Page 62 of The Mechanics of Lust

I shot Zach a dubious look. “I hope we’re not going to end a great night in a police cell for trespassing.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I know the family. I came here a bit as a teenager.” He hesitated, then shrugged. “I dated their daughter back in high school.”

I choked on a surprised laugh. “I take it that was a passing phase.”

He shot me an amused look. “It wasn’t a phase at all, not really. But it did a good job of keeping my dad’s suspicions at bay. Not to mention, Cyndi’s older brother was hot as hell, so there was that.”

“Always a bonus.” I almost bit my tongue as the ute lurched in and out of a decent-sized pothole. “So, you dated the daughter to drool over the son?”

Zach shrugged uncomfortably. “It wasn’t quite like that. Cyndi was quick to pick up on my... preferences, shall we say.”

That made me laugh. “Say it isn’t so.”

Zach rolled his eyes. “Kind of hard to hide the truth when things don’thappenwhen they should.”

“Oh.” I grinned. “Enough said.”

“Anyhoo—” Zach looked my way. “—Cyndi let me keep up the pretence for a while and we stayed good friends. I got to know her family quite well, and for the record, I don’t think they were fooled one bit. Anyway, long story short, they don’t mind me coming up here now and then if I’m in the area.”

Zach wrestled the ute up the final section of the hill and onto the flattish top, the headlights revealing the black waters of a sizeable tarn with no more than a few ripples disturbing its surface. He brought the ute to a stop and jumped out. “Come on. Bring the goodies.”

I grabbed the food and drink while Zach ferreted in the bed of the ute, pulling out a tarp and the blanket and cushions.

“This way.” He led me toward a slight rise on the far side of the tarn, the looming black depths providing a watery reflection of the sparkling wonder above. Happy with his spot, he spread the tarp, positioned the cushions, and opened up the blanket. Then he made himself comfortable.

“Get down here.” He patted the tarp, and I slid under the blanket and alongside his warm body with a canopy of stars over our head. His arm slipped around my shoulders and tucked me into his side, keeping the chilly edge of the night at bay.

Tekapo township glowed in the distance, while the lake in front bore a silvery sheen in the limited moonlight. But above us was where the action was taking place, a sky chock-full of starlight and galactic wonder. One look and my heart rate kicked up, or maybe it was simply the effect of being there with Zach, being inhisorbit, his pull on my heart as strong as any planet to star up there.

“Wow.” There really was nothing else to say.

“You’re welcome.” Zach pressed a kiss to my hair. “Technically, it might not be as good as what we saw at the observatory, or maybe even what we can see from the mountains behind the station, but I love it here.”

I studied the sky and tried to remember what the guide had taught us. “Those are the Magellanic clouds we looked at through the scope, right?” I pointed to two small cloudy galaxies off to one side of the Milky Way.

“I think so,” Zach agreed. “But I do know that’s the Southern Cross.” He pointed out the constellation, and from there we went turn and turn about identifying as many things as we could from what we’d learned that night. And when we were done, the mantle of silence that fell over the glistening tarn felt heavy enough to press our bodies into the earth and fuse our hearts with the stony soil.

After what seemed like forever, Zach’s fingers threaded through my hair and his whispered voice came over my shoulder. “The sky feels bigger here than on the station with no mountains crowding the spaces. I’ve been here when the lake is this ethereal silver, like liquid mercury, like some kind of sci-fi portal to the stars. Like maybe you could dive in and swim with the galaxies.”

I listened with my heart in my throat, not daring to move in case he stopped talking, thanking God when he didn’t.

“Sometimes these mountains feel like they’re alive, like they’re watching me, waiting for me to click to what they’re trying to tell me. Frustrated when I don’t seem to get it. I feel part of something huge and important, and I never want to leave. But other times they feel like sentinels watching my life take one step at a time into oblivion, and it feels like the loneliest place in the world to live, and all I want to do is turn my back and run.”

I let his words settle in my heart. Then I levered up on one elbow and stared down at him, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. “You’re such a romantic. I have to admit that it surprised me when I first realised that about you.” I ran a finger between his brows to smooth the frown that appeared. “I guess I expected a practical country boy through and through.”

He grinned. “Your stereotypes are showing. So, tell me, what did you find instead?”

I leaned in and kissed him long and slow, my mouth swallowing his soft murmurs of pleasure. “I found a man who reads about Egyptian pharaohs and Scottish clan wars, and who knows the difference between an IPA and APA.”

Zach chuckled. “No one messes with my beer.”

I grinned and cupped his face. “And I found a complicated, patient man with a soft heart and a strong will. Someone who has been through more than his fair share of heartache in life, and someone I admire.”

He swallowed hard, his eyes shining in the starlight. “That’s a big call, considering we hardly know each other.”

The comment caught me off guard. “Do you truly believe we don’t know each other? Jesus, Zach, I’ve been watching you for a year, thinking about you, listening to what people say about you, learning everything I can. But even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t need to look past the way you love and treat your dogs and the fierce way they love you in return—the wayalldogs love you. That tells me a ton about your heart and who you are as a man. And your reaction to everything that happened with Holden and then with your dad and family only goes to show how generous and resilient you are. Then there’s the way you are... with me.”

“With you?” His brows peaked. “We hardly got off on the right foot.”

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