“Whatcha staring at, Bish? See something you like?”
I scratched my beard, wondering if I should answer her honestly or not. It felt like boundaries had been pushed at the bar, but none that we couldn’t take back. Now, the question was where to draw the line? Harmless flirting and teasing were fine. It went hand in hand with the same shit we did now.
But saying what was on my mind felt like it bordered on inappropriate. We weren’t in the bar anymore, letting the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke cloud our decisions. Instead, we were standing on her ranch and my home. By all accounts, we should have gone back to hating one another the moment we crossed the property line.
“Sure do, killer.” Lennox blinked, looking taken aback by my honesty, which made two of us because I hadn’t expected it to slip out so easily. “Even if I shouldn’t.”
“No, you shouldn’t.” She cocked her head to the side. “But aren’t you tired of doing what youshoulddo? Don’t you ever wanna be a little reckless?”
I laughed. “Never been one to throw caution to the wind. There’s too much to lose.”
She took a step forward. “Like what?”
“All this,” I said, spreading my arms wide. I tipped my head back, breathing in the Texas air. It was hot and humid as hell, but something about it centered me. It was my anchor. When I looked back to where she'd just been, I realized she was now standing a few feet away. “I don’t wanna lose this.”
“What makes you so sure you will? I mean, I don’t think Dad’s gonna toss you on your ass anytime soon.”
“Eh, I don’t like the unknown,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. It was taking all I had not to reach out and pull Lennox closer, not to wrap her silvery blonde hair in my fingers and tug her head back. “Not my thing.”
“How do you know it’s not your thing if you haven’t tried it?” she asked, sweeping my face with curious eyes.
“You ever just know something without knowing why you know it?” She nodded. “Okay, well, it’s like that.”
“You need to live a little, Bish. Life on the sidelines is dull. You’re gonna be too busy watching it pass you by.”
“Shit, killer,” I said, laughing. “Where did that come from?”
Lennox crossed her arms over her chest, popping her hip out in that sassy as fuck way she always did. “I’m full of great wisdom. Just because you’re too busy brushing me off as a kid doesn’t mean I am.”
“Don’t I fucking know it,” I mumbled. The way I was looking and thinking about her now was far from the way I did when she was a brat running around the barn. She annoyed the shit out of me growing up, and I never let her forget it.
Lennox stepped forward, plucking the hat from my head and setting it on her own. “Isn't there a rule about this?"
"You know there is," I said through gritted teeth. I struggled just I had at the bar when she'd done the same damn thing, wanting to pull her into the shadows and have my way with her.
She smiled. "What would you say about being a little reckless, huh? How does that sound?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
Her smile was infectious, and I knew I was fucking done for. “Were you all talk earlier?”
“Fuck no,” I growled. One of my hands landed on her hip as the other wound in her hair, wrapping it around my fist like I’dimagined doing all night. “When I say I’m gonna do something, killer, I fucking do it.”
Lennox let out a soft moan that went straight to my dick. “Is that right, Bish? You think you’re up to the challenge?”
“What challenge would that be? ‘Cause it sure won’t be making you come. I could do that shit without thinking.”
“I prefer actions over words,” she whispered, our lips a hair's breadth away. I leaned forward on instinct.A taunt. The barest hint of a kiss.
This wouldn’t be anything more than sex—one night of our dirtiest fantasies coming to life. Come sunrise, things between us would go back to normal, and we’d go back to fussin’ and fightin’.
But not tonight.
“You want actions, huh?” I asked, just before throwing her over my shoulder like I had earlier. I let my hand ride up, brushing the inside of her thigh. Her panties were soaked, the wetness coating her skin. Goddamn, this was better than any dream. “I’ll show you actions.”
We wereon one another the moment we reached my cabin. I tore through the door, slamming Lennox against the nearest wall. Picture frames fell to the floor with a clatter as she latched onto my neck, licking and sucking, while I lifted her dress above her hips.
A pair of bright blue underwear caught my eye, though the center was a deep navy where she’d soaked through. “Goddamn, baby. This all from me?”
