Page 74 of Big Stick Energy
The realization is so intense I have to close my eyes again for a moment, just to steady myself. When I open them, I take in his bare arm at close range. The muscles flex slightly as he taps on a laptop set up on the mattress beside me.
The problem is that I didn’t think this far ahead. I don’t have a script for this moment. I know I’m supposed to play it cool, except I’m not a very good actor.
Keep it together, Kendrick.I sneak another glance at him, trying to read his expression. Will he be awkward, too? Or even regretful?
“What are you doing?” I ask, and it comes out a little rough.
He gives me a glance, and I get my first glimpse of those gray eyes. He looks… comfortable. Like waking up next to me is the most natural thing in the world. And maybe that’s almost worse.
This is just a fling, I remind myself. Even if last night felt like the most honest thing I’ve experienced in years.
“Waiting for you to wake up,” he says. “So we can order room service.” He gives me a quick smile, and my body temperature climbs three degrees. That smile should be illegal. I’ve seen it a thousand times, but never like this—never from this close, never with the memory of it pressed against my lips. “And I’m reading tips for how to succeed in a hedge maze.”
“Um, sorry?” I manage, trying desperately to gather my scattered thoughts.
He shifts one of his knees on the bedsheet, nudging my leg. “The hedge maze is the next activity in the Wedding Experience.Get with the program, Kendrick. An hour from now, we need to get through faster than the rest of them.”
My sleepy brain tries to make sense of this. “There’s no championship cup, Tremaine. So this is for pride?” Because I think I lost mine the second I scaled him like a tree in the elevator last night.
Right before all the clothes were tossed onto the floor. And the heated skin on skin…
“Winning is fun, but that’s not the point,” he says, breaking through my steamy memories. “Doyouwant to spend all day in a maze? Because I have better things to do. Like hitting the beach and finding out whether or not you packed that green bikini. Rubbing sunscreen all over your back…” His gray eyes tilt in my direction again, but they look heated. “And that’s just the early part of the day.”
My pulse flutters. “Okay. Well. So what have you learned about hedge mazes? Aren’t you supposed to turn right every time or something?”
“Yes and no. Look.” He waves me toward his screen. “There’s a caveat. If the maze has an island feature, you can get stuck in a loop. Like this.”
He’s showing me the basic strategy when a text message pops onto his screen.
Maribel:Bet you two can’t beat us through the maze!
“You see that?” he says. “I’m not the only one thinking about this.” His fingers tap out a reply.
Eric:Bet we can! Unless you’ve been practicing beforehand.
Maribel:GASP! We would never invite all our friends to a maze and then cheat! The fact that this occurred to you is worrisome. How do I know you didn’t look at Google Earth?
He turns to me, wide-eyed. “Oh, hell. That never occurred to me.”
“Don’t do it,” I insist. “We have principles. Except when it comes to deceiving our families.”
His smile turns sultry, and his gaze dips to where the sheet is barely concealing my breasts. “Looking pretty legit, Darcy. Not sure there’s any deception to worry about here.”
My face reddens because it’s true. This morning, anyway. “Want coffee?”
He lifts a hand to his throat, checking his pulse. “Yup. Still breathing. And let’s order breakfast.”
“Okay. I’m on it.” The problem is that I don’t have a stitch of clothing on my body or anywhere near this bed.
When I slip out of the covers and cross to the closet, Eric watches my every move with a sexy little smile on his face.
How is this my life?
If only temporarily.
An hour or so later, we’re outside on an emerald-green lawn, waiting our turn in the maze, the entrance to which is guarded by Tessa. She’s in her element, holding a stopwatch and telling everyone where to stand and when to move.
And yet her abrasiveness can’t even put a dent in me today. I’mtoo blissed out after eating breakfast with Eric in a hotel bathrobe. And by the way, he’s holding my hand.
