Page 83 of A Brush with Love
She reached for her phone and plopped back onto her pillows, aware of the drowsiness returning to Dan’s breathing.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled against her shoulder.
“I’m looking for a song.”
“A song for what?”
“To play,” she said dryly.
He fixed her with a dull look, slow-blinking at her sarcasm to let her know he wasn’t amused.
“It looked like you were about to fall back asleep, and I wanted to drown out your snoring.” Harper’s lips twitched but she otherwise kept a straight face.
Dan propped himself up on his elbow and hovered over her with a wolfish smile.
“I don’t snore. And if you aren’t careful, I’ll have to force it out of you. What’s the song for?”
“Yeah?” Harper cocked an eyebrow. “I’m terrified.”
Dan’s eyes held a predatory glint as he stared at her mouth. A nervous giggle bubbled from her throat, and the noise set off his attack.
He pounced on her, squeezing and tickling her sides. Squealing and flailing, she worked to move out from under him, but she was helpless against his big, teasing hands.
“You—asshole,” she managed to choke out between gasps. She pounded her small fists against him, but Dan just laughed and nipped at her neck. He shifted his position and plucked the phone from her hand, switching up tactics.
“You’re evil.” Harper rolled from under him and lunged for her phone, but he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her back with a laugh. “Andannoying,” she said, pushing herself back up.
Dan lay on his back laughing and holding her phone toward the ceiling. She scrambled over his body to reach for it, making sure to dig her knees into his ribs as hard as possible. Dan shifted again, pinning her to the bed.
“I’ll ask you one more time.” He scratched his stubble against her neck, making her squeal. “What’s the song for?”
“You’re making it athingand it isn’t athing.” She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of surrender.
He moved to start tickling her again and she caved.
“The moment!” she squeaked when he squeezed her side. “It’s for the moment.”
He stopped immediately, replacing his tickles with gentle touches against her skin.
“Good girl.” Dan gave her a sweet kiss that warmed every inch of her.
“I hate you,” she said against his mouth, her own breaking into a smile.
Dan laughed and pressed his lips to her tingling skin in a truce, making Harper sigh. She raked her fingers through his hair and gave it a gentle tug.
“What do you mean by ‘the moment’?” he asked.
He nuzzled his face against her chest and held the phone so they both could see the screen. She swiped it open and scrolled to her music library.
“I don’t know, it’s probably silly,” she said.
“There’s that phrase again.”
Harper chewed on her lip. She wanted to do this. She wanted to be open with him.
But wanting it didn’t makedoingit feel any less like pulling out her own teeth.
“I just like to play a song in a moment that’s special or when I’m really happy. Something that always lets you go back to the memory when you hear the lyrics.” She paused, feeling Dan’s eyes burning into her as she continued to gaze at the phone in his hand.
