Rough, Raw, and Ready (Rough Riders #5)(9)

“Such sweet bullshit, but I’ll take every bit of flattery fallin’ from those sugar lips, sugar.” Chassie left a loud, smacking kiss on Edgard’s cheek.

Edgard experienced a beat of utter pleasure, even when a sound resembling a jealous growl drifted from the sink.

“I like him, Trev. He can stay as long as he wants.” She darted an arch look over her shoulder at her husband. “However, you might be sleepin’ in the barn.”


The band started off the first set with a cover of Dierks Bentley’s “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do” and the dance floor filled.

Chassie parked herself between Trevor and Edgard and thoroughly enjoyed the questioning glances sent their way. With his swarthy good looks, it was pretty obvious Edgard wasn’t from around here.

“I wanna dance.”


“Chass, can you wait until I finish my beer?”


“But I love this song.” When the chorus kicked in, she joined in, “Before you go and turn me on…make sure that you can turn me loose.”


Both men stiffened.

“What? You don’t like my singing?”


No answer from either one.

“Well too bad,” and she sang along a little louder.

“Christ. You’re in a feisty mood,” Trevor grumbled.

“Yeah? Guess that counters the bad mood you’re in.”


“No need to bicker.” Edgard set down his bottle. “Come on, I’ll dance with you until your feet blister and the cows come home.”


The bass line started for Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown” and Edgard swung her into position.

Oh he was smooth. He glided them from one edge of the dance floor to the other, never missing a beat, never stepping on her toes, never once checking out any of the other female dancers. His focus was solely on her.

When the song segued into Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink” Edgard smiled down at her. “Go again? Or would you like to stop?”


“Again.”


“Somehow I knew you’d say that.” He pulled her body closer to his and they swayed to the slower tempo.

While Chassie was squeezed against Edgard, she couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled, a subtle scent that intensified when her nose brushed the gap between his shirt collar and his skin. She inhaled several times and wondered if the dizziness was just from the spinning.

“You okay?”


She tilted her head back. “Yeah. Why?”


“You were sniffling.”


“Not sniffling, sniffing. I hope you don’t think it sounds dorky, but man, you smell great. Really great.”


Edgard actually blushed. “Ah. Thank you.”


“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”


“I’m not used to such genuine compliments.”


“Really? I’d think you’d be immune, considering the way you look, because you probably get them all the time.”


“Not so much lately.”


Chassie peered into his face. “I might be totally off base, but you seem kinda unhappy. On guard. Like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”


“Is that so? How can you tell?”


“At times your pretty smile doesn’t quite reach your pretty eyes.”


“You are a flirt, Missus Glanzer.” He smiled softly. “But you are a perceptive little thing.”


She bumped him with her hip. “Hey. Who you callin’ little?”


“You. What are you, about five foot nothin’?”


“Hah! I’m five foot two and a quarter. Bein’ small in stature doesn’t mean I haven’t been filled to the brim with my share of sadness, that’s for damn sure.”


“So that’s why you’re so good at recognizing it in others?”


“Yeah. I wish I wasn’t. I wish I could just be a happy-go-lucky bubblehead with nothin’ on my mind. It’d be easier.”


“It’d be easier for me too, sweetheart.” Edgard urged her to move a bit faster as his polite way of ending the discussion.

When the song finished, Chassie latched onto his shirt as she stood on the tips of her boots. “Any time you need to talk, track me down. I may be a lousy singer, but I’m a good listener.”


His warm lips brushed her forehead. Twice. Then he pressed a kiss to her mouth.

Twice. “You are beyond sweet. Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”


Back at the table, she released his hand and grabbed her purse, booking it to the ladies room. Didn’t it just figure the next woman to walk in the bathroom was none other than Brandy Martinson? Chassie plastered on a fake smile when Brandy sidled up to her.

“Chassie! I was just looking for you. Who is that good-lookin’ guy you were dancin’ with?” Brandy applied a coat of shiny orange lipstick, and smacked her lips together in a self-kiss before smiling cagily at Chassie in the mirror. “Because you were awful familiar with him.”


Chassie jerked a paper towel from the dispenser. “So?”


“So, you two look so much alike with your darker skin tones and dark hair I figured he had to be a relative.”