Chapter 7
QUINN
I had no idea how the hell I’d allowed myself to be talked into this. Though, that wasn’t exactly a surprise. Ford could talk a nun out of her clothes, and I had fallen right into his trap.
Admittedly, his response to Dr. Dicknose’s asinine remarks had softened me toward him slightly, which was what I was blaming my lapse of judgment on and certainly not on the fact that I’d been recalling, in explicit detail, what it’d felt like to be pressed up against him when he’d carried me to my car.
Ford had followed me to Mabel’s and waited for me outside while I’d changed, thankfully avoiding any interaction with anyone. Mabel and her husband, George, were out somewhere, and I’d never been more grateful for their hopping social calendar than I was then.
When I’d come out after spending way too much time deciding what to wear, I might not have been able to see his eyes on me, but I could’ve sworn I felt them.
The barest caress down the curved neckline of my shirt, plunging into the ample swells of my breasts.
A hungry perusal over the outline of my hips and thighs in these jeans…
My nipples were hard before I’d even slid into my car, and that heightened awareness had barely abated in the time it had taken to drive to the location. That was why I’d painted on red lipstick before I’d stepped out, needing every ounce of armor I could get.
Ford’s gaze had landed on my mouth as if it had been drawn like a moth to a flame, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, with a hand on the small of my back, he guided us into the building without a word.
Kick Some Axe was housed in a refurbished barn painted in a deep red about a mile out of town. With slatted wood walls, corrugated metal accents, and buffalo plaid pillows tossed on worn brown leather couches, the front room was a lumberjack’s paradise.
“Hey, man.” Eli, an Asian man in his late thirties with soft laugh lines around his eyes and closely cropped black hair, walked toward us. He clasped Ford’s hand before pulling him into a one-armed hug. “Glad you could make it. We had a few people flake out, so I appreciate this.”
“No worries. I’m happy to help. Eli, this is—”
“Dr. Cartwright. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hi, Eli. And you know it’s just Quinn when we’re not at the clinic,” I said with a smile.
Ford split a glance between us, his gaze assessing. “You two know each other?”
Eli nodded. “Had to get a couple stitches after that structure fire on Walker Street. She’s a magician—the whole thing was painless. Don’t think I ever thanked you properly for that.”
“Oh, it’s really no—” Before I could get the words out, Eli’s arms were around me, squeezing me to him. I wasn’t a hugger by nature, so I stiffened, awkwardly patting him on the back.
“Hey,” Ford said, and was I imagining the sharpness in his tone? “Hands off my date.” Then, as if that wasn’t enough to get his point across, he hooked a finger in my belt loop at the back of my jeans and tugged me out of Eli’s grasp.
Losing my footing, I stumbled back into Ford’s chest with a huff, and he placed a warm hand on my waist to steady me.
“What the hell, Ford?” I glanced at him over my shoulder, ready to lay into him, but my breath caught in my throat when I found him right there , his warm, male scent sweeping over me, his eyes freezing me in place.
Every inch of our bodies was pressed together, my back to his front. His head was tipped down toward me, a piece of hair falling over his forehead and into his eye, and his lips were so close, all it would take was one little push up on my toes and then they’d be against mine.
Whether I wanted to or not, I couldn’t stop my brain from questioning what that would be like.
Would a kiss from Ford be slow and languid, easygoing and sensual…
everything he embodied? Or would it be a mirror of how we were when we were together?
Raw, combustible, and so charged, everyone in the vicinity would feel the spark.
Would it be over in a blink before it ever really started, or would we both crave more, unable to get enough?
“Sorry, man,” Eli said, a smile in his tone. “She’s all yours.”
I snapped my gaze away from Ford, all too grateful that Eli had broken whatever spell I’d just been under.
The night hadn’t even started yet, and I was already losing myself in ridiculous daydreams. I needed to get my shit together and keep my wits about me.
The last thing I needed to do was lose them around Ford McKenzie.
“I’ve got your pit ready,” Eli said. “But first, we need to go over the rules so you don’t accidentally murder each other.”
Ford tipped his head toward me. “She promised she wouldn’t, but you never know with this one. She’s probably plotting it right now.”
