Red Zone (10 page)

“Just water.”

He looked down at her as though she’d lost her mind. “You have to have more than just water.”

“I don’t drink.”

Again, he gave her a strange look. “Okay,” he said, clearly thinking. “Have a soda then. Even that’s better than water. We’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“I’m still working.”

He sighed. “Don’t you ever kick back and relax? The world isn’t going to end if you let your hair down once in a while,” he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Who knows, you might even enjoy it.”

A shiver ran down her spine at the sensation of his breath in her ear. “I have fun,” she said feebly. When he didn’t say anything right away, she glanced over to find him staring at her with a look in his eyes that made her stomach do flip-flops. She swallowed nervously. 

“Can I get you something?” One of the bartenders interrupted them. 

“We’ll see about that,” Daniels whispered, before facing the bartender. “A beer and . . . Coke?” he asked her. She nodded. Coke was as good as anything else. “And a Coke for the lady.”

“Beer and a Coke coming up.”

As the bartender went to fill their order, Daniels turned his attention to her again. His hand was still resting on her back. She wished he would remove it but knew that would only lead to a scene. As her boyfriend, it was only natural for him to touch her in that way. “Why don’t you drink?”

“That’s none of your business.” He raised an eyebrow and waited. She pushed her shoulders back and met his gaze, not backing down. 

“Fine,” he said, grinning. “I’ll find out sooner or later.”

The bartender placed their drinks on the bar in front of them. Daniels reached for his wallet and paid. 

“I can buy my own drinks, you know.”

He shook his head and handed her the Coke. “Always so stubborn.” He took a long drink of his beer before they headed over to the table where Zach and Kenny sat. “But just so you know, I always get what I want, one way or another.”

Unfortunately, they were already at the table, and she couldn’t reply. Daniels had another think coming if he thought she would break so easily. 

“How did you two meet?” Zach asked.

Gage looked over at Rebecca. They’d discussed this. “A mutual friend introduced us.”

“And obviously you hit it off,” Kenny added, taking a drink.

“You could say that.” Gage smiled at Rebecca. She smiled back, but it was stiff. Knowing the guys would notice if she didn’t relax, he draped his arm over her shoulders and leaned into her. To his friends, it would look like a show of affection. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear. “You need to relax. They’re going to notice if you don’t.” And then, just for good measure, he let the tip of his nose run the length of her earlobe. 

In that instant, he felt a hand clamp down on his knee. It was mildly painful, but he knew she’d retaliate somehow. He could also say it was one hundred percent worth it. 

Leaving his arm resting on her shoulders, he took his other hand and pried her fingers from his leg. Lifting them up over the table to his lips, he kissed the palm of her hand. 

“Aw,” Kenny and Zach gushed.

“Shut it.” Gage admonished his friends with a smile. To turn the focus away from them, he asked, “Speaking of women. How are things looking with the new bartender, Zach?”

Zach shrugged and took a drink before leaning back in his chair. “Don’t know. I haven’t asked.”

“What do you mean you haven’t asked her out?” Kenny said. “What was all that last week when you spent over an hour at the bar putting the moves on her, huh?”

“I just lost my nerve is all. I’m not sure I could take what happened with Karen again, and you and I both know there’s no guarantee I’ll be in Nashville for the rest of my career. “

“Not every woman is Karen.” Gage tried to assure him.

“I know that. I just don’t think I’m ready yet.”

“It’s been four years,” Kenny stated, putting it out there. If he hadn’t, Gage would have. His friend needed to move on. It was time.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Zach said, raising his voice before lowering it again. “I’m just not like the two of you.”

“No one said you had to be, but it’s just a date.” 

Then Kenny’s gaze fell on Rebecca. “You’re a woman. What do you think?”

She looked uncomfortable, but after fiddling with her straw, she answered. “I don’t know the situation, but four years is a long time. If it’s only a date, then I don’t see a problem. It’s not like you’re making a lifelong commitment.”

To say Gage was shocked would be an understatement. When Kenny had asked her opinion, he thought for sure she’d take Zach’s side and dig in her heels. She was definitely full of surprises. 

“What if she says no?”

“That’s always a possibility.” Rebecca nodded. “But if you would eventually like to settle down and have a family, then you have to date. How else will you ever meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?” 

The table had gone quiet, and Gage stared at her in disbelief. Had Miss ‘I Can’t Let Loose For Five Minutes’ just said what he thought she said? Apparently, she had, and he began to look at her a little differently. 

“So you think I should ask her out, then?” Zach asked, breaking the silence. 

“If you like her, which it sounds like you do, then yes.”

Zach took a deep breath before downing half his beer in one swallow. “Okay.” Before any of them knew what was happening, Zach was up out of his seat and walking toward the bar. 

“How did you do that?” Kenny asked Rebecca.

“How did I do what?”

Gage explained. “He’s been pining over her for the last two months. We’ve been trying to convince him to ask her out since he first laid eyes on her, with no luck. Then you come in, give your opinion, and he’s out of his seat in less than five minutes.” 

“Maybe I just said what he needed to hear.”

“Maybe.”

The conversation died off as all three watched their friend take the plunge. When he returned to the table, he was smiling. 

“Well?” Kenny asked. 

“We’re going out tomorrow night.”

After that, the conversation turned to the previous day’s game. Gage glanced over at Rebecca a few times, but she was busy looking around. He figured she was trying to see if she could spot his stalker, although he had no idea how she was going to accomplish that, since they had no idea who was taking the pictures. 

