Page 26 of Protected By West
"People gotta eat."
Her shoulders shook with laughter and the look on her face? She was beautiful, achingly so.
"Besides," he was trying to figure out what to do with the evening and the safest thing was going out to eat. Anything away from his room, hers, anywhere in the hotel, "I asked the staff in the lobby. They like this barbecue place at the edge of town. "
There was hardly a swipe of makeup on her face, but he'd never seen a woman look so damn good.
"Barbecue?"
Damn it, she sounded like he'd just offered her the world. "Yeah, barbecue."
She lifted a brow at him and with the look of pure mischief he saw in her eyes, he wanted to kiss her right then and there.
"What if we get messy?"
The slight growl she added at the end of her question did something to him.
Smiling back at her he lifted their joined hands until he could rub his lips lightly over her knuckles. "It's barbecue, baby. If it's not messy-"
"It's not good." She leaned back a little and looked down at her clothes. "I'm going to need to change clothes before we go. I don't know what kind of sauce they have but I know it's not coming out of this fabric."
He started walking them toward the elevators, her hand still in his and she laughed as they came to a stop.
"You're going to drag me out of my shoes. You're that much in a hurry to eat?"
He looked down at her and he wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes but she seemed to like it. "I've got big plans, Tracy Fagan. Big, big plans."
The elevator doors opened and this time it was her turn pulling him along and into the elevator. Inside, she pushed the button for her floor and paused before she pushed the button for Weston's floor. "Are you headed up to your room or-"
"I'm not about to give you a chance to slip by me tonight. I'm going where you go."
Tracy lowered her arm to her side and the doors slid closed.
Weston switched his cowboy hat from his right hand to his left and threaded their fingers together, smiling.
In the mirrored panel of the elevator door Weston could see her smiling.
As the elevator started to climb higher, Tracy turned her head slightly and he turned his head to see her sly look out of the corner of her eye.
"So the cowboy thing is real?"
He nodded. "You want me to take you riding?"
He saw her lips twist up in a humorous grin.
"Riding?" She turned her head away toward the wall but he could still see the bright color in her cheeks. "So many uses of the word."
Weston rocked back, putting his weight on his boot heels. "Whatever way you want to take it, I'm game."
She tightened her hold on his hand, her fingers squeezing his hand for a moment. "I don't know how adventurous you think I am."
"I'm along for the ride... However you want to take the words."
"Well, that puts my actual question into dangerous territory."
Weston heard the slightly breathless quality of her voice and saw the rise and fall of her shoulders as she took in and let out a breath. "So what was your actual question?"
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
