Hitting the Mark

Danni looked up at the screen above their heads. She hadn’t even broken a hundred. Pathetic.

“Are you up for another round?” he asked.

“You know, Eric, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were egging me on just so you could beat me again.”

“No, it has everything to do with form.”

“Can’t tear your eyes off my backside, can you? Okay, I’ll give you another game…care to make it interesting?”

Now where had that come from? Had she actually suggested they bet on a bowling game? Old patterns. If he had the chance, her dad bet on which way the wind would blow. And he was always right.

“How about the winner chooses the next outing? And believe me, I won’t be choosing bowling,” he said, his voice lowered to a provocative timbre.

Next outing? Her stomach got all fluttery. Eric wanted to see her again. She wasn’t being a total dud on this date.

Eric stuck out his hand for a shake.

She stood and wrapped her fingers around his strong hand. “It’s a deal,” she told him. And she wouldn’t let the warmth of his hand, or the fact that it took him forever to let go distract her. No she wouldn’t. Because she was a professional.

Turning, Danni picked up her ball, blew into the finger holes and lined up her feet to the left of center. Her ball slammed into the pocket.

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

“I’m being hustled, aren’t I?” Eric asked on the fifth frame.

“Being? Honey, past tense. You were hustled.” Yeah, old patterns. She hadn’t even realized until the sixth frame of their first game that she was deliberately throwing it. It had just been so ingrained.

“We’ll see,” he vowed. A gleam entered Eric’s gorgeous brown eyes. He stepped up and rolled his ball down the lane. All the pins fell on his first ball. Brooklyn style. But a strike was a strike. And he hit two more.

So it seemed she wasn’t the only one holding back. It was kind of sweet. It had become fairly obvious in the first few frames of their first game that she was lousy, so Eric had adjusted his own play so he wouldn’t blow her out of the water.

Awe. It almost made her feel guilty for what she was about to do. Almost.

Eric was on his approach to get the spare in the ninth frame when the gate suddenly closed and the sweep pushed the remaining two pins away. Eric turned to face her, glaring.

She quickly took a step away from the ball return. She raised her eyebrows in innocence. “Oh, was that me? I guess I accidentally pressed the reset button.” She added the coy hair flip for emphasis. “Sorry.”

His eyes narrowed farther, but his lips were lifting into a wry grin. “Yeah. I can see how that could happen.”

Danni finished the tenth frame in a series of three strikes, handily beating Eric. And not a sign of nerves.

He didn’t look mad that she’d hustled him. Instead, he seemed almost intrigued. Oh, yes, the theory on nice boys. They liked naughty girls.

“I guess I owe you,” he said.

“You can pay your debt with…ice cream.”

He sighed heavily. “More time with you. I guess I have to honor my word.”

A SHORT WHILE LATER they drove to an ice cream parlor close to many of Reno’s casinos, making what she assumed was normal first-date chitchat.

A woman could tell if a man would be a good lover by the kind of ice cream he ordered. Danni actually didn’t have an opinion on this, but a theory was forming in her mind.

If Eric chose standard-issue fair—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry—not a lot of adventure between the sheets. Oh, it wouldn’t be bad, not as if he ordered something with pineapple topping. That’s just yuck. She could never sleep with a man who ordered that. But if a man mixed two flavors she knew a little something more would be happening in the sex department.

Eric ordered mega-chocolate peanut butter swirl with nuts and marshmallows. Her nipples got all tingly.

Danni ordered her usual chocolate chip cookie dough and they sat down in one of the booths.

An excited girl in a princess crown danced around her parents’ table with her ice cream cone.

Eric laughed. “How long before that scoop of ice cream hits the floor?”

“It won’t. She’s going to eat the whole thing.”

Eric shook his head. “I think you’re wrong on this one, ace.”

“Care to make it interesting?” she asked. Great. Here she was at it again. She tried to hide her frustration with a smile.

“You’re on.”

She and Eric watched as the child continued to dance and eat her cone until the very last bite.

Eric turned to Danni. “How did you know?” he asked.

