Page 37 of Those Who Are Bound

“Like putt-putt?”

Elliott raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I can work with that. Yes, like putt-putt.” Bending, she picked up her backpack in the same hand that she held her Frisbee. Jerking her head in a nod behind her, she indicated the open space. Taking another step back before she turned and started walking, she informed him, “Like golf, or putt-putt, you want fewer strokes, or throws. Instead of holes, you will be aiming toward a metal basket with chains.”

Walking beside her, surveying the area, Jonah pointed out, “You realize your date has us competing with one another?”

Casting him a mischievous look, she assured him, “Don’t worry, I won’t think less of you when you lose.”

“Youarecompetitive. What do I get when I win?”

“Whatever you want.” Her meaning couldn’t be more clear. His scan of the area told her he was probably trying to remind himself that they were in apublicpark; his look was as heated as hers.

“But I think you need to worry more about what you’re going to give me when I win,” she added, a small purr in her voice.

Jonah looked skyward. “Oh, Lord.”

Elliott smiled, pleased by his reaction and the tension in his voice. Her heart rate jacked up; her body hummed.

They approached the first tee sign. Four college-aged men were in front of them, and they paused to wait their turn. Elliott turned to him and held up her backpack. “Water and energy bars if you need them; just ask.” Giving him a devilish look, she probed, “But will you ask?”

Amused, Jonah shook his head at her. “Your plan is to torture me all afternoon, isn’t it?” He was looking between her and the guys ahead of them, trying to figure out how the game worked.

Elliott gave him a satisfied look. “If you’re feeling tortured, it only works to my benefit; you’ll be off your game.”

“So that’s your strategy, using your sex appeal to distract me. Never mind the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing.”

She barked out a laugh of disbelief. “Sex appeal? Wearing camo?”

He matched her laugh, taking obvious stock of her. “If this is you trying to disguise it, I’m in trouble.”

Now Elliott looked away, blushing, pretending to concentrate on the technique of the men ahead of them. The words had slipped out; he’d shocked her so much. Well, apparently the attraction of camo could work both ways, even though hers was nowhere near regulation.

His voice was mischievous. “Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun; a battle of wits and Frisbees.”

Elliott chuckled. “Really? Wits? When all I have to do is bat my lashes?” And she did so in an exaggerated manner.

The last man in front of them had thrown his disc and turned toward them. “Give us about ten before y’all start so we don’t bump into one another.” His sleeveless plaid shirt matched his drawl.

“No problem,” Elliott responded.

The man gave her a double-finger-gun salute accompanied by the clicking sound of his tongue, before he ran after his buddies.

Elliott laughed at him before she turned toward Jonah. “Ten minutes. Perhaps you should work on your form.”

“My form?”

Elliott came up to him and turned him so they were both standing sideways. She was standing close enough to his back that if she leaned forward a little, her breasts would press against him. Her tips tightened at the thought of it, remembering how it had felt at the top of the bluff when he’d held her.

Concentrate!

“It’s how you grip it.” Elliott demonstrated, flipping the disc over to show him the placement of her fingers. “Like I said, you can buy special discs, but a player can make it work with a regular Frisbee.”

Jonah shook his head and grasped her wrist. “Stand in front of me and show me.” He maneuvered her in front, holding her comfortably, his hand on her hip, his entire body lightly flush with hers.

Elliott was certain he could feel her trembling, trying to fight the urge to melt back against him. Her libido was off the charts. Raising her hand at an angle in front of herself, she fought to hold her hand steady as he mimicked her movement, his arm coming around hers. “There are a few different ways to hold and throw; it’s physics.”

“Physics.”

“Mass in motion,” she said simply.

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