Dirty Country Love: A Step-Brother Romance Novella by Candy Quinn

worries. “Not often a fella has
both a date with such a beautiful gal, but her tender care to boot.”
    Her thumb grazed against his hand before pulling away. She didn’t
know how to date someone she’d grown up with side by side. It
was more than a little scary, but at the same time, it felt almost
right. Especially with how he’d changed, at least ‘round
her.
    “We should head over soon.”
    “Sure thing,” he said at last, and finished a couple
more buttons on his shirt before extending his arm to her in
offering. “If the lady will be so kind as to accompany me,”
he offered up that thick, bulging bicep to take, looking pleased as
punch to be takin’ her to the dance.
    She let her worries and fears slide away. For one night, she
simply wanted to enjoy herself and not overthink everythin’.
She deserved that much, just a nice night out.
    Her first real date, no less.
    She’d brushed her golden hair, curled the ends so that they
teased the open halter top. Every so often she glanced down and
couldn’t believe it was her in that sexy, feminine dress. Her
heels were hard to get used to, but at the same time it put her at a
better height next to him, and that made her stand even taller.
    Though when she was offered the helmet, she hesitated for a
second, already mournin’ the loss of her finely styled hair.
    Safety first , she told herself before buckling the helmet on
her head, slidin’ onto the back of his bike and wrappin’
her arms around him. It was becoming more familiar, more comfortable,
every time she did it, and when his hand caressed hers briefly before
he revved the engine, her entire world was blissful.
    It was a lovely night, and the ride was short before they got to
the dance. The farm was done up, with a big patch of the land
converted into a party ground, with the barn and a great central tent
all set aside for the dance. The band played in the barn itself, and
all the guests went to dance beneath the canopy in front of it.
    Damien pulled the bike to a halt and climbed off, helping her to
her feet with a smile.
    “Hope that you remember how to dance, Britney,” he
said with a teasing smile, refusing to let go of her hand, rubbing
his rough thumb over her smooth knuckles.
    She couldn’t help but gaze about, wonder striking her mute
for a few moments as she drank it all in. There was such life, such
excitement in the air as lights twinkled and the beat of the music
thrummed through them.
    It was such a change from the usual calm and quiet of the farm,
and she was gettin’ more and more excited as her heart beat
excitedly.
    “This is gorgeous!”
    “Yeah, they really went all out,” he said, offering
her his arm again, letting her hand snake around his bicep as she led
her on down the trail with the other new arrivals towards the dance.
Lights were strung up all around. “I’m surprised they got
such a fancy lookin’ thing set up out here in farm country.
Must’ve cost a pretty penny,” he said, soaking it all in…
but mostly her, his eyes ever quick to return to the woman at his
side.
    She couldn’t help but keep lookin’ up at him neither.
Lit as he was by the soft, twinkling lights, he looked even more
ruggedly handsome, but with a sweet edge to it. Made him look a
little less threatening and a lot more romantic.
    Not that she should be thinkin’ about him like that. But she
didn’t know how to turn her feelings off. They were just there,
loud and impossible to forget.
    “Should we... I mean, I’ve never been to somethin’
like this, so I don’t know what to do.”
    He looked aside at her, raising a brow and grinning a little bit.
    “Unless you were askin’ if we should blow all these
other folks away with our dancin’, I got no idea,” he
said, bee-lining right for the grassy dance-’floor’,
holding her hand.
    He took her there, turning and guiding her to the spot as he
smiled down at her.
    “If’n you don’t know how to dance, now’s
the time to warn me…