was irritatingly sexy. She fought the urge to close the distance between them, reach out and stroke it back out of his eyes. Her fingers twitched at the recollection of how they felt to be tangled in his hair.
‘Long time no see,’ she added, mentally telling her libido to calm the hell down.
She expected him to snap something like ‘And whose fault is that?’ but instead he hit her with his lethal smile and uttered, ‘I missed you, Case.’
No! No, no, no, no, no, he was not going to sweet talk her with his bullshit. A new tyre and a divorce. That was all she was here for.
‘I got a flat coming into town and …’ She could barely bring herself to admit her stupidity. ‘The spare hadn’t been replaced from the last time. Could you go out, tow me in and source me a new one?’
He stepped towards her and her heart leapt into her throat. ‘How are you? You’re looking good.’ He raked his gaze over her, lingering on her mouth and then slowly moving down her body.
Her traitorous nipples hardened and she cursed the Queensland heat, which meant she only wore a thin t-shirt up top. But it wasn’t merely her nipples playing unfairly. Desire unfurled low in her belly and her pussy throbbed, hot and wet. It had always been this way between them.
Their chemistry had been blatantly obvious to them and everyone else the moment he’d walked into their one-teacher school. She’d been all of twelve years old and hadn’t had so much as a crush on a boy before then, but she’d fallen hard and fast for Joel Cooper. His parents had been killed in a car accident and he’d come to live with his uncle, Len McLean, owner of the garage. But he hadn’t looked like a boy broken. Taller than most their age, his face already boasting a hint of stubble, he’d walked into the class with a confident swagger that made Casey and every other young girl in Milpinyani quiver in their seats.
‘How soon can you fetch my car?’ she asked, folding her arms across her chest like armour.
He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Is that all you can manage to talk to me about after shooting through without a word?’
She scoffed, unable to believe her ears, ‘There were words, Joel. Plenty of them.’
Theirs hadn’t been an amicable split. As with everything where Casey and Joel were concerned, there’d been fireworks. Curse words, plates and a number of other household appliances hurled across rooms so that by the time she’d finally walked out of their little rental house there’d been little of value or significance left for her to take. Not that they’d ever had much between them.
‘So why are you back?’
Holding her chin high, she told him. ‘I’ve come to help Lucky with the pub during the rodeo. She’s had trouble with chefs the last few months or something and wants someone she can trust and rely on while she’s busy.’
‘I see,’ was all he said in reply. And then he glanced at his watch. ‘Well, I guess you won’t be working tonight. We should have dinner, reconnect.’
Something in his voice told her his definition of reconnect would involve getting naked, losing not only her clothes but her self-respect. Sex had never been their problem—it was everything else that had destroyed them—but she did crazy things when Joel started sweet-talking. She needed to be very, very careful.
Then again, she needed to talk to Joel and a public place was as good as any for the conversation they needed to have. He was less likely to lose his shit with an audience around them and she was less likely to break her own rules. Number one of which was: don’t fall for his charms and sex appeal.
‘Dinner sounds good,’ she said, with emphasis on the dinner. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Whatever you want, baby,’ he drawled.
For some reason whenever she heard other people refer to their partners as ‘baby’ her hackles rose, but when Joel said it to her, she went weak at the knees. Her fists curled at her sides as the desire she’d
‘Long time no see,’ she added, mentally telling her libido to calm the hell down.
She expected him to snap something like ‘And whose fault is that?’ but instead he hit her with his lethal smile and uttered, ‘I missed you, Case.’
No! No, no, no, no, no, he was not going to sweet talk her with his bullshit. A new tyre and a divorce. That was all she was here for.
‘I got a flat coming into town and …’ She could barely bring herself to admit her stupidity. ‘The spare hadn’t been replaced from the last time. Could you go out, tow me in and source me a new one?’
He stepped towards her and her heart leapt into her throat. ‘How are you? You’re looking good.’ He raked his gaze over her, lingering on her mouth and then slowly moving down her body.
Her traitorous nipples hardened and she cursed the Queensland heat, which meant she only wore a thin t-shirt up top. But it wasn’t merely her nipples playing unfairly. Desire unfurled low in her belly and her pussy throbbed, hot and wet. It had always been this way between them.
Their chemistry had been blatantly obvious to them and everyone else the moment he’d walked into their one-teacher school. She’d been all of twelve years old and hadn’t had so much as a crush on a boy before then, but she’d fallen hard and fast for Joel Cooper. His parents had been killed in a car accident and he’d come to live with his uncle, Len McLean, owner of the garage. But he hadn’t looked like a boy broken. Taller than most their age, his face already boasting a hint of stubble, he’d walked into the class with a confident swagger that made Casey and every other young girl in Milpinyani quiver in their seats.
‘How soon can you fetch my car?’ she asked, folding her arms across her chest like armour.
He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Is that all you can manage to talk to me about after shooting through without a word?’
She scoffed, unable to believe her ears, ‘There were words, Joel. Plenty of them.’
Theirs hadn’t been an amicable split. As with everything where Casey and Joel were concerned, there’d been fireworks. Curse words, plates and a number of other household appliances hurled across rooms so that by the time she’d finally walked out of their little rental house there’d been little of value or significance left for her to take. Not that they’d ever had much between them.
‘So why are you back?’
Holding her chin high, she told him. ‘I’ve come to help Lucky with the pub during the rodeo. She’s had trouble with chefs the last few months or something and wants someone she can trust and rely on while she’s busy.’
‘I see,’ was all he said in reply. And then he glanced at his watch. ‘Well, I guess you won’t be working tonight. We should have dinner, reconnect.’
Something in his voice told her his definition of reconnect would involve getting naked, losing not only her clothes but her self-respect. Sex had never been their problem—it was everything else that had destroyed them—but she did crazy things when Joel started sweet-talking. She needed to be very, very careful.
Then again, she needed to talk to Joel and a public place was as good as any for the conversation they needed to have. He was less likely to lose his shit with an audience around them and she was less likely to break her own rules. Number one of which was: don’t fall for his charms and sex appeal.
‘Dinner sounds good,’ she said, with emphasis on the dinner. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Whatever you want, baby,’ he drawled.
For some reason whenever she heard other people refer to their partners as ‘baby’ her hackles rose, but when Joel said it to her, she went weak at the knees. Her fists curled at her sides as the desire she’d
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