CHAPTER 1
LONDON
This was a bad idea.
I look out the front window of the car into the darkness. The only light is coming from the headlights, and I’ve never been to this part of Valor Springs. I look at the boy sitting next to me.
I’ve seen him around the rodeo circuit, and he’s been asking me out for months.
He looks at me with a smirk on his face, and there’s no doubt he thinks he’s about to get lucky. I’m a damn fool. And it’s all Dillon Carson’s fault.
Ever since Dillon was hired to be my bodyguard, I’ve been doing crazy things, acting reckless and getting myself into one pickle after another.
“Mitch, where are we going?”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Makeout point… I mean, Lookout Point.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Mitch, I said we could talk. You could take me to get a coffee. I didn’t say I wanted to go to Lookout Point with you.”
I wait for him to say he’ll turn around or apologize, but he does none of those things. “Look, we’re almost there.”
I scoot closer to the door, away from him. Turning in my seat, I look out the rear window of the truck, hoping to see lights following us, but there’s nothing. Just blackness.
I put my finger at my neck, playing with the gold charm. Dillon gave it to me as a gift, but I’m not a fool. I know it’s his way of tracking my every move. This is our little game. Well, I know it’s a game. He thinks I’m just being an irresponsible kid, even if I’m twenty-three years old.
I don’t know why I do it, but I do know that he never, ever touches me unless he has to chase me. Then, and only then, does he seem to let his guard down and let me see what he tries to hide behind his eyes. He wants me. He may not want me to know it, but he does.
I don’t even have to close my eyes to picture Dillon Carson in my head. He’s tall, strong, handsome, and he always has a stoic expression on his face. Except when he’s tracking me.
I glare over at Mitch. “I’m telling you right now, Mitch, stop the car.”
He hits the brakes and slams the gear into park. “Fine, I stopped the car.”
I look around, and besides a few stars in the sky, there’s nothing.
“Take me back to town.”
He laughs. “Now why would I do that? We just got here.”
He starts to slide toward me, and I put both hands up, trying to stall. “Stop. Let’s talk.”
He blurts out a laugh like us talking is ridiculous. “You wanna talk, talk. I have other things in mind.”
He keeps coming closer, and I reach for the door. I’m almost out when I’m yanked back inside and pressed up against Mitch’s body. The only other man that has held me tight like this is Dillon Carson, and this feels nothing like that.
I take a deep breath, trying not to panic. “Mitch, wait, please. I can’t… I don’t want to…”
He kisses my neck, and for just a second, I forget to breathe. And then I snap out of it. I jab him in the throat, just like Dillon taught me, and then I’m scrambling to get out of the truck. He follows behind me, hissing in breaths. I try to run around the truck, but he grabs my hair and pulls me backward. I turn, and without thinking about it, I lift my knee and hit him between the legs.
He doubles over, screaming, but I don’t wait another second. I take off running but only get a few steps when lights glare in front of me. Oh, thank God.
I can barely make it out, but as it comes closer, I see that it’s the ranch truck. I know it’s Dillon.
He gets out, and his mouth drops. He looks at the ripped shoulder of my shirt and my wide, scared eyes, and his face twists in anger.
I’m shaking my head, my arms wrapped around me. “I’m sorry… I’m so?—”
He doesn’t let me finish. He lifts me up into his arms and walks around to the side of the truck. He opens it and puts me in. I can feel the anger coming off him in waves, but he’s so gentle with me it makes me want to cry.