“Because she’s a girl and it’s ice cream. Dancing in your sparkly tiara is fun and all, but there’s a seriousness about dessert that all girls understand.”

“Ahhh. So basically you’re saying I lost that bet because I’m a man.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It must be hard to be a step behind all the time. And hey, you didn’t tell me the terms of the bet.”

“You’re right.”

She gave him a playful swat on the arm. After they were finished, he helped her to her feet. It was getting late. Just how long could she stretch out this first date? She still wasn’t ready for it to end.

“Have you seen the arch yet?” she asked. Reno was famous for the arch proclaiming it to be the Biggest Little City In The World.

“Only by day.”

“Well then, you have to see it by night. There’s no other way to view it.”

Eric drove into one of the casino parking lots and then they walked toward the arch.

“I’ve heard that if you kiss under the arch you’ll have good luck at the tables,” she told him. Okay, actually she just made that up, but she was done playing around to see if Eric liked her or not. And if he missed that wide-open invitation, then he was either an idiot or not attracted to her. Which also made him an idiot.

“I don’t believe in luck,” he said, his tone flat.

She was about to put him in the idiot column, because if anything stuck that her father had taught her, it was that life was a series of luck. Some of it good, a lot of it bad. But most of it luck. Then she realized he was teasing. Despite the darkness, the lights on the strip showed the heat in his eyes. Eric wanted to kiss her. Badly.

“Do you believe in missed opportunities?” she asked, her voice becoming breathless. Because hello, opportunity was knocking.

His stare pinned her in place. “I believe in making my own opportunities.”

“Really,” she said, her gaze never leaving his. “Well, I wouldn’t let you kiss me anyway.”

His eyes said liar. “I wouldn’t want to kiss you. I don’t kiss on the first date. What kind of man do you think I am?” he asked as he leaned toward her.

And then suddenly she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. This was no awkward, first-date-where-do-you-put-your-nose kind of kiss. Eric knew where to put his nose. And his hands. And everything else.

His lips moved along hers slowly. Softly. She’d expected hard, but this, this lightness was amazing. It was driving her crazy.

Her breath caught. His fingers sank into her hair, drawing her closer. His lips firmed, the kiss deepened. His fingers drifted, fanning against her cheek, caressing her.

If she didn’t believe in a kiss bringing good luck, she surely would now. She planned to get lucky very soon. Her skin turned sensitive, her nipples tight and aching and every cell in her body chanted more, more, more.

All this, and he hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. And she sensed Eric had a lot of the good stuff. Mega-chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-with-nuts-and-marshmallows good stuff.

“You’re right, Danni. That arch is something else,” he said, his lips lightly tracing along her forehead.

She smiled, not so much from his words, but from the rugged sensuality in Eric’s voice that told her he wanted her.

And that’s when she got nervous.

Damn. Now he had the power again. She’d never felt so interested in anyone before. That was bad. Very bad.

She could throw caution to the wind. After all, for generations people had gambled in this city whether in the silver mining fields, or the casino. One thing she’d learned was to always go after the sure thing, and Eric Reynolds was not that. The odds were against they’d even make it past date two. They were totally different. They probably wanted totally different things.

It would never work out.

That’s when she reached for his chin, drew his lips down to hers and kissed him hard. In the end, she was a gambler.

Although she’d initiated the kiss, Eric quickly took over, backing her into one of the shadowed areas. His tongue swept into her mouth, and she met him kiss for kiss. He tasted faintly of chocolate and peanut butter, and yummy, yummy man. He pulled her to him, his strong arms holding her against the hardness of his chest. His fingers stroked down her arms, finding her hands and placing them around his neck.

He wanted her to touch him. Triumph made her fingers bold. He’d been checking out her backside as they bowled. She hadn’t been the only one. Her hands made a winding trail down his shoulders, under his arms and along his spine.

Then she grabbed his ass. There was that gambler side of her again.

With a groan, he broke off the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, his breathing harsh. “You know, I thought it was bad luck when I forgot my dryer sheets.”

“And then you had to deal with me.”

