Page 23 of The Texas Ranger: Saddled Up
With a quick shrug, she said, “It can be therapeutic. Listening to music. Closing your eyes. Allowing your body to sway. How about you? Can you shake those hips?”
“Want to be the judge of that?” He slipped off the stool and laid out his hand.
There was a second hesitation before she laid her hand in his. She felt so soft against his rougher skin. He became fully aware how his knuckles were covered in rough skin and his nails were surrounded by hangnails. He never broke the habit of chewing his nails to the quick when he was deep in thought. But she didn’t seem to notice. She stood and they made their way to the dance floor, just as the upbeat song faded and a slow one played.
“I think I can manage to not step on your toes,” he said.
“I’d rather not have a size eleven on my toes.” She stepped close and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Size twelves,” he corrected her.
Their bodies were flush and he instantly felt a jerk below his belt. He should never have invited her to dance because he knew he couldn’t hide what she did to his body. He wasn’t doing a very good job of behaving himself so he couldn’t judge Tipsy Tim. However, Bear couldn’t blame alcohol.
They moved together to the Luke Combs song, like wheels moving in the same direction. He hummed along to one of his favorite country tunes.
She laid her head back to look up at him, a smile situated on her lovely lips. The neon sign on the wall behind him gave her a glow.
“I’m just going to say this. Let’s not pretend any longer. There’s an attraction between us that’s getting harder and harder to deny. Am I wrong?” Her eyes were like a beam lighting his way to uncharted territories.
She could rope the moon with her bright eyes. “Liquid courage is a thing.” He swallowed hard.
“Are you playing coy with me, handsome?”
This was a new side to her.
Bear could hardly breathe as the air between them thickened, tension buzzing like a live wire. The gentle teasing and her lingering gaze made it impossible for him to ignore the chemistry pulsing in the space they shared. He watched as her stance toward him shifted into playful disdain, and her lyrical dismissal was both bold and freeing, making Bear wonder if tonight was the moment everything would change between them.
But he pumped the brakes.
There was a lot to him that she didn’t know. He wasn’t intentionally keeping secrets, but if she knew his secrets would she still want him? Trust him?
Chapter Eight
Aasia second guessed opening the can of worms.
Since they left the dance floor and were back at the bar, nursing their drinks, he hadn’t looked at her. He was now talking to Wendi, but Aasia didn’t listen to what they were discussing. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was a magnet.
Had she misread the situation? His attraction. No, she knew better. The kiss they’d shared had been full of yearning.
Yet, could the alcohol cause her to be delusional? Or the rejection from Bentley had made her feel like she needed her wounds licked. She’d bet Bear was a good licker.
She wasn’t even sure if she had come to Oscar’s for the right reasons.
Did she think she could come here, flirt with him, and then walk away unscathed?
Most, of the patrons had trickled out, except for some of the hands who remained in the back room, laughing and carrying on. She liked their easy banter with one another. Eventually, they took leave too.
Now she and Bear were alone in the bar, except for Tipsy Tim and Wendi who were drying glasses.
“Looks like Pete forgot you,” Bear said.
“I messaged him and told him I had a ride back to the farm.” She should have gone with Pete a few hours ago, but something kept her rooted on that stool.
And when Bear looked at her, his grin created deep pools around his mouth, she knew why she was there. He made her feel things that were inappropriate this soon after breaking up with Bentley. But these feelings, they’d been lingering in her for six months and they were now so charged she could no longer keep them hidden. Did she even care to keep them hidden? “What’s that look, Bear?” He watched her in a way that made the butterflies in her stomach want to take off in flight.
“You caught me.” He swiped his hand down his whiskered jaw.
“Caught you?” She swirled the straw around her glass.
