Page 65 of Rough Ride

The guitar struck a final chord, and the crowd erupted like I had never heard it before. Eli stood up and gave a bow while holding the guitar by the neck, then returned it to the stand on stage and hopped down like a boy leaving a playground.

I wanted to take him home right that minute. It was tempting—I could make an excuse about being sick or something, then go back to the rodeo camp and make Eli’s trailer rock off its wheels. But I was in the middle of my shift, and couldn’t make a mistake like that.

“Where are the pint glasses?” I asked Liz.

“The overflow room behind the main honky tonk,” she replied.

I gave a final glance toward Eli, who was being mobbed by the crowd of fans, then left the room and weaved through the honky tonk until I reached the overflow room. We used it as a private room for special events, but tonight the two wooden doors were closed shut. I slipped inside, closing them behind me, and immediately located the pallet of boxes in the corner next to a stack of dishwasher trays. I had done this before; the new glasses needed to be moved to the trays so we could give them a rinse before serving them to customers.

I had opened up the first box and removed a single glass when the door opened behind me. Music drifted into the room for a moment before becoming quiet again as the door closed.

“You here to help me with this work?” I called over my shoulder, thinking it was Liz.

“I’m gonna help you do somethin’,” Eli’s voice replied, smooth as expensive whiskey. “But I promise it won’t be work.”

29

Sophie

I whirled to see him standing there, half-veiled in the darkness of the door frame. He slowly strode forward, removing his hat and carefully placing it on a table without taking his eyes off me.

Is this happening?I wondered, excitement and adrenaline flooding my body.

“You were great up there,” I said.

“I was good, at best,” he replied.

“You were confident.”

That easy smile touched his mouth. “Youmade me confident. I just pretended nobody else was in the room except you.”

“It felt like that to me too,” I breathed.

I leaned back against the boxes of pint glasses and unbuttoned my top a little bit more as he strolled closer, like he wasn’t in any hurry. His eyes flicked down to my cleavage, and his smile deepened.

“I wanted you to take me home last night,” I said. “What if I’m not in the mood tonight?”

Eli stepped into my space, his thigh brushing against mine. He planted a hand on the wall behind me and leaned close enough to kiss, but just like last night, his lips stopped just short of touching mine.

“I don’t believe you,” he whispered, breath mingling with mine.

He held there for one heartbeat longer. Two heartbeats.

Then his lips collided against mine, banishing all thought. He pushed between my legs, leaning into the kiss, and my body came alive beneath his touch.

Fuckyes.

A sudden flare of heat raced down my spine as he immediately deepened the kiss. I had been fantasizing about Eli, but no dream could compare to the way this felt. The lash of his tongue, the scrape of his teeth, as he cupped the side of my face and held me against him like I was the first prize trophy in the rodeo that he had been coveting all this time.

My hands wrapped around his body automatically, because I would have rather died thannottouch him in that moment. Exploring the curve of his shoulders and the taut muscles in his broad back, covered by his leather vest. His hands responded by diving down to the waistband of my denim shorts, claiming what was inside like a man who was possessed.

I arched my head back and moaned loudly as his fingertips enveloped my clit, setting my body on fire with unrestrained lust.

I broke our kiss long enough to gasp, “How did you know?”

Eli’s brow rose. “Know what?”

“Satellite Mind. It’s my favorite song.”

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