted his head to suck in a nipple and the feel of his mouth combined with the feel of him deep inside me was all that I needed. Shaking, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him against me as tight as I could, and finally he let himself go too, burying his head in my hair against my shoulder and for a fleeting moment we were one. 

Afterwards we lay there on the blanket, his fingers combing through my hair, my cheek against his chest, his steady heartbeat reassuring in my ear. Through the open doorway I could see dusk falling and hear the cicadas start their evening chorus. 

“It’s such a lovely night, what do you say we go for a swim in the creek, lass?” 

It seemed silly to get dressed only to get undressed again straight away we decided, and it wasn’t likely anyone would be around to see us anyway, so we bundled up our things in the blanket and stepped outside into the gathering darkness, naked. It all felt slightly unreal, almost like a dream. Joe talked softly to his horse and patted her in passing and we made our way through the trees down to the creek. 

“I hope there are no snakes here,” I said, suddenly wary, trying to see where I was putting my feet. 

“Here,” Joe handed me the bundle of clothes and scooped me up in his arms. “I won’t let any harm come to you lass.” 

It occurred to me how at ease he was in the bush; the darkness around us seemed to hold no threat for him, it was as if he knew it and was secure in the knowledge that it knew him too and would not harm him. 

The scent of the gum trees was strong in the warm night and when we got down to the creek and the sky became visible above us again, I could see the moon rising from behind the trees and the first stars appearing. I dropped the bundle of clothes onto the bank and Joe waded into the creek, still holding me in his arms. I squeaked at the shock of the cool water against my hot skin and Joe laughed, dropping down deliberately so that we were both underwater briefly before he stood up again. 

“Joe!” I spluttered, “Are you trying to drown me?” 

“Ah lass, I just wanted to see what you would look like with that beautiful hair all wet… like a water sprite. Or perhaps a mermaid in them stories the sailors tell, one that lures the unsuspecting man by singing and then makes him into her slave. Maybe it’s me that should be worried here – see how your hair is tangling itself around me…”  

“If only it was that easy to capture you Joe – I don’t think I’d ever let you go!” 

“Ah to be sure you’d be sick of me before long… But I’m here now lass; you’ve got the outlaw disarmed and totally defenceless…”  

“I don’t think there’s any danger of you ever being defenceless, even naked. Especially naked.” 

“Well, I can’t help me deadly charm now can I?” 

There was no space between our bodies as we sank into a kiss and Joe chuckled. He knew he had me right where he wanted me but I didn’t mind at all because I had him right where I wanted him too.