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“It’s my pleasure.”
Chapter Three
Burke
We have been here for an hour, and I swear if we don’t leave soon, I am going to end up arrested. There are way too many college kids at this party, and they seem to have been drinking since this morning. They constantly bump into Sage or inadvertently touch her and it is driving me to the brink of insanity.
I feel like darkness is wrapping around me, pushing me to do something I wouldn’t normally do. Thoughts of slicing a man’s throat after he touches her arm shake me to my core. I am a good man, sworn to uphold the law. I have never been prone to violence, why would I be now?
Looking around, I assess the people, trying to think of a way to get us out of here without sounding like the old man I suddenly feel like. It’s a party for a much younger crowd, people looking to get laid. The women are all dressed as a slutty something or other. From nurses to cats and more. They eye me with interest but I only glare. Sage could be wearing a trash bag and she would still be the most beautiful woman here.
The music is deafening, and the décor is all cheap generic supermarket stuff. I hate the way the men are ogling her chest and trying to get near her. The longer we stay, the more aggravated I become and the darker my thoughts turn.
She is holding a red plastic cup of beer that I personally got for her and swaying to the music while I glare at anyone who comes within three feet of us. I’m not drinking at all because I don’t know how much self-control I will have after a few drinks. And I would never put her in danger by drinking and driving.
Sage touches my elbow and I turn to face her, crowding her into the corner. She stares up at me and it takes everything not to kiss her. Even in her heels, she is more than a foot shorterthan me and it’s just another thing that turns me on.
“Do you want to leave?” she asks, standing on her toes, her lips beside my ear.
“I’m fine if you are.”
She turns her cell phone to show me the screen.
“Maybe we should do this instead?” There is uncertainty lacing her tone. “It doesn’t seem like either of us are really enjoying this party.”
I take her phone and scan the article. Just outside of town, a farmer has opened his land to a scavenger hunt of sorts. There will be clues, and if you can solve them all, a prize. A Halloween hunt. It could be fun, I know the area well and most of it is wooded.
“Can you do that in heels?” I ask, worried about her getting hurt.
“I have a set of flats in my bag.” She grins at me, her excitement building at the idea of this scavenger hunt.
“Well, then, let’s get the hell out of here.”
She smiles brightly and deposits her half-drunk, lukewarm beer on a table before entwining her fingers with mine. I love the feel of her small warm hand in mine, and I never want to let her go. I help her through the throngs of drunk people. When we reach my truck, I lift her into the seat once more, but my fingers intentionally graze the inside of her left thigh, just above her knee.
I am trying to gauge her reactions and the way she blushes after her sharp intake of breath is enough to let me know she is attracted to me too.
****
Sage
It was an accident.
It was.
It had to be.
I repeat it like a mantra in my mind over and over as Burke drives us to the farm that was described in the article. At the gate, a man wearing a cheap clown mask takes our money before giving us a sheet of paper with a list of clues on it. He directs us where to park and tells us to enjoy the night.
All around us people are laughing, and children are running. Jack-o’-lanterns are placed on spikes down a pathway, the sinister carvings highlighted in the darkness of the night.
Burke rounds the truck after parking and opens my door. He stares at my shoes, and I realize I am still wearing my heels. I quickly grab my flats out of my bag and go to change them, but he is there, gently slipping off my shoes and replacing them. His touch sends goose bumps skittering across my skin and I barely hold back a moan. I swear I would have never thought that could be sexy, but it seems there is very little I don’t find sexy about this man.
He helps me down from the truck, slowly lowering my body against his, and this time I can’t help the moan that slips from between my lips. For the longest moment, he stares at me, holding my hips firmly in his grasp.
I stare up into his dark grey eyes, waiting for him to release me but he doesn’t, he presses me back against the truck before slamming his lips down on mine. The kiss is earth-shattering, all-consuming, and everything I have ever wished for in a kiss. It drags on forever and ends altogether too soon.
He rests his forehead against mine, breathing harshly as he stares at me.
