Page 93 of The Runaway and the Rugged
No, I have her all the fuckin’ time now.
“Yup.” I wasn’t telling anyone anything just yet. I wanted to enjoy this moment without nosy folks butting in; that's how my family and this town always worked.
Everybody knows everything about everyone.
“She looks good up there.”
My fists went tight, but when I caught him from the corner of my eye, I realized he wasn’t watching her the way I do. He was lookin’ at her like a friend, like a proud sibling who was genuinely happy to see her happy.
It made me not want to punch him in the face as much.
I checked the time on my watch, and when I saw her shift was about to end, I bided my time, waiting for the perfect moment to get up and follow her into the back room of the bar where I knew no one would be.
Ponytail swishing, oblivious to what’s going on around her, I came up behind her and dropped my head into the delicate curve of her neck. At first, she jumped about a foot off the ground, but immediately recognized that it was me behind her.
“Jesus, Garth, you scared the crap out of me.”
I chuckled.
“You did good today, real good.” I sniffed her lavender-scented locks, burying myself deeper until I was scrapin’ my mustache along her neck and shoulder blade.
“Thanks.” She sighed, tilting her head back and to the side, exposing more of neck. “I wasn’t expecting you to watch me all day, so that didn’t help my nerves.”
Toying with her bra strap, I lightly tugged on it with my teeth until planting a soft kiss onto her now slightly-raw-with-beard-and-mustache burn.
“You did great, you’re a damn natural.”
She didn’t seem convinced.
“Hey, are you even supposed to be back here? I’m not tryin’ to get fired on my first day.” She swiftly spun around, her brow arched high with both hands placed tight on her hips.
Like I’d let that happen.
“I go where you go.” I stepped toward her, desperate to get my mouth on her again.
“Hm, I’m not sure if that's a feasible answer, cowboy.” She took a large playful step back away from me.
Fuck, I loved when she called me cowboy, her sultry, sexy-as-hell voice sending a shiver down my damn spine.
“Seems like a damn good answer to me.” I eyed her like she was my next meal, my tongue darting out to wet my bottom lip. “Besides, I ain’t worried about no one else right now besides you.”
She grinned.
“That right?” She began to walk around me, slowly, meticulously.
“Someone’s gotta show you how proud they are of you,” I whispered softly, knowing she needed to hear it.
Her feet came to a halt and her big, olive eyes glimmered brightly.
“You’re proud of me?” she questioned, her voice wobbling with a mixture of uncertainty and surprise. I was ready to tell her that I was proud of her a million times over just to get that reaction again.
To make her believe that I was bein’ sincere.
“Yeah, Outlaw. Real proud.” I stalked over to where she stood stoically until I pressed myself to her front. “Now, think you’ll let me show you just how proud I am?”
Her eyes went impossibly wide, knowing exactly what I meant by that.
Her throat bobbed but with a robotic-like nod, she gave me my answer. Before I knew it, I was liftin’ her off the ground andwalkin’ her ass out the bar. As we passed by Shane, he glanced at Emelia and me for a second, then simply tipped his chin in a silent goodbye.
