Page 66 of Ensnared

“Ido notcheat,”Isay. “I’mstrategizing.”

Helaughs. “Well, all right then,SunTzu, take your time.”

Theusual instinct to bite back my smile rises, butIstop myself, letting my lips curl asImeet his eyes again.It’sstrange how exposedIfeel for doing something so small.Likehe might mock me for being amused by him.OrlikeI’mletting him knowIlike him, somehow.LikeIneed to hide it to keep my advantage.

But, for all his teasing,Luckyhasn’t once looked at me mockingly.He’salways invited me in on the joke—never made me the butt of it.

Hisexpression softens at my smile, and he murmurs, “Goodgirl.”

Mystomach gives a low, hard flip.

“Lucky...”Theword comes out husky.Embarrassingly, transparently lustful.

Lucky’sbreath snags.Hiseyes meet mine, and he slowly, so slowly, sucks his lower lip into his mouth.Whenit pops back out, it’s glossy and ripe with color.

GoodGod.

Blushing, flustered,Imake my decision and lean forward.Myskirt catches and, with a wince,Ihike it another inch.Ignoringthe pleased hum from the man beneath me,Istretch forward again and place my left hand on the red circle directly across from me.

I’ma little overextended, balanced entirely on my left side, butI’mable to angle my body along the outer edge of the mat so it falls away fromLuckyslightly.

Andmy face isn’tquiteburied in his sweatpants.

Fromhere,Ishould be able to maneuver in the next round—hopefullywithoutputting myself in some obscene position.

“Yourturn,” he prompts.

Right. “Whydid you decide to join theArmy, since you loved your job?”

There’sa pause. “WhenIwas seventeen, there was an accident on the ropes.Oneof the teenage students was doing something she shouldn’t have and landed wrong.Itwas...Itwas really horrible.Thedamage was pretty bad.Wehad insurance, but the family sued and it got ugly.Insurancecame through for the claim, but they trashed our reputation.

“Anyway, theArmywas a good way to make a quick buck, especially sinceIwas pretty physically fit and not qualified or interested in much else.Endedup getting pulled into theRangerswhenIwas twenty and metDomandBeauthen.They’dbeen in the squad together a while already.JaykandThomascame in about two years later—they’d been in other divisions and transferred.Allcame good in the end.MomandDadmoved, got a new place.Worriedabout me too much.Youknow.”

Myheart twists at the sadness in his voice.He’sopen with it and it’s clear how much he misses them.

Iwonder what that must feel like.

Tomy surprise,Luckystretches impressively to place his other foot on the red circle beside my newly placed hand.Itmeans his firm thigh is right by my face, pushing my already precarious balance uncomfortably, andIhave to lean backwards to avoid falling down on top of him.

Andyethe’sannoyingly stable.Andhe’s crowding all the spaceIhad to move.

Despitemyself, my eyes skim over him andIcan’t fail to notice the hard length of him, er... at attention.

Andvery, very close to my face.

Thatseems to be the only strain on him, however, and, when my gaze finally makes its way to his face, he catches my shocked look with a cheeky grin.

Somethingabout the naughty curve to his lips has me wondering what it would feel like to have them buried between my thighs.Mycore throbs and my balance wavers.Iswallow hard, looking away as heat flames in my cheeks.

“Whatwas that thought?”Luckyasks, voice dipping into a low, rough drip that shivers down my spine.

Ihalf-shake my head beforeIstop myself.

“Nuh-uh.”Luckylaughs. “That’smy question, beautiful.Whatthought had you turning that pretty shade of scarlet?”

Iglare at him, suddenly liking this game a whole lot less.Ishake my head again.

Blueeyes dance. “Ifyou don’t answer,I’mgoing to claim my dare.AndIget to choose where you place your foot.”

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