he didn’t want to let you go.’
Sadie wanted to deny it but hadn’t she come to the same conclusion yesterday? That he’d wanted his muse back and he was prepared to go to any lengths to get it?
Kent gentled his hands against her and lightly circled his thumbs over the curves of her hips. ‘Sadie, you are incredibly good. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to explore that a little more?’
Sadie shut her eyes as his words of praise, aided and abetted by the brush of his thumbs against her skin and the scrape of stubble at her neck, seduced her.
A fledgling ray of possibility sparked to life inside her and she shied from it. Art had made her incredibly happy. And incredibly unhappy. Could she go back to that roller coaster again?
She pushed the illicit thought away, stamping on its lure. It wasn’t something she could decide on a whim. Certainly not on a car rooftop with a man who had already muddled her senses a little too much.
‘I think,’ she said, injecting playfulness into her tone, ‘you’re just saying that to get in my pants, Kent Nelson.’
Kent smiled as he nibbled at the place where her neck met her shoulder. She was obviously changing the subject but he had to give her points for her method.
‘Well, now, that’d be kind of hard considering I pitched them somewhere over the side last night.’
Sadie smiled, letting herself get lost in the sexiness of his voice, taking her away from the serious stuff for a while. ‘Kent Nelson,’ she murmured. ‘Are you suggesting I’m not wearing any underwear?’
Kent chuckled as he trailed his hand from her hip downwards. ‘Well, now, why don’t I check?’
Sadie shut her eyes as he confirmed what they both knew very quickly.
‘Mmm,’ he murmured, his other hand travelling north as his tongue traced patterns on her neck. ‘You feel good.’
Sadie bit her lip as his hand cupped a breast. She tried to turn but he tightened his arms around her.
‘Shh,’ he said. ‘Lean back and enjoy.’
Not an offer she could refuse.
The tow truck arrived at nine as promised and before they knew it they were sitting in the front of a poorly sprung truck next to an ancient local who chatted away merrily. A local who was thankfully oblivious to the fact that Sadie’s fingers kept brushing lightly against the firm bulge behind Kent’s zipper. And the way Kent’s fingers caressed the swell of her breast under the guise of a casual arm slung over her shoulder.
It was a long, sexy, three-hour journey back to Katherine.
When they got into town Sadie opted for a café to do some work on her laptop whilst Kent saw to the vehicle. But not before he’d dragged her into the deserted toilets at the garage, pushed her against the wall and kissed her senseless, promising retribution for the torture she’d put him through.
Which made it difficult to concentrate on the story for Tabitha. So instead she spent her time in the café madly journalling the last few days with Kent. Words, like the strokes of the pastels this morning, flowed freely and she wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a pair of worn jeans came into her line of vision.
She looked up from her screen and Kent smiled at her.
‘I called your name twice. The story’s shaping up nicely, then?’
Sadie tried not to look guilty as she smiled back at him. ‘I think Tabitha will be happy,’ she lied. ‘Is the Land Rover ready?’
He nodded. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘Three cappuccinos, a muffin and a burger with the lot.’
Kent laughed at the sparkle in her doe eyes. ‘Good. I’ll order something to go and then we can hit the track.’
They were heading north to Darwin fifteen minutes later.
‘Let’s play I Spy,’ Sadie said as she opened the packet of Twisties Kent had purchased back at the café.
Kent rolled his head to look at her briefly before looking back at the road. ‘You think because we bonked like bunnies last night that I’ll do anything for a repeat performance?’
Sadie grinned as she bit down on the cheesy snack, flavour exploding in her mouth. ‘Yep.’
He laughed. She was right. ‘You think I’m that easy?’
Sadie shrugged, examining a fat orange finger of pure carbohydrate. She brushed it against her mouth and sucked it slowly in. ‘I could make it worth your while.’
Kent’s gaze snagged on the orange dust clinging to her mouth. ‘We’re not talking about hand feeding me Twisties here, are