Page 86 of Stockman's Stormcloud

‘That now looks amazing.’ Was Bree a hero in all of this? Had she misjudged the woman so badly?

‘You know, I still pinch myself in the mornings when I wake up in bed.’ His open vulnerability had her heart melting for him. ‘Because of what she’s done to my place, and her harsh lecture, Bree has made me realise I deserve the good stuff. She told me that I might be missing out on something wonderful because I didn’t want to risk being involved with someone—like you. Honestly, I’ve never been attracted to anyone like I am with you, Miss Sophie Pendleton.’

His formality at times like this, made it impossible for her not to gush over this guy.

‘I thought, well, this is me taking that chance…’ He shrugged, pointing to their dinner and the view. ‘Am I making sense?’

It felt like she was dreaming.

Her stomach spun, with her adrenaline so high it started to perpetually hum in her veins. She leaned towards him, where his penetrating gaze remained steady on her. She nodded. Hell yeah, she understood what he was saying.

And then, his lips curved with a wicked promise. ‘We can take this slowly. And then you can explain to me what to do when dating someone. It’s been a while.’

‘Well, I know one thing that happens on a first date, it’s this…’ She gripped his shirt, dragging him closer until her lips clashed with his. He tasted heavenly.

But then Dex shifted, dragging her onto his lap, to almost savagely take control in kissing her, trapping her in a worldthat only breathed, blended, and magically weaved of nothing but the pure essence of Dex. It was her kind of heaven. His tongue was hot and demanding, as his strong fingers slid into her hair, tugging her ponytail loose.

Then he pulled back.

Behind him the outback’s sunset flooded the sky in a vast technicolour display of warm golds to rich purples, highlighting the train station’s windmill that slowly turned like her heart, tripping so hard against her ribs she was worried it’d break her bones, and her mind.

‘How about we eat, huh? It’s dangerous getting all hot and sweaty up here.’

Dex was dangerous. But with all his smouldering layers of male, she wanted to get sweaty now. Except that they were sitting on a narrow board, on the roof of an empty trailer, almost five metres in the air.

‘I get it. I’m hungry too.’ Even with her stomach rumbling for her favourite foods, it wasn’t the only part of her body that was hungry, but she knew what she wanted for dessert.

Twenty-seven

‘You don’t have to walk me to my door like this.’ Sophie grinned like a schoolgirl, having had the best time taking photos of the sunset, sharing dinner and conversation with Dex as the shadows lengthened over the deserted stockyards until the stars flooded the skies.

Dex said nothing, leaning his shoulder on the wall beside her front door.

She could feel his intense stare as she rummaged through her bag for her keys while her heart was hammering in her chest. ‘Found them.’

‘Are you going to invite me in?’

‘I shouldn’t.’

‘Really?’ He arched his eyebrows in surprise.

Yeah, right, who was she kidding?

The cat was at the door, winding around Dex’s boots, demanding attention from him, until Dex scooped up the cat.

‘Don’t mind me, Mr Purrington, the one who feeds you,’ she mumbled, dumping her bag and cameras on her small table.

Dex casually booted the door shut behind him, and for once, she didn’t know what to do. There was no job to hide behind here.

‘Would the cat run away if you left the door open long?’

‘No. I used to leave the windows open on my car and he’d jump in and out whenever he wanted.’

‘In the city?’

‘A security guard kept an eye on the car at the hospital. Ihelped his wife when she was unwell.’

‘I see…’ He put the cat down on the table, brushing the fur off his shirt.

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