by Boone Brux
“Why did you want to spend time with me?” Though she didn’t relax her stance, inside a little of the anger ebbed.
“Because…” He seemed to be struggling for an answer. “We never really have. I thought it was about time.”
“And?” Being blindsided by him knowing about the favor shattered the trust she’d built up over the last day.
“Aaaand,” he continued, “I was glad that your car broke down, because it gave me another chance to be with you.” He lifted his hands, hesitated, and then gently gripped her arms again. “I’m sorry I didn’t just ask you. I can be an ass sometimes, but I’ve had fun.” He bent slightly, bringing his head eye level with hers. “Haven’t you?”
Surprisingly, she’d enjoyed spending time with him, but didn’t want to admit it, not willing to risk looking like a fool. “Okay,” she said, ignoring his question. “I accept your apology, but that was a shitty thing to do. I don’t like lies.”
“I know. I didn’t think it through. Again, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, so you’ve said.” She dangled the bait, knowing he’d bite. “But I don’t feel like I can trust you anymore.”
“Don’t say that, Kinni. We’ve gotten off to a great start, and you have to admit, it hasn’t been horrible spending time with me.” She shrugged. He straightened and lowered his arms. “What can I do to prove to you that you can trust me?”
“I don’t know.” She let an exaggerated sigh heave from her, shaking her head. “I mean…” She shrugged again. “There might be one thing.”
“Anything, what is it?” A smile of anticipation curled his lips.
Time for a little payback. She leveled her stare on him. “Say no.”
His grin remained static, but the rest of his face tightened, his brow furrowing. “Say no? What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m supposed to relax…in essence, say yes to things I normally wouldn’t for a week. I think it’s only fair that you have to say no for the same amount of time.”
His air of cooperation evaporated. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.” She pursed her lips and straightened. “You seem so sure that it’s easy stepping out of one’s comfort zone, I think you need to experience it firsthand.”
“But, I’m already relaxed and up for fun, so technically I already have the benefit of experience.”
“You’re comparing apples to oranges. You saying no to everything is comparable to me saying yes.”
He shook his head, squishing the left side of his face like Popeye’s. “That is the most confusing thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It doesn’t mean I’m not right.” She shrugged. “But whatever, it’s up to you. I mean you said you’d do anything, but if it’s too tough…”
“It’s not too tough, but I see what you’re doing.” He wagged his index finger at her. “You’re crafty.”
“What?” It was her turn to feign innocence.
“Remind me never to go against you in the courtroom.” Straightening, he grinned. “All right, Counselor, I’ll take your challenge. No problem. Piece of cake.”
She stuck out her hand. “Excellent. Let the games begin.”
Chapter Six
How hard could it be to say no? Not that hard, right? The smug smirk on Kinni’s face made Price a little uneasy. He’d been caught red-handed, and from her reaction, he knew she wasn’t about to let him off the hook. The way she’d led him into agreeing to her condition revealed her cunning mind. The woman could think on her feet, which meant he’d have to stay on his toes.
The fiddle-heavy song faded to a slow and haunting tune. Not letting go of her hand, he pulled her toward the brick patio, where guests were already gathering. “Let’s dance.”
She was resistant for the first couple of steps, but then allowed him to draw her the few yards to the impromptu dance floor. Once there he turned to her. Challenging him to say no was a declaration of war, a battle she’d no doubt use her razor-sharp strategic skills to win. The next week could either be a whole lot of fun or turn very ugly. He was determined to make it fun, which meant keeping the upper hand.
He slipped one arm around her waist and gripped her right hand with his left. With slow anticipation, he coaxed her closer. Still at a proper arm’s length, she stopped but didn’t look at him, instead staring over his shoulder. They rocked to the slow beat of the song, the notes of a lone flute and the fairy lights above tingeing the competitive mood with an alluring sensuality. He stepped toward her, closing the distance and drawing her against his body. Maybe he should have been more surprised that she molded so perfectly, but he wasn’t. He was finding that a lot of things about Kinni fit him.
She gasped, her head snapping toward him. “That’s a little close, don’t you think?”
“No.” She glowered at him, but he smiled back. “What? I’m just doing what you asked, saying no.” He folded their joined hands against his chest and slipped his knee between her legs, tightening his hold on her waist. Yeah, they fit perfectly together, and he couldn’t help wonder how good they would be at making love. “You have amazing eyes. There’s tiny flecks of gold near the center, but your iris gets darker toward the outer edge.”
Though her scowl softened, she glanced away from him again. “They’re brown. That’s all.”
She was either ultra literal, which was entirely possible, or not comfortable receiving compliments. Maybe she hadn’t gotten many.
Not letting go of her hand, he lifted his and brushed a strand of raven hair away from her eye. “They’re not just brown. They’re the color of the richest caramel and milk chocolate.”
As if resisting the pull of his words, she slowly turned her head, her gaze tracking a second behind, and then stared at him. “That’s a terrible description.”
From the way she whispered, he could tell it wasn’t a terrible description at all. “Okay, well then, has anybody told you you’re beautiful?”
