Page 53 of Five Alarm Kiss

She cut him off. “You go first. Put your money where your mouth is.”

“I’d rather put my?—”

“Jake.” She sounded flustered.

Fuck, shut the hell up! What am I doing?

He cleared his throat and moved a step away, putting some distance between them. He’d never be able to concentrate otherwise.

“All right, I’ll go first.” Taking the axe she offered, he lined himself up with the target.

She coughed loudly the same moment he let the axe fly. It embedded in the wood about four inches off the center.

“Wow.” He turned to find her grinning like a kid who’d been given a box of cookies and told to have at it. “What’s your class gonna think when I tell them their teacher’s a cheater?”

She was the picture of innocence. “How’s coughing cheating? It’s a normal bodily function.”

“I see how it is.” He walked over to the target to retrieve the axe, then handed it to her. “You’re intimidated by me, which is totally understandable.”

“Move over.” She bumped him out of the way with her hip. “There’s not enough room for me and your ego.”

He snorted. Damn, he liked this playful side of her.

“Give it your best shot,” he told her, taking a step back to allow her some room. “I’ll be over here putting on Chapstick.”

She rolled her eyes, raising the axe to aim at the target. Just as she lifted her arms to throw, she ran up to the target and wedged the axe dead center into the wood. Then she spun around and shouted, “I win!” before taking a bow.

“Really?” He started stalking toward her. “You really think you’re gonna get away with that?”

“Hey, I won, fair and square.”

“And how is cheating fair?”

She started moving to the right as he got closer. “No one said I actually had tothrowthe axe,” she rationalized

“Uh-huh.”

He advanced a few more steps, trying to corral her into the corner. Since they were in a fenced “cage,” the only place she could go was down the side. With a quick sidestep, he cut her off, grabbing her around the waist when she tried to skirt past him. She squealed as he pulled her back, pushed her up against the fence, and looped his fingers through the chain link on either side of her, preventing her escape.

“Now, about that kiss…” He lowered his head, but she stopped him with a hand over his mouth.

“I won,” she reminded him. “I get to pick the prize.”

She snatched her hand back when he nipped at her fingers.

“What do you want, Laurel?”

“I…” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “Um…”

He deliberately wet his lips, watching her reaction, trying not to grin when she drew an uneven breath. She wanted him to kiss her. She may not be saying it, but she wanted it. The laser focus on his mouth gave her away, but the wrinkle in her brow let him know she was conflicted. She wasn’t comfortable asking for what she wanted.

Maybe all she needed was a little push.

“You want me to kiss you,” he told her. “Don’t you?”

She almost reached for him, but abruptly curled her fingers into her palm instead.

“All you have to do is say it. Say you want me to kiss you.” He edged closer, until his lips hovered a wisp above hers. It was taking everything in him to remain frozen in place. She’d asked him to kiss her once before, so he had no idea why it was important to hear her utter those words again, but it was. “Laurel…”

---