He did like that while she was searching the club for persons of interest, the rigidness in her spine eased up a little. Even though he was still touching her, she didn’t seem to mind it as much. It made him wonder if she was really as opposed to physical contact as she let on, or if it was just an automatic defensive response. He did know, though, that he wanted to find out. 

Leaning in, he brushed her hair away from her face, getting her attention. He was glad she’d taken it out of that ponytail she was so fond of wearing. It looked much better down. 

At the feel of his fingers against her skin, she glanced over at him. Her face was full of confusion. “I want to dance,” he declared. 

She frowned. “I don’t dance.”

“Well I do, and it would look strange if we didn’t dance, since it’s something I always do when I come here.”

Her gaze slid to the dance floor and then back to him. “Okay. One dance.”

“We’ll see.”

“M . . . Gage,” she hissed as he stood. 

Ignoring her, he stepped to her other side and held out his hand. “If you’ll excuse us,” he said to Kenny and Zach. “My girlfriend and I are going to dance.” 

His friends smiled at him before going back to their conversation. Gage held out his hand and waited for her to take it. It took longer than it should have, and anyone paying attention would think they were having a disagreement. He could tell by the look on her face she wasn’t happy with the current situation, but then again, he hadn’t really given her a choice. Not if she wanted to continue to play the part of his girlfriend.

When they reached the dance floor, he pulled her into his arms, making sure their bodies were pressed together. “Are you always this tense?” he asked.

“No.”

He smiled. “So it’s just me then. Good to know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, tilting her head up to look at him. 

Instead of answering, however, he asked another question. “When was the last time you went on a date, Rebecca?” Her brow furrowed, and her lips pressed into that tight line he hated. “And before you tell me to mind my own business, you should know I’m only asking to help us keep up appearances.” That wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t need to know that. 

“And how do you figure that?”

“People will expect us to know about each other. It would only be natural for me to know if you’ve recently had another boyfriend.”

Her gaze left his, looked somewhere over his shoulder for what felt like ten minutes but was probably more like one. “I haven’t had a boyfriend since college,” she said, but then hurried to add, “That doesn’t mean I don’t date occasionally, but nothing recent.”

“What do you consider not recent?” he asked, spinning them around to face the opposite direction.

“It’s been over a year.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You haven’t been with a man in over a year?”

“I haven’t dated a man in over a year. What I have or have not done with the men I’ve dated is none of your business, nor will it ever be.”

A chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop it. “Oh, beautiful, you have no idea how wrong you are.” Then he bent his head and kissed her.

Chapter 9

Rebecca’s body went rigid the moment she felt the contact of his lips. That didn’t stop the warmth from the contact. Nor did it stop its spread from where their mouths were connected down to the tips of her toes. Her fingers dug into the skin on the back of his neck. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to push him away or hold him in place. Her head screamed in protest. She needed him to stop, to let go of her. She didn’t like this feeling. 

But he didn’t let her go. Instead, his arms wrapped tighter around her, bringing their bodies into alignment. The feel of his firm chest and thighs pressing up against her caused her brain to go haywire.
She
needed to stop this. Immediately. 

She couldn’t. Even as the thought crossed her mind, her body was ignoring her logic. The hands that had been gripping at his neck slid effortlessly into his hair, enjoying the softness beneath her palms. 

The feel of his tongue against her lips was even more alluring than his lips themselves. Opening to him was the last thing she wanted to do, but again, her body betrayed her. Before she could register what was happening, he slid his tongue inside her mouth and began stroking, licking, teasing. Her heart was pounding in her chest as if she’d just finished a hard run, but there was no feeling of exhaustion in her muscles, only the desire to get closer to him. It was maddening. 

She was vaguely aware of people dancing around them, but as they continued kissing, even that faded into the background. The only thing she could concentrate on was the feel of his mouth, his hands, and his body. Her insides felt as if they were on fire. 

Slowly, he pulled back, looking down on her. His gaze drifted first to her lips, then to her eyes. She was breathing heavily and a little disoriented.
What in the world was that?
Rebecca had experienced her share of kisses before, but none had left her feeling quite like this. What was he doing to her?

As realization dawned, anger bubbled inside her.
How dare he?
 

She tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold. “Let go of me.” 

His cocky smile returned. “Not so fast, beautiful. People are watching, remember. It wouldn’t look right for you to storm off after such a passionate kiss. Might give the impression you didn’t want me to kiss you.”

She stopped struggling to get out of his arms but lifted her chin in defiance. “I
didn’t
want you to kiss me.”

He chuckled and leaned in to whisper in her ear. His warm breath sent her pulse racing again. “Keep telling yourself that, but we both know the truth. You’re attracted to me, Rebecca, whether you like it or not.” His lips grazed the side of her neck before he stepped back. “Let’s go order some food. I’m starving.” 

On their way back to the table, he picked up some menus from the bar. It was pretty standard bar fare from what Rebecca could tell. Nothing fancy, and mostly finger foods. There certainly wasn’t a huge focus on nutrition. Almost everything was fried, battered, and came with some sort of sauce. 

“They have good burgers.”

She met Daniels’s gaze. He still had that amused look in his eyes that made her want to lay him out flat on his back and . . .

Okay. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. 

Turning back to her menu, she spotted a turkey club then laid the plastic-covered paper on the table in front of her. He looked at her expectantly. When she remained silent, he prompted, “Well?”

“I’ll have the turkey club.”

He shrugged before turning to address the other two men at the table. “You two want anything?”