Page 10 of Small Town Firsts
Heavy black beads circled the wrist of the arm holding me. A leather strap circled his other wrist. He was close enough that I could smell… Was that ginger?
Dear God. Whowasthis guy?
FOUR
RONAN
FRIENDS, LOVERS, OR OTHER
I shouldnotbe touchingher.
The first thought that blasted through my brain wasdon’t touch.
Which actually made me want to touch her every-goddamn-where.
Something deeper and hotter sent warning signs up my arm and into my brain. I had to forcefully not tighten my hold to drag her closer.
Her amber eyes glowed with surprise and the pulse at her throat fluttered wildly just before she licked her lips.
She simply glittered.
Not in an artificial, manufactured way, but beneath the skin and the warm, honeyed glow echoed in the gold at her neck, streaks in her dark hair, and endless length of leg that peeked from the shorts she was wearing.
Legs I wanted around my neck.
Pull it back, you animal.
But I’d need a fucking leash if she didn’t stop staring at my mouth.
“Ronan, you found us.” Beckett’s voice cut through the buzz.
Her amber eyes widened and snapped up to meet mine. The hazy pleasure bled right out of her face. “Ronan Parrish?”
I frowned. “Yes.”
“My luck is spectacular,” she muttered with a half-laugh as she gently disentangled herself from my hand.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Beckett pushing his way through the increasingly thickening crowd on the lower level. He jogged up the stairs while Hayes and Justin were waylaid by a few people downstairs.
I returned my attention to her. “Someone want to let me in on the joke?”
She tipped her head back to meet my gaze once more and the molten heat cooled to a burnished gold. “Kira Webb, nice to meet you.”
The name niggled at me. However, I’d been fighting with my brewing room for the last five hours and was in need of a beer, food, and obviously a fuck. Even if that suddenly did not look like it was on the horizon, though I wasn’t sure why.
Beckett got to the top of the stairs where we were standing by one of the tables. She was backing up and her spicy, floral scent was going with her.
I stuffed my hand into my pocket so as to not grab her and pull her into me.
Beckett’s gaze widened. “Whoa.”
Kira suddenly fussed with the strings of her apron. “Hey, Beck.”
“I see you’ve met your new cohort.” Beckett was holding a beer and took a quick sip as he quickly looked over Kira for longer than I liked.
My other hand curled into a fist at my side.
Beckett whistled. “When I said you didn’t belong in the orchard anymore, I didn’t know you were going to kill us all, Key.”
