I peeked back up towards his face, and he was smiling down at me still. I swear that drop-dead gorgeous grin of his hadn’t left his face once tonight. “You’re not that great at taking a compliment, are you?” He shook his head slightly, disbelief clear in his tone. “Partner line dancing can be really challenging. Especially in the beginning. Following someone’s lead? Trusting them not to drop you or mislead you? It takes some people quite a while to get that and flow well together. But we’re dancing like we’ve been doing so for years.”
I swallowed nervously. “Oh. Well, in that case, like I said. You’re a great lead, and I just…follow well.” I shrugged again.
“I have a feeling you only follow where you want to be led, Aspen,” he said quietly, and then he spun me before pulling me back in close against his chest.
The blush was back. Did it ever leave? Who knows. Good lord, this man. Was he trying to break me? I’d never been talked to or looked at this way, and I genuinely didn’t know what to do with it. Was he serious? Was he just trying to get in my pants? Did I want to let him in my pants? Maybe I should. Just get it done and over with. See what it was like.
I’d never been with anyone except Sam. So maybe I should experience more sexually for a bit. Nothing serious. Nothing long-lasting. Some tension blown off, and then my art. I could do that. Right? Was I talking myself into this right now? Quite possibly.
“You look deep in thought down there,” Rowan whispered. “What’s going through that beautiful head of yours?”
I cleared my throat and looked back up at him. “How do you feel about casual sex?” Just going in to rip the band-aid off apparently.
He stared at me for a moment; his eyebrow slightly arched in question. “I typically only go for casual sex. But I’m not sure if that answer was what you wanted to hear or not.”
I giggled, suddenly less nervous about this conversation. He was worried about being honest with me—it was sort of adorable. “Nope. Casual sex is perfect. I’ll be honest with you, Rowan. I got out of a relationship before I moved here, and he was…it was…it was a lot. I don’t want anything serious.” I looked away for a moment, chewing on my bottom lip, before continuing quietly. “I can’t do anything serious. Not with anyone.”
He nodded, a serious look on his face. “Casual, it is, Aspen. Whatever you need.”
“Okay, perfect. So did you drive here?”
He laughed. “Oh, we’re doing this right now? Well then, let’s go, little angel.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me back to the bar to pay our tab.
“Oh, let me say bye to Ivy!” I looked around the bar for her, but realized she wasn’t on the dance floor anymore.
“She left a while ago.” He smirked and leaned down closer to my ear. “She waved to you, but I guess you were a little busy staring longingly into my eyes.”
I knew from the smile growing on his face, he could tell I was blushing. Again. “Oh. Well. I guess I’ll just text her.”
Just then, the announcer came over the speakers of the bar. “As of now, our couples dancing contest has ended! The winners this evening are the notorious Rowan Carragan and the lovely Aspen Woodluck!”
I looked over at Rowan as he immediately broke into a fit of laughter. “Well, Ms. Woodluck. Let’s go get our prize and celebrate.” He winked at me, and that was the moment I realized I was in deep shit with this man, and I hadn’t even seen him naked yet.
5
SHOW AND TELL
SHOW AND TELL
Aspen
I was bringinga man back to my apartment, and I was attempting to tell myself it wasn’t that serious. Twenty-three-year-old women did this sort of thing all the time. So, no reason to be nervous.
Ivy knew who he was and that he was coming home with me, so if he ended up being a crazy serial killing psycho with a sex dungeon, she’d know who to point out when the police came looking.
We walked out of The Raven, his arm still around my shoulders as he pulled me in the direction of a small matte black street bike. I just stopped, staring between him and the bike for a moment, until he handed me a matching black helmet, which immediately broke the spell of confusion clearly written on my face.
“Uhm…when I’d asked if you drove here, I meant…like in a car? Maybe a truck?”
He smirked down at me. “You’ve never ridden before, I assume?” I shook my head slowly, just staring at him, wide-eyed. “It’s really simple, little angel. I drive, you scoot close, hold on for dear life, and tilt when I tilt. That’s it.” He took his hat from my head and put it back onto his, then slid the helmet onto my head, adjusting the strap around my chin until it was a perfect fit.
I took a deep breath and nodded. It wasn’t even that far. I could do this. He smiled and threw his leg over the bike. “Okay, little angel, hop on behind me and hold on.” I swung my leg over the back of the bike and wrapped my arms around his midsection. He turned the bike on and revved it a few times. “Ready?”
I nodded my head again, leaning against his back.
He started off slowly, coming out of the parking lot. Thankfully, his somewhat stalker tendencies helped because he already knew where I lived. I truly didn’t think I could have given him directions from back here without falling to my death on the rocky pavement below.
Never going above the speed limit, I started relaxing a mile or so into the ride. I could smell the pine scent of him; it encompassed me inside his helmet, and I found it made me feel more at ease throughout the drive.
