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“Are you going to tell me who you are?” Her harsh tone pulled me from my thoughts.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Suit yourself, Mr. Fox.”
I gave her a quizzical look, not hating the nickname.
Eden reached up and ran the tips of her fingers through the hair at my temples. “Silver Fox. If you won’t tell me your name, I’ll just call it as I see it.”
I shuddered and struggled not to give into the urge to tug her against me and feel more than just her hands.
I picked up my pint and took a sip. “Nate.”
“Nate.” My name slid over her tongue like she was tasting a fine wine before she pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Hmm… I prefer Mr. Fox.”
I wasn’t even gray beyond my temples. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the way her bratty mouth stirred the deepest part of me. “Let’s just get the game started.”
“You okay with five-oh-one?”
My brow rose. “You aren’t a savant at darts as well, are you?”
She puts up three fingers closed together and presses her other hand to her heart. “Scouts honor I’m not going to hustle you.”
“Five-oh-one it is then.” Her eyes widened as I took out the two hundred dollars we were playing for and placed it on the table between us. “We never determined what you get if you win.”
“I get to keep my money.”
“There’s not something else you want?”
The word you was on the tip of my tongue but I swallowed past it, barely holding on to the tattered pieces of my resolve. “No.”
Eden picked up the red darts, fitting for her, and stepped up to the line. “Shall we shoot to see who goes first?”
“No, ladies first,” I insisted, and gestured toward the line painted on the ground.
“I’m no lady, Mr. Fox.”
“I’m sure every man in here would have you believe that, but that’s not what I see.”
Eden hesitated with her arm raised, ready to shoot. She searched my eyes for a long moment before asking, “And what do you see when you look at me?”
A gorgeous woman who deserves more than what she’s giving herself. Confidence and authenticity I could only dream to have. Strength that is beautiful and unapologetic in every way. A woman who would look so damn beautiful with my handprint on her ass.
I saw all of this, but that’s not what I said. Instead, I fell back into my comfort zone, the place where I needed to push her away from asking any more about me. Despite my desire to let go and fuck her senseless—it wasn’t her fault I was a disaster straddling the lines of wants and what was right.
“A lost little lamb who’s hustling for more than just the money.”
Eden huffed and threw the dart at the board where it hit the fifteen with a distinct thud. “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“You’re right,” I huffed. “Let’s keep it that way. Now throw your next two.”
Eden frowned as if surprised by my answer, but she didn’t press. If she knew who I really was, she wouldn’t have agreed to the game. The fire in her eyes would have turned to pity, and the womanly confidence she wore would have shrunk back to someone who knew I was off limits.
She turned away and threw her next dart which caused her shirt to rise, showing off more of the creamy skin at her waist. I shifted uncomfortably and averted my gaze to the board while she threw her final dart. The darts stuck from the cork in the slim double four spot and seven wedge.
Internally I groaned and sent up a prayer for the game to go by quickly, and my dreams of living another life to cease.
Shocker. It went unanswered, too.
