Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey Page B

  “I’m just a little nervous.   One-night stands have never really been my thing.”   Okay, that was kind of a lie.   In college they had been, but not since.   Six years of dedicated relationships, all with total jerkoffs.   I’m nothing if not consistent.
    “It’s the hat, isn’t it?”   He took it off and put it down gently on the floor near us, never taking his eyes off me.
    “It wasn’t the hat,” I said, my voice feeling strained.   It most definitely was not the hat.   My pulse was picking up the pace and my fight or flight instinct was kicking in.   Or maybe it was my fuck or flight instinct; that was probably more appropriate considering the look he was giving me.
    “Is it the buckle?” he asked, gripping it in his fingers and angling it towards me.
    “It’s not the buckle,” I whispered, staring at the letters engraved in the front of it … something in Latin over a coat of arms, maybe.   I was too distracted to give it much thought. He was getting too close for me to think straight.   I was way too dizzy from all the alcohol, so I stood, hoping that would help.
    He stopped just inches away, not quite as tall without the boots on, but still so tall I had to angle my head up to look in his eyes.
    “You are the prettiest lady in this entire town, you know that?”
    I laughed a little, not falling for the schmooze but letting it warm me nonetheless.   “I know that you drank about six beers in the space of an hour or two, so I have to think that may be interfering in your judgment.”
    He shook his head.   “Nope.   I’ve got all my faculties.”
    “Damn, you’re just full of those quarter words today, aren’t you?”
    He pulled me up against his chest in one quick move, reminding me what a strong man he is and how much restraint he’d shown so far.   “What’s a quarter word?”   He dipped his head down and kissed the side of my mouth.
    “It’s … it’s…”   I tried to answer, but then I forgot the question.   The small kisses he was feathering around my mouth were making me go air-brained.
    “Hmmm?   Quarter word?” he prompted.
    “It’s a … big word … worth twenty-five cents…”   I opened my mouth and tried to turn and meet his lips, but he moved away, leaving me hanging.   His mouth moved to my neck where his lips put a little suction to my skin.   He licked the tender spot and then blew on it a little, making goosebumps come up all over that side of my body.
    I strained to get closer to him, my breasts pulsing with need.
    “I want to see you naked,” he whispered, his hands going behind me to move my hair out of the way and slowly unzip my dress.   His fingertips trailed behind the zipper, sliding along my skin from the top of my spine all the way to the small of my back.   The cool air of the room whispered across my skin as the shoulders of my dress went slack and slid down my arms.   The heat of my desire banked and my face burned with the fear of him seeing my body and judging it as less than worthy.   I stood there in bra and panties, my face going bright red.
    “Jesus, woman …”   He pulled me against him roughly again, the hardness of his desire slamming into my pelvis.   It was the sweetest pain I’d ever felt.   A moan escaped my lips and urged him on.
    He pushed my dress down until it pooled at my feet.   I stepped out of it and kicked it lightly to the side, clinging to him the entire time.   I didn’t want us to get too far apart, but he had other ideas.   He pulled back abruptly, pushing me away slightly by my upper arms.   “Wait … just for a second.   Let me look at you.”
    I dropped my gaze to the floor, unable to meet his eyes.
    He said nothing for so long, I had to peek, unable to stand the pressure of not knowing.   He was scanning my body from head to toe, and the dim light shining in from the attached bathroom told me nothing.   His expression was serious.   Dangerous, even.
    “What?” I said,