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She laughed—until she caught sight of said redhead with a certain tall, dark-haired ranger a few feet away. Her smile vanished when she met a pair of steely golden eyes. How could such a warm color appear so cold?
Mitch spun her around and she saw his brow furrow the moment he noticed the other couple. Summoning a grin, she teased, “You were saying?”
He danced her into another dizzying spin that didn’t fit the music. “I was saying…sometimes women need a little help with the obvious.” He tapped Joel’s shoulder. “Mind if we switch?”
Without waiting for a reply, he released her and swept an overly-eager Lindsey into his arms. As they moved away, Britt fumed inwardly, but forced a polite smile for Joel as she turned away. “Excuse me.”
“Not so fast.”
He snagged her hand and lifted her arm above her head in a fluid motion, maneuvering her into a dance spin that landed her in his arms. Her dress whirled against his thighs, and she found herself aligned with solid muscle from chest to hip.
“Bad enough you left me on the trail, walking away on the dance floor is just plain rude.”
A push on his chest proved ineffective, so she leaned back. “I prefer to choose my own dance partners.”
“I prefer to choose the way I get down a mountain,” he countered.
“A gentleman would accept my apology and let it go.”
“I never claimed to be a gentleman.”
Something in his tone reminded her of that kiss in her tent. Her gaze shifted to his lips. As she stared, his head lowered. Her breath caught and her pulse skipped, but he bypassed her mouth to rest his cheek against hers. She barely contained a sigh of disappointment as the scent of cedar boughs and citrus assaulted her senses.
“I knew it. You enjoyed that kiss as much as I did,” he taunted softly.
His breath—or was it his lips?—brushed the sensitive skin under her ear. With a conscious effort to gather her raging emotions, she pushed harder against his chest. He only allowed her a few inches and kept their bodies swaying to the music.
“What are you doing?” she whispered. “You don’t even like me.”
“I’m just trying to get an honest response,” he explained.
“You want honest? You took advantage of me. I was still half-asleep and—”
He laughed, a low, deep chuckle that stirred something in the pit of her stomach.
“If that’s what you need to believe.”
“I don’t need to believe anything.”
“And just a minute ago, when you thought I was going to kiss you—”
“I did not—”
“—you weren’t the least bit disappointed?”
“No.”
“So you did think I was going to kiss you.”
“I didn’t say that!” Exasperation raised her voice. “If you’d just let me finish.”
A hint of a smile played on his sensual lips. “By all means.”
“No, I did not think you were going…to…”
He’d lowered his head again. She pulled back; he followed, until their lips were a mere inch apart. “Do you now?”
“I…no.”