“That’s when my luck changed.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

“Guess that arch made me a believer. I haven’t made out in public since I was in high school,” he said, his voice traced with humor and disbelief.

“Glad to see I have a naughty influence on you.” Leading someone to a life of sex beat a life of crime any day.

“You wouldn’t believe.” He paused for a moment, as if deciding what to do next. Taking a deep, almost resigned sounding breath, he reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s see how our luck holds out in the casino.”

The smile left her face. “No, that’s okay. We don’t have to go in there.”

“I know for a fact you’re great with a bet. I’m a wizard with the comps in this place. Let’s go.”

If it weren’t for that mind-numbing kiss, she’d be able to come up with a much better excuse much quicker. But she couldn’t step one foot onto that casino floor. It would be all over then. He’d know about her past, and she wasn’t ready for that. “No, you shouldn’t waste your comps on me.”

“I’m teasing. This is where I work.”

She stopped. “You work here? At the casino?”

A confused line appeared between his brows as he nodded. “I just started. Is that a problem?”

“I guess I thought it was computers or something.”

“I’m head of security.”

And that’s when Danni hightailed it right out of there.

3

“SO I LEFT HIM on the street. He was there calling my name. Can you believe it?”

If Cassie thought it strange to have Danni knocking on her door after midnight, she didn’t show it. Now the two of them sat on the couch waiting for the coffee to percolate. Cassie didn’t believe in instant. Or the microwave.

“He almost caught up with me, too, until that cab stopped. Eric even tried to open the door. I never realized how hard it is to flag down a taxi. It was the third one I found.”

“Has it occurred to you that being concerned about the person is the normal reaction when that someone you’ve just lip-locked with flees into the night?”

Danni gave a shudder. Security. The word had actually come out of his mouth. “You know, I should have figured it out. He dropped so many clues. He even checked my door to make sure it was locked. How creepy is that?”

Cassie pushed her reading glasses up higher on her nose. “Maybe he wanted to make sure you wouldn’t get robbed. Some women might call it thoughtful. Gallant.”

“You should have heard him say security. Like he was proud of it.”

Cassie shook her head. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s proud of it. Most people don’t have a deep-seated distrust of law enforcement the way you do.”

“Boy, I sure know how to pick ’em. Head of security, no less.”

“Wow, you didn’t mention that part. He must be pretty good to be head of security at a major casino.”

Eric Reynolds was pretty good at kissing, too. And at touching.

The coffee on the stove began to bubble, so Cassie hopped off the couch. After pulling down two mugs out of the cabinet, she poured Danni and herself a cup each. Cassie was the only person, other than law enforcement and her father, who knew Danni’s whole story.

For some reason her best friend seemed to be defending Eric. “He should have admitted he worked in security right from the beginning.”

“Danni, would you listen to yourself? You’re not even rational. I guarantee you that Eric probably never put ‘his job’ and ‘admitting’ in the same category. They don’t go together.”

Danni just shrugged.

“You like this guy. A lot. What’s more, it seems he likes you a lot, too. The only thing that’s holding you up is your past. Have you thought that maybe you’re using the past as some sort of artificial barrier between you, so you can maintain your feeling of security?”

Danni made the “T” sign with her hands. “Whoa, time out, sister. I hate it when you get all counsely on me. And can we stop saying the word security?”

“Then try you’re a woman, he’s a man. You both want to hook up. Forget everything else and hook up.”

“It’s not that easy. Nothing can happen between us.” And yeah, it blew because she liked him, he turned her on like no other. That kiss…

“Something can happen between you. You’ve paid your debt to society. You’re not breaking the law. In fact, you’re a tax-paying citizen working to make a contribution to the world.”

She did pay her taxes now. Weird but true.

Could Cassie be right? Hope surfaced, and Danni had a hard time batting it away. She wouldn’t admit to being irrational, but she was quick to make assumptions.

“You told him at the coffee shop that you wouldn’t stand for any game playing. I think you should stick to your own rule. Call him tomorrow and tell him the truth.”

“I hate the truth,” Danni said in a grumble.

“Tomorrow you can come over after you talk to him and we can chat about it all night.”

