Page 16 of The Science of Attraction

It was getting ridiculous, not to mention way too fucking risky. I was breaking every rule there was. Case in point—Liam arrived in the woolshed that morning with my father in tow and five minutes later I was touching his damn face within spitting distance of the man who could end my future on the station in the blink of an eye. What the actual fuck was wrong with me?

Who does that? Idiot, closeted, bisexual messes whose dicks unexpectedly discovered an on-button in the form of blond, mouthy, tattooed, and talented occupational therapists—that’s who. After thirty-five years of relative indifference to the sexual potential of men in my bed, I’d suddenly found myself heading straight—go figure—to lust jail, do not pass go, do not collect any brain matter along the way.

My father would be so proud. Not.

My brother, on the other hand, would laugh himself stupid until he threw up and then start all over again. Which was exactly why he would never know. He’d been pestering me for years to take the plunge and look behind that door, and that had only become worse since he’d found his own happiness with Luke.

With the turnoff to the cottage just twenty metres away, my last chance to simply drive on by was staring me in the face.Yeah, right.Like there was even a choice in my head. I steered the quad left onto the grass and up to Liam’s front steps.

Puzzle solved.

Liam was, in fact, sitting on a yoga mat with his legs split in opposite directions in a way that made my balls shrink in sympathy. He looked up as I made the turn onto his front lawn, and damn, if he didn’t look pleased to see me. Squinting into the late afternoon sun, his shrewd hazel eyes raked over my filthy attire, while his blond hair was swept back off his face in the grip of a shiny gold headband that would’ve given my father conniptions.

“Hey.” He shot me a broad smile. “Just give me a sec. I’m nearly done.” He dropped his forehead back to his knee, and considering he wore a pair of thin cream leggings that hugged every swell and curve of his stretched arse, including the tempting bulge on display at the front, I had pretty much zero issue with his instruction. He could take all damn day as far as I was concerned.

I slid from the quad, and Chip and Hopper sailed off the back and straight up the steps, bouncing around Liam’s mat in excited greeting.

“Come away,” I scolded, and they instantly fell in behind.

Liam chuckled but kept doing whatever the hell he was doing. Yoga, I supposed. Give the man a balloon.

I grabbed a seat on the steps and watched what had to be the best show in town, if sexy men doing bendy contortions were your thing. They’d definitely shot up the list ofmyfavourite recreational pastimes. And as for the stolen glimpse of a tattoo when his shirt rode up, just damn.

When Liam looked up and caught me staring, his lips curved up in a knowing smirk and my cheeks blew hot.Shit.I cleared my throat and turned my attention to the brilliant sky at my back. The sunset had lit the tussock in a golden fire, the tall, jagged peaks behind cast into dark silhouettes against the painted sky. And on the valley floor, long shadows stole across the river flats like a gang of thieves.

Liam sank onto the step beside me, towel in hand, mopping his face and neck, the scent of clean, fresh sweat playing havoc with my senses. “I fired off a pic of this to my yoga class back in Dunedin.” He tried to wipe his face, but the dogs crowded him for attention. He scruffed both their necks and tolerated a couple of noses through his hair before pushing them good-naturedly aside. “They’re jealous as hell.”

I sent the dogs to wait by the quad and followed Liam’s gaze across the valley. “Sunsets like this are one of the best things about living on the station, along with early winter mornings when the hoar frost clings to the tussock and the dogs’ breath fogs as they work the mob. Sometimes the air sparkles like it’s made up of stardust.”

When Liam didn’t respond, I turned to find him studying me with a bemused look. “That’s pretty damn romantic for a sheep farmer.”

“Station owner,” I corrected, and he grinned.

“My apologies. But it still stands. And now you’re blushing.”

“Rubbish.” I turned away so he couldn’t see me smile. “Then again, I think everyone who works this land has to have a bit of romance in their blood. It’s hard not to when you’re surrounded by this every day.” I gestured to the shadowing valley. “It must be part of why we stick around generation after generation. Lord knows it’s not for the money. Even the fact that the Mackenzie is named after the region’s most infamous sheep-wrangling outlaw slash folk hero, says a lot. I think maybe this country was built on romance.”

Liam shot me a wry smile. “Does that include your dad?”

I groaned. “There’s always an exception.”

He laughed and the carefree sound made me smile, putting another chink in that armour of mine that was rapidly failing. Liam was an intriguing mix of no-nonsense, self-assured confidence, and a devil-may-care, laid-back manner that was so very easy to be around. He was also out and proud, and everything I wasn’t, and the whole package screamed freedom compared to the pressure cooker of my own life—my closeted bisexuality, my dysfunctional family, and the complex frustration of running the station with my father breathing down my fucking neck.

Liam, by contrast, was a breath of fresh air when I hadn’t even known I was suffocating. He drew me in like a moth to a bright flame, which left only one question.

How badly did I want to get burned?

Because if I crossed that line, if I opened that door, burn I surely would, in some form and in some way. I could sense it. Like I was teetering on a cliff. I didn’t know if Liam was free or even seriously interested. I was a pathetic mess. Sometimes, I wondered if maybe all I truly wanted was someone to talk with. Someone I could be me with,fullyme. To have a man other than my brother know the real me. What if that was all my infatuation was about? Then I remembered my recent shower scene that morning and groaned. Okay, so it wasn’tonlytalking I wanted to do with Liam.

“Jules?”

I blinked to find Liam watching me with a small smile in place. “Sorry. I guess I zoned out for a bit. It’s been a busy couple of weeks.” I tipped my head toward the yoga mat. “I have to say, we don’t see a lot of that in the high country, especially not on a front deck.”

He laughed and patted the mat. “I don’t imagine. But I like yoga. It centres me, especially after a difficult day.” He shot me a meaningful look, which needed no interpretation. “I intend to introduce your father to one or two positions.”

I choked on a laugh. “Holy crap. You can’t be serious.”

He nodded. “Deadly. Only I won’t be telling him what he’s actually doing. I’ll just teach him a few simple exercises and poses aimed at strength and balance. He’ll never know.”

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