Two medics, a man and a woman, arrive. Ryder leans back just the tiniest bit to give them room, but he stays close enough that I can smell the aftershave on his skin. Ironic, considering the guy definitely doesn’t shave. But he always smells delicious, a combo of citrus and pine that’s somehow sexy and soothing at the same time.
“My elbow.” I bite back a howl when I try to lift my arm. “And my ribs. Mostly my pride, though. I was fast, right?”
The female medic is opening a package. “We’re going to perform a quick exam, so we can assess your injuries.”
Ryder’s eyes crinkle at the edges when he smiles. “Like a bat out of hell.”
Oh my God, oh my God, he’s being playful. Cute, even.
“More my speed. Pun intended.” I bite my lip when the medic touches my elbow.
“You’re funny,” Ryder says.
“You’re here.”
He blinks. “Well, yeah, I’m here. We all are.” He turns his head, and I see my brothers, plus Cash and Ava, standing nearby with tense expressions. “I couldn’t wait to watch you fall on your ass in front of five thousand people.”
I laugh, wincing when my ribcage lights up with pain. The man is making me hurt in every sense of the word tonight.
“That ain’t very gentlemanly of you.” Xander is standing over us, hands on his hips. There’s not a speck of dirt on his pristine chaps, and his expression…It’s blank.
Then again, his expression is always kind of blank. He’s not the most, ahem,charismaticguy. It’s why Xander’s not great boyfriend material.
He is, however, a sexy-ass bull riding star. He’s also really good in bed. Of course I’d love to meet “the one” and fall in love. But a girl has needs, and I figure there’s no harm in enjoying some hot sex while I wait for Prince Charming to show up.
Ryder’s brows snap together as he looks up at Xander. “Who are you?”
“A…friend.”
Ryder’s face is still inches from mine, like he’s worried I’ll pass out again and wants to be close enough to administer CPR a second time.
Not gonna lie, I wouldn’t hate it if that happened. Asphyxiation, even death, seems worth the risk if it means getting to kinda-sorta kiss Ryder again.
I’d die happy at the very least.
But seriously, I hope I don’t die. It hurts so much to breathe right now. I hear the faint sound of a siren that gets louder and louder with each passing heartbeat.
An ambulance.
Shit, this really is serious.As if being knocked unconscious from the force of a fall didn’t hammer that point home already.
Xander looms over us, but Ryder is down in the dirt with me. Not a care in the world for his clothes, and I know he’s wearing hisniceclothes. All the cowboys wear their Sunday best when they come to the rodeo. It’s one of the few places they can meet new people.
By people, I mean girls.
The medic asks me if I can move my arm. I shout when I make the attempt, pain radiating up my forearm and into my fingers. They listen to my lungs with a stethoscope, and I watch the medics exchange a meaningful glance.
An icy wash of panic moves through me.Issomething really wrong? What if I need surgery? Surgery requires needles, and I don’t like those.
A searing burn presses on the backs of my eyes.
Aw, shit, I’m gonna cry, aren’t I? Because I haven’t embarrassed myself enough tonight.
“I’m terrified of needles, y’all,” I manage. “Last time I got a flu shot, I legit passed out. Makes me a wimp, I know?—”
“Not a wimp.” One of the medics, the man, smiles at me as a stretcher appears. “It’s much more common than you think.”
Despite the medics’ attempts to carefully load me onto the stretcher, I still whimper at the punch of pain I feel when my elbow meets with the hard plastic.
