Page 16 of Play Fast (Brooklyn Dawn 2)

I climbed out of the truck and stopped to retrieve my wallet from my backpack in the back before meeting her on the sidewalk outside the rest stop’s main building. “You coming in?”

She shook her head and started walking toward one of the round tables a few feet away. “You can get dinner this time. I’ll get it next time.”

For a second, I just stared. I was so used to women just expecting I’d pay, because hey, I was a rockstar with tons of money. That it didn’t even occur to Daisy to do the same floored me. Not that I minded paying, but it was nice she didn’t have any expectations.

At least about food. Otherwise? I had no clue.

Shaking my head, I went inside to use the facilities and grab Daisy’s chicken. I also picked up a couple of Big Macs and some french fries, along with two supersize Cokes. Juggling was definitely necessary.

I came back outside and glanced around, my heart racing.

Daisy wasn’t in sight.

Juggling bags and drinks, I jogged around to the back of the rest stop where there were more tables. Daisy was dancing beside one, lost in the music coming from the mounted speaker nearby. She lifted her arms over her head, swaying in slow circles that made her rainbow sparkles shimmer in the low light.

My breath caught. If I’d had a free hand, I would’ve rubbed it over my chest to get my heart going again. She had the power to stop it dead.

She always had.

Quiet as a cat, I strolled to the table behind where she was dancing in a beam of light near the flagpole. I set down our meal and then lurched toward her, catching her off-guard. She squealed and laughed as I shoved a hand in the waistband of her boy shorts where she’d tucked my keychain, leaving the keys dangling free. I plucked them out and dangled them over her head, enjoying her attempts to leap at them.

“Too bad, sprite. You dance, you lose.” I smacked her ass—fuck, it felt good under my hand—and absorbed the surprise that flared across her face.

Not displeasure. Not even close. She just hadn’t been expecting it.

Neither had I.

I moved back to the table and straddled a bench to dig into my burgers and fries. She joined me after a moment, stealing a fry and chewing it thoughtfully. Even without looking at her directly, I could feel the weight of her stare.

“Do you have to do that all the time?” I asked between bites.

“What?”

“Stare at me.”

“Yeah. You’re pretty.”

I literally choked. She cracked up, offering me a napkin when I sputtered lettuce. I was too shocked to laugh as I cleaned up.

“Pretty? I’m a motherfucking badass bassist. You just made me a kitten. All I need is a bow.”

“Or could tie a bow…” She trailed off and caught her tongue between her teeth.

Okay, that was a sexual innuendo. This woman was asking me to tie her up.

Wasn’t she?

I kept eating. I had no idea what was happening right now.

She unwrapped one of her chicken sandwiches and started eating, keeping pace with me. We didn’t talk, but she continued that watching thing. I couldn’t decide if it made me uneasy or hot.

Probably both.

“Why are you headed so far out?”

I snagged the last pickle abandoned on her wrapper before she balled up the paper. “Got a place.”

“Rented?”

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