Page 43 of Bourbon and Lies

“Yeah, honey.” I smirk. “Want to make a liar out of me?”

And that’s what she does as her thighs shift just enough for me to get closer. A small invitation to take what I want. Her tongue runs along her bottom lip as she curls it into her mouth, dragging her teeth along it once it’s wet.

There’s still an irrational part of me that believes in this fucking curse that follows my family. That I couldn't survive it again if it were true. That if I let myself get lost in her, even just for a little while, I won’t be the same.

But I’m bored of being cautious, tired of it. And, dammit, do I want to kiss the woman I can’t seem to stop thinking about.

It’s like being released from the gates. A shotgun call the second I decide I want nothing but this moment with her, and everything happens at once. My hand flies from her waist and my fingers clasp around the side of her neck as my thumb settles right where her pulse jumps. She reaches the nape of my neck at the same time and her fingers weave into my hair just as our lips meet in a kiss that has me hungry.

It feels like a reward.

The small noise that comes from the back of her throat as my lips rove over her mouth is what causes the last bit of my reserves to crumble. I brush my tongue along hers and it’s like we’ve done this a million times before.Perfection. She tilts her head just enough that our lips can play deeper, and I pull back just enough to make sure she’s feeling the same. That there is nothing else in this world but the two of us lost in a kiss that feels like a fresh start and an endgame all at once. When her eyes meet mine, she smiles, and I can’t help but smile back and dip for another.

Shuffling of the dirt along the cement floor steals my attention instantly. Like cold water dousing us both. As soon as I turn, I see Griz waltz up the main aisle with a burlap sack in one hand and a copper whiskey thief in the other. “Well, well, well.Looks like you two are awful cozy.” Leave it up to my grandfather to call it like it is.

Laney doesn’t miss a beat as I back away. “Your grandson was just demonstrating something I’ve been thinking about since I showed up here.” She gives me a wink, lightening the mood instantly. Wiping her mouth with her thumb as I regrettably put more distance between us, she asks him, “What are you holding?”

Griz walks closer as I cross my arms over my bare chest, now completely out of her atmosphere and hating it. I toss on my ripped shirt as he holds up the copper pipe with the pointed end.

“They call this a whiskey thief. We use it when we want to taste test what’s in the barrels.”

She smiles, moving her hands under her thighs as she sits perched on the bourbon barrel. “Taste anything good?” Her eyes dart to mine for a beat.Yeah, honey, you taste more than good.

“Darlin’, there’s always good bourbon in these barrels, even when it’s early. But no, I wasn’t tasting. Didn’t get that far.”

The tightened-up burlap sack in his other hand moves.

“Griz, you catch something?”

He brushes it off, walking past us. “Western cottonmouth is my best guess since I didn’t hear the rattler, but you never know. Could be a young one. I didn’t want to waste time and find out.”

Laney looks to me with a cute furrow to her brow. “Rattler?”

With a nod, I tell her, “Snake.”

“Real nasty one too,” Griz says, moving toward the far aisle of the rickhouse. “She was pissed. It’s the second one I pulled out of here this season so far. Usually, it’s not until it gets cooler, but these damp, dark spots just call to all sorts of critters.”

He holds the bag like it’s filled with groceries and not a snake. “What are you going to do with it?”

Griz smiles at me, and then with a smirk, says to her, “They’re mighty tasty.”

“You’re not serious?”

I can’t keep the smile from cracking on my face. “He’s probably going to let it go somewhere far from here. Don’t worry.”

Griz looks down at her foot. “What’d you get yourself into?”

“Small cut from walking back.”

His gaze whips to me. “You let a lady walk with an injury. I didn’t teach you better than that?”

She giggles at his tone. “He actually gave me a piggyback ride all the way here.”

With a nod, he turns back to Laney. “I’ve got the golf cart. C’mon, I’ll give you a ride back to your place.”

I help her down from the barrel.

“My back is shit now, so loop that arm around me. It’s only out the side door.”

---