Page 27 of The Darkest Knight

“You still going with me tonight?” He skimmed his azure gaze down her and she could have melted in her boots. “I guess that’s a stupid question. You look nice. Ready to dance.”

She laughed nervously. “No, my question was stupid. You’re here to pick me up, of course, although it’s not technically picking me up since you’re only a hop and a skip away.”

*****

Seth swiveled on the stool and searched for Reese, and there she was…standing in a small circle with the women she’d just met. Vanna and Isla had dragged her away the second they’d stepped into Mountain Mug. Reese seemed comfortable and her smile could win wars. Roving his eyes down to her bare shoulders kissed with tendrils of hair and the spaghetti straps of the nice-fitting dress triggered his body to respond. He liked the dress, a lot, but he’d like it better on the floor. With each movement she made, the hem of the skirt brushed her luscious thighs and conjured images of those legs wrapped around his hips while he drove himself…

Her laughter brought his gaze upward. He’d like to be on the receiving end of that gorgeous sound and he planned to be before the night was over. No doubt about it.

“Hey, I thought she had a service dog?” Gage asked as he sat down on the stool next to him.

Seth didn’t take his eyes off his target of sex appeal and seduction. He didn’t want to miss one thing. “She does, but Abby gets skitterish with the loud music, so Reese thought it was best to give her the night off.”

“Understandable. How safe is she though?”

“She’s dangerous.”

“Excuse me?” Gage cleared his throat.

Realizing the blunder he’d made, Seth twirled around to lean his elbows on the edge of the pockmarked bar. He couldn’t think clearly while staring at such a beauty. “She’s safe. I won’t let anything happen to her.” He grabbed his bottle and drank most of his beer in one gulp.

Gage whistled through his teeth. “I’m sniffing something out here.”

Seth gave him a side-glance. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

“Let’s take a closer look at this, bro. One, no denying she is one hot woman. Two,” he ticked off corresponding fingers. “She’s living with you. Three, you’ve got to be the horniest man this side of Tennessee. I’d say that’s a dangerous brew.”

“Technically, she’s not living with me. And I don’t plan to turn this business arrangement into a fucked-up chaotic mess.”

Gage chuckled. “I don’t get it.”

“What’s there to get?”

“Man, you must have balls of steel.”

“I’ve been told that before.”

His friend shook his head. “I respect you wanting to keep things from going sour, but you’re a bigger man than me. Vanna told me she and Reese have already planned a shopping trip. Everybody likes her.”

Seth dared to shoot a glance over his shoulder again at Reese who now stood at the jukebox searching the selections. Her hips bounced from side to side to the song, playing his insides like a ping-pong table. His cock jerked alive as the blood drained from his brain. “Can I get a shot of whisky?” he called to the bartender.

Once he had the shot in hand, he knocked it back hoping the alcohol sting would ease the tension in his muscles, but it only seemed to give him a slight buzz along with a painful urgency in his dick. He wanted to check these emotions off as loneliness, but he’d never considered himself lonely or needy. He had Rosie and her five friends to keep him satisfied, yet here lately his hand couldn’t seem to satisfy a need that was buried in the center of his soul.

Reese dropped some coins into the jukebox and then she twirled on the heel of her boots, her gaze landing on him as if she knew he was there watching the entire time. He didn’t bother pretending he had been doing anything but staring. Who’d blame him? A smile lifted the corners of her mouth that only made his zipper stretch more—and his chest.

Then she did something that took him for a flying loop. She rolled her tongue along her bottom lip and lifted one slender finger, motioning for him to join her. He didn’t realize he was still holding the shot glass, and he swore he heard a crack. Could have been in his body.

“Looks like you’re being summoned, my friend.” Gage pushed off the bar and strolled to meet Vanna.

Seth didn’t make a move. Her rolling finger became more of a rope, lassoing him in, demanding, and he understood he didn’t have a choice. He set his glass down and made his way toward her. “Yes?” he asked.

“I feel like dancing.”

“Go ahead. I’ll gladly watch.” He winked.

“With you, silly.” Her blue eyes seemed to catch every spark of light in the room.

“I don’t dance.”

Her bottom lip puckered ever so slightly, but it didn’t mar the glow in her expression. “Don’t or won’t?”

“Can’t.”

“Anyone can slow dance.” She grabbed his hand and together they made their way to the small dance floor where Gage gave him the thumbs up. He was eyeball deep in clutching his girl and dang near needing to get a room.

Seth gave his buddy a shrug of his shoulder. He hadn’t danced since his high school prom, and although he’d never liked the activity much, he did enjoy the idea of holding Reese close. This was one way he could get by with touching her without making it into a big deal. A little stroke here, clutch there, wouldn’t get him slapped.

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