He loaded the ordinary bullets into Trax’s spare gun. “Did you see how I did that?”
“Yes.”
He handed her the gun. “Keep your arms straight and look down the site.”
She closed one eye and aimed but didn’t pull the trigger.
“Let’s put on your ear protection so your ears don’t ring all day.” He slipped the head gear on and stepped behind her. Dante encased her arms with his and lifted them to eye level. Having him there gave her so much confidence.
“Pull the trigger when you’re ready.” His voice sounded muffled, but she could hear him.
She held her breath and shot. The recoil jerked her back. Her arms would have lowered except Dante had supported them. She turned around and lifted her headgear. “Can I see how I did?”
“We’ll look later. Keep practicing.”
For the next few shots, he guided her but then stepped away. She’d gotten the sense of the gun and felt good about her shots. Dante held up his gun and fired shot after shot at his target. He didn’t flinch or jerk.
After ten minutes, he stepped over to her side and pressed a button. The target approached. “Hey, not bad.”
Four shots hit close to the center. Probably the ones Dante had helped with. The rest barely hit the target or missed all together.
“Let’s see your score.”
His adorable smirk said it all. He brought his target near.
“Holy shit. You’re good.” Almost all of his shots were in the center circle.
He brushed his knuckles against his chest. “Actually, I cheated.”
“How?”
He showed her how to use the infrared sensor. “Now when you aim, the red dot shows you where the bullet will go.”
“That’s so cool.”
Excited to experiment with this new feature, she tried again. She lined up the red dot close to the center and pulled the trigger. After about twenty shots, she pressed the button to bring her target closer.
“How did you do?” He pulled the paper close.
She studied the results. “Not as well as I thought.”
“It takes practice.”
Darn. “What I need is a heat sinking bullet. Once I take aim, the bullet locks on to the target and follows him around, even if he tries to run away.”
Dante lifted the gun from her hands. “Perhaps you’ve had enough target practice for today if you’re thinking about shooting a retreating target.”
That made her laugh. “Maybe you’re right.”
“How about some lunch and a romantic walk on the beach?”
“Sounds like a date to me.”
During the ride to the seashore, she rolled down her window and enjoyed the November air. The humidity wasn’t often this low and the temperature below eighty. Add in the slight breeze and a clear sky, and she was thrilled to be far away from Harvey Couch and all that was bad.
“You want to go to the Pavilion for lunch?”
“I for one love their hamburgers, but my cholesterol would double if I ate there very often. How do you stay so fit?”
“Pure thoughts.”
Dante always had an answer. He parked the car in the lot, came over to her side, and opened the door. His chivalry was only one thing she liked about him.
She rushed up next to him and tried to keep up with his long strides. “Do you play hooky from your store very often?”
“With my brother as a task master? No, not often. Though to be honest, I usually don’t have a reason to run out and play.” He squeezed her hand.
They arrived at the restaurant and ordered at the bar. Once their food came, they decided to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. The salt breeze refreshed her and she enjoyed watching the seagulls. They squawked loudly as they dove toward the beach and picked up whatever food they could find.
“Dig in!” Dante lifted his hamburger and before it got to his lips, juice dripped down his hands. He took a bite. “Mmm, almost as good as your pussy.”
Heat raced up her face. “Shh. There are families here.”
He laughed. “If I was focused on what other people thought of me, I’d never be happy.”
“I’m not worried about looking bad, but young children shouldn’t be privy to our sex life.”
“Speaking of which, do you know what I plan to do to you as soon as I get you back to our house?”
Just the thought of making love with the awesome man had her nipples puckering and her pussy dampening. Before heading to the gun range, he’d allowed her to pick up her car and had followed her home. He totally understood that she needed to grab more clothes. While there, she’d slipped on a thong and her sexiest bra. She hoped he’d like the outfit.
“How about you show me when we get back instead of telling me. I like surprises.”