Page 75 of Stockman's Sandstorm

‘Me neither.’ He rolled over to face her, his breath warm against her skin, and his hand gently stroked her hair. ‘Wanna make out?’

‘Ugh! Seriously.’ She quickly sat up, annoyance flaring inside. ‘I’m not some swag-swapping rodeo whatchamacallit.’

He chuckled. ‘No, you’re not. And keep your voice down, we don’t want to wake up Mason.’ He rolled over, turning his back to her.

Well, she ruined that, didn’t she? ‘I-I …’ She rubbed the bridge of her nose and spilled her biggest secret. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘Excuse me?’ He peered over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow at her.

‘I mean, I’ve done hook-ups, but I don’t really date. I don’t know how to do small talk, because I never had time to bother because of work. I don’t do dinners, unless it’s for work. I don’t do drinks, unless it’s for work. I know nothing except work. Certainly not dating or relationships.’

‘And you think I do?’

‘You’d know more than me—you’re the guy who has the reputation of dating a new woman every two weeks. Me,’ she said, stabbing her thumb at her chest. ‘I only did the odd drunken one-night stand with some guy from some other department. But never in-house or with anyone I worked with, because that just made things messy. But hey, I was so busy I never got time to date—which didn’t matter because I wouldn’t know what to do.’ Hugging her knees she sighed to herself. ‘You know, I never had a boyfriend. And the only flowers I ever got on my desk were those thank you flowers for doing a good job.’ She lay back in a huff, her hands covering her heated face. ‘I’ve heard your brothers call me snooty. Even you said I was judgy, and I am with some things, especially with my work, because I was very particular about my job. But outside of the workplace, I’m so freaking clueless, I may as well be a born-again virgin.’ For a girl who never spilled secrets, why the hell did she say all that?

‘Hmph … Well, okay then.’ Ash unzipped the door to their tent.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Stay there.’

She gasped in horror. He’d left her. After she confessed her deepest, darkest secret, Ashton Riggs—the notorious ladies’ man—disappears in the dark.

She drew the pillow over her face to hide from her shame. It didn’t last long, getting too hot. So, she lay there, stiff as a board, trying not to berate herself for stupidly sharing her secrets. Well, not all of them, she still hadn’t spilled the big one, yet.

To really top off her night, the snoring singalong had begun. With no chance of sleeping, she was given no choice but to play the game of which snore belongs to who!

Charlie’s snore was a snuffle. Dex had a deep trombone. Cap, no, he wasn’t snoring—oh, he was just starting. And Ryder’s snoring was as strong and steady as the man who barely spoke to her. It had been a big day for all of them, while Harper played tourist watching them from the hill.

She heard footsteps, then the tent unzipped, and Ash climbed back inside. ‘Here.’ Even with soft silverly moonlight and the glow from the nearby campfire it was enough for her make out the bunch of wildflowers he held out to her.

‘What’s this?’

‘You said no one gave you flowers. So, this is me giving you some.’

Her heart practically doubled in size, as did her smile at the gesture. ‘Thank you, kind sir.’

‘It makes sense, you know,’ he said, sitting back on his swag. ‘The way you are. You’re not snooty, you’re shy.’

‘No, I’m not.’ She was quite fierce in her job.

‘With relationships, you are.’ He sat so close.

‘I thought we were having a strictly business relationship.’ She couldn’t help but lean in closer, like they were magnets. ‘You know, rules. Boundaries.’

‘Normally, I keep to the rules, but sometimes you just have to push some boundaries.’ His hand gently cupped her cheek. ‘Because right now, I want to kiss you.’ He leaned in closer, stopping barely a breath’s distance away. ‘Do I have your permission?’

‘One kiss.’

‘Sure. We can start with one kiss.’ The cocky confidence that shone in that grin and sparkled in his eyes should have offended her, but it only made him all the more attractive.

She barely nodded.

He leaned in and gently kissed her top lip, her bottom lip, then reached up to run strong fingers through her hair before pulling her closer until their lips were fully flush. And then his mouth opened to hers and she found she liked the kissing. She wanted more kissing, because this was a kissing heaven that had her heart thumping loudly.

‘Breathe, Harper. I won’t hurt you.’ His voice penetrated the haze of lust. Even if her self-esteem was at its most fragile, she couldn’t stop. They had crossed a line they should never have gone near, now entering the land of clichés with the boss kissing the nanny. The same cliché that got politicians into trouble filling headlines over their sordid scandals.

But this didn’t feel scandalous. It felt warm, delicious, and gloriously intoxicating. The way he kissed her, with his lips controlling hers, somehow managed to make her feel like she was the one in control. But she was so out of control, especially when his tongue got hot and demanding.

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