Next Man Up (Making the Score #2) - Tawdra Kandle Page 0,4

I bet you’ll do it. Someday, I’ll turn on the TV and hear the announcers say your name, and I’ll think, damn, I once drank . . .” I tilted my head. “What’re we drinking?”

He laughed softly. “Captain and coke.”

“Oh, okay. I once drank captain and coke with that guy on some stranger’s bed at a party. And I’ll think that was really cool.”

Eli studied me in silence for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was rough and low. “Come here. Come sit next to me.”

I gave my head a brief shake. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I just want you to be comfortable. You look like sitting there is hurting your back, without anything to lean against.” He patted the pillows. “These are really soft and comfy.”

I considered it—and him—for another couple of minutes. Finally, I shrugged.

“Okay.”

His eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” I rolled to balance on my knees and one hand. “Here, hold my cup until I get up there. I don’t want to spill anything on this pretty quilt.”

“Good idea.” Eli took the drink from me until I was sitting alongside him. I reached for my cup, grinned at him, and lifted it in a salute.

“Bottoms up.” Before he could say anything, I tipped my drink back and drained it, noticing absently that the sweetness was stronger and the burn less now.

“You know, I’m not sure that was a great idea.” Eli wrested the empty plastic cup from my hand, crumpling it easily and tossing it onto the floor. “I get the feeling you probably don’t do a lot of drinking out there in Lancaster, on the farm with all the horses.”

“Really?” I was noncommittal, unwilling to talk about my experience or lack thereof in any area of life. But it occurred to me that Eli might have a point when a wave of total relaxation crashed over me. I crawled into the pile of pillows, dropping face-down into the blissful softness.

“Oooh, you were totally right. This is much more comfortable.” I snuggled down. “I could sleep.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I heard the wry humor in his voice at the same time that I felt a feather light touch running up and down my spine. It was teasing and relaxing and intriguing all at the same time, and I made a happy noise.

“Mmmmmm. Keep doing that, and I’m totally going to sleep. When I was little and I couldn’t settle down at night, my grammy rubbed my back to get me to sleep. So you’ve been warned.”

“Then maybe I need to do something to wake you up instead.” His fingers brushed from my back up to the back of my head, sweeping the weight of my hair out of the way. I waited in thrilled anticipation, and a moment later, I felt the warmth of his breath against my neck . . . and then the gentle pressure of his lips on my jaw.

“What’re you doing, Eli?” I sounded breathless and drowsy, but my senses had gone on full alert. I was hyperaware of him, how close he was to me, and of the way his body was angled over mine.

“I’m trying to find your mouth,” he murmured into my ear, making me shiver. “But I’m getting sidetracked along the way with all these other parts of you.” He sucked my earlobe between his lips, and gasping a little, I rolled to my side.

“Oh, there you are.” Eli laid one hand along my cheek, his fingertips stroking my hairline. “Look at how beautiful you are. You’re like a little piece of perfection.”

“I’m not at all perfect,” I protested. He was so close to me now that I couldn’t focus on his face. I curled my fingers around his broad shoulder, just to have something solid I could hold onto.

“You’ll never convince me of that.” His lips lowered, covering mine in the sweetest first kiss. He was soft and asking and tentative, and I sank into him.

With a groan, Eli deepened the kiss, coaxing my lips to open and making insistent forays into my mouth. I’d French kissed before. It had never been something I particularly liked, having a boy stick his tongue down my throat, but now, with Eli, it was different. It was intimate and erotic. I opened up to him and even was daring enough to touch the tip of my tongue to his.

His hands slid from my face, trailing down my neck and to my ribcage. I held