Page 39 of How Dare You

She doesn’t speak, but a gasp escapes her lips.

“I heard that.” She stays quiet. “You are adorably stubborn. We both know you’re awake, and we both know you’re staying here for a total of sixteen days. Of course, I hope you keep this up.”

She arches into me when my fingers pass the small of her back. She’s enjoying this.

“For someone who’s so adamant about not dating in our industry, you sure are comfortable snuggling with your carpenter.”

This time her gasp is louder, but she still doesn’t talk. That’s enough. I give her ass a solid pinch, then palm her cheek. Tiniest shorts in existence it is.

“Rhett McCoy,” She pops up to seated, bracing herself with a hand centered on my abs. “How dare you!”

My hand is still on her ass, and it takes all of my control not to grab onto her waist with the other and pull her across to straddle me. “All I wanted was for you to admit you were already awake, Dev.”

“Your pinch woke me up,” she huffs.

“Bullshit.” I make a broad wave with my hand, so she can catch it in the barely moonlit room. “Now come lie back down, and we’ll get some sleep.”

“Never.” She slides her leg off and moves all the way to the edge of the bed. But ten minutes later, when I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back into my chest as the little spoon, she doesn’t protest.

Chapter 18

Day Six

Campfire tonight?

-Trailer Daddy

You have to stop calling yourself that.

Yes to campfire.

-Dev

-Notes on the whiteboard, August 26th

Devon

“Six,” I count as Rhett throws another piece of popcorn in the air and catches it in his mouth. He’s doing a surprisingly decent job of catching them by the light of the fire. He makes a dramatic show of catching the next one, so I add as much drama to my voice as I can manage when I say, “seven.”

He holds another piece out between us. “How many more do you think I can get?”

The gravity he gives to the question has me laughing through my answer. “I’d be shocked if you made it higher than ten.”

“Is that a challenge, Devon Blake?” He smirks at me.

I smirk back. “It is.” After he called me out for late-night snuggling, the energy between us shifted. I’ve woken up lying across him almost every night since I’ve been here, and while I refuse to analyze why even my unconscious self is drawn to him, I haven’t tried to stop either. I’ll never understand what came over me, but last night I was fully awake when I rolled over to snuggle him, and he caught me immediately.

Today, he’s interpreted the interaction as permission to give me the full force of his attention. Flirting with me, smirking at me, touching me every chance he gets. I should throw that metaphorical wall between us right back up, but I’m having too much fun to cut it off.

“You should never doubt me.” He tosses another piece of popcorn and catches it perfectly in his mouth. “How many was that now?”

“Eight,” I giggle. I’m giggling.

“So, I only have to do two more to impress you,” he says, landing a ninth and tenth in succession.

I arch a brow. “Popcorn tosses are not the way to impress me.”

“No?” He tosses and catches another. “What about now that it’s eleven?”