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The camera clicked off and Sandra pulled away reluctantly. ‘Your camera needs your attention.’ Her words seemed blurred by her swollen lips.

‘It’ll only take a moment and I don’t have to move. I’ll be quick. Hold that pose,’ he said, and she smiled at the joy in his voice. The joy that mirrored the feeling shooting to every nerve cell in her body.

Every one.

It was only a few seconds before the phone went back on the rock, and Graysen resumed doing what Sandra was fast discovering he was very skilled at.

Chapter 16

Standley Chasm to Bridle Path Lookout

When the alarm on Sandra’s phone woke her the next morning, she snuggled into the warmth of her bed, reluctant to get out and put her feet on the cold floor. With a determined movement, she pushed back the soft doona on her bed and swung her legs over the side. Reaching for her socks, they were the first thing she pulled on in the faint dawn light.

Her dreams had been sensuous and a warm blush crept into her cheeks as she recalled them. Her heart beat faster and her fingers tingled against the woolly socks as she recalled the pleasant half hour she and Graysen had spent at the chasm.

On their return he’d walked her to her tent, and kissed her good night. ‘Pleasant dreams,’ he’d said, and she’d certainly had them.

Sandra warmed up quickly as she pulled her warm clothes over her trekking shorts and T-shirt before she made a dash to the facilities.

‘Morning, Cecily.’

The young woman was in there putting her makeup on and by the time Sandra had washed her face, brushed her teeth and lathered sun cream on, Cecily was still outlining her lips with a lip pencil.

Whatever floats your boat, Sandra thought.

‘See you at brekky,’ she said as she left, and the rude grunt she got in return didn’t bother her.

But nerves did quiver in her chest and tummy after she packed up her gear in the tent.

Damn, she’d forgotten to charge her phone after she’d texted the photos to Ellie last night. That would teach her to daydream like a teenager. Packing her flat phone into the soft bag that would go in the truck, Sandra took out her small digital camera and put it in her backpack. She grinned as she made her way to the breakfast area; her little camera would be a poor relation to Graysen’s.

In her usual efficient fashion, Jodie had a continental feast laid out, and the coffee brewing.

‘Oh, you’re a sweetheart, Jodie,’ Sandra said as she poured her first coffee. She’d had a quick look around but there was no sign of Graysen. A lump formed in her throat. Maybe he was sorry about their little interlude last night.

God, she thought, a few shared kisses shouldn’t make him think she wanted a relationship or commitment surely?

Anyway, he’d been the one to start it.

Forcing herself to eat her cereal and fruit, and not make do with just the coffee which she would have preferred, Sandra tried to get her new-found self-confidence back.

Gradually the others drifted over to the breakfast area, but Graysen was the last one to emerge from his tent. Her stomach sank when she saw the straight line his lips were set in, and he looked like the cranky man she’d met in the elevator at the resort in Alice Springs.

She sat straight and stared ahead. If he said anything rude, she’d simply ignore him. Foolishly she’d placed her jacket on the back of the chair beside hers, saving it for Graysen, and now it was the only vacant chair.

Sandra buried her face in her mug and looked down at the table as he pulled the chair out and sat beside her. She almost spluttered in her coffee when a warm hand settled on her thigh, and Graysen leaned over so his face was next to hers.

‘Good morning, sweet Sandy. I hope you slept well.’ Her head flew up and she met his eyes.

Putting a hand to her chest, she whispered, ‘I thought you were angry at me.’

‘Of course not. I was angry, but never at you.’

She frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Someone’s been interfering with my camera, and I’ve got a fair idea who it was. But I don’t know when he could have taken it.’

‘He?’ she whispered quietly.