Laughter draws my attention, and I turn my attention toward the bar to see some dipshit talking to my woman. Heat floods my veins when his hand touches the small of her back. Cat stands, and the asshole leads her to the dance floor. I watch them dance. He twirls her around the dance floor to the fast-paced music, and with each time his hand grips her waist, my jaw tightens more.
This is bullshit.
Do something, my inner voice says.
"Well, Evans." Lev nods toward Cat and the fucker she's dancing with and gives me a 'what the hell you going to do' look.
I push from the table, stand, and stroll across the bar to take what's mine. I ignore the chuckle coming from Lev when I do.
The band playing finishes the song, then quickly moves into a slow one. Cat spots me moving her way, and her eyes widen. "Easton."
"I believe you have your hands on my woman," I tell the guy she's with.
"She's your girl?" Her dance partner glares at me.
"That's right," I inform him and wait to see which way this exchange will go.
The cowboy sizes me up then decides he's better off bowing out. He then looks at Cat, tips his hat, and says, "Thanks for the dance, darlin'." Then walks away.
"What the hell, Easton?" Cat says as I place my hand on the small of her back and pull her body against mine. "What was that all about? I am not your girl."
"Oh, yeah you are. You're mine."
"You're crazy."
"Really? Tell me you don't feel what I feel. Tell me you didn't feel it the moment we met. I might sound crazy right now, but you know damn well I'm telling the truth," I growl. I watch as two reactions pass over Cat's face. The first one is want and the second one is fear. Fuck yeah. Cat Callaghan wants me just as much as I want her. She's just scared. "Baby," I murmur.
"Excuse me?" Cat pulls away, and I follow as she stomps across the bar and out the door. The air outside is warm and thick with humidity that sticks to the skin.
"I am not your anything, Easton."
"Whether you want to admit it or not, you are." My boots crunch the gravel beneath my feet as we cross the parking lot. "Tell me you don't feel the same," I say, and Cat stops walking.
"Easton. Listen—" I close in on her. Cat's eyes lock on mine. "We can't," she protests.
"Why?"
"I don't want to get hurt."
I brush the hair from her face. "I won't hurt you."
"Our worlds are too different. It will never work." She shakes her head.
"Give me a chance to prove you wrong." It takes everything not to kiss her when she chews her bottom lip.
"You scare me," she breathes.
"You set me on fire," I confess back, and Cat's eyes blaze.
My heart rate increases with the anticipation hanging between us. "Tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"To kiss you," I say, and Cat's eyes drop to my lips.
"Kiss me."
Not wanting to waste another breath without knowing what her lips taste like, I lift Cat into my arms then cover her mouth with mine. She grips the back of my head, and her legs wrap over my hips. I take a few steps forward, pressing her back against the side of a truck nearby.Holy fuck.Kissing Cat is everything I imagined it would be. Her lips quench my thirst like a sugary sweet watermelon on a hot summer day but do nothing to diminish my hunger.
