Page 96 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
Cash is laughing quietly,and Ridge’s fingers flex slightly where they’re resting at my hip. His breath is warm on my neck, and I swear his thickness nestled against my ass just throbbed, getting harder. No one says anything for a long moment, but the tension in the room thickens like honey, slow, golden, and impossible to ignore.
Still flushed, I shift on Ridge’s lap, suddenly all too aware of how warm his body is beneath mine. I clear my throat and slide off, trying to be casual about it. Yet they’re all watching me.
“It was only one round,” I mumble, smoothing my shorts as I settle on the cushion beside him. My thighs brush his for half a second, and I feel his stare on me like a touch. He doesn’t say a word, but his gaze slowly, deliberately drags down my legs like he’s trying to memorize the length of them.
I tuck one leg beneath me and pretend not to notice. Pretend I’m not imagining how his hands would feel, gripping my bare thighs instead of just looking.
Walker stretches out, clearly still smug from his dream reveal. Cash cracks his knuckles like he’s resetting the mood, leaning forward with a grin.
“All right, next one’s mine,” Ridge announces, dragging his attention back to the group. “Let’s see who’s got real ranch smarts.”
He rests an elbow on his knee and looks around the circle, his voice low and playful. “What does it meanwhen a cowboy says herode the fence until the cows came home, but still ended up knee-deep in goat shit?”
Cash snorts. “Means he worked hard and still got screwed.”
“Means he was chasing tail and got the wrong species,” Walker offers, grinning.
I scrunch up my nose.
Ridge shakes his head. “Wrong. And wronger.”
They both glance at me. I blink. “Hmm. It means he tried to keep everyone happy and ended up with a mess anyway.”
All three of them stare.
Walker lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”
Cash tips his imaginary hat. “She’s been studying Cowboyese.”
Ridge’s mouth twitches, pride flickering in his expression. “That’s right.”
I smile, trying not to glow too obviously, seeing as I completely guessed that.
“All right,” Ridge says, leaning back with a gleam in his eyes. “Winner picks the next dare. Anyone in the room.”
I sit up a little straighter. Oh. Power. Dangerous in the wrong hands. Even more dangerous in mine.
My gaze drifts slowly across the three of them. Cash, lounging with his arms spread across the back of the couch like he owns the place. Walker, sprawled at the other end, still smirking. And Ridge, silent and intense, watching me.
God, which one of them do I dare?
And what would I make them do?
I toy with my empty glass, trying to buy myself time, before I put it down on the table.
They’re all watching me. Waiting. Three pairs of eyes. Shit. What do I say?
The power is mine. I could pick something harmless. Silly.
But some wicked part of me wants to see them squirm. Wants them to feel the heat I’ve been drowning in for days.
I shouldn’t. God, what am I thinking?—
“What would you do to me?” I blurt. “If we were alone?” My breath catches. “Whisper it. In my ear.”
The room goes still. Then?—
Cash lets out a low whistle. “Whew, sugar. Going straight for the throat, huh?”
