The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving (Bluebonnet #4)(13)
Author: Jessica Clare

A few moments later, she found the edges of the paintball course and stepped inside the gate. There was no sign of anyone, but she wasn’t quite at the castle yet. She continued farther in, swallowing hard and hoping she didn’t hyperventilate before she found Rome.

This is a mistake, her mind chanted. Turn around. Turn around.

She ignored that little voice for now, heading down into the small valley that housed the newly built fort. The painting had been completed sometime since yesterday, and there was no sign of Rome. Frowning to herself, Elise circled to the back of the fortress and peered around the edge. No one.

Drat.

This is a mistake. Take this as a sign and just get out of here before your feelings get hurt.

That probably wasn’t a bad idea. With a small sigh, Elise turned and headed back into the trees, heading for the main lodge.

A figure jumped out of the trees and headed right for her. She barely caught sight of tattoos and blue eyes before Rome’s large body pushed hers up against a nearby tree.

“Duck,” he commanded.

His voice was so urgent that she did, and she felt his big hand move over the top of her head. She was pressed against his chest, and the plate of cookies she’d brought with her were crushed against her br**sts. His big body pinned hers against the tree, and Elise was so startled that the breath escaped right out of her lungs.

Immediately she heard a loud thwack and Rome groaned. “God damn it, Pop, you got me right in the kidney.”

“Ha!” called a voice nearby. “You’d better hustle before Dane and his group show up and nail you again.”

“You’re not supposed to shoot me, Pop,” Rome said in a dry voice, and his hand slipped from her hair. “I’m on your damn team.”

Elise looked up and was shocked to see Rome’s gorgeous face was mere inches from her own. She was close enough that she could see the stubble edging his jaw and the gleam of his lip ring. And what a beautiful jaw it was.

Then he looked down at her, and those impossibly blue eyes focused on her.

“Hey,” he murmured, and she watched, fascinated, as the lip ring moved.

Her throat worked and she fought hard to speak. “Hi.” It came out as a breathless whisper, but it was a start.

“What are you doing here on the course? We’re running a few guys through and you’re going to get pegged if you’re not careful. Pop almost shot you.”

She blinked. “Oh. I . . . um. Never mind.” It would sound totally stupid to tell him she’d brought cookies now, wouldn’t it?

He tugged at the plastic-wrap-covered plate currently smushed to her front. “What’s this?”

“I . . . uh . . . cookies.”

“For me?” He grinned, and the look was so roguish it made her legs feel like jelly.

“Um . . .” God, why couldn’t she think of anything to say? But being so close to him, with his big body pressed up against hers? All the words went right out of her head. She just stared at him like a dopey, lovesick fool.

“Thanks,” he said, and glanced around as the bushes rustled nearby. “You’d better leave before someone ruins that pretty sweater of yours.” He glanced down, and she could have sworn he was looking at her cle**age.

“’Kay,” she breathed.

“I’ll distract them. You run out of here unless you want to be splattered in yellow. And thanks for the cookies. You can drop them at my cabin.” He grinned at her again, and to her surprise, he leaned in and brushed a kiss on her parted lips, the lip ring skimming over her mouth. Then he hefted his paintball rifle and darted away, crashing into the underbrush.

Elise stared after him in shock, then darted back the way she came, running toward the cabins.

Holy crap. Rome had kissed her.

Her.

She wandered toward the cabins in a daze, clutching the cookies. He had said to leave them at his cabin. She knew which one was his, since Pop had given her a tour of the place a few days ago. Should she just walk right in and put them down? Leave a note? She wished she’d had the chance to talk to him.

Of course, if she was a ballsy sort of girl, she’d wait for him to come back and talk with him then. Elise bit her lip and thought of that kiss. It had been brief but utterly distracting. She touched her mouth and thought of the scrape of his lip ring against her mouth.

All right, then. If she was going to do this, she was going to go all in. Sucking in a deep breath and steeling her courage, Elise went to Rome’s cabin to wait for him.

• • •

Rome headed in from the paintball course, rather pleased with himself.

Today, he decided, was a good f**kin’ day. He’d woken up in a nice plush bed, had breakfast courtesy of the nice lady who ran the bed-and-breakfast—who hadn’t charged him a dime—and rode his bike back to the Daughtry Ranch for a day of work. He, Brenna, Pop, and a few other people they’d rounded up had run a crash course on the paintball grounds to see how things played out, and everyone had been impressed at the work he’d put in, even Grant.

They’d be opening the paintball course in a few weeks, and Grant had mentioned that it would be Rome’s baby to handle. He was fine with that. In fact, he was looking forward to it. He’d run the best damn paintball course and keep his job secure.

The icing on the cake had been pretty, soft Elise Markham showing up to see him. With cookies. He didn’t give a shit about the cookies, really, but he was pleased with what they represented. She’d shown up bearing gifts as an excuse to see him, and that made him grin. She’d looked so soft and sweet when he’d pressed her up against the tree that he couldn’t help but kiss her, and he had enjoyed the wide-eyed look on her face in return.

It was a shame he’d had to run her off, but maybe he’d head into town tonight to see if she was at the bed-and-breakfast. Maybe she’d want to get a drink.

Of course, maybe he was thinking with his dick. He should stay away from Elise if he wanted to avoid riling up her brother—and his boss—Grant Markham. The man had already shown that he was a bit sensitive when it came to his sister.

But damn, there was something about Elise Markham that fired Rome up on all cylinders. It wasn’t just that soft, innocent expression on her face—though he had to admit that it did incredible things to his libido. It was the fact that underneath all that shyness there was a fiery, smart, sassy girl just waiting to come out. And he wanted to be the one she showed up for. Maybe that was rather Neanderthal of him, but he didn’t care.