Page 10 of Unexpected Forever
Charley shakes her head, the tip of her finger running along the rim of her flute glass. “Nope, not shitting you, my friend. Those four women wipe the floor with anyone they come across. They go to tournaments every year, and without fail, every one of them comes back with a pocket full of money. Locals know better than to play with them unless they’re in the mood to lose.”
She glances out into the room and tilts her head. After a moment, laughter shakes her shoulders.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“They came dressed in their signature colors.”
I follow her stare across the room to see the other three ladies—dressed in yellow, purple, and pink—join the one in turquoise. I raise a brow. “Do I even want to know?”
She drains the rest of her champagne and sets the glass on the bar. “Nope. If you’re here long enough, you’ll run into them in town and see what I mean.”
“Leaving me with some mystery, Charley?”
She turns her head and makes eye contact with me. Those eyes are a sucker punch to the gut. “A woman’s gotta have some secrets.”
“I’m sure you have plenty.”
She shakes her head, a smile curving those dark-red lips. “I’ll never tell.”
My fingers ache with the need to tangle in her dark hair that’s swept over one slender shoulder in big waves. I swallow the last of my whiskey in one gulp, a vain attempt to put out the fire she’s ignited in me.
When was the last time I’d had such a reaction to a woman? The lust whipping through me is sharp.
If her brothers knew the thoughts I have running through my head as my eyes travel down her body, they’d kill me and make it look like an accident.
The upbeat song fades, and when the opening guitar chords of “Tennessee Whiskey” fill the room, the urge to have this woman in my arms overwhelms me. I set my glass down with a click on the bar and hold out a hand to her.
“Would you like to dance with me?”
She studies my hand for a moment before her eyes meet mine. They’re flirty and telling me she wants to say yes. The woman scrambles my brain cells, but damn if it doesn’t send a zip of excitement through me.
“Just so you know, your sisters had no problems saying yes,” I add. My teasing turns the flirty look in her eyes into something I understand well.
Competition and determination.
My lips twitch when she slides her hand into mine. “Fine, I can’t let my sisters have one up on me.”
“Of course.”
Charley trails behind me as I walk toward the dance floor with her hand in mine. When we reach an open spot, I slide one arm around her petite waist and pull her to me. The feel of her in my arms puts my body on high alert. The pounding of my heart in my ears nearly drowns out the music.
Her bare back is warm against my palm as I clasp her small hand in my larger one.
The top of her head barely reaches my shoulders even in the high heels she wears. But despite our size difference, her body molds to mine like a glove. Her scent wraps around me until I can’t take a breath without smelling her shampoo or perfume or whatever the hell it is that makes me want to toss her over my shoulder and take her to my room.
To explore every inch of her for one night.
We don’t talk for a few moments, just move our bodies together in time to the music. I try not to think about how well we move together.
It makes me think of other ways we’d move well together.
Fuck. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve felt the sharp, gut-deep pull of pure, physical lust. Although, I can’t remember it ever being this intense.
She tilts her head back with a smile. “You made Megan very happy tonight. She’s missed you.”
Lust takes a temporary backseat to the guilt squeezing my heart. “I’ve missed her too. I wish I had been able to visit sooner, but between the retirement PR circus, sponsorship obligations, and contract negotiations, life has been on fast forward lately.”
Wow, Gentry. Since when do you talk so damn much?
