Burned(20)

Hauk’s gaze landed on her breasts. He swallowed. Licked his lips. “Not all of it.”

“Then enjoy the parts you can.”

“Are we talking karaoke or sex now?”

She grinned. “Why choose?”

“It’s safer.”

“Safer.” Waving off his reserve, certain he’d choose sex if it came to a choice, she took another drink. “I heard a few people tonight who are quite good singers. I could ask them to sing a few songs.”

“Okay.”

“Reece McGrath has an amazing voice.”

“He won’t do it.”

“He would if his honor was on the line.”

Hauk stopped stacking glasses and narrowed his eyes. “You’re in a scheming mood tonight.”

“It’s for a good cause, though this one is a scheme you would have to pull off.”

“How so?”

“You have a poker game set with him. You just have to win a hand.” She grinned, having a blast with her game. “I never see you lose, so it shouldn’t be too tough.”

“If those are the stakes, Reece will make it tough.”

Vic leaned a little more on the bar, pressing her breasts against the polished wood. “I have no doubt you’ll get the job done.”

“Fine.”

“Super.” She hopped up and rounded the bar with her iPod. Keying up the playlist she wanted, she swapped his iPod for hers in the dock. “Now, for the headliner. There’s a singer on his way up the charts.”

Hauk raised a brow as the first strains of a current hit ballad rolled from the speakers. “You’ll never land Josh Bryan.”

Rolling her hips, Vic walked to Hauk. She took the glass he was holding and set it on the shelf. Placing a hand on his shoulder and the other in his palm, she began moving in a slow sway. “I like how you challenge me, Hauk.”

“A challenge is something you can accomplish.” He curled his fingers over hers.

His second hand moved to rest just at the top curve of her ass. Warmth spread deep through her marrow.

“So little faith.” He was a challenge she was growing more determined to win. Raising her head, she looked into his eyes. He was a little wary, but he wasn’t avoiding her and he wasn’t ready to snap anyone in half anymore. “If you agree, I will get Josh here. And within our budget.”

“Go for it.”

Taking his encouragement as more than he intended, she pushed up and kissed him.





Chapter Six

A long sigh of cherished moments, the kiss began as their others had.

Slow.

Warm.

Unlike their others, it spread through his heart like a warm blanket, smothering past pains. A pang pressed against his chest. Rather than thinking about what it could possibly mean, he embraced the idea of the woman in his arms. Tightening his hold, he lifted her so her feet dangled an inch off the floor, then he took the kiss a level deeper.

The song on her iPod shifted to an older song of Clay Walker’s. He sang about being a walking contradiction. About fighting the urge to love because of the empty part of himself. It was a song Hauk could relate to, even as he didn’t want to think about how much.

“I’ve missed you,” Vic whispered against his lips.

“I kept expecting you to show up with ideas on how I should modify the design of the stage.”

“The thought occurred to me.” She kissed a trail down his neck, changing sides when she made a full path down one.

“So, why didn’t you come?”

“Why didn’t you?”

He pulled her back, looked into her eyes and shook his head. Her plump lips pursed, taunted. The things she could do with that mouth. “I’m still not sure we should be doing this.”

“Are you more concerned it’ll mess things up, or that you like it too much?”

“That I like it too much to care how it’ll change things.”

“Change isn’t always bad. But I’ll give you some time to think.” She pushed against him enough to have him letting her go.

“Vic—”

“It’ll give me time to show you my next game idea.” She walked past the iPod dock, flipping off the music as she went. Sauntering to the stage with a laughing glance over her shoulder, she aroused a new fear in Hauk. A fear that Vic was worming too deeply beneath his skin.

Wary and curious, he followed her out from behind the bar. The Vic before him tonight wasn’t like the woman he’d known his whole life. This woman was more bold and brazen and didn’t care that he’d been burned.

Back on the stage where she’d driven him crazy before, she cued up a new song. “A continuation of the singing dating game, I think it would be fun to see lovers tell stories with songs. Whoever tells the best story, as determined by ballots cast by the crowd, wins bragging rights.”