Page 13 of The Mechanics of Lust

“Hey, don’t write me off just cos I’m green,” Charlie protested.

“I’m competitive, not an idiot,” I fired back. “You two have come a long way.”

“Damn right.” Charlie eyed Jojo who was busy circling our group, her senses on high alert, her border collie ears twitching in anticipation. “She knows, doesn’t she?”

“Hell yeah, she does.” I got to my knees and pulled Jojo in for a hug on her next pass.

Training days along with anything to do with mustering featured high on the collie’s list of favourite ways to spend a day, and a trip to the station airfield was a dead giveaway that something awesome was about to happen. And since she’d been training with Hellboy more often, his equally excited presence only served to amp her up further. Being an isolated mountainous region with an abundance of tourists making dodgy decisions, we were called out more often than people thought, and Jojo knew the drill.

In contrast to our two bundles of trembling canine adrenaline, Holden’s huntaway, Spider, lounged in the bed of Holden’s ute, his gaze locked on Gil. I smiled and shook my head. The lazy dog had become more Gil’s than Holden’s, assuming the self-appointed role of protector, spookily sensitive to Gil’s PTSD.

I was about to call him over for a head scratch when Jojo and Hellboy launched themselves across the airfield, barking madly. I scanned the southern sky, knowing full well that their keen ears had picked up what mine couldn’t.

Our taxi was close.

Two seconds later the Wild Run chopper crested the sawtooth peaks at the southern end of the valley and made its way toward us. I called the dogs to heel and wiped the sweat from my brow. Not even nine in the morning and it was already hot as hell, the bluebird sky and warm breeze giving no indication of the weather front headed our way. With the dogs safely tucked behind, we watched in silence as the chopper drew near, turning away as the wash of the blades blasted our faces.

When the skids hit the grass and the rotor blades slowed, I reached for my backpack and high-vis safety gear while Jojo, Hellboy, and Spider all barked an excited welcome. The arrival of a helicopter usually meant an exciting day up the hill, a fact not lost on the dogs.

“Luke?” Gil’s surprised call sent my heart knocking against my ribs.

Luke? Fuck, no.I spun around, and sure enough there he sat at the controls of the helicopter alongside Doug Carstairs, a lean, perpetually cheerful thirty-five-year-old wilderness guide from Oakwood who was part of our team.

Dammit to hell.It hadn’t even occurred to me that Luke might be our pilot since it was usually Tommy who flew for our team.Shit.My happy mood went into freefall.

Apart from a countless number of unsolicited appearances in my shower fantasies, I’d managed to avoid Luke for an entire three weeks since our last...discussion. Even when he’d flown Gil and Holden to check the summering mobs and then stayed for lunch with the team at the homestead, I’d made sure I had plenty of work to do and taken a packed lunch with me—mostly because I was embarrassed.

I’d been a rude, unmitigated dick to him that morning, especially considering the man had given me a bed for the night. The trouble was, I didn’t know how to make it right without launching into another conversation I’d rather avoid. And to be fair, the unmitigated dick part had been primarily to hide the fact that he’d almost busted me creeping on him while he’d been sleeping and I’d been trying to find the bathroom.

The memory still horrified me but also stirred my cock. Luke had been sprawled on his side facing the window, his lean-muscled leg hooked outside of the sheet, the waistband of his boxers pulled low enough to provide a tempting peek of the top of his crease, a few blond hairs across his arse, and miles of smooth, tanned skin all the way up that long, long back.

I’d been transfixed, not to mention semi-fucking-hard, and then Luke had jerked in his sleep as if he’d sensed I was there and I scrambled out of sight only to run into a stack of boxes and send them toppling. Seconds later, Luke had appeared in his boxers and my mouth ran dry. A smattering of fair curls fanned out across that wide chest and tight abs, coalescing into a thick happy trail that ran down into his boxers along with my imagination.

And just like that I’d felt myself stiffening... again. Whatever the hell was up with my dick, that fucker needed a leash and a muzzle pronto.

“Where’s Tommy?” Holden shouted above the roar of the engine as he and Gil approached the cockpit.

“His wife went into labour last night and Rory’s got a booking,” Luke shouted back, his flat gaze landing on me. “Sorry, but you’re stuck with me. I’ll be taking Tommy’s on-call days for the foreseeable future since Rory is only part-time. Today seemed a good opportunity to meet everyone and get to know the ropes.”

Holden nodded, looking surprised. “That’s good of you. It’s a big commitment.”

Luke shrugged. “It’s no big deal. New fathers need time at home, right?” His gaze slid sideways to Gil who returned a knowing smile.

A niggle of guilt tugged at my belly. Holden and Gil were right. Offering to be on call for the local SAR was a big commitment, but since he’d first arrived in the Mackenzie, Luke had done nothing but try to get on with people, even me.

“Hey there, stranger.” Holden looked past Luke to where Doug sat with a smile from ear to ear.

“Hey, yourself,” Doug replied, then cast a sly smirk Charlie’s way. “You too, gorgeous.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Douggie, Douggie, Douggie. Do I have to box your bloody ears again? Cos I’m looking to release a bit of steam and you’d make a convenient target.”

He grinned unashamedly. “Aw, you love me, admit it.”

She bundled Hellboy into the carrier above the skid, threw her backpack into the chopper, and then shoved Doug’s hat down over his eyes. “Arsehole.”

“See.” Doug hooted with laughter and pushed it back on his head. “Hey, Holden, you’ve been keeping secrets from me.”

“What do you mean?”

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