“Only my parents, which doesn’t count, because they have to say that.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He jerked his head toward the living room. “You heard my dad say what an ugly mug I had.” She chuckled, her face brightening and making his heart skip a beat. “I mean…” He swallowed hard. “He never told me I was good-looking.”
“No, but I’m sure the hordes of females I’ve seen you with through the years definitely have. Women go crazy for that boy-band look.”
He stopped dancing, leaning back a few inches. “I do not look like I belong in a boy band.”
“So the facial hair that changes shape every season and the highlights are simply current fashion.”
“First off,” he said, dragging her against him and starting to dance again, “I don’t get my hair highlighted. It’s natural.” She snorted with what he took as disbelief. “From my diving trip to Belize.” He glared at her, but the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth knocked the bluster out of him. She was teasing him, which was way better than her being angry. “And as for the facial hair, a lot of women like it.”
When she rolled her eyes, he couldn’t resist proving his point. He bent and nuzzled her neck, gently scraping his close-cut beard against her skin. In an attempt to resist, she scrunched her shoulders and clamped her chin against her chest, pushing at him. Giggles tinkled from her, which was the sweetest sound he’d heard for a long time.
The scent of jasmine lifted from her skin and mingled with the clean scent of her hair, inciting a hum of appreciation, or maybe it was a moan of pleasure. Swamped with a lot of unexpected sensations, his playful mood evaporated. The desire to pull the clip from her hair, letting it spill free, and run his tongue along her neck where the warm pulse of her heart beat egged him on.
He nestled again and opened his mouth to gently scrape his teeth across her neck. Her struggling and laughter faded. The cadence of her breathing slowed as her shoulders relaxed and her head lolled to the side, allowing him access. The hand she’d placed on his shoulder snaked around his neck while she
shifted closer.
Holding her felt right, maybe too right considering they were at his parents’ house. Unable to resist, he drew his tongue along the contour of her neck until it encountered her earlobe. Using his teeth, he nipped her ear. “See, you like it, too,” he whispered, lifting his head to capture her gaze. “Don’t you?”
Her lips parted, her breath coming in tiny pants.
“Get a room, you two!” His father’s crass comment broke the spell Price had managed to weave between him and Kinni.
He lifted his head and glared at his parents. “Thanks, Dad,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not embarrassing at all.”
“I’m just saying—” He swung his wife in a wide arc and then hugged her to him. “I don’t need to be seeing you two pawing at each other while I’m trying to seduce my wife.”
His mother laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Leave them alone, Seamus. Remember we were young once, too.”
“And you still make me feel like an eighteen-year-old.” He bent and kissed her squarely on the mouth.
“You two are so gross.” Secretly Price loved seeing his parents happy after decades together. He just wished they didn’t always have to be so demonstrative about it. Pivoting, he blocked the couple with his back. “Sorry, now where were we before my dad interrupted us.”
“Dancing.” Kinni pressed her hands to his chest. “That’s all.”
He slowly shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that’s not all we were doing.”
“Maybe not.” She took a tiny step back. Not so far as to be insulting, but too far in his opinion. She tipped her head back and gave him a smug smile that bordered on mischievous. “Besides, we’re just getting to know each other.”
“Well, I mean, technically we’ve known each other since college, so I think we can skip some of the niceties that come when introduced to a stranger and…”
“And what? Jump into bed together?” Even though he knew, or at least hoped, she was joking with him, she wore a stone-sober expression.
“Well…” It had been a long time since uncertainty about his prowess had bothered him, but the woman had a way of making him doubt his game. “I mean, if that were to occur…”
She stopped swaying to the music. “So, are you saying that you want to sleep with me?”
He clenched his jaw, recognizing the trap he’d blindly walked into. There was only one answer he could give. The one thing he’d agreed to do to earn her trust. “No?”
“So you don’t want to take me back to your apartment, strip me naked, and ravish me for hours?”
A tiny but no less pathetic whimper slipped from him. “No?”
“I didn’t think so.” She resumed the slow sway, but he glimpsed her smile a second before she turned her gaze to their feet.
Two could play this game. “What about you?”
Her head snapped up. “What about me?”
“Do you want me to take you back to my place, remove each piece of your clothing while covering your entire body with moist kisses, before making love to you for hours, leaving you sweaty and panting?” He mimicked her smug and mischievous smile. “I’m just curious. Is that what you want?”
The second he finished his question the music blared to life with a loud Scottish tune. A unanimous yell erupted from the crowd and they swarmed onto the patio. Unable to hear anything above the laughter and music, Kinni pointed to her ears and then gave a helpless shrug. Clearly the woman was anything but helpless. Devious vixen. He gave a playful glare and then whisked her into his arms, falling in line with the other dancers. When he was young, his mother had taught him the steps to a number of traditional dances. He’d done them a hundred times while growing up, but this was the first time he’d ever shared them with a woman who wasn’t a friend of the family or related to him.
Though there was a short learning curve at the beginning of each new dance, she was a quick study. They circled around the patio and even out into the yard. If he hadn’t known better, he’d swear she’d been raised Scottish.
