What Janie Wants by Rhenna Morgan

still touring. I bought my mom tickets to a casino show a few years ago.”
    Zade pulled the wine from her hand and nudged her off his lap. “There a reason you’re still here?”
    She hesitated, gaze trained on the other dancing girls thoroughly enjoying themselves.
    He squeezed her hand. “You wanted to dance. You like the song. What’s stopping you?”
    She looked back at him. Her eyes brightened and her shoulders squared. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
    And off she went.
    Arlo was a fucking musical selection genius. Zade should have known she’d dance like she did everything else. Not slinky and aimed to gain men’s attention, but free and full of emotion. Her head was down and her eyes were closed. She held her arms above her head, snapping and clapping every now and then, and swung her hips side to side. Sometimes she hit the beat, sometimes she didn’t, but every move she made said she was one hundred percent in the moment.
    “ Man, you know how to pick ’em.” Devin’s envious voice broke through Zade’s thoughts.
    Pick her? He wasn’t so sure about that. More like fate had offered up a chance for both of them if they were willing to face the challenges. He was damn sure willing. More than willing. He wanted more. More of her smiles. More of her no-nonsense approach to getting things done. More of the sunshine that seemed to go everywhere she went.
    The song ended with a blast of horns and the girls all whooped and hollered for more.
    Zade finished off his beer and stood, something primal bubbling up he didn’t quite understand and didn’t care to analyze. He only had two nights and one full day left to convince Janie to take that challenge with him. He’d tackle the right words for why they should be together later. Right now it was time to show her.
     

     
    The song’s last chord blasted through the speakers, and the crowd around Janie hooted and hollered for more. She lifted her thick hair off the back of her neck and gave a thumbs up to Arlo as half the dancers descended with demands for more from his secret playlist.
    Big hands slid around her waist and splayed hip to hip. Zade. Even if she’d not grown accustomed to his citrusy cologne, she recognized him on contact. The firm press of his chest, the certainty of his touch, the electricity of his presence.
    He skimmed his lips down her neck. “Is it gonna freak you out if I start carrying my camera around the rest of the time you’re here?”
    Tilting her head to give him and his talented mouth better access, she rested her hands on top of his and closed her eyes. The breeze cooled her heated skin and a new, slow song with a rhythm and blues feel drifted from the speakers. “Actually, I thought it was strange you hadn’t already. Seems like every landscape is a postcard waiting to happen.”
    “ I don’t want it for landscapes, babe. I want it for you.”
    “ Why?”
    Those startling blue eyes of his pierced straight through to her toes. “Because when you let go, it’s beautiful. Something I want to remember. Be able to look at over and over again.”
    Because time was almost up. Her breath hitched and a sharp pain jabbed her square in the solar plexus. She turned in his arms and threaded her fingers in his thick hair, craving the extra contact. Something to ground her equilibrium. “And what about me? Shouldn’t I get some pictures to take home with me too?”
    Something sparked in his eyes, so fast she almost missed it. Almost as if she’d wounded him and challenged him all in one breath. His grin flashed bright and devious a second before he dipped and hefted her up in a fireman’s carry. “I’m gonna give you a whole lot more than pictures to take home.”
    “ Zade.” With her free hand, she checked to make sure her sundress covered her butt. “Put me down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
    He plodded down the path to his bungalow, his gait and breathing not the least bit affected by the fact he was carting a