Page 31 of Bad Boy Crush

“I was thinking about it.” She was thinking about it right now. She hadn’t stopped thinking about it all damn day.

He leaned closer, the swing creaking beneath his shifting weight. A scant inch away from their lips touching, she breathed his name. What was supposed to follow was an excuse about why they couldn’t kiss again. About how it would be a bad idea to kiss him again. The problem was, she couldn’t think of why kissing him was a bad idea anymore.

He must have agreed. A second later, his mouth was covering hers. He tasted of beer when his tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. A whimper worked its way from the base of her throat to her parted lips. The sound spurred him on. He tucked his fingers into her hair, tilted her head, and plunged his tongue deeper.

His damp arm was touching hers, his fingers kneading her scalp. Goosebumps rose on her skin, skittering along her arms and legs. His whiskers abraded her lips as his hot tongue swept along hers… He finished the lengthy kiss with two light pecks on the center of her mouth.

She was grateful that he had a firm hold on her. Right about now she felt as if she might float right off the swing and into the cloudless sky above.

“Years.” His voice was rocky. “Years I’ve dreamed of doing that. I wasn’t sure I’d have another chance after today. I thought I blew it.”

“But you didn’t,” she pointed out, dazed. “The whole time I was married, you wanted to…?”

His mouth flinched into a small smile. “Yeah.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah.” He leaned back and took a drink from his beer bottle. She had seen him on dates over the years. A lot of different dates. Whenever Liam and Lou had joined him on his boat, there was another woman onboard.

“I didn’t act on it. You were married. I respected that.” He brushed a stray piece of hair away from her mouth and cupped her neck. “You okay?”

“I’m…I’m okay.” At least she thought so. There was a lot to unpack. The kiss had overheated her entire body. Maybe she should climb into that ice bath. “You surprised me.”

He sat back and lifted his beer to his lips once again. “I surprised me too.”

ten

No amount of positive thinking or affirmations was going to keep his ass upright for the logrolling competition.

From his position at the dock, Ant tilted his head to crack his neck on one side and then the other. He’d probably make a fool of himself today. Logrolling wasn’t going to be a skill he mastered in a week, no matter how many times he fell into the water at Brady’s house.

His competitor from yesterday, Cory, was going to be the first to square off with him. Ant liked Cory. The guy was friendly, which was more than he could say for Hunter. If Ant miraculously managed to outlast Cory, Hunter would be up next.

He should have been thinking strategy in the seconds before he attempted to balance to the log, but he wasn’t. His mind was on Lou’s visit last night. On that kiss. Their second kiss hadn’t been like the first. No one had been there to stop them. No one was whistling or cheering. It was just them, and the fireball in his stomach when she responded favorably.

She’d stayed long enough to finish her beer. They’d talked about the games, and he’d shown off the blisters on his fingers. She’d held his palm and tenderly touched each one. He hadn’t kissed her goodbye. He regretted that.

Years of not rushing in to satisfy his own needs had apparently turned him into a six-foot chicken. As good as those kisses had been, they hadn’t reached an agreement to move forward. Something had shifted between them, for sure. He just didn’t trust it yet.

Truth was, he was pissed off at himself. Not a very Zen place to be moments before he needed to still his mind and his body.

Two volunteers wrangled the log to the dock with the help of long poles. Ant and Cory stepped onto it, gripping those same poles and shoving off into open water. Ant shut out the thoughts about Lou and the crowd’s cheering and focused on his center of gravity. All he had to do was outlast Cory.

Cory began walking, first one way and then the other. Ant kept up, watching the other man carefully. Then Cory kicked the water with one foot, splashing Ant in the chest. The tactic was intended to throw him off but had the opposite effect. Cory lost his balance and toppled into the water. Ant wasn’t far behind, but he still won by a fraction of a second.

Cory popped out of the water. He was smiling when he offered his congratulations. The announcer introduced “state champion” Hunter Medway as Ant’s next competitor as Ant and Cory swam the log back to the dock and climbed out.

Ant adjusted his hat and peered into the crowd, casually looking for Lou. Still no sign of her.

“Ready to lose, Renaldo?” Hunter asked.

Ant’s fist twitched. He’d never wanted to hit someone so badly before, and he wasn’t a violent guy. He’d also been an idiot twentysomething once, and could only hope he’d never been as obtuse as this blockhead.

In a repeat pattern of what came before, Ant and Hunter stepped onto the log, held onto the poles, and pushed away from the dock. Ant had been lucky when Cory fell. Maybe he’d get lucky and Hunter would lose his balance as well.

“Go!” the announcer shouted.

Ant and Hunter dropped their poles. A loud whistle sailed over from the shore and Ant turned his head and saw Lourdes. She was wearing a hat similar to his, and a summery dress that showed off those damn fine legs.