I’ve picked my book Wanderlust for the holiday theme today, which is the story of an overland tour through India. A simple tour turns into into more complications than Anna Tietjens, the tour leader is prepared for: her troublesome sister is on the tour, her casual lover turns up and wants a more serious relationship and then there’s the fact that her passengers are dying—one-by-one.
Wanderlust by Shelley Munro
“I can’t wait to see the Taj Mahal up close,” Kathy said sighing dreamily. “It’s such a romantic story.”
I had to agree. I’d visited the monument built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife three times so far, but the sight of the white marbled minarets never failed to stir me.
I organized tuk-tuks and soon afterward we were at the entrance. Once I’d purchased the tickets, I handed them out. “Make your own way back to camp. You’re on your own for dinner. We’ll drive to see the Agra Fort tomorrow morning, leaving at nine. I will not chase after you. Anyone not ready to leave at nine, I will go without. Is that clear?” I asked, my gaze settling on my sister. She tossed her head, lifting her pert nose into the air, her mouth tightening. I sighed. It was going to be a long trip.
The passengers entered the grounds and disappeared apart from Sebastian. A camera hung around his neck and dark sunglasses covered his eyes.
“Aren’t you going inside?”
“I’m waiting for you.” Before I could reply, he took my hand and led me in. I didn’t look at him but was very aware of his touch, his scent and most of all his statement of intent. Sebastian wasn’t going to give up.
Just inside the entrance, we paused to study the monument. The sunlight caught the far minarets making them gleam like a lustrous pearl. The fountains were silent, allowing perfect reflections in the ponds. Around us people called to each other and laughed, but it felt as if we were in our own private bubble. I heard the buzz of a bee, felt the gentle kiss of the breeze and smelled Sebastian’s scent along with a touch of incense. His hand squeezed mine and I turned to him, my breath hitching when I caught his gaze. It felt like a punch to the solar plexus. I was in big trouble. I knew instinctively he wasn’t going to leave me alone. He’d made that fairly clear. I wasn’t exactly doing a great job of pushing him away. For every step forward, I seemed to take three or four steps backward. If he’d been openly forceful or bossy, I might have had a chance, but he was wooing me, dammit. And doing an excellent job. My body hummed with desire, thoughts of him intruding at inappropriate times and I craved his touch, his kisses. Maybe we could just spend the time together and walk away afterward? Somehow I didn’t think that would work. I shook off the thought and walked toward the monument. Sebastian fell into step, still holding my hand. We passed my sister and some of the other passengers. Elizabeth stared, her eyes slitting in a manner that made me nervous.
“We shouldn’t be together like this in public.” I attempted to regain possession of my hand, but Sebastian held tightly, refusing to let me go.
He yanked me to an abrupt stop. “Are you ashamed of me?”
“No!” My reply was instant and pulled a grin from him.
“Glad to hear it. I haven’t told anyone about my job. You’re the only one who knows because I trust you. Some of the things I’ve done, the people I deal with aren’t nice. Meeting you at the airport and then spending time together felt like a safety valve. You ground me, Anna. I needed a holiday and I wanted to see you so I came.”
“I don’t know anything about you,” I said, trying not to think about the things he did in the course of his job. “We never talked. It was all about sex.”
“You didn’t seem to mind.” His gaze sharpened, his laughter dropping away. A frisson of danger slipped between us. It made me realize he was dangerous. Maybe unpredictable. My gaze dropped to our linked hands. Those hands had killed, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“This is different,” I said. “We’re going to spend weeks together rather than one night or a weekend. We can’t spend all our time in bed.” Heck, what if that was the only place that our relationship worked? I squeezed my eyes closed, hardly believing my thoughts. A relationship? Oh boy. I was in big trouble here.
By common consent we continued walking through the gardens and past the ponds. “You haven’t had a holiday before.”
“I wanted to see you, Anna. We haven’t seen each other since the night in Paris six months ago. I take breaks between assignments.”
Confusion hit me and it felt as if I’d thumped into a brick wall. I swallowed the lump in my throat. He had breaks—holidays—but this was the first time he’d sought me out. “Where do you go?”
“Mostly home to England. I help out on my brother’s farm or spend time with friends in Scotland or Wales. Sometimes I spend time at my apartment on the Gold Coast in Australia.”
All news to me. I didn’t even know he had family in England. I wasn’t sure why I was surprised since he was English.
“As I said, I want to spend time with you. Can we do that?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip, trying to decide on the best course of action. Was he asking for too much? Not really, I decided. Of course, work needed to come first. I prided myself on my professionalism. “I guess,” I answered finally.
Sebastian squeezed my hand. He wanted to kiss me, I could tell, but he refrained, tugging me into a quick hug instead. “Let’s go check out this monument. I want to take some photos.”
We stepped into the cool interior of the main Taj structure. It stood on a raised platform and was made of translucent white marble, carved with flowers and inlaid with thousands of semiprecious stones. Sebastian took several photos, some of the inlaid work and some of me. We wandered the gardens, pausing to take photos from different angles and soaking in the pure romance of the place. Sharing the experience with Sebastian made it all new, and I enjoyed playing tourist with him at my side. It struck me then that we were making memories together, we’d have something to discuss when we met in the future. Anxiety slithered through me for an instant before I shoved it away. I’d take this thing between us, whatever it was, one day at a time. If I looked at it in small increments, maybe I’d manage to keep the terror at bay.
Purchase Wanderlust here.
To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:
Jody Wallace
Moira Rogers
Shelley Munro
Vivian Arend
Jaci Burton
TJ Michaels
Lacey Savage
Ashley Ladd
Shelli Stevens
McKenna Jeffries
Anya Bast
Michelle Pillow
Taige Crenshaw
Mandy Roth
