Adam shook his head and stopped Eve from placing any new bets on the table. “Oh no you don’t. I’m not wasting my extra hour with you here.” The waiter from earlier took that moment to arrive with their ordered shots of whiskey. “Why don’t we bring these over to the bar,” he suggested, grabbing their drinks before she could answer.
It was his lucky night after all. The horseshoe-shaped bar in the middle of the casino was empty, and he couldn’t have been happier.
“Shall we?” she asked, hoisting the tumbler up to her parted lips.
“Not yet.” He stilled her arm and settled in on the barstool. She threw him a quizzical look. “Ever play the drinking game Never Have I Ever?”
There was his smile. Man, did she make him work for it tonight, which made it all the sweeter. “Not since college, drinking forties.”
“The guys and I used to play during military leaves abroad. Fun way to get your buddies drunk, but it’s also helpful to get to know one another, too.”
“And which one is your angle tonight?” she asked, her scarlet dress hiking up as she hopped up on the high bar seat next to him, revealing the long line of her legs down to her strappy heels that dangled just above the brass-bar footrest.
“Both,” he admitted with a smile of his own, admiring her. “Remember, you have to take a sip if the answer is yes. Since I won our last bet, I’ll go first.” He picked up his glass and held it aloft, and she followed suit. “Never have I ever dated a coworker.”
“Cheap shot. You know I have,” Eve whined.
“I don’t make the rules, Richards. Drink,” he urged.
She did, glaring at him as she sloshed back the amber liquid and then licked her lips. The action wasn’t meant to be teasing, but hell if it didn’t have him adjusting just the same.
“My turn,” she said eagerly. “Never have I ever been on a cruise.”
Yup, smart cookie indeed. He drank a big gulp and leaned closer, their elbows touching on the countertop. Notes of whiskey and the ever-present, cherry bark-and-almond scent that clung to her wafted over him. He inhaled, getting high on Eve alone. The resulting euphoria wasn’t new. Her breathing him in, though, in return and the hinting gleam of sexual interest in her arousing stare was.
“Never have I ever been to all fifty states,” he supplied, reaching automatically for his glass, but she did not.
“You’ve been to all fifty states?” she questioned, looking skeptical.
“You’re not the only one with wanderlust,” he replied with a shrug. “Only my wandering has been domestic-based. I took a year off before college, living out of my car, writing about the people I met along the way and seeking out small-town charm.”
“Is that why you settled in Old Naples?”
He made a buzzer sound. “Sorry, that wasn’t in a Never Have I Ever question format.” Her blue eyes flared, and he found himself grinning at her short-lived flash of anger. “What states are you missing?”
“Hmm.” She scrunched up her nose as she counted to herself before listing them out. “Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Alaska, and West Virginia.”
“Not too bad. We’ll have to work on kicking those out for you.” Her eyebrow lifted at his use of we. “Maybe pitch an Alaskan cruise next,” he rushed out, plowing through the temporary awkwardness.
“As long as you’re my guide,” she said quietly, and his pulse raced at her invitation. He didn’t have a chance to dwell on the feeling, though, before she started the game up again. “Uh … never have I ever smoked cigarettes.”
He grumbled and reached for his drink. “Just socially here and there when I was younger,” he explained after his swallow. “Never have I ever gotten a tattoo,” he supplied, throwing her a softball and taking another drink in admission to his arm bands. He almost choked when he saw that she did the same. “You have a tattoo?” He’d seen a lot of her already in a binkini, so where the hell was this tat?
“Something I did on spring break in Vegas,” she admitted, clearly pleased with herself for surprising him. “And my parents still bring it up.”
“I bet,” he said absently. “Are you going to share what it’s of, or better, where it is?”
“Nope.”
“You’re cruel,” he said, shooting back his entire drink even though he wasn’t supposed to. Bad enough he was dying to see her naked, but now he desperately had to discover this tattoo. “If it says Hugh, I’ll pay for your tattoo removal,” he grumbled.
She chuckled and shot back her drink, too, with only the slightest grimace evident, then smacked the empty glass on the counter. He wanted to lick her glistening lips and envied the back of her hand when it wiped across the moistened flesh. “I didn’t even know him then,” she said with an amused shake of her head.
“Is it any guy’s name?” he asked, hating himself for sounding jealous. It was unreasonable, but he breathed easier when she shook her head again. His relief turned playful. “A girl’s name?”
Her laughter was contagious. Sliding his keycard over, he signaled for the waiter to give them another round. Not only did he want to get to know Eve better by playing this silly game, but it was also his chance to prove himself, too. “Never have I ever cheated on my partner,” he stated.
Neither made a motion to grab for their drink, which was also a good thing since they hadn’t been refilled yet anyway.
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