“Listen to the drummer.” Becca winked at Tanner.
Unfortunately, that made Tanner’s entire face turn the same shade of red as the Coors Light sign.
“Did I make you feel bad?” Linx asked, again with the caressey-caress words.
Becca squinted her eyes and squared her shoulders. “Maybe.”
“It’s a yes or no question,” Linx said.
Dear goodness, if he sounded like this while they were standing in the middle of the bar and used a tone that made all the hairs on her arms tingle, what would it be like if she did finally get to jump on his mattress with him?
“Yes.” She absently fiddled with the edge of her notepad before realizing what she was doing and dropping her hands to her sides. “I didn’t want to bug you. Perhaps it’s you who should thank me for not wasting your time.”
Linx pinned her with nothing but his brown, oh-so-very-brown eyes. “I apologize for making you feel bad.”
Huh. Well, “Thank you.”
“That’s it.” Mach smacked the table. “I need Linx lessons.”
Becca moved her gaze to Mach, ticking her ear a little to the side.
“Count me in, too,” Tanner said, expressly not looking at Becca as he spoke.
Mach gave him a brotherly chuck to the arm. “Tanner needs a helluva a lot more lessons than me.”
“Hey.” Tanner chucked him right back.
“Someday, he’ll learn to speak to a woman without his entire face looking like a raspberry.”
“I don’t look like a raspberry.”
“Boys.” Linx spread his arms wide on his side of the booth. “There are plenty of lessons for everyone.”
“Isn’t that just what the world needs,” Becca said under her breath.
Mach leaned forward and mock whispered, “If you can get Tanner to talk to a woman and remain his normal shade of pale, then I’ll owe you two markers.”
“Consider it done.” Linx reached across the table and shook each of their hands, one at a time. Then he held his hand to Becca to shake.
She looked at it. Looked up at him.
“I’m not in on this deal.” She did however shake his hand so she didn’t leave him hanging.
He turned her palm over in his hand and pressed his lips to the top of her knuckles. The kiss seeped through her body like warm chocolate sauce, flowing over at all of her pulse points.
She drew in a breath.
“Are you two taking notes yet?” Linx asked, giving her hand a little squeeze before letting it go.
Then it was her hand, just sort of dangling there in the space between them. She wasn’t moving. Her parasympathetic nervous system shut down, it seemed, because she wasn’t even drawing breaths.
“I’ll try next.” Mach held his hand for Becca’s.
Linx swatted his hand away. “Find your own Becca. This one is mine.”
“Hey, the only person I belong to is me.” Becca shoved her hands on the ties of the apron at her waist.
Linx straight up smirked. “I can respect that.”
