Sighing heavily, he picked up the last axe and raised his arm to throw it only to pause and let his hand drop away as he looked at her. “How about a deal, lass?”
“What kind of a deal?” Ashlyn asked, watching him as he adjusted his grip around the handle.
“If I hit the target, ye’ll have dinner with me tonight,” Shayne said as she glanced from the axe in his hand to the one currently lying on the ground.
“And if you miss?” she asked, watching as he shifted his grip uncomfortably around the handle.
“I’ll pay for the next bucket,” Shayne said, raising the axe to take his next throw.
“Deal,” Ashlyn said, gesturing for him to get on with it.
Slowly exhaling, Ashlyn watched as he tightened his grip around the handle and-
“Shit!”
-went to throw it only to have the axe fumble out of his hand and hit the ground a few feet from the last one.
“Looks like you’ll be eating alone tonight,” Ashlyn said with a pitying look that had him grumbling something as he pulled out his wallet and put ten more dollars on the counter.
“Here’s thy fresh bucket, brave sir! May thy arm find some courage and thy axe actually reach the target instead of hitting the ground!” Mighty Jack said with a huge grin as he placed another bucket in front of them before quickly making his way back to the side.
Nodding, Shayne reached for another axe as he said, “How about this? If I hit the target this time, ye’ll have dinner with me and kiss me goodnight.”
“And if you miss, you’ll tell me everything that you know, whether you found out what you were looking for here or not,” Ashlyn said as she took in the axes on the ground and decided to end this game once and for all.
“Two kisses, one at the end of the night and one ta be collected later at the time of my choosing,” Shayne said as he thought it over.
“And you’ll tell me everything that I want to know when you lose?” Ashlyn asked, watching as he awkwardly adjusted the axe in his hand.
With a heartfelt sigh and a nod, Shayne said, “Aye, lass, when I lose, I’ll tell ye what ye what ta know.”
“Then, we have a deal,” Ashlyn said, gesturing for him to get on with it.
Nodding, Shayne adjusted the axe in his hand and-
Did...did he just wink at her?
Frowning, she watched Shayne turn the axe over in his hand only to leave her struggling to remember how to breathe when he tossed it in the air only to catch it easily, toss it again and caught it so that the axe blade was balanced on the tips of two of his fingers. She watched in disbelief as he continued flipping it with ease, back and forth as a sense of dread settled in her stomach. She glanced at the attendant to find him looking shocked before she glanced back at Shayne as he tossed the axe in the air one last time, shifted his arm so that the handle hit his bicep when it landed and bounced it back to his hand, easily catching it before he tossed it again, caught it and-
Sent it flying only to land dead-center in the middle of the X with a deafening thud.
“Let’s make it three kisses, lass,” Shayne said, grabbing another axe, tossed it, caught it mid-air and sent it flying, landing right next to the previous axe while she was left standing there, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
“The knives, lad,” Shayne said, holding up another ten-dollar bill.
Ashlyn watched as the attendant, who looked shocked, grabbed a bucket of knives and placed it on the counter beforetaking the money and quickly moved out of the way, his stunned gaze moving from Shayne to the two axes deeply embedded in the wooden target.
“What will I get if I land this between the axes?” Shayne asked, looking at her as he picked up a dagger, flipped it, and easily caught it.
“I’ll spend the night with you,” she said, making him go still as he ran his eyes over her and-
“Holy shit!”
-threw the dagger without looking, lodging it into the target right between the two axes.
Granite Falls, New Hampshire
He definitely played her,Ashlyn thought as she followed Shayne into the kitchen, but that was fine. More than fine because they had a deal and she was going to damn well make sure that he followed through with it.
