The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving (Bluebonnet #4)(11)
Author: Jessica Clare

He laughed.

“That’s not funny,” she told him, but she was laughing, too.

“It’s kinda funny. I had no idea you were such a rude chick.”

“My turn to ask a question,” she said in a lofty voice. “So how come you’re avoiding your family?”

Rome wagged a finger at her. “Tricky girl.” He raised his fresh beer and downed it in a few gulps. No way was he talking about those f**ktards, especially to a girl like Elise. She wouldn’t even begin to understand the Lozada family. He finished his beer and placed the empty bottle on the table.

“I thought you were going to answer everything,” she said, and he could have sworn that was a teasing note in her voice.

“I thought you were going to play nice,” he rebutted.

“I’m nice,” she said, but her face broke into a mischievous grin that delighted him to see. “And I should go get some more beer.”

She returned a minute later with several more beers, placing half of them in front of him. “This is a bed-and-breakfast,” she declared. “It won’t kill you to stay the night, or you can stop drinking now.”

“But we’re just getting started,” he teased. “No way I’m stopping now.” Especially not now that he was making a few cracks in that shell of hers. “And I just thought up a terrific question.”

“Uh oh,” she said, sitting down again. Still across the table from him. Well, Rome—the city—wasn’t built in a day.

“It’s a doozy,” he warned her, popping the cap off of another beer. “You ready?”

She picked up a new beer and popped the cap off. “Hit me with it.”

“Where did you lose your virginity?”

She stared at him for so long that he almost thought she’d answer. But then she picked up her beer and began to chug it, and he was a little disappointed.

When Elise finished her beer, she made a face and considered him for a long moment. “That was a terrible question.”

He shrugged. “Hey, I figured if we’re going for the jugular, might as well make it a good one.”

“I’d ask you about your virginity but I suspect you’ll be more than happy to share the details of that experience with me.”

“I would. You asking?”

“No.” She thought for a minute, then asked, “How many women have you slept with?”

“Enough to know what I’m doing.” He grinned to take the light rebuke out of his words, enjoying the fact that she had that weird look on her face that he was pretty sure was a flush. “You want details or something?”

“I’m trying to think of things you won’t answer.”

“Oh, I’ll answer that.”

“Figures.”

He thought back to prior girlfriends and replied. “Five.”

“Five?”

“What, you don’t like that number?”

“It just seems low.”

“Well, that’s either flattering or insulting. Why would it seem low?”

She thought for a moment, and then said, “I decline to answer that,” and drank another beer.

He laughed. Elise Markham was definitely not boring.

For the next while, the game became more edgy and intense. It had gone from a friendly “get to know one another” game to a challenge to make the other person drink by not answering. Elise was a smart cookie; she figured out quickly that he’d answer anything personal . . . except for when it came to his family. And he learned rather fast that Elise absolutely refused to answer anything sexual.

By the time they figured out each other’s weaknesses and exploited them, empty beer bottles littered the living room and the candles had turned into little puddles of wax on the table. Elise had passed out on the couch in a drunken stupor, and Rome thought that looked pretty good to him. He blew out the candles, lay down on the sofa, and fell asleep.

He woke up a short time later to the sound of keys in the front door, and sat up, rubbing his face. A woman walked in, shrugging off her jacket, and she smiled at the sight of him. “That must be your motorcycle up front,” she whispered, giving the sleeping Elise and the scatter of beer bottles an amused look.

“That’s me,” he said. “Still raining?”

“Still raining,” she agreed. “I have extra beds, though. You’re welcome to one.”

“Thanks.” He got to his feet and looked down at Elise. That long, silky hair was trailing over her face, and her arm was flung off the edge of the couch. “Where’s her bed? I’ll take her up there. This doesn’t look all that comfortable.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” the woman said. “Maybe we can wake her up.”

Just then, Elise snored, and Rome chuckled. “Not with all the beer she drank.”

“I see that.” The woman’s mouth twitched with amusement. “Good for her. I hate that she stays home every night. She needs to get out and have fun while she’s young.”

Rome bent over Elise and scooped her up into his arms. “She doesn’t get out much, huh?”

“Not at all,” the woman said, clicking on a flashlight and pointing it at the stairs. “Her room’s this way. And thank you. I’m Emily, by the way.”

“Rome,” he told her, and hugged Elise a little closer in his arms. She fit rather perfectly there.

FOUR

The next morning, Elise woke up with her head pounding and feeling muzzy, and her body tucked into her bed. Surprised, she sat up and rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out how she’d gotten into her room. Her memories of last night’s candlelit beer party were vague at best, but she remembered Rome’s gorgeous smile and his teasing laugh.

God, last night had been wonderful. It had been the best night of her life, really.

She’d been astonished to see the object of her crush show up on the doorstep of the bed-and-breakfast, but she couldn’t turn him away, not with the nasty storm. And she’d been even more shocked to hear that he thought she hated him. That was startling to hear, considering it was the opposite.

She lusted after him. Apparently she was doing a good job of hiding that. Too good, maybe.

When he tried to apologize for somehow offending her, Elise had taken a chance. Just a teeny one. And she’d chatted with Rome. He’d broken the ice with conversation, and she’d brought the beer. And talking to him? Playing that silly drinking game? That had been so much fun. She hated that she’d gotten so drunk that she’d fallen asleep, though. Had he been disappointed in that? Or was he relieved? Elise suddenly felt awkward and tense. What if she’d been too drunk to realize that he wasn’t having as good a time as she was?