Page 38 of Impulsive Saint
“Not this one.” He tried to glare at her but wasn’t sure the look worked for him when she only smiled in return. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Need I remind you that it’s my list, not yours?” She raised a perfect eyebrow.
“Need I remind you that we’re sharing a hotel room from here to Vegas so you’re not going to have much privacy.”
She looked offended, “You’re joking.”
“Not in the least.” He eyed the napkin and frowned. “You can mark skinny-dipping off that list too.”
“Oh come on!” she laughed, “It’ll be fun.”
“Give me the list.” He held out a hand but she jerked it away. “Ashtyn, give me the list.”
“Fine.” She handed it over and he snatched the pen from her as well.
He read through it again, noting everything that she had listed. When he glanced back up at her she was wiggling uncomfortably in her chair. He sighed and folded the napkin, putting it in his pocket.
“I will help you check everything on this list off that doesn’t require bodily harm or the potential to be arrested.”
She rolled her eyes, “And here I thought you took pride in being adventurous.”
“Every minute with you is exactly that, princess.” He winked playfully and then scooted to the edge of the booth. “Come on, if we’re going to get all this done, we can’t waste any more daylight.”
Ashtyn grinned as she followed him out of the booth, “What are we going to do first?”
“I don’t know. Karaoke maybe? I bet we can find a bar doing a karaoke night somewhere along the way.”
“And everything else?” she asked as he stopped at the counter to pay their check.
He grinned back at her, “We’ll just have to jump at any opportunities we come across for fun, won’t we?”
Her smile was so damn radiant it was like looking at the sun so Tyler pulled his gaze away and focused on the cash register in front of him. If he could make her that happy just by agreeing to help, he couldn’t wait to see her reaction when they really started checking items off her list. He found that he liked the idea of being the one to make her happy, a lot. Maybe even too much if he let himself dwell on it, so he didn’t.
He didn’t know why their paths had crossed. He couldn’t be sure if it was fate or luck or simple chance that he had been late and parked in that alley when she chose to run away. What he did know was that they were on this journey together now, for better or worse, and if it was adventure that she craved then she’d come to the right man for that job.
11
“Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined your black-tie affair.”
Ashtyn gaped at the gorgeous man on the stage singingFriends in Low Placesshockingly well. She’d had no idea that he had a voice like whiskey and velvet but she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. Everything about Tyler St. James seemed specifically designed to make every feminine desire inside of her flare to life.
The man was a walking, talking, and apparently singing, sex god. Of course she’d only imagined the sex part of the package but she had a really good imagination and she’d spent three solid days in his presence now. Long days wrapped around him on the motorcycle and long nights talking to him across dark hotel rooms had only increased her attraction to him.
Damn the man for turning out to be a good guy in addition to crazy hot.
After her night of drunken shenanigans and the awkward morning after, something had changed with Tyler. She couldn’t be sure exactly what it was that had gotten through to him but he’d stopped calling her a princess, finally. He’d stopped trying to make her miserable and he’d even been true to his word and helped her start crossing items off her bucket list.
Maybe he’d just taken pity on her after seeing her so sick after one night of drinking. Maybe he’d realized she was too stubborn to be talked out of whatever crazy plan she’d concocted. Or maybe, just maybe, he’d been listening when she told him about her mother and all the reasons she had to do this. Maybe, in some small way, he understood her, but whatever the reason, she was grateful for the change in his demeanor towards her while simultaneously wanting him to treat her badly again just so she wouldn’t be quite so attracted to him.
She’d decided this was all Aaron’s fault, even if she knew that was ridiculous.
Still, it was true that Aaron was the reason she hadn’t had sex in months. Months! When they’d become engaged, he’d thought it would be sweet and old-fashioned not to have sex again until their wedding night. She’d thought it was sweet too, at first, but then somewhere along the way she’d realized that she didn’t even mind going without it and neither did Aaron and maybe that had been the first sign that they really shouldn’t get married because honestly, she should have wanted to jump her soon to be husband all the time? Shouldn’t she? But she hadn’t. Not like she wanted to jump Tyler.
It had taken all of her willpower not to jump into his arms yesterday during their rock-climbing outing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
It was one of the things on her bucket list and he’d mentioned casually that he knew just the place because a friend of his was from the area and had told him about Climb Up OKC. She’d been awed by it. The giant silo that had been turned into a top-notch climbing facility had been so cool and really practical too considering she had no experience and couldn’t be trusted to try it in the wild.
Tyler had been by her side the entire time. He’d taken on the role of trainer and cheerleader. He’d taught her about the ropes and pulleys and everything that went into embarking on a climb. He’d taken the time to carefully position her hands and feet to give her the best grip. He’d stood below her when she’d been scared she would tumble to her death and hours later when she had finally felt comfortable braving the biggest wall and trying for the top he’d been right there beside her every step of the way and hugged her tight and spun her in a circle when they scaled the final landing, laughing with her even though they were both out of breath and exhausted.
