Anywhere With You, page 8
“Keep going.” She scooted to the edge of her seat, her body stiff now. It made his pulse kick up another notch. They had to be getting close to the end of their time.
“What else is there?” he asked.
“Uh...” She glanced up, presumably to check on how much time they had left. “What are you?”
“A guy.”
She bounced in her seat, impatiently. “Another word for guy.”
“Male.”
She rolled her arm again for him to keep going, but it was urgent.
“Dude. Man.”
She pointed at him.
“Man?”
She nodded. “First word.”
“Man…man…”
“What is a steak? The type of food?”
“Meat?” Then it hit him. “Man meat!”
Teegan read the next word and laughed. “Oh, God. Okay. Uh, it’s something men really like. Women get down on their knees and…”
No. No way. Seriously?
Without moving his head, he looked out the corner of his eye at the crowd, finding Etta’s gaze immediately. The old broad sat in her wheelchair with arms crossed, arrogant smirk on her face.
Was he really going to have to say this with her present?
Etta nodded as if to tell him to go on.
Sure, why not.
“Blow job?” he said.
“Yes!” Teegan said. “Next.”
He bent his wrists, then flicked them back up to get to the next word.
“Pamela Anderson was on this show. She wore a red bathing sui—”
“Baywatch.”
“Yes!” She was out of her chair and leaping into his arms as the buzzer went off. He enveloped her, holding tight, reveling in the sensation of being a part of a team again. The joy of working together for a common goal. Goddamn, it felt good. And even better with Teegan as his partner.
“We got eight! You were so awesome!” she said, her face glowing up at him.
“So were you.” He looked down at her, feeling something blossom. Something sharp and primitive. Something that told him she wasn’t just any teammate. He’d never wanted to kiss his teammates before, but he wanted to put his lips on Teegan right now.
Why was this happening?
Keeping his eyes on her mouth, he dipped his head, feeling her surprised breath as he moved in.
They were about an inch apart when someone spoke. “Nice job, guys.”
Teegan’s eyes snapped open, and she blinked, shifting away from him to scan the people around them.
Juliet stood at their side, watching them intently.
Teegan let go of Wes and slid down his front, landing on her feet. She adjusted the waistband of her skirt and wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze.
He spent a few seconds trying to understand the flutter in his chest and why he was so angry that Teegan leaped away from him like he had a disease.
He turned to Juliet. “Seems like there’s another couple here just as in love as you and LJ, huh?”
Juliet’s satisfied expression faltered a bit, but she recovered. “We’ll see.”
“We will,” he said, getting off on the annoyed look she showed him.
The rest of the game progressed much the same as it went in the first round. Juliet and LJ ended up pulling out five points with words and phrases like schlong, Bugs Bunny, and Vin Diesel. Jessica and Ian didn’t have a chance. Neither did Hillary and Charles. The latter spent most of the second round calling each other names and talking down to one another. Avery and Brandon banged out a quick four points in a few seconds, and it looked like they might have been real contenders. But once they got a few pop musicians and eighties movies, they didn’t score anymore. It was still enough to put them in second place for now.
It came down to Wes and Teegan.
Once again, she gave him a thumbs-up, and at that moment he wanted to do whatever it would take to win.
She lifted the device to her forehead, and he waited for the game to tick down and show him the first word.
Washing an elephant.
Great. What happened to things like blow job, man meat, and doggie style?
“This is a large, gray, four-legged animal.”
Teegan thought for a second before saying, “Elephant?”
“Yes,” he said. “Now what do you do when you take a shower?”
“Get clean?”
“Sort of. But what’s the act of getting clean? What are you actually doing to get clean?”
“Using soap?”
“Use the soap,” he said. “What are you doing with it?”
“Wiping it on myself?”
Jesus, the image of her in the shower rubbing soap all over her body, was one he didn’t need to have right now. But goddamn was it a hot-ass vision. Her smooth, slightly tanned skin with rivulets of water coasting over her…
“Was that it?” she said with a confused expression.
He blinked to clear his vision. “Uh, no. Try again.”
“Cleaning. Bathing. Showering,” she rattled off words.
“When you want your car to get clean, what do you do to it?”
“Wash it.” Then her eyes sparked. “Washing an elephant?”
“Yes. Next.”
Riding a carousel.
Really?
“This is a thing that goes around in a circle and has horses on it that goes up and down.”
“Carousel.”
“When you’re on it, what are you doing?”
“Riding it.”
“Yeah, say it all.”
“Riding a carousel.”
“Next.”
The two that came up after were fairly easy—hard hat and Harry Potter. They banged those out pretty quick. Then missionary came up.
“When we’re having sex,” he said, “and you’re on the bottom, and I’m on top. What’s that called?”
Her face flushed and she said through a strangled voice, “Magic?”
Wes stilled. Magic? Did she really just say that?
Then another vision came over him. Empty wine bottles. Wrinkled sheets. The huge bed in their suite. Just Wes and Teegan, not giving a damn about anything in the outside world besides each other.
Yeah, he could make it magic for her.
