And there it is… in her eyes, I see it—the first signs of acquiescence. I want to stand on the bar and beat my fists against my chest in victory.
But I don’t dare let go of her wrist until I get the words I want from her.
She opens her mouth but before she can speak, a hand claps me on my shoulder and I hear Kyle say, “Look who I found, dude.”
I don’t turn to look at him. I don’t let go of Casey’ wrist. I continue to stare at her and wait for her to give me the words I want. To tell me that I can have her… at least for tonight.
But the heat and promise dies from her gaze just a tad, and she slowly turns her head to the right to look at Kyle as she pulls away from my grasp. Her eyes light right back up again in more than just nominal recognition of Kyle, and a smile forms on that beautiful mouth.
“Hey Andrea,” Casey says brightly, and I realize all at once that Casey must know Kyle’s sister. Not so unusual, this being a tiny community and Andrea recommending we meet up at this bar.
I turn to give my attention to Kyle and his sister, and I’m momentarily stunned when I see how beautiful she is. Like Casey, she has blond hair but hers is a bit darker and more yellow in tone. She’s tall but still comes a few inches shorter than Casey does and without being obvious, I notice that her body is built to almost perfect proportions. I say “almost perfect” because Casey has true perfection down to a science, and there’s no touching that.
“You must be Andrea,” I say with a genial smile as I reach a hand past Kyle. “I’m Tenn Jennings.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she says as she pumps my hand, and then her gaze flicks back and forth in question between Casey and me. “I see you already met my friend, Casey.”
“Kyle and Tenn helped me change a flat tire a little while ago,” Casey supplies an explanation.
“Hmmmm,” Andrea muses. “That was nice.”
“Yeah, we’re regular fucking Boy Scouts,” Kyle says as he loops an arm around Andrea’s shoulders and pulls her in close. Leaning over, he gives her a kiss on top of her head. “Missed you, little sis.”
“Missed you too,” she says with a smile and slides her arm around his waist as she looks at me pointedly. “Why don’t you guys grab your beers and let’s go sit out on the back deck. You can tell me all about the trip out here.”
I don’t mistake the tone of her voice. It screams right at me, I don’t trust you. Stay away from Casey.
But I won’t be scared off so easily.
I give her a charming smile. “What are you drinking, Andrea? I’ll grab it for you and meet you and Kyle out there.”
Her eyes narrow at me, but her tone is polite. “Anything on draft is fine.”
I nod and turn away, effectively dismissing her and giving my attention back to Casey. “How about a draft, Goldie?”
Casey’s eyes slide over my shoulder and I watch as they move across the room, presumably following Andrea and Kyle out to the back deck. She doesn’t look back at me but turns and bends into a cooler to pull out a frosted pint glass and sticks it under the tap labeled “Stella”. When it’s full, she sets it in front of me and says, “That will be $2.75.”
Her voice is distant, and I know the spell that we were both under just a few minutes ago has been completely broken. But I’m just cocky enough to know I can get it back with a little effort. There’s a connection there. Sexual, of course, but a connection all the same.
Reaching into my wallet, I pull out a five and hand it to her. “Keep the change.”
She smiles and nods her head in thanks. As she starts to turn away, my hand jets out again, latching onto her wrist. The minute my skin connects to hers, the spell is back in full force again. I can feel it pulsing through me, and I know she sure as shit can.
Casey sucks in oxygen and drags her gaze from our hands back up to mine. Her eyes are immediately warm and expressive. Her chest rises and falls deeply.
“Dump the boyfriend,” I tell her again, daring her to defy me. “Let me have you.”
Her eyes roam back and forth between my own, and she nibbles on her lower lip in contemplation. The majority of me… the part that is a reasonable and logical man… doesn’t really expect her to give in. I’m a perfect stranger and she seems like a nice enough girl. While she may be a big flirt, she doesn’t seem the type to just jump into the sack with anyone. She could have her pick of any man on this island, as a matter of fact.
So I’m utterly shocked when she leans across the bar and whispers to me, “Okay.”
My head jerks back slightly. “Okay?”
She nods and pulls her wrist out of my grasp. “You can have me. I get off at six.”
Holy fucking shit.
She’s mine.
Chapter 5
Casey
I must be crazy.
That’s the only explanation to account for the fact that I’m giving myself to a man that I know nothing about and had maybe ten total minutes of conversation with.
At least that’s the conclusion Andrea had come up with when she hissed at me about an hour ago while we were in the bathroom together. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“Pretty sure I am,” I told her as I washed my hands.
“You don’t know anything about him,” she pressed in an urgent whisper as she leaned against the vanity. “He could be a murderer or a rapist.”
“He’s your brother’s friend,” I pointed out. “And besides… it’s not like I haven’t done one-night stands before, Andrea. You know this about me, and you’ve never been all judgy about it before.”