Page 85 of Everlasting Promises

She adjusts her feet and raises her bow, keeping her shoulders square with the target, like I showed her. Raising the bow into position, she draws back the string and, after a moment, releases it. This time, the arrow flies and hits the boss. Granted, it misses the target, but she’s closer to making the shot within the circle. Her shoulders drop, and disappointment fills the surrounding air.

“Hey, look at that. You almost hit the paper. Next time, you’ll get on the scoreboard.”

She whines. “I doubt it. I’m terrible at this stuff.”

I frown. “Have you done archery before?” She shakes her head. “Then how can you expect to be good at it from the get-go? It takes practice … like most things in life.”

She toes the fake grass beneath her feet. “I guess so.” The action reminds me so much of Evan when we all played mini golf together. Even though she doesn’t come across as competitive, maybe she is a little.

“C’mon. You have one more shot this round. Make it count.” I wink at her and step backward to watch her take the shot. My eyes drop to her denim-clad ass, and I remember how it felt in my hands the other morning. How sexy she was when she took what she needed from me.

Hope jumps up and down, squealing with delight, like a child in a bouncy castle, pulling me from my salacious thoughts. When I gather my bearings, I notice what has her so excited. Her arrow is proudly sticking out of the outermost white circle of the target. “Did you see that? I actually hit the target!”

I bend down and wrap my arms around her hips, easily lifting her from the ground. Her free hand drops to my shoulder, and she looks down at me with a beaming smile and a face filled with pride for her achievement. “I knew you’d do it!”

She leans down and kisses me chastely, but before I have time to react, she pulls away to look at her arrow. “I can’t believe it!”

And I can’t believe she kissed me in her excitement.

I take my turn, hitting the target each time I fire an arrow, but I’m nowhere near to getting a bullseye, and the arrows don’t even land anywhere near each other. I definitely need to improve my technique.

By the last target of the night, Hope’s aim has improved to the point where she hits the rings of the target with all three arrows. Watching her confidence grow—and the excitement in her eyes build whenever she hits the target—has been better than I could have predicted.

Her enjoyment was my number one goal tonight. Seeing her eyes sparkle and her wide smile has made my night—no, myweek. Her happiness, her joy, her sparkle … it’s better than breathing. I’m so glad I went with a fun night out instead of sitting in a stuffy restaurant.

40

BEN

With her smallhand tucked securely in mine, we head out into the cool night to my truck. The extra blankets I packed for the next part of our date will be essential.

Hope squeezes my hand and pulls me to a stop beside my truck. She tugs me around, tips her head back, and her genuine grin rocks my world. “I had the best time tonight. Thank you.” She rises onto her toes and presses her lips to mine. Soft and warm. Tender and gentle. Every atom in my body wants to slide my fingers into the fall of her hair and tilt her head back to deepen the kiss, but I want to let her take the lead. She pulls away too soon, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Next time, I’m gonna beat you.” She twists away from me playfully, and I tap her tight ass with a chuckle.

I raise my eyebrows. “That’s some smack talk right there. We’ll see,” I tell her as I open her door—thrilled she’s thinking about future dates.

She slides into the seat, and I drag the seatbelt across her body, breathing in her warm vanilla scent that sends my libidointo overdrive. As I move back to stand, I turn my head and my eyes automatically drop to Hope’s lips. Her breath coasts across mine, and as if I have zero self-control, I lean forward and press my mouth to hers.

She sighs and I slip my tongue inside to taste her, something I’ve been dying to do all night. Her hand slides up over my shoulder and wraps around the back of my neck, holding me in place. I breathe her in as we kiss, exploring and tasting each other. Her breath becomes mine, and mine becomes hers—as if it were always meant to be this way. We take and we give, as if we’ve been kissing like this for years.

After too short a time, she pulls back slightly, and I’m relieved when I find her cheeks dry and a lazy, sexy grin on her lips. That look, right there, is all I’ll ever need until the end of time. I peck her lips and close her door, then make my way around to my side, adjusting myself discreetly as I slide behind the wheel.

“I thought we could pick up a couple of pizzas and head up the hill to enjoy them above the city lights.”

Hope smiles at me and my breath catches. She’s so beautiful when she’s like this. I mean, she’s always beautiful, but there’s something mesmerizing about her when she smiles. Especially when it’s aimed at me. “Sounds perfect.”

With the pizzas between us,I reverse park so we can enjoy the view over the city from the back of my truck. “Wait here, okay?”

Hope nods, confusion causing crinkles between her eyebrows. “Okay.”

I climb out and set up the back with the mattress, cushions, and a ton of blankets that I packed for our date—essentialtonight with the brisk temperature. Once it’s set up to my liking, I turn on the twinkle lights, set up our picnic, grab the pizzas, then I open Hope’s door and hold my hand out to her.

She gasps and her free hand flies up to cover her mouth as we reach the back of my truck and she sees the set up. Her eyes slide up to mine, and the shock and surprise on her face is almost comical. “Ben,” she whispers on a breath. “This … it’s gorgeous.” She tears her gaze from mine and studies the bed of my truck. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“I hope so,” I tell her as I tug her forward and help her up.

She shimmies back, propping herself against the cushions and covers herself with a thick blanket, and I add another for good measure. I don’t want her to feel cold, so I place a woolen hat I bought for her on her head and a scarf around her neck. “These are gorgeous. You really have thought of everything.”

I grin, then get comfortable, dragging the blankets over myself, cocooning us together. Opening the pizza boxes, I lift the pizza closer to Hope so she can grab a slice. Her eyes drop closed on a moan when she takes her first bite, and suddenly my jeans are too tight. I imagine her responding in much the same way as I swipe my tongue through her lips and circle her clit with gentle strokes.Damn.

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