She should know what that feels like. A man wanting her. Desiring her. Making her feel like she’s everything. He couldn’t believe no one had shown her that already.
The crowd was completely silent, making her realize what she said, and she quickly threw out, “Shit. I mean, sex. Uh, lovemaking. Doing it. We’d be doing it.”
“Yes, we would,” he said with a smile. “What’s the position?”
She swallowed. “Mi-missionary.”
“Good girl,” he said. “Next.”
Hummer appeared on the screen, but the buzzer went off before he could finish.
Demarco approached, reaching for Wes’s hand and then Teegan’s. He extended them into the air like prize-winning boxers after a long fight in the ring. “Congratulations, folks! Well played. Three couples are moving onto the next round. Twister, here we come!”
The crowd cheered.
Teegan’s terrified expression was back. Twister? she mouthed.
He pulled his hand out of Demarco’s to reach for her. “Piece of cake. We’ve got this.”
Glancing down at their connection, a slow smile broke across her lips. “Yes. We do.”
Chapter Eight
Teegan was face up with each foot on a green tile at the end of the Twister board, one hand on a yellow in the next row up, and another stretched a row further onto blue. She felt exactly like she probably looked—a demented crab trying to crawl to salvation. Wes was slightly better. He was next to her, looking down at their mat as if he was doing a complicated yoga move with shoulders and legs braced wide.
Pretty hot, actually. Holding himself over something underneath him. Something like…a woman perhaps? And what do you know? Teegan was a woman. She would totally stand in for that role if needed.
Juliet and LJ were on their mat to the right. Juliet was facedown in a position similar to Wes, and LJ was on the opposite end of the mat in a crouched-type position. Each of them had wobbled a bit on the last move, but they held on.
Teegan couldn’t wait to see both of them on their asses in defeat.
Avery and Brandon were on the farthest mat, looking like a twisted pretzel about to tear in half. Her face was red, and she was breathing heavy, while he had an expression of deep concentration.
Teegan peered back at Wes, reveling in that warmth she’d grown accustomed to feeling when she was near him.
This was a good game for him. His athleticism definitely showed. As did his muscles while he held each position. His biceps contracted, pulling his shirtsleeve tight as if it might rip. The veins in his thick neck strained and his calves flexed into well-formed, solid bulges. But she wasn’t going to think about that right now because if she did, she’d get hot and bothered, and then she’d lose her ability to remain in her current position.
They had to win.
“Yellow hand,” Demarco called out.
She passed a glance to her left and slowly slid her palm from the blue circle down one row, breathing a sigh of relief. Okay, a small sigh. Her abs burned like someone was branding them with a George Foreman grill.
An arm crossed over her chest and then Wes’s face came into view above her. He landed his hand on the yellow to her far left. “Couldn’t reach over there,” he said. His face was inches from hers, their chests nearly brushing. “Sorry.”
Talk about missionary position. Boy, oh boy.
“N-no,” she said. “It’s fine. I’m good. I mean, you’re good. We’re good. Everything’s good.”
Perfectly, exquisitely, awesomely good.
A soft laugh from Wes, then, “I agree, we are good.” His gaze skimmed down her body—or at least what he could see in their situation—and his expression seemed to take on a new shape. A deeper, sharper, seductive one.
Which couldn’t be right, could it? She had to be misreading his face. Maybe he was just concentrating hard on not squashing her. Nearly 300 pounds would be a lot for her to take if he fell on her.
It would be a lot to take another way too. Though she wouldn’t complain one bit.
The thought of Wes on top of her, all the way, skin to skin, sent a shockwave of need through her. Of course, she’d fantasized about it, and being this close, their bodies almost touching, with that sexy look in his eyes…it was a lot to take in.
Take in. Would you cool it with taking him in?
She let out a shaky exhale as her stomach fluttered, which made her almost crumble onto her backside. She quickly righted herself, slicing her pelvis upward, causing it to bump into his.
Oh, God.
He jolted from the impact and made an oomph sound. His eyes slammed closed for a second, but he didn’t back away, and he didn’t lift his lower stomach off hers.
She was ashamed to admit how much she liked his parts against hers.
All she had to do was rub a little—
His eyes widened through a ragged groan.
Good Lord, Teegan. Get your head on straight!
This was Wes she was talking about. He didn’t want her that way. He was here because of his ex. Nothing more. No matter how badly she wanted it to be more.
“You okay?” he asked, his hot breath against her cheek that was utter torture.
“Fine,” she said.
“There’s that word again. The one you use when you’re anything but fine.”
She laughed lightly. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Honestly.”
You’d think I was a complete nut if you knew the thoughts running rampant through my mind right now, you sexy yoga beast.
His eyebrows lowered. “You have the weirdest expression right now. You sure you’re okay?”
Great. She misread his expression, thinking he had the hots for her; and when she actually did have the hots for him, he thought she was confused or constipated.
“I’m good. Thanks.”
“Oh, this one should be interesting,” Demarco said, reading from the game spinner. “How about red hand?”
Red? Did he just say red? That was on the opposite end of the board!
“Damn,” Wes said. “Guess that means I have to get off of you.”
