Page 20 of The Mechanics of Lust

It was an interesting mix and oddly erotic. Mind you, there wasn’t much about Zach that I didn’t find erotic.

I angled my body onto one hip to give him a bit more room and in the process, the sides of our heads brushed and he jerked around, putting us almost within kissing distance.

He sucked in a sharp breath and his gaze dropped to my lips, the tip of his pink tongue showing for just a second. Then his eyes lifted back to mine, and it took all my strength not to close the gap and snag a taste of the intriguing man. He flushed red and looked away, his gaze fixed on the windscreen.

“Do you have enough room?” I checked more for something to say than anything else.

“I’m fine.”

No arguing with that.With Gil and Holden almost back at the ute, I took the opportunity to whisper, “Just so you know, I don’t expect you to stay and talk history with me.”

Zach shot me a hard-to-read look. “It doesn’t matter either way to me.” Which was so obviously a lie I wasn’t sure how either of us kept a straight face.

“Sorry about the squeeze.” Holden slid into the driver’s seat and put the ute in reverse. “Gil’s upscaling the guest cottages’ linen for this year’s muster.”

Gil turned in his seat. “We increased the—” He paused, his shrewd gaze landing on a still-flushed Zach, causing Zach to reach down and ferret in his bag for something he undoubtedly didn’t need.

“Increased what?” I enquired, meeting Gil’s questioning brow with a matching one of my own. The man was too fucking perceptive.

He held my gaze a moment longer, but I’d been married to him long enough to hold my own in the face of his ferreting manoeuvres. Eventually, he gave up. “We increased the cost for the guest bookings during muster. And since they’re going to be paying a frickin’ fortune for the privilege of busting their arses for a week on the hill with thousands of smelly merinos, I figured the least we could do is provide a bit of luxury at the beginning and end. Million-thread-count sheets and towels thick enough to wipe even your sorry arses were a good start.”

I snorted. “It’s a far cry from the man who tried to survive university on three facecloths and a hand towel because he was too much of a Scrooge to replace the full towel he used to paint a pride flag on, which he then gluedandnailed to the office door of his first-year history professor.”

Holden glanced over at Gil. “You make me so proud.”

Gil snorted. “The guy was the biggest fucking homophobe. Gave me a C+ on a paper because he felt I hadn’t given adequate consideration to the validity of opposing views on the 1986 decriminalisation of homosexuality in New Zealand.”

Even Zach gave a barely audible snort of amusement.

Holden slapped Gil’s thigh. “From arguing homosexual law reform to spreading million-thread-count sheets for loaded guests. You’ve come a long way, baby. Are there any more stories of your misspent youth?”

Gil threw me a warning look, which I duly ignored.

“Oh, there’s a ton more where that came from,” I assured Holden, which earned me a dishtowel in the face from my darling ex.

CHAPTERSIX

Zach

“Not so fast, mister.”Holden held me back as Gil and Luke made their way up the front path with Spider at their heels. “What’s eating you? And don’t say it’s not. Did something happen today?”

“Nope. I’m just tired. I want a bath and a beer, and not in that order.” I shrugged him free and started across the lawn toward Tussock Cottage.

“I don’t believe you.” He ran after me. “Come on. If you want a beer, then come in and grab it with us. You know way better stories about the Mackenzie than I do. You always have the guests in stitches. I know you don’t like Luke much, but he’s not as bad as you think.”

I swallowed the urge to tell Holden exactly what I thought about Luke, starting with how badly I wanted to bend him over that king-sized bed of mine and fuck him senseless, but yeah... maybe not the best conversation starter. Instead, I sighed, reminded myself how Luke had helped us out today when he didn’t have to, and dropped my bag on the deck of the cottage. “One beer. Are you happy now?”

Holden beamed and slung an arm over my shoulder. “Ecstatic.”

The homestead’s industrial-sized kitchen had wood and stainless countertops, a massive granite island, flagstone floors, and bright white cabinetry. It was made homely by soft furnishings done in a pale green and cream palette, masses of pot plants, and a wealth of copper pots hanging from the ceiling on a black metal frame.

There had been subtle changes since Gil had taken over from Emily and made it his domain, such as a couple of skylights over the kitchen island that flooded the space with light. But there were other changes too—a simpler crockery design, a clearer workspace, and the swapping out of the pale lemon small appliances for stainless steel versions had all added a more masculine touch while maintaining the welcoming feel of the place.

When we walked in, Gil was already frothing milk at the espresso machine and Luke was seated at one end of the long table that hosted the entire station team for lunch most days of the week. Luke had shrugged out of the top of his flight suit and tied the arms around his waist, leaving him sitting in a black sleeveless tank with far too much naked skin on display. My gaze fell to his nicely contoured forearms, tanned and dusted with a smattering of blond hair just like the rest of him. And how the fuck was that as sexy as it was?

At the sound of our footsteps, he looked up, and when he saw me, a small frown dipped between his brows.

“Sit and I’ll get you that beer.” Holden waved me to a seat at the table and headed for the fridge in the pantry saying, “I might even have one myself.”

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