Page 85 of A Better Place

“Never. I didn’t even know I wanted to so badly until James brought me here!” For some reason, even my voice won’t calm down.

He nods his head in understanding. “You two been together long?”

I begin to tell him this is our first date, but James interrupts. “Six weeks,” James answers. “But she just now agreed to me taking her on a date.”

I look up at him and beam. My happiness is so thick I can’t begin to contain it.

We walk into the back room, which has several different sectioned-off lanes. In one, he has two sets of eye and ear protection waiting for us.

“All right. James, I know you know this, but the newbie needs to hear it. Stay behind the line, keep the gun pointed downrange at all times, eye and ear protection must be worn. If you two are sharing a lane, only one person may fire at a time.”

We both nod our heads in understanding, and he moves to the side to check James’s gun, which is what he was carrying in the black case, as well as making sure he has the correct ammunition.

“You’re good to go. You two sharing this gun?”

I look at James and shrug. “I know it’s not really allowed, but I think she’d be comfortable with my 9mm. That okay with you?”

Will shrugs. “Sure. Just don’t go spreading that shit around. No one needs to know I’ve gone soft for the sake of love,” he teases.

“Nice.” James guffaws.

“Have fun, you two. No hanky-panky back here. Shooting a gun produces as much endorphins as a hot-and-heavy make-out session, and I don’t need y’all going at it back here with loaded weapons.” He laughs.

My face burns with embarrassment, but James just snickers, looking down at me then kissing me on the cheek.

“Promise. I’ll be on my best behavior,” James says.

Will raises his eyebrows at me, and I feel my face burning even brighter. “I promise, too,” I murmur.

“Good enough. Have fun!” he repeats and walks back through the door.

“Ready for this?” James asks me.

“Yup.” I nod my head quickly. My excitement starts mingling with my nerves, and I bite my bottom lip.

“Hey,” he says, leaning over to kiss my lips softly, effectively releasing my lip. “These lips? The moment you said yes, they became mine. And I don’t want you hurting what’s mine.”

“Okay,” I say, completely breathless at being called his. Or at least my lips. Wait, am I his or just my lips?

“Let’s do this.” He grins. He places the eye-gear on my face then secures the headphones over my ears. “Gotta keep my girl safe,” he mutters.

Me. I’m his.

Gah, his words. Even when they’re gentle, they’re so full of meaning.

I watch as he gets his own gear in place then he reaches over and moves one side of my headphones away from my ear and does the same to his own.

“So, this here, is my own gun. I’ve owned it for a few years. It’s not hard to use, I promise. And there’s not a lot of kickback, or recoil. But you still need to brace yourself. I’ll shoot once, show you what it’s like. Then I’ll help you.”

“Okay.”

He removes his jacket and pulls his sweater over his head, tossing them both onto a chair to the side. In just his white undershirt (that fits him like a second skin) and jeans, he stands with his legs shoulder-width apart, his upper body standing tall and broad, the muscles in his arms contracting and bulging.

I have to fist my hands to stop myself from running them up his back and over the top of his strong, muscular shoulders. I lean back slightly and shamelessly check out his butt.

“Eyes up here, beautiful.”

“Sorry,” I say, smiling unapologetically.

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