No, you don’t.
He does if you want to win.
Win? Who cares about winning?
“I guess so,” she said. “I mean if you want to. Or don’t want to. It’s totally your choice.”
God almighty, shut up!
Wes leaned in and kissed her. Kissed her! A quick, tiny brush of his lips against hers, but she still nearly threw herself at him. The game be damned.
But then he was gone, leaving her to feel the lasting tingle. She licked her lips, wanting to savor any tiny sliver of him on her tongue. Wes glided a straight leg to the other side of the board, which also moved his crotch from hers.
Bye-bye, Wes’s crotch. It was so pleasant meeting you! Let’s do this again soon!
Before she could mourn too long, she heard Juliet call from her right. “You’re not giving up, are you, Teegan?”
You wish. In a swift move, Teegan flipped over so that she faced the board, similar to the pose Wes did earlier, and she stretched as far as she could across the mat without letting her stomach touch the ground. She got a few fingers onto the red circle. Stretching a little further, she managed most of her hand.
“Nice!” Wes said.
The elation she felt from his vote of confidence shouldn’t have made her as happy as it did. But hell, she’d take it. And bask in it.
Juliet’s lips formed into what looked like disdain. She mimicked Teegan’s move, but she seemed to do it while flaunting her ass in the air.
LJ sent an approving glance his fiancée’s way. “You know I love it when you do that, baby.”
But Juliet wasn’t looking at LJ. Her lusty, bedroom eyes were locked on Wes.
Oh, hell no.
Irrational jealousy took hold of Teegan, making her want to strangle her sorority sister. So that’s how it was going to be?
All right, then. Teegan wasn’t as natural at exuding sex the way Juliet was, but she’d try.
Demarco called the next color, which caused Teegan to slide her right leg up two rows. Her butt hoisted into the air in a position similar to doggie style. She popped up onto her tiptoes to over-exaggerate the move, and she sent a self-satisfied smirk at Juliet. The other woman’s jaw dropped. She reciprocated by flicking her hair over her shoulder with a twist of her head, then arching her back. The shit-eating grin she shot Teegan almost made Teegan forget about this game. She wanted to turn it into another type of competition—full-on MMA in a cage.
“What are you doing?” Wes asked at a volume only Teegan could hear.
“What?” she asked.
“You. What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Trying to win.”
“You sure about that?”
The next color Demarco called made Juliet smirk. She lowered herself into a crouched position, then twisted so that she faced the ceiling, and then rolled her hips in a wave motion up and down. And again. And again.
Ugh. No fair. That looked exactly like she was humping the air. How was Teegan supposed to compete with that?
Teegan moved her hand a row down, still facing the mat, and she tried gyrating her pelvis a few times.
“Seriously, what the hell are you doing?” Wes asked, transitioning into his next pose. “You look like you’re having some sort of episode.”
Yeah, a sexy-stripper episode.
“Do you wanna win this thing or not?” he asked.
“Of course I do. What about you? Do you want to win?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” he said through gritted teeth. “Why are you saying it like that?”
She attempted a shrug, but it was more of a shift of her shoulders given her current strained position. “Seems to me like you’re more concerned with that bobbing ripe peach over there.”
Wes blinked a few times, then his mouth quirked. “Peach?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
Demarco said something she missed.
Wes moved into a squat as he said, “Move your left leg up to red.” This caused her to do a plank with legs spread wide, almost into a split. She let out a strangled groan. Real comfortable on the joints. Not to mention she wasn’t flexible.
She glanced up at Juliet, who was in some contorted pose with her foot up by her ear as graceful and boneless as a squid.
Damn. Talk about flexible.
“You look good in that position,” Wes said.
She swung a look his way. That glint was back in his eyes. The one that melted her insides and flipped her stomach over.
If he only knew what that look did to her. And if only she could do something about it.
Then the crowd shouted a mix of elation and disappointment, which reluctantly tugged Teegan’s gaze from her hot partner.
Brandon had fallen onto the mat, landing on his stomach, before he slammed a fist down. Avery frowned as she crawled to her husband and kissed him on the top of the head.
“Too bad!” Demarco said. He turned to Teegan and Wes, and also to LJ and Juliet. “Well, that’s it, folks. Here are your last two couples!”
Everyone around them hooted and whistled in delight.
They did it! They survived Twister. And they were one step closer to showing all these hoo-hahs how into each other they were.
“Let’s move onto the final round!”
• • •
“There are three questions for the ladies to answer, and then three questions for the gentlemen,” Demarco explained. “No cheating, please. No hand signals or telepathic clues. You either know your partner, or you don’t.”
Four chairs were placed in the center of the tent, grouped in twos. Juliet and Teegan were seated together, and LJ and Wes across from them.
Each female had a black marker and a white poster in her lap. As Wes took his seat, Teegan winked at him. He smiled back, trying to ignore the sick feeling stirring in his stomach because they knew absolutely nothing about each other.
His pulse immediately took off into a sprint. Shit. How were they going to do this? The first two rounds were one thing, just staying close and acting in love. He even kissed her once for good measure. But answering personal questions?
