She raised her chin, all sexy confidence. All bravado. But he knew better now. He’d picked up on the flicker of nerves in her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking, and the way she hesitated half a second before speaking. Then there was the way she played with the pink stone around her neck, rolling it between her fingers like a habit she wasn’t aware of.
But she didn’t want him to know she was nervous. That was what made it cute as hell.
His gaze drifted downward, lingering over the soft curves hidden beneath the borrowed clothing. Another of his flannel shirts swallowed her slight frame, hanging almost to her knees, and his running pants rolled at her waist a few times. The soft fabrics highlighted the curves of her hips and the gentle sway of her breasts under his shirt, making him remember the lush, full shape of them in the shower. Was she wearing anything under his shirt now?
“Of course I do. Didn’t they teach you that in the army?”
“Marines,” he corrected.
Lily gasped, all faux innocence, then flashed him a wicked, sparkling grin that did dangerous things to his self-control. “Oorah, soldier.”
She had no idea what she was doing to him. She’d rolled the sleeves up haphazardly, revealing her pale skin and delicate wrists, and the top few buttons were undone, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of deep, deep cleavage whenever she leaned over to deal him a card, answering his unspoken question. Nothing. She wasn’t wearing anything under his flannel.Ah, hell.It was going to be a long night.
“Well, it’s time for me to kick your ass, Sheriff,” she said, tapping the deck confidently. “I learned from the very best.”
He took the bait, shifting to relieve the growing pressure against his zipper.
“From Tucker?” he asked. That asshole. He didn’t knowexactly what Lily had run from, but he had a solid enough idea, and his opinion of the guy, already low, sank even further.
“No.” She laughed. “Definitely not. I kicked his ass all the time in cards. From my sister, Amber. Nobody beats her, not even her husband.”
Rush nodded, filing that away. She was close to her family. He’d known that from seeing the Hart women around town, but hearing the affection in her voice made him feel better about what she would go home to.
He didn’t know Lily all that well aside from a polite nod around town, and the way she blushed when she ran into him, but he knew enough. She was softer than most, but there was something about her too. A quiet kind of stubbornness under all that sweetness. He liked that. More than he should.
He looked over his cards, but any focus he had was shot to hell the second his gaze drifted back to Lily.
She was sexy in a way that turned on every one of his buttons, curvy and big-breasted, with beautiful rounded hips and strong, sleek legs he wanted wrapped around every part of his body, preferably his head first.
But the worst part—the part that was making his fingers flex around the glass of whiskey—was the way she was nibbling on that pouty bottom lip.
He nearly groaned. That mouth was driving him crazy.
He was already nearly obsessed with it. The delicate pink color that he knew matched her nipples. Oh, fuck. He needed to get his shit together. Coming so close to kissing her outside had been a mistake, but fuck if he didn’t want to do it again. Over and over again until he memorized every sound she made.
And then there was the way she’d touched him earlier. Watching her kneel between his legs while she worked her hands over his thigh had been a test of pure willpower. Her hands weresmall but strong. Each stroke of her hands on him had sent shards of fire straight to his cock, and he’d had a hell of a time not pulling her up and onto his lap to see how she would feel against him.
Letting Lily put her hands on him wasn’t his best idea. He had a feeling that she could make a man think about staying a while.
And that wasn’t in the cards.
“You’re close with your family,” he said, forcing himself back to safer ground.
“Very,” she murmured distantly, not taking her eyes off her cards. “They smother me with their concern, but I love them all the same.” She paused, tucking her legs underneath her. “I have three sisters—Evie’s my twin, then Amber, and Allie is the oldest. Evie and I are the youngest. And then my mom—I’m sure you’ve seen her around. She owns the interior design studio on Main Street.”
Rush nodded, looking over his cards, suppressing a grimace. Garbage hand.
He’d met Annette Hart and most of her family in passing on his rounds through town. They were a well-known family around Northfield—wealthy and well respected.
Across from him, Lily sat cross-legged and tried to contain her glee as she looked at her hand. She was as transparent as glass. It was endearing as hell.
“How about a wager?” she asked innocently. Her color was high in her cheeks, her expression pure innocence, but she couldn’t hide the mischief in her eyes. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth again and pretended to think.
Rush sat back, watching her, and held onto his laugh.
He nodded, pretending to look over his terrible hand again, but instead let himself watch her. Hell, he enjoyed everything about her. The cabin would have been damn lonely withouther. For all he teased her when she talked about her wacky energy stuff, she was a delight so far.
And he wanted to fuck her. There was that too.
