Page 35 of The Red-Hot Stakes

“All set. You can put me down now.” I placed both my hands on his broad shoulders, his larger ones sliding over my ass to grip my waist and set me firmly on the ground.

“A little warning next time, before you climb me like a tree.” His voice was huskier than usual, and as he shifted away, I swore he had to adjust the front of his pants.

The employee apologized as he unhooked us both, and we clambered down the tower. I still felt Liam’s solid grip on my thighs, the way his hands had slid up to my waist. Tension coiled in my stomach, begging for release.

We reached the harness shed, and Miss Perky was waiting. “How was it?”

“Intense,” I muttered.

“You said it.” Liam agreed.

Then we went through the awkward process of taking off the harnesses which totally felt like stripping, even though I was still fully clothed. Not usually prone to blushing, my cheeks definitely felt hot by the time I was done. I fluffed out my dress, grateful the material wasn’t given to wrinkling.

Once Liam was done, we started toward the main area, neither of us looking at the other.

Chapter Nine

The way back to the main thoroughfare gave us time to calm down. Liam kept his hands shoved in his pockets though his shoulders relaxed as we drew closer to the noise. Some of my tension drained away as well.

“Having fun, Red?”

One corner of my mouth tipped up. “Yeah, I am.”

His shoulders came down another inch, and his hands swung freely. “Good. Me too. What next?”

The anxiety in my stomach melted away in the wake of his easy smile. “I’m ready to tackle that maze, but I want a snack first.”

After grabbing snacks at the food barn, we headed for the maze.

The employee checking tickets handed us each another bottle of water. “Good luck.”

“Evidently we’re supposed to stay hydrated.” I raised my eyebrows.

At the first fork, a little sign had the number one and a few sentences of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was cute—a good way to know we were on the right track and keep kids engaged.

“All right, which way?” I asked Liam.

He started heading right, the way I’d wanted to go too. “This is pretty a-maze-ing isn’t it?”

I groaned. “You didn’t.”

He chuckled.

One popped in my head, and I couldn’t resist. “That was a pretty corn-y joke, Mister.”

“Ooh, nice.”

We wound our way through the path, the corn higher than Liam’s head by almost a foot. The trail was wide enough for four people, and we hadn’t met anyone doubling back yet, which I took as a good sign.

“Got any more bad jokes? I’m allears.” Liam nudged me. “Get it? Ears of corn?”

I shook my head, then stopped, pretending to hear something.

He frowned, glancing behind us. “What?”

“I thought I heard something. I hope no one’s stalk-ing us.” I kept a straight face as long as I could.

He smacked his forehead. “Can’t believe I fell for that. Wow.”

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