“You bet,” Dylan said, pulling away from Stephanie’s clutches. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
Well, it was technically Connor, but who was I to argue? “I wasn’t sure you wanted to be rescued. The two of you were great together.” Although I about choked on the words, it was true.
“She’s an excellent dancer, and I love to dance.”
My heart sank to my stomach. “I can’t dance,” I blurted.
He leaned his head back and peered down at me. “If that’s true, what do you call what you’re doing right now?”
“I can’t fast dance. I mean I can, but I look spastic.”Shut up, Jenn.My cheeks heated. Why did I care what he thought of my two left feet? It wasn’t like I was going to marry him. “And stop laughing.”
“I can’t help it. You’re so adorable.” He slid the hand he had at my back up to my neck, pulling my face closer to his. “About that horse needing saving.”
“Let’s blow this joint, cowboy.” He danced me right off the deck, and as soon as we turned the corner of the house, we ran hand in hand for his car.
22
~ Dylan ~
Isuddenly becamenervous while we were driving back, so I poured Jenny and myself a glass of wine when we got to my place. The last woman I’d bedded had been my wife. Jenny was the first woman to wake the little man up. What if that was an illusion and when it came time to perform, he outright refused?
That hadn’t crossed my mind until Stephanie had twerked her ass all over me, and I hadn’t felt any response at all. Maybe it was simply because she wasn’t Jenny. I hoped that was the reason, and I’d find out soon enough. First, I needed to relax and get rid of the anxiety of disappointing Jenny.
“I still haven’t gotten used to seeing the sunset in the mountains,” I said when we went out to the balcony.
“Don’t you have sunsets in Chicago?”
She took a sip of her wine, peering at me over the rim. That look she was giving me was sexier than any of Stephanie’s bumping and grinding. I thought Jenny had been a little jealous, but she had nothing to worry about where the mayor’s daughter was concerned.
“Of course we have sunsets in Chicago, silly girl. The buildings block them, or we just forget to look up. Everyone’s always in a rush to get somewhere. To work, back home, to dinner, wherever. Who thinks of stopping for a few moments to enjoy a sunset?”
“That’s sad.”
Actually it was. I was still getting used to the slow pace of these mountain people. It drove me crazy at work when some of my cops took their time carrying out an order. Outside of the police station, I was learning to enjoy the slower pace.
“Is there something at the edge of the woods there?” I pointed where I’d seen movement.
Jenny stood and went to the railing. “It’s a deer. A buck. Come look,” she whispered.
I joined her, and sure enough there was a buck with a set of antlers like I’d never seen before. I wished I had binoculars and made a mental note to keep a pair out here.
“Eleven points. Impressive.”
“What does that mean?” I wasn’t a hunter, couldn’t stand the thought of killing something, which was interesting considering my job. I’d had to shoot a man once who pointed a gun at me, and I hoped to hell I never had to do it again.
“His antlers. He has eleven points on them. Eight points is more common.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t let him go anywhere.”
She skipped off, and I eyed the deer, wondering how I was supposed to keep him from going anywhere. The buck was staring toward the building, only his face and neck visible. Except for the vague outline of the front half of his body, the rest of him was hidden by the dark of the forest and the night.
In less than a minute Jenny was back, her camera in her hand. After fiddling with a few knobs, she put it to her eye and started snapping picture after picture. The big guy’s ears perked up, and I wondered if he’d heard the click of her camera. But no, from below my balcony, another deer, one without antlers, trotted into view, heading for the buck.
“His lady,” Jenny whispered, the camera still to her eye. “He’s watching out for her.”
The two deer pressed their noses together for a few seconds, then the buck turned, disappearing into the forest, his lady following. “Wow. That was pretty cool.”
