“Not a lot of tattoo artists round these parts.”
“Hopefully that means her business will thrive. My mother grew up here and moved to the coast. Grandma died two years ago and left the small acreage to me and my sister.”
“She didn’t leave the homeplace to your mother?”
Skylar shook her head. “Mom died seven years ago. Dad four years before that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. After Gran passed on I needed a change from the rat race. The state of Wyoming offered me a financial incentive to expand my hobby into a business, so I did. It’s taken over a year to get it up and running.”
Kade picked at his salad. “Will you think I’m a total jerk if I tell you I don’t remember what business you’re in?”
“That’s because you didn’t ask me.”
His head shot up. “That makes me even more of a prick.”
That sweet, bellish laughter sounded again. “I’d lay off the pharmaceuticals in the future before a date.”
“Deal. What is it that you do?”
“I created a line of all-natural beauty products made right here on my grandma’s place.”
“Sky Blue?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’ve heard of it?”
“Sort of. That’s why I’m in Moorcroft. My ma sent me to DeWitt’s to pick up a bottle of lotion. They don’t carry it in Sundance.”
Skylar’s mossy green eyes lit up. Kade found himself staring at her again, absolutely taken by her earthy beauty.
“I’m trying to rectify that by opening a store in Sundance. So, which lotion?”
“Ah. Smells kinda like lemony dirt.”
She shuddered. “Spoken by a man who probably washes with Lava soap.”
“Don’t knock Lava, darlin’. It gets the dirt off. And I’m plenty dirty at the end of the workday.”
The food arrived. Instead of blathering on, Kade let the silence linger until they finished eating. Then the flirty waitress swung by with a tray of decadent desserts. “The chocolate cake looks good.” He prompted, “Skylar?”
“None for me, thanks.”
Kade frowned. He’d swear she’d been eyeballing that same piece of cake. “You don’t like sweets?”
“I love sweets. I’m trying to watch what I eat so I don’t have more of a weight problem.”
Being polite flew right out the window. “What weight problem? You’re perfect, all curvy and sexy and feminine like a woman oughta be. You’re gorgeous and if I wasn’t tryin’ so damn hard to be a gentleman I’d…” Nice going, now she’ll really think you’re reverting to Kane-like behavior. Kade sighed. “Never mind.”
Skylar angled closer, her eyes burned with interest. “No. Tell me, gentleman McKay. What would you do?”
“I’d feed you the cake just to see your lips wrap around the fork. Then I’d watch your beautiful throat muscles work as you swallowed the sticky sweetness, fantasizin’ about smearin’ chocolate frosting down your neck so I could lick it off. Slowly. And when I finished feedin’ you, I’d press my mouth to yours for a thorough taste of you and the cake.”
She didn’t draw back or recoil.
“Shocked, darlin’?”
“I’m more than a little turned on, if you want to know the real truth.”
“Lucky for you I’m willin’ to share.” He enjoyed the first few bites, then shoved the plate in the middle of the table. “I wanna see you eat up.”
“Is that an order?” Skylar dug the tines of the fork into the mound of vanilla ice cream. “If I don’t eat a bite will you force feed me?”
“Do you want me to force feed you?”
“What if I said yes?”
“I’d be on your side of the table faster than you could blink.”
Skylar said, “Yes,” loud and clear.
Kade zoomed around and stretched his left arm along the back of her side of the booth, pressing his thigh to hers.
“You weren’t kidding.”
“Nope. I never turn down the opportunity to share a taste of the sweet stuff in life.” He swirled the fork through the thick chocolate frosting and held it to her mouth. “Open for me.”
Her full lips parted slightly.
He slipped the fork inside. “Suck the sweetness off the tip. Just like that. Then I wanna see that pretty throat movin’ as you swallow every bit of sticky goodness.”
Kade broke eye contact only to watch her swallow. He groaned. “Again. Don’t know why I’m torturin’ myself, but I can’t help it. Lord, you have the sexiest neck I’ve ever seen.”