“Who says I’m calling him?”

Cassie sighed. “Let me put this in terms you understand. You’re really in a win-win situation. You tell him about your past, he accepts it and you go on to have great sex. You win.”

“What’s the other win?”

“If he can’t get past what happened with your dad, then he’s a jerk and you’re better off without him. You win.”

Danni sat back against the cushion of the couch. “So, is this what it’s like to have grown-up conversations with typical parents?”

“What do you mean?”

“The whole ‘You’re better off without him. There’s other fish in the sea’—all those platitudes come out of people who grew up with a semblance of normalcy. I always wondered who believed that kind of thing.”

Cassie laughed, tucking her blond hair behind her ears. “My parents even told me with a straight face.”

“Yeah? So did you. Okay, I’ll do it. But tomorrow night be prepared for us to trash-talk him because he will care. How can someone who enforces law not think about someone who broke it? Repeatedly.”

“Always the cynic. How can someone who enforces the law not appreciate someone trying to go straight?”

Danni had no answer for that one.

“See? I’m right and you know it. Come on, you can crash here for the night. I’ll drop you off at your apartment in the morning.”

Later than evening, Danni fluffed up the pillow on the couch for the twelfth time. Cassie had gone to bed long ago. She’d called her a cynic. What else was new? Although it wasn’t so much that she was a cynic, but that she lived in the real world.

Men liked relationships with simple, uncomplicated, low-maintenance women.

And Danni was none of those things.

She closed her eyes and stretched, remembering how good it felt to be with him. For a few hours tonight, she had exactly that with Eric. Uncomplicated, low-maintenance, everything was easy.

What P.T. Barnum had said all those years ago was definitely true. There was a sucker born every minute. And right now she was it.

She hadn’t thought she could get suckered anymore. That’s why it bothered her so much now. Because she wanted something. She wanted something, someone, for the first time.

And cynics knew that as soon as you wanted something, that’s the precise moment when lady luck vanished, and you were a goner.

ERIC HIKED UP THE STAIRS two at a time to Danni’s apartment, and knocked. No answer. As he’d expected. He’d already done this once tonight.

A woman running down the street away from him was not the usual reaction to his kisses. What the hell had happened?

He’d really thought they’d hit it off. The conversation always flowed. They’d laughed, and that kiss under the arch…it sizzled.

Eric moved away from her apartment door. He saw no light coming from any of the windows or around the doorframe. Her place looked exactly the way they’d left it earlier tonight. Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed her number again.

“I don’t know what happened to you tonight, Danni, but I wanted to make sure you got home safely. I’m sorry if I said anything that upset you. Bye.”

That would be his last call to her. He could only try so many times. He’d have a strange story to tell his coworkers when they asked how the date went. He’d have to improvise.

CASSIE WAS THE KIND of person who obviously thought mornings were a time of renewal and happiness that ought to be greeted with a spring in her step and a song on her lips. She also apparently thought mornings began at six, when Danni really knew they should begin closer to ten.

If she looked hard enough she might see small birds chirping gleefully around Cassie’s head, reminiscent of Snow White.

Danni pulled the pillow closer. For more than three years while in detention, Danni woke up according to a schedule, to a gong and an abrupt turning on of the lights. The first thing she did after reaching twenty was sleep in.

Cassie, along with her humming, apparently had other ideas.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” Cassie said as she plopped herself down beside Danni on the couch.

“Please, no,” Danni grumbled.

“Get up, I made you coffee. You have a busy day. You have a phone call to make.”

And that’s how Danni found herself four hours later, waiting for Eric. He’d sounded both irritated and relieved when he heard her voice on the phone. When she offered to give him an explanation in person, he reluctantly agreed to meet her.

Reno’s Riverwalk stretched across the downtown area, and wasn’t too far from where Eric worked. She could offer to buy him a hot dog from one of the sidewalk vendors. Wasn’t there a saying about softening up a man through his stomach?

The Riverwalk area was one of her favorite places in Reno. Something about the trees lining the sidewalk and the sound of the water below made her feel calm. After her years in juvie, she appreciated every chance she had to be in wide-open spaces.

