and they were plunged into darkness. Piper wished she could see Gabe’s face. Was he annoyed with her for bringing up such a personal subject? His voice sounded strangely rough and gravelly when he answered. ‘I don’t think I’m the right person to give you advice. You might learn all the wrong things.’
Wrong things? What wrong things? She thought of the babe pack again, and her cheeks flamed so hotly that she was suddenly grateful for the dark.
But next moment silvery moonlight filtered down, and she could see Gabe eyeing her thoughtfully as he leaned back with his weight supported by his hands while his long legs stretched out in front of him. ‘So you want to know how to flirt and how to please a man?’ he asked.
She gulped. She hadn’t expected that hearing him speak about this would make her feel quite so shivery and nervous.
Perhaps she should tell him to forget she’d ever raised the subject. She didn’t need his advice. Inexperienced as she was, she’d read enough books, seen enough television and listened to enough campfire boasting from ringers to know the anatomical details of sex.
In theory.
But then she remembered the last party she’d been to, when Gabe’s brother Jonno had sidled up to her and asked her to put in a good word about him to Suzanne Heath. It had hit her then that the guys were always doing things like that. They saw her simply as a buddy—a good sport—a fast ticket to an introduction to a girl—but never as the object of their desire.
Her eyes met Gabe’s.
‘I’m sure you don’t need flirting lessons,’ he said softly. He nodded towards the cattle to their left. ‘We’d be better off refining our strategies for dealing with these duffers when they turn up.’
‘No,’ she responded, a little too quickly. ‘I’m sure the duffers are cowards and will be easy to frighten. But what you were saying just now—about how to flirt—and how to—to please a man. That’s exactly what I need to know.’
He scowled. ‘I wasn’t serious.’
‘But I am.’
Releasing his breath in a slow hiss, he shook his head. His laugh, when it came, was soft and almost sad. ‘Are you calling my bluff, Piper O’Malley?’
‘I sure am.’
Oh, man. It was easy enough to sound as if she meant that, but her heart had begun to pound strangely.
CHAPTER TWO
GABE cleared his throat. ‘How to catch a man? Well…let’s see.’
A tawny owl winged its way overhead and he stared after it as it disappeared into the night. ‘To be honest, I’ve never really analysed what goes on when a man gets interested in a woman. It seems instinctive.’ He scratched the side of his neck thoughtfully. ‘But I guess something’s actually happening to our senses. They start reacting long before our brain realises what’s going on.’
‘Your senses? You mean sight, sound—that sort of thing?’ She was impressed. This sounded like useful, practical information.
‘I think so. I’d say sight would have to be number one for most blokes.’
‘Well, there you go. Men don’t even notice I’m female, so I don’t stand a chance.’
His eyes crinkled at the edges as his gaze slid over her. ‘It’s a bit hard for guys to see what’s available if a girl is always hiding under a wide-brimmed hat, jeans, baggy shirts and high-sided riding boots.’
She wriggled uncomfortably. ‘You mean I should be wearing clothes like Suzanne Heath? Dresses that are at least two sizes too small?’
‘Who’s Suzanne Heath?’
‘The chick Jonno was latching onto at a party last month.’
He stiffened like an animal on full alert. ‘So you’ve got your sights set on my little brother?’
‘No, not particularly.’ She shrugged. ‘He’s just an example. Just about any guy will do. Remember, I’m desperate.’
Lunging forward quickly, he surprised her by grasping her shoulders. ‘Piper,’ he said almost savagely, his eyes burning into hers, ‘promise me one thing.’
‘Yes?’ she whispered, forcing the single word past the sudden scary tightness in her throat. What was the matter with Gabe? He looked so fierce.
His hands gripped her hard. ‘You’re not desperate. Don’t sell yourself short. You mustn’t marry a man you don’t love.’
Startled by the ferocity in his eyes and his voice, she dropped her gaze and stared at her hands clenched in her lap as she said, ‘Maybe I’ll be easy to please.’
‘Don’t be. Just remember you deserve a good man. A man who’ll cherish you.’
Her head shot up. ‘Cherish me?’
‘Yep. That’s what you deserve.’ He smiled a shaky, crooked smile and released her shoulders quickly, as if he was surprised to find he’d been gripping her so hard.
‘I’ll remember that when the time comes,’ she said, trying not to sound as shaken as she felt. ‘But first I have to get at least one fellow to notice me. The problem is I don’t like the clothes men seem to like on women. I hate tight dresses with short skirts and low necklines.’
‘Why?’
She felt caught out by his question. ‘I—I don’t know. They look so uncomfortable.’
‘Have you ever worn one?’
‘No.’
Gabe’s smile looked more secure now. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to give it a go some time.’
‘But girls who wear them have plenty of curves.’
He grinned. ‘You go in and out in all the right places.’
She was surprised he’d noticed. But then maybe he was just saying that to make her feel better. ‘My ins and outs are very tiny. Do you think it would help if I stuffed my—my chest?’
‘Your husband-to-be might not be too happy when he discovers socks shoved down your bra.’
Her mouth tightened into a self-righteous pout. ‘By the time he finds out it won’t matter. It’ll be too late, won’t it?’
Gabe shook his head slowly. ‘My dear girl, you’ve got a lot to learn.’
She looked away. There was every chance she’d never find a man she wanted to share such intimate secrets with.
He reached over and flicked her ponytail. ‘Take that elastic thing out of your hair.’
‘Now?’
‘Yeah.’
Uncertainly,
