Page 78 of The Devil's Fire

Perfectly.

Silence followed right after as we both stared at his target paper; me with my jaw dropped, and him with a smug look on his face.

“You cheated!” I accused him.

“And how did I cheat?” Damiano raised a brow with a tilt of his head. I crossed my arms, my face still in a frown, as I couldn’t think of how in the world he could have cheated.

“We have a winner! Pick your prize, sir.” The guy behind the stand interrupted. Damiano scanned the selection above, picking a big, fluffy, white teddy bear with striking blue eyes, long lashes, and a pink bow tied around its neck.

“For you.” His eyes softened as I smiled warmly, feeling my cheeks flush as he gave me the teddy bear.

“Thank you.” I clutched the teddy bear in my chest.

He won that for me.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook just yet. I want to try one more, and I can feel victory this time.” I told Damiano and handed him the teddy bear.

I bought another round and picked up the rifle once again. I had one eye open as I aimed for the tiny spot on the wall.

“You’re holding it wrong. Let me help you.” I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline as he stepped close behind me. He adjusted the rifle against my shoulder, and I could feel his breath on my neck as he helped with my aim.

“Both eyes open.” Damiano’s whisper sent shivers down my spine, and I held my breath as he pressed his body against mine. “Now, relax your shoulders and breathe.”

I tried to concentrate as I followed his instructions. I relaxed my shoulders and let out a breath, focusing on my mark before firing. I lowered the rifle to have a look at my target paper.

“Oh my God, I did it!” I jumped up and down in excitement. It wasn’t perfect like Damiano’s, but at least they were all in the inner circle.

“That’s my girl.” He whispered softly before planting a gentle kiss on my temple. My body tingled, and even more so when his lips trailed down to my ear as he spoke. “For my prize, I want your ass.”

“Uh, have you had a snow cone before?” I cleared my throat loudly, looking around to see if anyone heard him. Damiano chuckled at my embarrassment but went along with it.

“No. I don't have much of a sweet tooth.”

“I can see that. There’s not an ounce of fat on you.” I poked at his stomach and felt his rock-hard abs.

“I’ll undress for you later.” He winked, and that was when I realized I had my hand flat on his stomach, feeling him up in the middle of the amusement park.

“I wouldn’t mind.” I mumbled, continuing to feel him up.

Damn, I’m no better than a man.

“Sit here. I’ll be right back.” I pushed him down on a bench. Correction, I tried to because he wouldn’t budge, but sat down anyway.

I gave him the other teddy bear I had won and quickly went to get snow cones.

“Hi there, what can I do for ya?” The girl behind the stand smiled brightly.

“Can I have a blue snow cone, please? Oh, and one churro with sugar and cinnamon, thanks!” I smiled, but she just stood there, staring at me with an unreadable expression. The longer she looked at me, the more uncomfortable I became, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

“Are you okay?” I asked, unsure of what was wrong with her. With a shake of her head, she snapped out of her trance.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to stare like that. You have a very pretty face.” She beamed.

“Oh, thank you.” I chuckled, complementing her freckles in return.

“Let me just get you your order.” She rushed to get me my snow cone and churro, her high ponytail of red hair swayed behind her. “Here you go! So sorry again. This one’s on the house.” She gave me an extra snow cone.

“Thank you so much. Take care.”

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