Why had she decided to show up early? Every time a shadow crossed her face, she glanced up to see if it were Eric. Every time it wasn’t him, she slumped farther into the chair.

This was a dumb idea. She should have filed this experience under “lost opportunities” and forgotten all about him. Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was ten on the dot. She’d give him five more minutes. No more. No less. She had to study.

A few minutes after ten, Eric walked up to her, appearing tired around the eyes, but oh, so good. The flutters in her stomach returned, and then she remembered that feeling was why she’d sucked up her pride and called him.

Because this was one of the greatest sensations in the world. This mix of anticipation and excitement, with a touch of dread all rolled into one.

Eric appeared very corporate today. Black slacks that hugged his thighs, cotton shirt that only hinted at the muscles of his chest, and a tie. She’d never dated a man with a tie before. And if she didn’t angle her play correctly, she might not ever date this man with a tie again.

She also noticed the badge he wore on a black lanyard around his neck. He hadn’t been wearing it the first time they’d met.

“Hi,” she started. “Would you like to take a walk?” she asked, striving for cheerful.

He nodded, but looked none too permanent.

Danni gave a nervous laugh. She could manage the smooth approach. After all, she’d worked on it with her dad since she was a kid. But one glance at the rigid set of Eric’s features and she figured he wouldn’t be buying smooth. Or any other hustle for that matter.

She’d have to fall back on the truth. Always a last resort.

She led him along the river’s path. The large blooming pots of flowers always made her feel welcome in the past. Maybe bringing Eric here had been a mistake. If things didn’t work out, her memories of this place would be infected. “You’re probably wondering why I ran off like that,” she said, sliding her hands along the metal chain lining the walk.

Eric raised a brow. “Not the reaction I’d expect from a woman I’ve just kissed.”

She dropped the chain and reached for his hand. “Oh, Eric, it’s not you. You’re a great kisser. Totally off the scale. It’s me. I panicked when you suggested we go into the casino.”

She’d hoped he’d have joined more in the conversation right about then. That would have made this whole groveling scenario a lot easier. Instead, he stood there…expectant and sexy. Would now be a good time for the coy hair flip?

No. Give it to him straight. She cleared her throat. “Have you heard of a thief named Daniel Flynn?”

Eric shook his head.

“Well, he’s been out of the game for a while, so he probably hasn’t crossed your radar. He’s my father, and he scammed quite a few casinos.”

Understanding lit in his brown eyes.

“And I did it with him,” she told him slowly.

At that, Eric sat on a nearby bench. His face was still neutral, but his shoulders appeared less tense.

“I’ve gone straight,” she rushed out. “But I wouldn’t be welcome in your casino. In fact, I wouldn’t be welcome in any casino in any city.”

“You out on parole?”

He asked the question in the kind of tone a man would get when his date told him she was in the business of cheating people. Kind of a surreal incredulousness.

Danni stared out across the water. “My dad cut a deal. He did extra time, so I was classified as a youthful offender and stayed in juvie until I was twenty.”

“Why live in Reno? In Nevada? Seems like temptation would always be in your way.”

“That’s actually one of the reasons I stayed here. I wanted to prove to myself I could go straight. Also, the judge in my case took a special interest in me. She’s the one who suggested I become a court reporter. I found the proceedings of the court so interesting. If I make the grades, and stay out of trouble, she’ll help me find a job.”

The tenseness returned to his shoulders. He sat up straighter, and she spotted his pulse beating in his neck. “Have you kept out of trouble?” he asked.

She met his gaze for the first time. She didn’t see understanding in his eyes, but maybe the expression of someone wanting to believe her. There was hope again. “Absolutely,” she told him quickly. “Listen, I’ve never spoken to anyone about this before. It’s my bad luck you turned out to be in casino security. I’ll understand if you can’t trust me.”

Moments passed. Long, agonizingly silent moments. Danni hadn’t known Eric long, but she knew he was envisioning every possible scenario in his mind. She should make it easy on him. They barely knew each other. He didn’t owe her anything.