Page 201 of The Bluffing Game

“I’m sorry. I won’t let that happen again.” I feel a twist of guilt and remorse. I was irresponsible because I was jealous, and that is not okay. I have to be a better man than that. Especially now that I’m a dad.

“I would hope not,” she says.

“I think you look really pretty. Beautiful even,” I say as I look down at her. “I’m sorry you missed your date.”

“Yeah, well, he rescheduled, so …” She shrugs.

My heart contorts. I don’t want to hear that information.

“It’s going to be okay, I suppose. It just looks really bad that I wasn’t there.”

“Let me make it up to you,” I say softly, my heart racing.

I stare up at the moon and the sky and the stars. Her face radiates passion as she glares up at me. I want her to forget her date. I want her to fall for me, enough so that she can forgive me for being a jerk who has already told her some lies.

“How are you going to make it up to me? I’ve already eaten mac and cheese with Toby, who’s asleep, by the way.”

“What if I did what your date was likely going to do at the end of your date tonight?”

“What would that be?” She stares at me.

“Well, if I had been your date and you were wearing that outfit, I’d grab your hand like this.” I pull her down the couple of steps onto the driveway, and I start humming under my breath.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a beautiful night. If I were on a date with you, I’d pull you into my arms like this, and we’d dance back and forth under the moonlight and the stars.”

I twirl her around, and she giggles as her hair goes flying.

“And then I’d pull you into me like this.” I grab her around the waist and stroke the back of her hair.

She’s breathing deeply now as she looks up at me, lips parted. “What are you doing, Dalton?”

“I’m just giving you the good-night kiss that your date would’ve wanted to give you.”

I press my lips down on hers, and this time, I make sure it’s more than a peck. I hold her to me, running my fingers through her silky hair, and she reaches up and squeezes my shoulders. Her lips part just enough to slide my tongue into her mouth. She tastes sweet, and she feels soft. I deepen the kiss. She moans as she runs her fingers around the nape of my neck and presses herself into my body. I grab her by her hips and bring her in so she can feel my hardness against her stomach, and she stills. We continue to kiss, and my fingers slide down the side of her body. I love the feel of her. I love the taste of her. I want this to go further. I want to take her into my home. I want to make all her dreams come true. And then she pulls back, gasping for air.

“I don’t think the kiss would’ve gone on longer than this,” she says, blushing deeply.

I grin down at her, my heart racing as I press my fingers into her wrist. “But it would’ve been a mighty good kiss, right?”

“One of the best,” she says. “I might even have given him a second date.”

“Might have?” I grin. “What would have ensured a second date?”

“Don’t think I forgive you for being late, Dalton. Your charm and touch don’t erase that you took my time for granted.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. So, would you give me another date?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “I guess you’ll just have to see if there is a date two.”

“I’ll see, or your original date will have to see?” I want her to say me.

“I have absolutely no idea,” she says. Then she runs back up the stairs to the house like she’s Cinderella and the clock’s about to strike midnight. “I have to grab my stuff. I have to go.”

She stops at the top of the steps, looking like the belle of the ball and totally in charge. She blows me a confident kiss and then turns away slowly.

This woman has bewitched me.