Hitting the Mark. Jill Monroe

table with her ice cream cone.

      Eric laughed. “How long before that scoop of ice cream hits the floor?”

      “It won’t. She’s going to eat the whole thing.”

      Eric shook his head. “I think you’re wrong on this one, ace.”

      “Care to make it interesting?” she asked. Great. Here she was at it again. She tried to hide her frustration with a smile.

      “You’re on.”

      She and Eric watched as the child continued to dance and eat her cone until the very last bite.

      Eric turned to Danni. “How did you know?” he asked.

      “Because she’s a girl and it’s ice cream. Dancing in your sparkly tiara is fun and all, but there’s a seriousness about dessert that all girls understand.”

      “Ahhh. So basically you’re saying I lost that bet because I’m a man.”

      “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It must be hard to be a step behind all the time. And hey, you didn’t tell me the terms of the bet.”

      “You’re right.”

      She gave him a playful swat on the arm. After they were finished, he helped her to her feet. It was getting late. Just how long could she stretch out this first date? She still wasn’t ready for it to end.

      “Have you seen the arch yet?” she asked. Reno was famous for the arch proclaiming it to be the Biggest Little City In The World.

      “Only by day.”

      “Well then, you have to see it by night. There’s no other way to view it.”

      Eric drove into one of the casino parking lots and then they walked toward the arch.

      “I’ve heard that if you kiss under the arch you’ll have good luck at the tables,” she told him. Okay, actually she just made that up, but she was done playing around to see if Eric liked her or not. And if he missed that wide-open invitation, then he was either an idiot or not attracted to her. Which also made him an idiot.

      “I don’t believe in luck,” he said, his tone flat.

      She was about to put him in the idiot column, because if anything stuck that her father had taught her, it was that life was a series of luck. Some of it good, a lot of it bad. But most of it luck. Then she realized he was teasing. Despite the darkness, the lights on the strip showed the heat in his eyes. Eric wanted to kiss her. Badly.

      “Do you believe in missed opportunities?” she asked, her voice becoming breathless. Because hello, opportunity was knocking.

      His stare pinned her in place. “I believe in making my own opportunities.”

      “Really,” she said, her gaze never leaving his. “Well, I wouldn’t let you kiss me anyway.”

      His eyes said liar. “I wouldn’t want to kiss you. I don’t kiss on the first date. What kind of man do you think I am?” he asked as he leaned toward her.

      And then suddenly she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. This was no awkward, first-date-where-do-you-put-your-nose kind of kiss. Eric knew where to put his nose. And his hands. And everything else.

      His lips moved along hers slowly. Softly. She’d expected hard, but this, this lightness was amazing. It was driving her crazy.

      Her breath caught. His fingers sank into her hair, drawing her closer. His lips firmed, the kiss deepened. His fingers drifted, fanning against her cheek, caressing her.

      If she didn’t believe in a kiss bringing good luck, she surely would now. She planned to get lucky very soon. Her skin turned sensitive, her nipples tight and aching and every cell in her body chanted more, more, more.

      All this, and he hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. And she sensed Eric had a lot of the good stuff. Mega-chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-with-nuts-and-marshmallows good stuff.

      “You’re right, Danni. That arch is something else,” he said, his lips lightly tracing along her forehead.

      She smiled, not so much from his words, but from the rugged sensuality in Eric’s voice that told her he wanted her.

      And that’s when she got nervous.

      Damn. Now he had the power again. She’d never felt so interested in anyone before. That was bad. Very bad.

      She could throw caution to the wind. After all, for generations people had gambled in this city whether in the silver mining fields, or the casino. One thing she’d learned was to always go after the sure thing, and Eric Reynolds was not that. The odds were against they’d even make it past date two. They were totally different. They probably wanted totally different things.

      It would never work out.

      That’s when she reached for his chin, drew his lips down to hers and kissed him hard. In the end, she was a gambler.

      Although she’d initiated the kiss, Eric quickly took over, backing her into one of the shadowed areas. His tongue swept into her mouth, and she met him kiss for kiss. He tasted faintly of chocolate and peanut butter, and yummy, yummy man. He pulled her to him, his strong arms holding her against the hardness of his chest. His fingers stroked down her arms, finding her hands and placing them around his neck.

      He wanted her to touch him. Triumph made her fingers bold. He’d been checking out her backside as they bowled. She hadn’t been the only one. Her hands made a winding trail down his shoulders, under his arms and along his spine.

      Then she grabbed his ass. There was that gambler side of her again.

      With a groan, he broke off the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, his breathing harsh. “You know, I thought it was bad luck when I forgot my dryer sheets.”

      “And then you had to deal with me.”

      “That’s when my luck changed.”

      “I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

      “Guess that arch made me a believer. I haven’t made out in public since I was in high school,” he said, his voice traced with humor and disbelief.

      “Glad to see I have a naughty influence on you.” Leading someone to a life of sex beat a life of crime any day.

      “You wouldn’t believe.” He paused for a moment, as if deciding what to do next. Taking a deep, almost resigned sounding breath, he reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s see how our luck holds out in the casino.”

      The smile left her face. “No, that’s okay. We don’t have to go in there.”

      “I know for a fact you’re great with a bet. I’m a wizard with the comps in this place. Let’s go.”

      If it weren’t for that mind-numbing kiss, she’d be able to come up with a much better excuse much quicker. But she couldn’t step one foot onto that casino floor. It would be all over then. He’d know about her past, and she wasn’t ready for that. “No, you shouldn’t waste your comps on me.”

      “I’m teasing. This is where I work.”

      She stopped. “You work here? At the casino?”

      A confused line appeared between his brows as he nodded. “I just started. Is that a problem?”

      “I guess I thought it was computers or something.”

      “I’m head of security.”

      And that’s when Danni hightailed it right out of there.

      3

      “SO I LEFT HIM on the street. He was there calling my name. Can you believe it?”

      If Cassie thought it strange to have Danni knocking on her door after midnight, she didn’t show it. Now the two of them sat