Page 80 of Tasting Fire
20
Two dayslater and they still hadn’t heard from Jonah or the hospital lab. Emmy was losing her mind and wearing a rut into her apartment’s hardwood flooring.
“Think we should call again?” she asked Cash for what she thought might be the fifth time.
He sighed and looked up from where he was trying to meditate on a pillow in her living room. She could’ve told him that with her state of mind, he was doomed. “No. You calling does not make the entire world suddenly fall into place. In fact, it slows things down.”
“You don’t know—”
“I’d take you through another meditation if I thought you’d sit still for long enough. But even I know when to cut my losses.” Without using his hands, he stood from his cross-legged position and she admired the muscles in his thighs that made the maneuver possible. “It’s time for some fun.”
“How can we possibly—”
“Because the world doesn’t stop every time something is screwed up in life. If it did, we’d be at a permanent standstill.”
“I’m not sure we can actually do anything else on my list.”
“Haven’t you added to it?”
“I’ve been a little busy and preoccupied.”
“Fine. I’ll surprise you.”
Half an hour later when Cash parked his truck near an unoccupied area of Deadman’s Creek, Emmy smiled. It was perfect. Sunshine, water, and Cash. “Soooo, you’re taking me fishing?”
“Nope,” Cash said, his grin stretching wide. “Skinny-dipping.”
“Uh-uh. You’re out of your mind. It’s not even April yet.” And besides, naked?
“And that’s exactly what makes it fun.”
He got out of the truck, walked to the front and thumped the hood with his palm. “If we lay our clothes out here, they’ll stay warm in the sunshine.”
Which also meant Emmy would have to walk bare-assed to the water and then back to the truck. Yikes.
But as she beheld Cash pulling his T-shirt over his head and revealing the abs she had an obsession with, Emmy started to see the appeal of this plan.
He watched her watching him, and his goading smile never wavered. “You gonna sit in there all day?”
Emmy kicked back and propped her feet on the dash in a relaxed pose. But itwasjust a pose. “I want to make sure the goods are worth me getting out for.”
“You already know what the goods look like.”
“I have short-term memory issues.”
“You’re a bad girl.”
If only.
Cash Kingston, however, was the very best bad boy she’d ever seen. Instead of kicking off his pants, he smoothed a hand over his chest, then slowly eased it down his stomach. His nipples had gone tight at his own touch, making Emmy want to take a nip of nip.
Although his hand was on his fly, he made no move to unzip. Just did a slo-mo exploration of what was beneath.
The man was actually treating her to a striptease. Emmy laughed, delighted. “I’m adding this to my list, too.”
“I expected that.”
He spent about a decade thumbing open the top button of his pants.
