Page 79 of The Brave and the Reckless

“I missed you, too, princess.”

It was a ridiculous thing to say. I saw her every day for hours on end. But I missed holding her and touching her the way I had at the ranch. I’d gotten a taste of more when she’d fallen apart for me in the rain. How was I supposed to come back from that?

Our cart rolled past the exit and back into the dark tunnel, granting me at least a few more minutes alone with her.

“Would you rather kiss a ghost while a girl watches, or kiss a girl while a ghost watches?”

“Since we’ve already established the ghosts aren’t murderous, I’ll kiss the girl. Let the ghosts watch for all I care.”

“You’d kiss a murderous ghost?” She laughed and her sweet breath tickled my lips.

“Survival instinct. I figure it wouldn’t kiss and kill me.”

“Of course. Only logical.”

Nails biting into the skin of my neck, Esra pulled me to her for a kiss. It was gentle at first. Lips and noses brushed soft and slow. I let my hands roam down her sides and into the hem of her top. The second my fingertips connected with her skin, a switch flipped. All sweetness dissipated from her mouth. We’d both been starving for each other and the kiss turned from hungry to ravenous in seconds.

When she leaned back to catch a breath, her lips were red and swollen. God, the things I wanted to do to those lips. I’d have to get another night with her, just so I could kiss and bite and fuck those lips.

My jeans strained against the pressure building in my groin. I knew Esra felt it too, because her eyes dropped, and she shifted her weight slightly. She ground herself against me, the friction of fabrics almost painful on my hardening dick.

“Fuck,” I hissed.

“Remember how you said we could go on any attraction?”

“Yeah,” I replied warily. The exit was only a corner away, but I didn’t want to leave yet.

“Your thighs are the real main attraction, you know?”

“My thighs?” I asked, running my hands up hers, which seemed far more interesting than mine as I pushed her little skater skirt up to her hips. She wore a pair of thin lacy panties underneath that just begged to be ripped off.

“Yeah, I get the whole riding-the-cowboy thing now.” She shrugged, not taking her eyes off me as we entered and passed the exit hall. “It’s those juicy thighs you get from sitting in the saddle. Your lap was made for me to sit on.”

“I don’t object to the sitting, but there has to be a better word than juicy.”

“No, they’re juicy.” She wiggled her brows and leaned in to kiss me. Her tongue flicked against my lips just before pulling back again with a sassy grin. “Thick and juicy.”

“I’m going to shut you up now, silly woman.” I took her by the back of the neck and pulled her to me for a kiss that left no room for sass. She squealed and braced her hands against my shoulders. She pushed back just enough to whisper“juicy”one last time before her mouth was back on mine and her body shuddered against me.

The Haunted Mines officially became my new favorite ride when I tied Esra’s wrists to the cage’s roof with my belt and denied her release until she was flushed and breathless and unable to get the wordjuicypast her lips.

Chapter Twenty-Two

THE MOONLIGHT CASINO

Place your bets and try your luck in the Arcade at the Moonlight Casino. Purchase your gold tokens at the booth and then step right up! Make the daily high-score board, compete against friends, and take home adorable prizes.

Games are evaluated for content using American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) standards.

NOAH

The next time the Stallions put on their cowboy burlesque show at the saloon, all the girls were there again, including Zuri. Things had been a little tense between Esra and her brother. I hadn’t asked for more details, but seeing her and Zuri become more talkative and smiley over cocktails was good. If things turned sour between them, I wasn’t sure where I’d stand anymore. A few weeks ago, I would have automatically sided with Sinan on everything. Now…

I hung back by the bar just so I could walk Esra home after the show. The stage lights swiveled through the room too brightly for my taste, the music was too loud, and I definitely wasn’t interested in the shirt-ripping on stage. At some point one of the ladies from accounting came up tome and offered to set me up with her nephew– because why else would I be at a male burlesque show– but I barely even looked at her, too focused on Esra leaning over the balcony to point at something, drink sloshing in her glass. If Adriana noticed me staring while she refilled my water, she didn’t say anything. She and Esra had gotten close, so for all I knew, she was already aware of what was going on and had been sworn to secrecy.

Two of the dancers spotted Vivi wearing a crown and sash for her birthday and made their way to the staff balcony. Somehow their cowboy hats, oiled chests and body rolls had all the girls whooping and hollering. The pink and blue cocktails may have been at fault for that too. Watching from afar, sober and straight, the whole thing just gave me second-hand embarrassment. Right up until one of the dancers swung a leg over Esra’s chair to give her a lap dance. His denim Speedos were keeping things contained by a thread. I clenched my fists, ready to rip this man off my girl.

I could. For all anyone knew, I was just making sure Sanny’s little sister wasn’t getting whipped in the face by a stranger’s dick.

---