“Congrats, girl, you did it again!” It’s such an odd feeling to have your competitors cheering on your win. But it feels good to be celebrated by people who care.
“What about me, Mal?” Kasey looks at her with hearts in his eyes, and I look between the two of them.
“Yeah, yeah, James. Good job. Glad you didn’t break that pretty face of yours,” Mallory calls over her shoulder, pulling me towards the parking lot with her. But her cheeks turn a cute shade of pink the moment she turns away.
“OH MY GOD!!” I turn to her and hiss. She gives me a pointed look and I snap my mouth shut. I then mouth the wordshim?The wild look she gives me is all I need to know to confirm my suspicions that Kasey is the mystery cowboy from last night.
“We’re celebrating tonight.” She turns to me with a hopeful look in her eye. “Please say you’ll come with!” Bouncing on her toes, she waits for my answer. Any other day I’d pass and spend the night in my trailer watchingFriends. But I need thedistraction that Dean isn’t here, and it’s been years since I’ve gone dancing.
“I’m in.” Her high pitched squeal of excitement is enough to cause bodily harm. “You’re driving, James,” she calls over her shoulder. I can't help but burst out laughing, walking arm in arm towards Kasey’s truck. He rounds the hood, and opens the door for Mallory. I give him a wiggle of my eyebrows and he responds by slapping her ass when she hops in the passenger seat.
dean
“Dean,you can’t leave before accepting your check,” Seb groans over the speaker in my truck. It took more effort than usual to keep my mind clear while riding the beast so lovingly named “Killer” tonight. But the moment the buzzer sounded, I jumped off and sprinted to my truck, peeling out and starting the almost two hour drive from Scottsdale to Tucson. Seb called right on cue, just about the time that they’d be looking for me to get on stage and collect my first place check.
“Can’t they just deposit it directly to my account?”
“Well, I mean. Yeah, they can.”
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
I’m already over this conversation. I’m about forty minutes away from seeing my girl. Her location says she’s at some bar namedBuckWild,and the closer I get to her little blue dot, the more conflicted I feel. On one hand, I’m fucking proud of her for winning tonight. The morning after I borrowed her phone, I set an alert on my phone so that anytime her name was posted online, I’d get a notification. One was waiting for me the second I pulled my phone out after getting into my truck. The other partof me is terrified that I’ll walk into that bar and see some drunk asshole trying to steal what's mine. My fingers drum impatiently on the steering wheel while I let Seb lecture me on proper etiquette before I disconnect and turn my music up loud, trying and failing to distract me from the wild woman up ahead.
By the time I pull into a spot big enough for my truck and trailer just down the street, the parking lot is crowded with trucks and a line of people slowly wind their way inside. The neon sign illuminates the street like a fucking arrow pointing to my woman who is somewhere inside. Stepping out of my truck, I stretch my legs, feeling them pop and crack. Grabbing a water bottle, I swallow down a couple pain pills before reaching into my bag in the back seat. I pull off my chaps that I should have taken off after my ride, but was in too much of a hurry to bother with. Stripping out of my button up, I pull on a fresh, long sleeve, black, knit shirt, rolling the sleeves up to my elbows in an attempt to stay somewhat cool in the stifling heat.
Ignoring a few cat calls from drunk women throughout the bar, I push my way through the crowd, scanning each face as I pass by. It doesn’t take long before I recognize Kasey standing at the bar, a few women trying to catch his eye. But his focus is on the wood dance floor in the middle of the room. A line dance plays over the speakers and stomping boots accompanied by boisterous laughter fills the crowded space. I follow his gaze and my mouth goes dry. My heart speeds up and slows down at the same time. Just being in the same room as her makes me anxious but relaxed as well. Hannah is arm in arm with one of the other barrel racers, head tilted back, howling with laughter, her hair is swinging around her.
My chest fills with pride. “Good girl,” I mutter to myself. She listened when I told her not to tie it back. Every time she spins, those wild, brown curls fly around her. I’m fixated, unable to move as bodies push around me. The anxiety that filled me fromthe second I left her trailer this morning dissipates. When the song ends, the girls make their way over to Kasey. I lean against the wall and watch as Kasey tucks them under his arms, kissing the top of the other girl's head before whispering in Hannah’s ear. She rolls her eyes and swats his arm. If it wasn’t so fucking obvious that he’s sleeping with her friend, I’d haul ass over there and stab his eyes out for even looking at her.
“Hiya, handsome.” I cringe at the smell of cheap perfume wafting off the woman whose breasts are pressed against my arm. “Wanna dance?” The snapping of her gum is enough to tear my gaze off Hannah for a brief moment, long enough for me to level her with a lethal glare. Thankfully, she isn’t too drunk to take the hint and storms off, flipping me the middle finger as she goes. The song changes and I look back just in time to see Hannah and the other girl grab each other and jump up and down before winding through the crowd back to the dance floor. Kasey watches them go before grabbing the beers they were drinking and making his way to an open table. Pushing off the wall, I head over to him, sliding into the empty seat at the table. It takes him a few moments before he tears his eyes away from the girls.
