Page 47 of Love on the Run

“You want to hear something even sweeter?” he asked, baiting her to take him up on this stupid game that was keeping him from losing control and pressing his lips to hers.

“What?” she asked, breathy and full of wonder as she stared up at him as if he were her hero.

Beau tilted his head down to her ear once again, taking his time, building the tension as her breath spilled hot and tingling on his neck.

“Brownie sundae,” he whispered, low and rumbling against the shell of her ear.

Was he imagining things, or did she just shudder against him?

“That’s very, very sweet,” she whispered back, tilting her head up to press her soft cheek against the scruff of his jaw.

She fit perfectly in his arms now—somehow an extension of him as they swayed. How had he become so comfortable around her in so little time?

It wasn’t the dance. It was everything. Eating meals together, picking movies, and deciding on things to do in between the activities she’d already planned.

It was easy—too easy. Being near her was like getting a tattoo—painful at first, then decidedly awesome.

They moved on to actual dance moves, but Beau stopped complaining. Once Anna started laughing, he was able to let go of the nervous energy and have a good time.

Well, a very moderate good time. He didn’t touch her nearly as much as the instructor wanted, and despite the daggers she was trying to shoot athim from her eyeballs, he wasn’t going to touch all over Anna without her consent, and especially with an audience.

With her consent and in private quarters, they’d both be in trouble.

Anna spun toward him again, brushing his chest with her hand as she landed against him and giving him a smile that hinted she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

Her stare was too hot—too bold and wanting. He had to do something before this went too far.

Well, too far in public. This wasn’t the kind of relationship transformation that the world needed to witness. Maybe there wasn’t anything happening at all. Hopefully, his brain would rewire itself as soon as his hands were off her, and he’d remember why he wasn’t allowed to touch her.

When she leaned in, he whispered, “Cinnamon rolls.”

She laughed again, and that sound would forever be the music behind the highlight reel of his life. “Are you hungry?” she asked, still chuckling and smiling like she’d never had this much fun in her life.

“Starving,” Beau said as he spun her away from him.

When she twirled back toward him, he turned her and dipped her low, holding the dramatic pose just like the instructor showed them.

“We have just enough time to get a shower before our dinner reservations,” she said while parallel to the floor in his arms.

“What are we having?” He pulled her up from the dip.

Anna kept up the dance, but her gaze didn’t meet his.

Whatever it was, her avoidance said there was a good chance he wouldn’t like it.

Chapter 14

Anna

“Good grief, you said it wasn’t that fancy,” Beau said as a tall, lean man wearing an all black suit rounded in front of the car.

No amount of stalling was going to save her from revealing the truth about dinner to Beau.

“It’s not.” In truth, it wasn’t formal dining—it wasromanticdining. The Bite was well known, even outside of Freedom, for more than the price.

Beau got out and handed the key to the valet attendant before coming around to her side. It was nice that Beau always made a point to open her door, but she often beat him to it.

Not this time. Her legs were choked by temporary paralysis as ideas raced through her head.

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