Page 5 of When I Should’ve Stayed (Red Bridge #2)

Clay

Josie’s chin brushes the middle of my chest, her head tucked close as we sway to the music pouring out of the loudspeakers in a crowd of Molene residents.

She smells like heaven and hell at once, thanks to the ever-tightening fit of my pants, but I soak it in anyway, hovering over her blond hair to get an extra whiff of lavender shampoo.

She dances slow and steady, trusting me to move her in time with the soft melody of onstage music coming from a couple of local guys with guitars.

It’s almost the end of a perfect night of flirting and teasing, eating corn fritters, gravy fries, and cider doughnuts out of paper dishes, and close cuddles while we went down a big plastic slide on burlap bags, and I want more than anything for it to never end.

“Bad news, doll,” I whisper in her ear, tilting her head by sinking my fingers in the soft sides of her ponytail. “First date exorcism didn’t work.” She laughs, just once on a startle, and I smile against the delicate skin of her neck. “How about you? How am I doing?”

With her hands at my jaw, she pulls my face from her neck and forces our eyes to meet in the sexiest of ways. “Feeling pretty brittle,” she admits softly, her body melding to mine as we sway from side to side. “Might even break soon.”

I lean forward and push my lips to hers, wrapping my arms around her back and pulling her in so tight she has to brace herself on my shoulders to keep her own feet. Our tongues clash, tasting and teasing in a mess of lust as we spin around in a circle, the whole world around us disappearing.

“Shit, Josie.” I pull away and groan, my whole body breaking out in a sweat. “Any more of that and I’m going to be the new town flagpole,” I admit, spinning her around and into a twirl as she giggles.

It’s an unbelievable sound, so uninhibited and sexy it makes me wish I had the camouflage of her body against mine still.

A quicker tempo catches fire, and I put our rhythmic chemistry to the test, winding her faster and faster under the peak of my arm, twisting and turning myself, to spin us all over the floor.

A crowd starts to gather around us to watch, and her gorgeous green eyes dance even more than we do as I pull her around and behind and forward again, ending in a lift and a flip and a dramatic dip at the end.

People clap and cheer as we fall into a crescendo with each other, demanding new skills and untested waters with every move we complete.

She follows me flawlessly, letting me lead her in the right direction and keeping a delicate balance of putting on a show of her own at the same time.

I haven’t danced with someone like this in a long time—maybe ever—and the synchronicity of our bodies makes me wonder just how in sync we’d be in a different way entirely.

As the song comes to a close, so do we, wrapping up in each other’s arms and laughing through the deafening applause of the crowd.

I’m not ready to go home, but we sure as hell can’t stay here. I need Josie all to myself, and now that we’ve put on an exhibition, the Molene vultures are going to be circling us all night. “You wanna go somewhere else?” I ask, and she nods instantly, no coy games or denials in sight anymore.

We’re both into this—into each other—and there’s no sense in avoiding it.

“Come on,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the crowd and in the direction of my truck. “I know just where to go.”

I wait until we’re out of the bright lights of the town square, but once we’re in the shadows, behind the Molene Public Works building, I pull her to a stop and put my lips to hers again.

I delve even deeper this time until a buzz takes up residence in my head and sets the rest of my body on fire.

“I sure hope this place is close,” I whisper against her perfect mouth, and I feel her grin against my skin.

“It’s just outside Red Bridge, but don’t worry. I’ll drive fast.”

I lean my head back to meet her eyes. “ You’ll drive fast? We’re in my truck.”

“Yep.” She quirks a defiant brow at me, her gaze teasing and playful and confident in a way that makes me want her even more. “And I’m driving, baby.” Her whole face glows as she holds out a hand, palm up to the dark, clear sky, and I have no choice but to comply.

Pulling my keys from the back pocket of my jeans, I drop them into her fingers and shake my head.

“I never let people drive my truck, but something about you feels like an exception.” I don’t know why, but the idea of her driving my truck is incredibly sexy and it makes me wonder if she isn’t just an exception but the fucking rule.

“Something?” she asks with the cutest tilt of her head, and I don’t mince my words.

“Damn near everything, really.”

“Good.” Her beautiful smile consumes her entire face, lifting her cheeks and lighting up her eyes in a way I hope I’ll get to see a million more times. “Now, come on! Last one to the truck has to wait for the other to initiate the next kiss.”

I’ll be damned if I’ve ever put my everything into a race with a woman before, but I turn on the turbo jets and run as fast as I can until I have to stop my momentum with two hands to the bed of my truck. When I turn around to look back, she’s walking.

Sashaying, really.

I throw up my hands as she’s finally arriving, asking, “What the hell?”

Her smirk is cunning. “I kind of like letting you be in control, but it sure was fun watching you run.”

I pull her to me then, spinning her around and pushing the back of her body up against the truck and trapping it within mine by placing two hands on the bed near her shoulders.

She goes willingly, the corners of her mouth curving up even higher as I run a hand to her hip and pull her in tight. “I guess you owed me one, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” She nods, and I love the way her long eyelashes flutter up at me. “Though, a hardly crowded field of strangers’ cars isn’t quite on par with the church parking lot in Red Bridge.”

“You’re right,” I agree. “I’ve still got one coming for me.”

She shakes her head. “What is that? How are you like that? Just saying whatever you feel…conceding a point so easily… I’ve never heard a man…be so honest.”

“Nothing to lie about, I suppose. I am who I am, and right now, I’m a man who wants more than anything to be close to you.” I brush my lips against hers. “ Really close.”

I know I’m pushing it, but I’ll be damned if Josie Ellis isn’t pushing me.

I’ve never felt like this about anyone. Ever.

I spent my early twenties being a rich prick— who hated my father for turning me into just that .

I spent most of my days and nights partying and dating all kinds of women in New York, and not a single one of them made me feel like this .

Frankly, nothing has ever made me feel like this.

Thankfully, Josie is completely undeterred by my forwardness. “Get in,” she says with a wink. “I know the perfect place to go.”

I jump in the passenger seat of my truck and watch helplessly as she gets in on the other side. I’d never have let this happen a week ago, but facts are facts.

Josie Ellis is shaping up to be the dream girl.

And as a result, my priorities are shifting.