Page 37 of Second Chance Saloon

“I can’t sleep either.” He brushed a lock of her black hair off her shoulder, exposing bare skin clad only in a spaghetti strap from her pajama top. Lowering his head, he pressed his nose to her goosebump-pebbled skin. “Why are you excited?”

Jackie sucked in a breath and held it. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m always told tanks have more subtlety than me.”

Mitch dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “If I was more confident, I’d say I’m the reason.”

She leaned against his chest. “Of course you are. I keep thinking about how well you’ve managed Diamond today. It isn’t easy, to get up on a horse for the first time.”

“I thought you said that you don’t remember your first time on a horse?”

“I don’t. But that’s what people say.”

He grinned into her hair, drawing in a breath filled with the sweet fruity notes of her shampoo. “People often say a lot of bullshit.”

Jackie chuckled. “That, they do.”

Neither of them said anything else, their breaths and heartbeats melting into one like tennis players gearing up to play doubles.

She moved her thumb up and down the inside of his forearm, humming under her breath. “Do you want to see Texan sky?”

“I thought you can’t see stars from Austin.”

“It’s a clear night and we’re just about far enough from the city to stick up a middle finger to light pollution. I love stargazing.”

“Won’t Brenda be angry if we sneak out?”

Jackie looked over her shoulder, tilting her chin up. “Mimi’s deaf in one ear. She won’t hear us if we’re very quiet.”

She traced the outline of his lips with her fingertip, and a whip of electricity tore through the dark bedroom as his veins clogged with desire. He couldn’t see her smile, but he could picture it flawlessly.

Mitch kissed the side of her jaw, closing his eyes against her soft skin. “Do you even know how to be quiet?”

It was a fair question, he thought. Jackie was many things, but quiet wasn’t one of them. She walked through life encased in an aura so bright, you almost needed sunglasses before daring to look at her; she’d been blinding unsuspecting regular folks with sheer joy since the moment she was born, he had no doubt.

Jackie pushed his arms away. She turned, facing him, and all the air he’d been so glad to breathe evaporated from his lungs. “Do you like it when women are quiet, Mitch from Portland?”

The playfulness of her features signaled she didn’t mean in general.

He gulped.

Jackie caught her bottom lip between her teeth and pressed her open palm right above his heart.

His nostrils widened on a deep inhale; his tongue cemented to his teeth.

“Or do you like when they scream your name?”

Fuck, if she hadn’t already been holding his heart hostage inside his ribcage, it would’ve flown out, and he’d have combusted on the spot.

A single note of laughter slipped from her lips. “Sometimes, I worry I scare you.”

“You could never scare me,” Mitch blurted out before he had a chance to think through what he wanted to say.

Tilting her head, she furrowed her brow. “Careful. I might believe you.”

He covered her hand with his, pushing them both into his chest. “My heart’s been beating to the sound of your voice since we met. If you need to believe in something, believe in this.”

Her chest caved with a shallow exhale. Her hand shook underneath his. “You should’ve majored in English literature. I didn’t know you’re a poet.”

Mitch shoved aside the rumpled comforter. He dropped his forehead to hers, drinking in the melody of her breathing. “I mean it, Jackie. I know we haven’t known each other long. I know I’m probably way too boring for you—”