Page 28 of Spreading Her Wings

“It’s nothing.” She forced a smile, holding her shot glass up with a grimace.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing. What?” I spun her around slowly to face me, putting one hand around her hip to pull her closer to me.

She gasped, her mouth dropping open when she met my eyes. “I just don’t know that I want to take another shot of gin… I’m a little… drunk,” she said with a gesture of her hand that must have meant she was a bit far gone. When she cocked her head to the side, the butterflies in my stomach flew up into my throat. Her dark hair fell in her eyes, and I bit the inside of my cheek to stifle a grin.

“Oh, but this is the good stuff,” I told her, pointing to the bottle the bartender had set back on one of the higher shelves. She sighed, letting her shoulders fall forward in near defeat. “What if I made it better? Would you take the shot then?”

Katie’s piqued interest resulted in a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean? Make it betterhow?”

“Do you trust me?”

She narrowed her eyes, but a smile threatened. “You know I do.”

Without another word, I slid my hand into her hair, enclosing it in my grip and brushing my lips against hers before tugging her head back gently. Shock crossed her face, but she didn’t resist, tilting back.

“Open your mouth.” I held her stare, grabbing the shot glass from her fingers and pouring the sweet liquor into my mouth.

She widened her eyes when I leaned forward, getting close enough that I hovered my lips just above hers. Katie parted her lips farther, darting her tongue across her lip when I spit the shot into her mouth. Satisfaction filled me when she vibrated with her hum.

When I’d emptied the shot from my mouth, I pressed my lips to hers, using my tongue to collect the leftover drops as she swallowed. I planted another small kiss to her lips before running my fingers through her long hair and down the leather dress that was practically painted on her body.

“Okay, maybe I love gin now,” she said with a giggle, running her finger over her lips with a dreamy, dazed look in her eyes.

I winked at her, pulling her against me. “I think I love it even more.”I might love her too.

I shook my head to clear the thought, giving credit to the fog in my brain for the idea I couldn’t shake. Katie touched her lips, brushing over them fondly. She smiled, and when I tore my gaze away from hers to grab my own shot, she put her hand on mine.

“Um, can I…?”

The way she shyly tilted her head down and looked up at me was adorable; something she’d hate being called, and I considered using the word then. “Can you what, kitten?”

She looked over my shoulder at the four people who were surely watching in amusement and leaned into my ear. “I want to give you yours.”

“You want to spit in my mouth?”

When she bit her lip and nodded excitedly, I knelt on one knee. Around us, a couple of people gasped, sharing drunken congratulations for our engagement, and I laughed. Katie ignored their cheers, tossing the shot into her mouth and weaving her fingers into my hair. She tugged my head more roughly than I had hers, causing me to groan, but I followed her direction, opening my mouth. The excited cheers around us turned to surprised sounds of shock, disgust, and amazement when the stream of gin left her mouth.

Katie licked her lips while I swallowed the shot, and before I stood back up, she leaned down and pressed her forehead to mine. “That was hot asfuck.” She groaned, darting her tongue across my lip for any straggling drops of the gin.

“Oh my god, you two aresogoing to get married. I’m willing to bet on it.” Simone cheered and lifted her glass, earning blushed cheeks from Katie and agreement from the others.

I stood up, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her towards us. Those around us who were drunk enough to notice me drop to my knee but not see her spit in my mouth still cheered. One man clapped his hand against my back and offered me an “attaboy.”

“Apparently we’re already engaged.” I laughed, pulling Katie’s body against mine and burying my face in her neck. She groaned in objection at our faux engagement, but when she settled against me, any fight she had left her body.

I wasn’t sure why we let Jackson talk us into another spin at the roulette tables. He said one bet an hour ago, but instead of standing up and going back to our rooms like we should have, we placed another stack of chips on the felt table.

Logan and I laughed while the others set their chips on the green zero. “You may as well just hand those chips to the dealer, you guys. You haven’t hit a zero all night.”

“Then we’re overdue.” Simone smirked at him. “Now shut up. We need to focus.” She blinked her eyes as if she was looking into the sun and giggled. Katie giggled with her, pressing her hips back against me. I groaned.

The dealer flicked his wrist, sending the small white ball around the wheel. Simone and Katie watched in anticipation. Katie practically vibrated in front of me. She held her breath, and when the ball skipped, she started to fidget.

The ball bounced, hitting the black thirteen, the red seven, and the red sixteen before it bounced backwards, rolling into the green space.

Katie let out her breath, jumping up and shouting with Simone. They wrapped each other in a hug, and Ash and Jackson kissed at the end of the table. You’d have thought they’d bet a lot more than one five-dollar chip on the spot with the way they celebrated.

“Told you,” Simone said with a giggle. Logan groaned but was grinning at her, and when he turned to me, I chuckled.

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