She sucked in a breath, shocked by the impact of his warm lips as they brushed her skin and the slow burn he’d started with his words, which burst into a wicked little camp fire.

Her inner voice cautioned, Calm down. It’s just a walk. ‘Thank you, kind sir, for the potted description of my hand,’ she said, hiding in humour, but she felt a little breathless and struggled to keep the conversation light. He’d held more than that on their hot nights, but there was something sweet and unhurried about a man wanting to hold her hand and saying he enjoyed it. Something romantic. It wasn’t a trait she was known for, but what girl didn’t smile at a hint of romance? Maybe this new relationship she hoped to build with Zac could start with romance instead of sex.

Ava went along with the attraction, and the frivolous conversation hid the depth of tension slowly building into a fog of lust between them. The residual heat from the day warmed her legs, Zac warmed her middle, and a slight breeze drifted towards her every now and then, trying to cool her down. It wasn’t succeeding. ‘You’re confusing me.’

The almost silent tread of his footsteps made her aware of his powerful frame. He suddenly laughed and she closed her eyes briefly at the warmth in that sound. He didn’t do it enough.

‘I’m not surprised I confuse you,’ he murmured. ‘I confuse myself.’

‘That’s no good.’ Ava exhaled noisily. ‘Someone needs to know what’s going on.’ She shook their hands. ‘I’m not sure what happens next with you and I find that hard to cope with.’

‘That’s another thing I’m finding I like so much about you – your honesty.’ He sighed. ‘I hope I can be the same.’

His comment made her feel uncomfortable because there was so much he didn’t know about her, such as her dreams and the reasons she had brought him here, which actually warred with her fears and insecurities. Her need to stay connected to the land. His eventual commitment to spend long passages of time in her setting if this all did work out. She didn’t understand this man or his world, and it terrified her the way he could rouse her emotions with a word or two and a quick squeeze of her fingers and then dash her down with a facade that said he didn’t know her.

What would he do when they went back to the house? Pretend there was nothing between them, like he had once before? Mim knew there was more between them. Her mother had sensed it, too. Was he aware of what he did to her or was it just she that was supersensitive?