“Sorry man, seat’s taken.” He does a double take when he sees me, his eyes rounding out to impossible proportions. “Dean? What the hell are you doing here?” In true Kasey fashion, he stands up and rounds the table, pulling me into the world's most awkward hug.
“Fuck off, James,” I reply, looking back out at Hannah, her hips shaking side to side to a Brooks and Dunn song.
“Mmhmm,” he replies, and when I look his way, Kasey wags his eyebrows, settling against the back of the bench and throws an arm over the seat. He gives me a nod and a look that tells me that I’m not as subtle as I think I am. Not that there is anything subtle about the way I want Hannah Harlow.
A slow song comes on next, and the girls turn to each other and playfully twirl around one another. Two men with brand new cowboy boots that haven’t seen an ounce of real dirt make their way towards them.
“Oh, fuck that,” Kasey says, voicing my exact thoughts. We move in an instant, jumping over the wood fence that lines the dance floor. We reach the girls just before the Cowboy Kens do, and give them a look that saysI dare you to try. They tuck tail and run, Kasey and I sharing a look of triumph. He turns and wraps his arms around Hannah’s friend, stealing a kiss before dipping her and slowly spinning away. Hannah watches them go, turning with a sad look across her face. She runs right into my chest, my hands darting out and pulling her into me.
“Oh, sorry!” she mumbles before trying to pull away from me. Winding one arm around her waist, I let my other hand trail up her arm, gripping her chin and tipping her face up to me. The look that passes over her face makes my heart stutter. Goddamn, she’s beautiful. Even in the blue lights that flash over us every few seconds, she’s breathtaking. Her long legs disappear into her knee high, baby blue Ariat boots. The short denim skirt she has on has my knees begging to hit the ground before her. A little horseshoe necklace sparkles around her neck. Leaning in, I rest my lips against hers, feeling her body sag into mine.
“Hi, darlin’,” I whisper before sliding my hands over the dip of her shoulders and up the back of her neck, my fingers tangling in her hair and angling her face up to look at mine. The tension between us is palpable, so heavy I feel it settle around us. The moment her tongue darts out and runs over her bottom lip, I feel myself teeter on the edge of what little control I have left. Her big brown eyes glow in the dance floor lights, and I swear they lock on my lips. My entire body buzzes, and for a split second, the nerves kick in like I’ve never kissed someone before. Hannah rises up on her tiptoes, bringing her lips within reach of mine.
Her eyes flick to mine. “You gonna kiss me, cowboy?” If I were a weaker man, her back and forth would anger me, but I know that she needs her time to catch up to how I’m feeling. I’ll be patient as long as it takes. Her lips on mine is one step closer to her coming to her senses and being mine forever.
Giving her a tip of my head, I let the words that leave my lips wash over her, thick and dark. “Only if you beg.” Her pupils flare at the same time I lean in.
I watch as she wets her lips and suddenly swallows, her throat bobbing, before she loops her hands around the back of my neck and tugs me towards her. “Please.” It’s a plea, an invocation for me to ruin what’s left of her resistance.
My grip in her hair tightens, dragging her lips to mine. I feel the sigh leave her body at the same time I let out a growl of approval. She tastes so fucking sweet, I could live off of her lips for the rest of my days. I let my tongue run over her lips, seeking entrance. And the moment she parts her lips, I dive in. Our tongues swirl together, my hands drifting to rest on her ass. Lacing her fingers behind my neck, she plays with my hair while pulling me deeper into her. This kiss is long and passionate, and I want nothing more than to pull her into the hallway, pull this skirt up, and fuck her raw. My cock begs for me to be inside her. I’m considering it when Kasey twirls the friend by and gives us a loud whistle. Hannah pulls away with a lustful look in her eyes and a smile on her face. The room comes back into focus, the music that had faded away pulses through us as we look at each other. The look on her face tells me she felt it, too. The undeniable pull between us that I have felt since day one.
I take a step back, bend slightly at the waist and give her a nod, yelling over the music. “Can I have this dance?” I don’t play the boyfriend role, and I sure as hell don’t dance with anyone, but with Hannah, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that look on her face every single day.
Her laughter is pure, a drug straight into my veins. If I wasn’t already addicted to this woman, I am now. She nods with excitement. I pull her close as the song changes into an upbeat song that has her tipping her head back and squealing, “I love this song!” The pair of us take off in a quick two step. When she looks up at me in shock, I can’t help but laugh an honest and true laugh. One that rumbles through my chest. It feels foreign coming from me, but the look on her face makes me want to find more reasons to laugh, more reasons to keep her in my arms.
“You’re just full of surprises aren’t you, cowboy?” Hannah beams up at me. After we spin around the floor a few times, the upbeat song fades into another slow song, the opening chords ofUnder My Skinby Nate Smith wash out the energy and replace it with an intimate tension that settles comfortably around us. I grip her hand in mine and tighten my hold around her waist, my thumbs drawing slow circles over her exposed skin. For a while she looks around us, moving her feet with mine as we continue our slow circles. I stare down at her, memorizing the way her skin looks in the soft lights of the dance floor. Her eyelashes flutter for a beat before she peeks up at me from beneath them. When she catches me staring, her cheeks tint pink and she catches her breath. “Thank you.” She whispers it so softly I had to tilt my head down to catch it.