“You’re not wrong,” I mumbled under my breath, desperate to slip back into our familiar routine and shake off whatever pull I’d been feeling toward him.
After we’d been prepped and educated on the proper behavior at a place where you wielded weapons for fun, Eli led us out to the main room.
I slid a suspicious glance Ford’s way when he reached over my head and held the door open for me. “Don’t think manners are going to save you from getting your ass kicked.”
“You can try, kitten.” With a wink, he pressed his hand on the small of my back and guided me inside the space while I valiantly attempted to ignore the warmth of his skin against mine.
The main area was exactly as vast as one would expect from a converted barn. A small lounge section was directly ahead of us where a couple people sat on a dark brown leather couch, and a short line had formed at the bar located in the back.
But the main attraction was the collection of pits that ran along the perimeter, each one separated by floor-to-ceiling metal fencing.
Tape marked the floor, designating where each person should throw from, and two wooden pallet boards with black-and-red bull’s-eyes painted on them hung at the far end of each pit.
The scent of freshly cut wood filled the air as dozens of people milled about. A low hum of conversation buzzed through the space, interspersed by bells ringing and cheers when someone hit a bull’s-eye.
I only recognized a handful of people as we passed, though that was to be expected, considering how long it had been since I’d been back home. Ford, though… The guy couldn’t walk two feet without someone calling out a hello, which he returned with a smile and a wave.
“I’ve got you guys set up in pit four, and I made the accommodations you requested, Ford,” Eli said with a smile.
“Thanks.” The single word was clipped, and Ford barely waited for Eli to finish speaking before he grabbed my hand and dragged me in the direction Eli had gestured toward.
“Let me know what you think or if you run into any issues,” Eli called after us, shaking his head when Ford didn’t do more than give him a wave over his shoulder in acknowledgment.
“That was rude. And why are you in such a hurry? I know we agreed on thirty minutes, but I didn’t actually start a timer, so you can relax,” I said, luckily able to keep up with his long strides as he tugged me toward our pit.
“I figured we didn’t have much time before you turned back into an insufferable shrew, so I better hurry up.”
I rolled my eyes, but my shoulders relaxed, feeling right at home with this antagonism between us. It was a hell of a lot easier to handle than the unwanted sexual tension that’d suddenly popped up.
I squeezed his hand, still encasing mine, to get his attention. “What accommodations was he talking about?”
“Quit dragging your feet, and you’ll find out.”
“You know you telling me to do something makes me want to not do it ten times harder, right?”
He glanced back, flashing a smile that nearly had me stumbling. “Glad to see your claws are still sharp, kitten.”
Though I tried not to show him that he got a rise out of me, I couldn’t stop my brow from creasing, my lips pursing at the pet name he loved using.
I hated it. Especially the way he said it, all condescending and sickly sweet.
The only reason he insisted on calling me that was because he knew it pissed me off.
Our pit was located in the far corner and seemed to be the only single one in the area, all the others having double, triple, or quadruple pits lined up together. Had that been the luck of the draw or something Ford had requested specifically…the accommodations Eli had mentioned?
Ford stopped in front of a short tree stump with two axes embedded into it. It was clear this pit had never been used, the area pristine and floors lacking any wood shavings.
As I took in the space, my gaze slid over the two targets at the end of the pit before snapping back to the one on the right.
I squinted, trying to get a better look to see if it was actually what I thought it was.
When I realized my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, I couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting out.
There, secured directly over the bull’s-eye of my target, was a picture of Ford’s smiling face staring back at me.
I glanced over at him, only to find his eyes already locked on me, his lips curved up in a soft smile. He was looking at me like he’d never seen me before, and I guessed that much was true, considering how rarely I laughed in his presence.
This time, I wasn’t imagining how his gaze dipped to my mouth and then stayed there. My lips tingled in response, as if his attention was a brand on me, searing me from where he stood.
And then he opened his mouth and reminded me exactly what this thing was between us, refueling every ounce of frustration I had with this unbearable man. “Since you’re used to losing to me, I figured you could use any leg up you could get.”