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She flipped her own levers and wiggled her shoulders to dispel the tension. Enough was enough. “Bring it.”
They hogged the table for close to twenty minutes. She won the first game, and he won the second, but she tapped her watch after he demanded a tie-breaker.
“Wanna miss the show? The grandstand is on the opposite side of the fairgrounds. We have a lot of distance to cover, and we want to get there while there’s still enough room on the lawn for us to sprawl out. And dance.” She said the last part on a whisper, but of course he heard her. He didn’t miss a trick.
“Did you say dance?” He came around the table and wrapped her ponytail around his hand to draw her closer. “Why, Denver Casey, you surprise me.”
The name chased the smile from her face. Stupid, since she should be used to hearing it plenty by now. That was the woman she’d become. Who she was, down deep. But the memories that accompanied it always struck her in the chest like a wrong note being played. One that reverberated in her ears and soured everything but his grin.
Nothing could dim the power of that.
“Don’t think I can bust a move, huh?”
“That particular phrase makes me a little nervous, but I think you can do anything you put your pretty brain to.” He lowered his mouth to her ear. “So this means I get to watch you shake your ass?”
“Watch? Who do you think’ll be dancing with me?” She cocked her head and lifted her brows. “Unless you’re a chicken.”
“I know where my talents lie, and dancing just happens to be one of them.”
“No way.” She reeled back to see if he was putting her on. But nope, his face was in earnest mode—though that could’ve been a fake. He had a good poker face.
Another place she wasn’t dwelling on tonight. Good things only, please. She was making it a requirement.
“Dancing’s like fucking with your clothes on, and I’m basically an expert at both.” He laughed and feinted backward as she pelted his chest with blows. “It was right there. You had to know I’d go for it.”
She slid her arm around his waist and kissed the side of his neck. “And I walked right into your trap.”
“You like my traps. They’re so dark and warm and moist,” he said, adding extra emphasis to the word he knew she hated.
She shook her head at him. “Funny guy.”
“I am. And you’re a beautiful girl.” He drew her outside to the darkened midway, now only lit by the rainbow of colored lights that decorated the booths and the sodium lights that stood high above the well-worn footpaths. The play of hues flickered over his face an instant before he pulled off his hat and kissed her again, quick and hot.
Just a taste. Not even close to enough.
“Cotton candy?” he asked while she was still catching her breath.
“Caramel apple,” she corrected. “With nuts.” He started to speak and she pointed. “If you make any sophomoric jokes about your nuts, you’ll be getting laid by your hand tonight.”
“So harsh.” He set his hat back on his head and diverted her to the candied apple booth a few stalls up the midway. “So you want extra nuts, right? Big, salty ones?”
She rolled her eyes at him. Such a boy. But he bought her an apple dripping with thick, gooey caramel and the perfect amount of nuts, so she’d tolerate him. Until he tried to get a bite of her apple, and then all bets were off.
When she growled as he leaned in to sample it, he grinned. “Greedy much?”
Her gaze drifted to a young woman with long blond hair and big eyes checking out Ry’s ass, and her growl deepened. And she lifted her apple to his mouth. “Take a big bite, baby,” she whispered in her dirtiest voice, making his eyes widen before he complied.
Her laughter nearly made her bobble the apple.
He bit in and drew back to chew, and somehow even the movement of his jaw was sexy. So not right. He immediately leaned in for a second bite, extending the moment with his eyes on hers.
Chewing an apple shouldn’t be foreplay, but with this guy, it was.
“Delicious,” he said once he’d swallowed, and she was fairly certain he wasn’t talking about only the fruit.
Cheeks heating, she quickly grabbed his hand and tugged him up the midway, his laughter ringing in her ears.
She’d never heard a better sound.
