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Walking slowly toward her, my eyes never leave Koa’s. He’s angry, that much is clear, but he’s still interested. The lust in his eyes makes the blood simmer just beneath my skin. I want to forget everything I said to him this morning and run to where he’s standing, jump into his arms and devour that amazing mouth.
Head in the game, Mercy. I internally scold myself, breaking my eyes from his and focusing on my new friend.
“You know they have gutter guards. I’ll ask the guy to raise them for us.”
“Gutter guards?” Sally lifts her head like I’ve just told her the holy grail is hiding under the ball carousel.
“Hang on.” I skip around the row of chairs, focusing on the guy who gave me the silly shoes on my feet, not allowing my eyes to scan the area for Koa.
“Mercy! Dude!” Jim is at the counter when I arrive.
“Hey!” I say, feeling inordinately relieved to see him. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, nothing. I was having dinner with Aunt Doris, and I noticed Koa was upstairs alone. He’s with me here. Did you see him?”
“Oh…” I struggle to find the right response.
“She did.” A deep male voice comes from behind me, and my eyes automatically slide closed.
His tone is tinged with irritation — of course it is! Still, I can’t make eye contact. I know if I do, he’ll see everything I’m feeling plain on my face. Instead I wave to the pimple-faced teen behind the counter.
“Hi, would you be able to raise the gutter guards for us?”
“Dude, you don’t need gutter guards,” Jim interrupts me. “I saw you. You’re like a scratch bowler.”
I’m not sure that’s a thing.
“It’s for Sally,” I do a little smile-frown, and Jim looks over to where my mousey friend is waiting.
“I can totally teach her to bowl, dude,” he says. “We can join forces.”
“Oh, no!” I try to stop this unwanted development, but it’s too late.
The little attendant has already passed shoes to Jim, and my resident attacker is happily making his way to where Sally sits, leaving me alone at the counter with Koa.
“Okay, then,” I say through a little nervous laugh. “Unexpected.”
The sexy panther only glares down at me, causing a tiny bead of sweat to tickle its way down the center of my back. He’s super-pissed, and I know why. Still, if he’s decided to make Woodland Creek his home, I can’t allow myself to get any more involved with him. He’ll have to stay angry.
Quickly turning away, I hurry back to where Sally and Jim are talking about god knows what. When I get there, I quickly pour another large cup of beer, and take a seat in the row opposite them.
Koa follows me from a distance, and I can feel the weight of his gaze. His eyes roam my body like a caress, and the memory of his touch makes my inner cat want to stretch out and slide along his body. The thought evokes a shiver. His eyes darken, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking. He’s so serious and composed and fucking sexy in his aloofness.
“Okay, dude,” Jim says, lifting Sally’s hand. “I’m going to teach you to bowl the way Mercy taught you to kick my ass today. You ready?”
Sally laughs, and for a moment, I can’t believe it. It seems like she might be interested in my goofy-sweet assistant. Not that I’m saying the idea is impossible. It’s just not something I saw coming.
The two of them head toward the lane, and Koa and I are left sitting apart from each other, watching them go. I want to say something to cut the tension, but I can’t think of anything casual. My traitorous brain wants to say the words that will take everything back. Bending my knees, I hug them to my chest, resting my cheek against them and focusing my eyes on our friends. In my peripheral vision, I see Koa pour himself a drink.
He might not understand it, but he’s honoring my request to stay away. He’s not saying a word, keeping his distance, and driving me crazy. Sitting here, so close to each other, the tension between us tightens with every breath. My eyes ache from being forced to watch Sally fumbling with her bowling ball.
A noise sounds from the desk, and my rebel gaze flies back to him. My chest clenches when intense green meets them. He’s looking right at me, I can’t seem to breathe. My entire body is silently begging for him, and I decide I’d better call it a night before I lose the battle. He might be strong enough to follow my request, but I’m clearly not.
Blinking rapidly, I manage a slight smile before I wave to Sally and make my excuses. I hope it doesn’t look like I’m running, but I have to get away from him.
* * *
Koa
