AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, you’re right. It just seemed like everything else was so magical, that I might catch a few.”
The shuffling of dozens of boots on the stage brought their attention up where Lenny and Bev and the rest were walking across the stage. They hesitated only a moment as the new song came on, before bursting with surprising energy, swinging and clomping around the stage. The crowd was energized as well as they clapped to the beat. Payton looked so young, so free as she clapped along with them, joy and wonder glowing on her face.
She should always look so free. So happy.
A woman in bright costume was working her way through the crowds with a tray filled with small cups that people were taking. The local refinery throwing this shindig certainly knew how to celebrate the introduction of a new line.
Payton was already stretching her hand out for one and he beat her to it, grabbing one for each of them.
It couldn’t hurt to have one more. Wouldn’t want to waste a perfectly decent shot of tequila.
Gone was Payton’s initial reluctance to taste the strong liquid as she first sipped and then threw the rest back. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes danced with laughter, her dimples deep and charming. Damn. He was going to need all the self-control he could muster to not kiss her at some point tonight.
She looked at him, waiting for him to throw his back.
“Maybe I shouldn’t—”
“Are you saying that a big, strapping man like you can’t hold his liquor?” She batted those eyelashes, teasing him. “Come on, Cruz. You only live once. Try it.”
She was incorrigible, but he had to admit, he was having fun. And the scent of the liquor in his cup was enticing. Before he could talk himself out of it, he threw it back, enjoying the flavor, and placed the cup on a passing tray. She grinned in victory.
Damn. She really was a temptress. A sweet, dimpled, funny temptress.
It has to be the alcohol. This moment of temporary insanity.
Of feeling like she belonged with him.
Their friends finished their dance and another group moved to the stage. Women in vibrant skirts with matching tops twirled around, the color almost became a blur. And then a cowboy followed, showing everyone his dexterity while hopping through a lasso.
Payton remained mesmerized by it all, occasionally looking up at him and smiling before returning to the activities. Her hand somehow found itself back in his and a wave of possessiveness hit him as he clasped it.
When the performances were over, the lights around them suddenly burst on, lighting the town-square with white twinkle lights. The musicians up in the gazebo played a faster tempo, and the crowd cheered as everyone spread out and started to dance.
Another tray with more tequila appeared and Payton grabbed two shots, holding one out to him. “To Kate and Dominic.”
Well, he couldn’t very well say no to that. And the next one slipped down.
Caught up in the celebration, he didn’t care anymore about tomorrow, about what was the right thing. He was with the one woman who’d been haunting him since he first met her. A woman who was as complicated as she was beautiful. Who made him laugh. Made him feel things he hadn’t felt before.
Her hand still in his, he brought her around to face him as his other hand slipped around her waist and he pulled her against him. She was so soft and smelled so sweet and enticing.
She sucked her breath in, surprised by his actions almost as much as him. Her mouth parted and he didn’t hesitate.
He brought his lips down to hers, initially just to graze them, to feel their silky touch. But she didn’t hold back, and leaned in, her mouth moving against his. Demanding more, so hot and sweet. In that moment, he forgot they were surrounded by people, laughing and dancing around them. He could shut all that out, believing that they were the only people in the world.
She melded her body against his like a second skin and a different need grew, one that wanted to see this woman naked under him, welcoming him just as fully and completely.
He heard familiar voices around them and became aware that they were no longer invisible among the other revelers as the square dancing troupe surrounded them, cheering and smiling at what they saw as a young couple’s antics.
Payton seemed to realize it, too, as their lips broke contact and her eyes slowly opened. But remained locked with his.
He held his breath, waiting to hear her reaction. Her gasp and realization that they’d made a mistake. For her to pull away. But she didn’t. Her lips only turned in a smile of what could be described as wonderment.
“I think we should work on that,” was all she said and he couldn’t help but laugh.
But he wasn’t ready to let Payton leave his grasp and instead grabbed both hands and swept her out at arms’ length and twirled her back in that familiar dance his mama had made sure he knew. She looked even more surprised. “You dance too?”
He grinned back. “There’s a lot of things I can do. And one thing you should know about me: I don’t just ‘do’ them. I excel at them.”
