Page 32 of Love Me Dangerous

“But?” Zach passes behind me to the next length of fence in the exposed section that crosses the prairie, the little current of air in his wake making my belly warm.

“He wants to move to Hollywood.”

“And you’re scared he won’t make it.”

It’s unnerving how well he’s reading me, and I don’t like it. “I’m more scared that he will.”

The silence stretches between us, the midday breeze rich with the scent of grass and earth.

Zach grabs the shovel and starts digging into the hard ground around the post. “Sounds like you hold on tight to the people you care about.”

I finally get through a thick twist of rusted wire and shake out my sore hand. I’m going to need to ice it tonight. “Someone has to.”

Zach’s attentive glance washes over me. My thoughts tumble end over end wondering what it could mean.

“You still close with your dad?” I want more, but I’m trying to keep my curiosity at a simmer.

“Yeah.” Something in his tone draws my focus. Did something happen to his dad? Or to their relationship?

“What caused you to quit school?” He slams the shovel deeper into the earth, then pries it back to widen the gap. His brow is coated with a sheen of sweat.

“I was needed here.”

He exhales a low huff, but it’s echoed by the thump of the shovel blade sinking into the dirt, so I can’t be sure I heard right. “I thought I was the elusive one.”

When I glance up, he gives me a wink.

This makes me laugh, even though what I really want to do is shrug it off so he doesn’t know how much he’s stirring me up.

We finish the rest of the section in companionable silence. The clip and twang of the wire and thump of the shovel blend with our labored breaths and the steady breeze. With the sun beating down on my shoulders and the warmth rising from the prairie, I start craving a dip in the river and a cold soda.

When the last of the wire is coiled and staged, we’re both sweaty. I’m down to my tank top and my ponytail feels limp, with flyaways tickling my temples.

“We could put our toes in the creek? Cool down before you head off?”

He eyes me. “I thought you agreed to go home.”

I wink at him, and his gaze brightens like he’s about to laugh. “I said maybe.”

He steps close, and now that we’re sweaty and sticky, the scent of his skin is like a combination of cotton and warm earth and spice.

“You have some serious authority issues, don’t you?”

I give him my cockiest grin because he’s earned it. “Depends on the authority.”

His eyebrows arch up, but the delight is clear on his astonished face.

Surprising him just became my new favorite pastime.

A sly grin makes the apples of his cheeks shine. “That might be fun to explore sometime.”

He’s so close to me now, his chest rising and falling dangerously close to mine, the air between us alive with intoxicating tension.

His slate-blue eyes glint with mischief, like he’s reading my thoughts.

Is he? I savor the tingle in my belly a moment longer, then spin away to hide my blush. “Follow me.”

By the time we scramble down to the creek, I’ve managed to dialback the brazen energy going wild inside me. Or at least I’ve softened it enough to keep me from doing something reckless.

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