Page 5 of Mountain Daddy (Mountain Men #2)

Luther

The side of my mouth twitches, trying to smile, but I keep my features serious.

I sit up straighter. And if I roll my shoulders back, it’s for posture. Not to make my chest look more impressive.

“One round or best of three?” I ask the beautiful woman with beautiful green eyes as I mimic her hand position—readying myself for a game of rock paper scissors.

She tilts her head to the side, her hair fanning out with the movement.

I want to reach out so badly. Want to run my fingers through it.

But I hold myself still and wait for her answer.

Her eyes drop to my mouth before moving back up to meet my gaze. “One and done.”

I can’t help but do what she did, lowering my gaze to her plump lips for a beat. “Deal.”

I know we’re talking about the game. But I also hope we’re talking about tonight.

Because I don’t sleep with guests of the Inn, but…

Maybe it’s her body.

Maybe it’s her mouth.

Maybe it’s the way she fucking called me Papi .

My blood simmers at the memory.

Yeah, Baby Doll, I’ll be your Daddy.

Maybe it’s all of it.

Maybe it’s just her .

But either way, I aim to break some rules tonight.

She lifts her fisted hand.

I do the same.

Together, we tap our fists into our palms.

Once.

Twice.

On the third time, I extend my pointer and middle finger at the same time she flattens her hand.

I let my smile win.

It’s unnecessary, but I extend my arm so my finger scissors are over the empty seat between us.

My pretty little loser only hesitates for a moment before she reaches her flat hand out.

I mime cutting her paper, letting my fingers press against hers.

Her lips purse like she’s fighting off a grin.

“Sorry for your loss,” I tell her seriously.

She huffs. “Not sure I’m losing when you’re paying.”

My brows furrow as I notice how cold her hand is.

I twist my wrist and gently grip her fingers in mine. “You’re freezing.”

Her chest rises with a deep inhale, but I force my eyes to stay on her face rather than looking to see if she’s cold all over. Because if I see nipples…

I clear my throat and brace my elbow on the bar while I drop the hand that touched hers onto my thigh.

She clutches her hands together and sets them on her lap, lifting a shoulder. “I run cold. But the tequila should warm me up.”

I give her a slow nod.

I could warm you up is right on the tip of my tongue. But even if I’ve been out of the game for a while, I’m pretty sure corny pickup lines don’t work any better now than they did twenty years ago. So I offer something else instead. “Dinner would warm you up even more. Have you eaten?”

She looks suspicious. “They do food here?”

They.

Part of me feels a little bad not admitting that I’m the they she’s referring to. But it’s not like she asked me if I own the place, so it’s not like I’m actually lying.

“They do. Small menu, but delicious.” I tell her the truth. “You like burgers?”

She nods once.

Jessie appears with two beers in one hand and two shots in the other. “You decide whose tab I’m opening?”

Jessie took ten times longer than she normally would to get our drinks ready, and I’m not sure how to feel about my little sister wingman-ing me.

But… I’ll take any help I can get.

“That’d be me. And add a pair of burgers to the bill. Please.” I toss the last word on, not wanting to appear rude.

The woman didn’t say if she’d already eaten or not, but she didn’t shut me down either.

Jessie nods, then disappears through the door leading to the kitchen.

The woman taps her nails on the bar top, the pretty bluish paint drawing my attention. “So, you know the bartender by name, and you have the menu memorized… shall I assume you’re a regular here?”

I smirk. “I’m often told, by Jessie herself, that I’m here too much.”

“It’s true,” Jessie says as she walks back out of the kitchen and passes behind us with a pair of plates.

The woman hums, distracted by the plates.

I don’t blame her.

We’re not quite a dive bar, but it’s fair for a newcomer to assume we probably only serve frozen pizza.

“As a regular, I’m confident you haven’t been in here before.” I wait for the woman’s eyes to return to mine. “So, are you new to the area or passing through?”