She’d started this whole thing for her own sake. To save her family’s legacy and to help her hometown grow and prosper. Now, it was more than that. Sure, she still wanted to protect Angel Christmas Tree Farm and Cabot Valley. But she also wanted to—what? Save Tanner King? That thought rattled her a little.
Was she picking up the mantle of Lady Gwen trying to help her knight?
“You can’t be serious,” he said, looking from her to the bounce house and back again.
“Why not?” she asked, liking the idea more by the minute. Anything that would shake this so stolid man up was a good thing, right? And the fact that it would be just the two of them inside that inflated fun house had nothing to do with it.
She looked around, saw that there was no one nearby and then shifted her gaze back to Tanner. “Come on. Give it a try.”
“It’s for kids.”
“It’s for fun,” she corrected. “I’ve been in it lots of times.”
Alternately hopping on first one foot then the other, she tugged off her boots, then tossed them to the grass. Fisting her hands at her hips, she tossed her hair out of her eyes and challenged, “Well?”
He shook his head and muttered, “You’re crazy.”
“That’s been said before.”
She turned her back on him and crawled into the bounce house. She was betting that he wouldn’t be able to resist the challenge of joining her. Once inside, she looked at him through the orange mesh wall and laughed aloud. “Come on, Tanner. Live a little. Or are you scared?”
He snorted. “Are you seriously daring me? What are you, twelve?”
Oh, she didn’t feel like a twelve-year-old, Ivy admitted silently as she watched him. Those long legs of his looked amazing in his jeans and the breadth of his shoulders made her want to strip off his dark blue T-shirt and run her hands over what she guessed was a hard, sculpted chest.
Her mouth went dry.
Nope.
No twelve-year-olds here.
“Are you turning down the dare?” she countered. “What are you…chicken?”
His eyes went wide and he laughed shortly. “You’re like nobody I’ve ever met before.”
She swayed in place unsteadily and wasn’t sure if it was the inflated floor making her knees wobble—or if it was the gleam in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Not sure it was a compliment.”
“I am.” She walked backward, her socks sliding a little on the puffy rubber. It wasn’t easy keeping her balance in the bounce house at the best of times. Now, with Tanner’s influence, it was turning into quite the chore.
She watched him, holding her breath as she waited to see what he would decide. And then she blew out an expectant breath as he shook his head and toed off his black tennis shoes.
“This is crazy,” he muttered, bending low to climb into the structure.
“And you don’t do crazy?” she taunted, bouncing a little to unsteady him.
“Not generally,” he agreed, standing up and bracing his legs wide apart. He glanced around then looked at her. “Okay, now what?”
“Now we bounce.” Ivy jumped as high as she could, then landed and watched the resulting wave knock Tanner off balance.
He caught himself, staggered a little and narrowed his eyes on her. “Want to play rough, do you?”
“Whatever it takes,” she said and jumped again.
“Challenge accepted.” He took a flying leap, landed on his backside and the bounce knocked Ivy right off her feet.
In a hot second, Tanner was beside her. She looked up into his dark blue eyes and shivered at the hard glitter shining in those depths. He braced his hands on either side of her head and his knees on either side of her hips.
God, he was so close. His mouth just a breath from hers. His big, warm body so tantalizingly near.
Then he smiled and sent a flurry of butterfly wings erupting in the pit of her stomach.
“Lose your balance, Ivy?”
She was really afraid she had. Only it wasn’t the kind of balance he was talking about. No, this balance was the delicate art of stabilizing her emotions that she’d been practicing for four years. Ever since David had died. She’d been going through the motions, living her life, doing her chores, laughing, talking and never once actually living. Now, thanks to Tanner King, her body and heart were waking up and it was nearly painful.
So she ignored that rush of feelings, determined to blank them out and keep them at bay. She’d think about all of that later, when there was time to examine what she was feeling and decide how she felt about it. For now, she gave herself up to the moment.
“Not for long,” she answered and shoved him hard enough that he fell backward and rolled to one side.
She scrambled to her feet and ran across the wobbling floor to the opposite corner. Her hair slipped free of its ponytail and hung about her shoulders. She whipped it back and out of her way as she watched Tanner stealthily approach, that same desire-filled glint shining in his eyes.
Jumping up and down in place, she made sure his pace was inelegant and difficult. He fought to keep his balance and still kept coming, his gaze never leaving hers. This might not have been such a good idea, she told herself as her stomach did somersaults and her blood pressure skyrocketed. Her heartbeat raced and every square inch of her body blossomed with heat as if in anticipation.
“You know,” he said, his voice a low rumble of sound that seemed to scramble her nerve endings, “I’m beginning to like this place.”
“Good,” she said, forcing cheerful innocence into her voice. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”
“Oh, I intend to have even more fun in a second or two,” he promised and his eyes swept her up and down before finally locking onto hers.
“Um, Tanner, maybe we should…”
He jumped, landed about a foot in front of her and the resulting wave pelted her off her feet and tossed her at him. Instantly, Tanner’s arms came around her.
Ivy’s breath left her in a rush and she had to struggle to draw in more air. Her body was pinned along his and his strong arms held her in place so that even if she’d wanted to escape—which she really didn’t—she would have had a hard time of it.
Her br**sts were crushed against his chest and her ni**les went hard and sensitive. Instinctively, she rubbed against him and when she heard him hiss in a breath, she knew he was feeling exactly what she was. Her core went hot and damp, and everything in her…yearned.