As long as she stays there long enough, it should work like a charm.
Creeping through a few more barriers, I come to a set of barrels stacked side by side, three tall, and hide behind them. From here, when I look towards the V, there’s an archway separating us, blocking half the view of the barrels. I can see her location, but it’s not a straight shot, and it’s obscured.
Perfect.
Taking my black cowboy hat off, I set it on top of the barrels at the edge furthest from her. Then, after a long look around my immediate area, I crouch down, and call out, “Where are you, Bryn?” before taking off. Not directly towards her, but away.
Moving in and out of objects as quickly as I can, I make a wide circle around her location, having kept it relatively in view the whole time, and sneak in around the back side. She’s crouched down, looking through the window in the direction of my hat, gun aimed and poised to strike.
“Hi, gorgeous,” I drawl lazily, ensuring I’m loud enough over the music.
Bryn shrieks to wake the dead, straightening immediately before whipping around to face me, eyes wide, a hand clutching her heart like it’s racing wildly beneath her beautiful breasts. I’d love to find out.
“Shit.” She shakes her head, denying what she’s seeing. Me in front of her, two hands on my laser, pointed at her. Laughter bubbles up her throat. “Please. Wyatt. Please.”
I’m not going to lie, hearing the word “please” come out of her mouth along with my name is hot. It’s one of those things I’m going to file away in my mind and bring back out before we get todate three. Likely when I’m in the shower.
“Sorry, gorgeous,” I say, taking aim at the biggest target in the center of her chest.
With her laser by her side, she lifts her other hand in surrender, then says the only thing that makes me take pause. “I won’t kiss you if you tag me!”
That has me standing taller, my eyes raking over her face, scrutinizing whether she’s telling the truth or not. It’s impossible to tell in this lighting.
“Ever?”
She sucks both her bottom and top lip in between her teeth and shakes her head.
Lying then.
“Never? You’re sure?”
The smile is desperately trying to spread across her face, but she bites down harder on her lip, nodding this time.
“I’m not sure I beli—”
In the blink of an eye, my vest rumbles, signaling that I’ve been hit. Stupefied, I look down at it, discovering that it’s no longer lit up, then bring my attention back to Bryn to find the grin she was holding at bay spread wide, lighting her up like my vest should be.
“You hit me!” I accuse, mouth hanging open, eyes rounded in surprise.
“It was me or you, baby, and I wasn’t going to let it be me,” she laughs, still holding her laser up in front of her. Ready to strike again when my vest comes back to life.
Trying to wrap my head around what just happened, I sputter, “I can’t believe—how did—you—you hit me!”
She giggles, the sound healing parts of my wounded ego. The delight is evident in her eyes as they sparkle with playfulness. Slowly, she takes a step in my direction, then another, her hipsswishing in a way I’m not sure I’ve seen her do before. It has my full attention, my laser coming to rest near my hip as she comes to stand in front of me, only her own laser separating us. She holds it, aimed at my center plate, but I don’t care. She could tag me a million times now and I wouldn’t care if it meant I could always see this kind of vibrancy in her hazel eyes.
“You were too slow,” she says, a sultry whisper in her words.
“Sometimes slow is good.”
The air around us changes, becoming charged with this thing between us. Her eyes move between mine, then drop down to my lips, lingering there for a moment before finding my gaze again. Fuck me. Three dates? When I’d love nothing more than to take this woman right here, right now?
Stupid self-imposed rules.
“Sometimes fast is good,” she counters, barely audible over the music, and my eyes immediately drop down to her lips.
Took the words right out of my mind.
“Besides,” she adds, eyes dancing with humor. “I had to take the shot. I didn’t want to have to make good on my threat of never kissing you.”