After the fifth song, he collapsed onto a lawn chair and made a T with his hands. “Time.” Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his shirt stuck to his back. “I need water.”
“I’ll get it.” Without waiting, she circumvented the dancers and disappeared into the house. He smiled, liking the fact that she seemed comfortable in his parents’ home. A few seconds later she returned with two plastic cups filled with ice water and handed one to him. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He took a long drink, sighed, and then patted the chair beside him. “Sit.”
She sat, stretching her legs in front of her, and looked at him. “You’re a good dancer.”
“You can thank my mom for that.” He leaned back. “I’m more impressed that you caught on so quickly.”
“You can thank my parents for that.” She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “They had me into all kinds of dance when I was growing up.”
“It paid off.” No doubt she’d been one of those kids forced into a million after-school programs and clubs. Overachievers usually fell into that pattern. He drained the cup and set it on the ground. “Do your parents live in Seattle?”
“No, they live about forty minutes north in a small…” She hesitated. “Town.”
“What’s it called?”
“Well, they don’t exactly live in town but it’s near Mukilteo.” She circled her hand. “Around there.” Her voice faded, as if avoiding a direct answer.
“So they live in the country?”
She bobbed her head, not quite nodding or giving a shake of disagreement. Pressing the cup to her lips, she took a long drink of water. For some reason she didn’t want to answer the question, and if there was one thing that piqued his interest, it was somebody avoiding his questions.
“When was the last time you saw them?”
“A while ago. But…” She set the empty cup on the ground. “I’m visiting them next week after the wedding.” She stood. “It’s late. I should be getting home. Do you mind?”
“No.” He had to hand it to her. She had avoidance down to a fine art. What she didn’t understand was the more she resisted, the more determined he became. “Let me say good-bye to my parents and then we’ll go.”
She nodded and followed him inside. The party had moved into stage three, shots. Anyone familiar with the Lyons’ gatherings knew this was their last chance to make a quick departure. Once the shots started flowing it was impossible to leave without a lengthy good-bye filled with hugs and reminiscing.
“We’ve got to go.” Price wrapped his mom in a hug. “Happy anniversary.”
“Thank you for coming, honey.” She stepped back and took his face between his hands. “Drive safely and call me next week.”
“I will.” He released her and held out his arms. “Dad, I don’t know how you managed it another year, but congratulations on not getting kicked out.”
“Lucky for you she hasn’t. I’d have to come live in one of your fancy hotel rooms.” His dad crushed him in a bear hug. “You know you could come visit more often.” He released his son. “And bring this beauty with you next time.” He lifted Kinni’s hand and kissed it. “I like her.”
“Thank you for having me.” Her cheeks reddened. “Happy anniversary.”
Price retrieved her hand from his father and locked fingers with her. “Flirt.”
Laughter erupted from his father, but Price didn’t linger to verbally spar. They’d be there all night if he did. The Celtic music grew muffled again when he closed the door behind them. Exiting one of his parents’ gatherings was a bit like stepping outside after a concert, ringing ears and all.
Once inside the car, all noise from the party subsided. He turned to her. “I told you they were loud.”
“But very nice.” She fastened her seat belt, not looking at him. “I had fun.”
“Good.” The engine revved to life when he turned the key. “They seemed to really like you.”
“I have a feeling your folks never met a stranger they didn’t like, especially your father.”
Her description made him laugh. “Yep, that’s dear old Dad.”
Conversation never ventured off the path of small talk on the way home. Though tempted to test his luck again with getting her to admit at the very least she was attracted to him, he liked the easy mood between them more. He didn’t want to push things. Like she said, she still didn’t trust him completely.
He pulled to a stop in front of her apartment building and shifted to park. “I’ll check on your car tomorrow and let you know.”
“I really appreciate your help. If it’s not drivable, I’ll have to come up with another plan for tomorrow night.” She slid out of the seat belt. “I’m designated driver.”
“How did you get stuck doing that?” He’d hired a driver for the bachelor party because none of the guys were stupid enough to volunteer.
“I volunteered. I’m not much of a drinker anyway, so no biggie.”
“Well, I’ll make sure one way or another you have a car.”
She turned, staring at him for a few seconds, as if contemplating something deep. “You’re a nice guy.” She made the statement as if revealing a secret.
Not sure how to reply, he said, “Thanks?”
“I mean, despite your little stunt with Roxy’s favor, you have a kind heart and genuinely seem to care about people.” Not looking at him, she fiddled with the clasp of her purse. “You’re helping me with my car but you don’t have to.” She lifted her gaze to his. “I just want you to know how much I appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome.” He narrowed his gaze. “But just to be clear, did you think I was a nice guy before today?”
Her eyes rounded and her brows lifted. With obvious exaggeration, she said, “Yes.”
With that she opened the car door and hopped out, closing it quickly behind her. Bending, she smiled at him through the window and waved before straightening and jogging into her apartment building.
Respect. She’d dodged that bullet like a pro. Still, the question remained. Had she thought he was an ass before today?