Page 29 of Broken Love

“And a half,” he jokes.

I glance around the tent, suddenly realizing how silent it is. Fox stands back with his hand latched over his mouth, simply fucking amused by the whole thing while Rogers and West look terrified.

“No,” I say.

“What’s wrong, Caleb?” Boxcar asks. “You scared I’ll actually win?”

I pick myself up off the cot, seething. “And if I win?”

His smile makes gentle dimples in his cheeks. “What do you want me to give you?”

My eye twitches. “How about you just owe me some money? That seems fair.”

“Okay.”

He moves around the cot and lowers himself to the floor beside the footlocker, firing off a sly wink at me while he waits for me to join him.

I glower at Fox’s grinning face before kneeling and facing Boxcar. He’s already in position with his right arm forward, eagerly awaiting me to take his hand. I hesitate before laying my elbow down and placing my palm against his.

I touch him and a bolt of warmth charges up to my shoulder blade.

Fox clears his throat. “Okay… are we ready?”

“Ready,” I say, wrapping my fingers around Boxcar’s.

His knuckles quake with nervousness but he tries to hide it. “Ready,” he says.

Fox takes a quick step back. “Three, two, — Boxcar, don’t look down — one. Go!”

Boxcar flinches. “What?”

It’s too late for him to absorb the warning. I flex, bringing his attention back to me and he gives my hand a hard shove in the other direction.

I’ll admit, he’s not as weak as he seems. He doesn’t have a bodybuilder’s physique, but I can’t help but glance at his bicep as his shirt tightens around it.

Boxcar lets out a struggled breath. My ears twitch. A grunt escapes his lips. It travels down my spine, all the way to my kneecaps. I shake it off, ignoring the quiver between my thighs as I tighten my grip on him. His eyes wander my face and, for a moment, the struggle in him fades into lust. It twists at me, knocking me off-balance enough that my strength almost slips completely.

His eyes flick downward, and I shift my shoulders forward to deepen my cleavage.

“Cheater!” Rogers shouts.

I feel Boxcar’s strength waver for just a moment but that’s all I need to send his hand flying down to the footlocker.

Boxcar shakes his head, jerking his eyes away from my breasts. “Wait — what?”

Fox reaches for my hand and raises it high. “And we have a winner.”

I stand up. “Sorry, Carson. You can pay me back later.”

Boxcar stays on the floor, positively dumbstruck while his eyes blink away from my chest. “Damn…”

“I told you not to look down, man,” Fox tells him, shrugging his wide shoulders.

I walk back to my cot. Rogers and West shake their heads at me again. I ignore them and return my focus back to the disassembled revolver, hoping this throbbing feeling beneath my skin goes away as soon as possible.

Manly grunts resume but they don’t affect me nearly as much as Boxcar’s did. I keep my head down, breathing steadily as the menial task takes hold of me and my pulse resumes its normal rhythm.

“Fawn!”

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