He did it. He rode the bull that breaks people, and he walked away grinning.
My phone buzzes.
Acey: Told you. I always win when you're watching. Your man is about to become World Champion again.
I type back through blurred vision. I’m so fucking proud of him that my chest physically hurts.
Me: I'm going to kill you. And then kiss you. In that order.
Acey: Kiss me first, then I’ll die a happy man. I’m waiting. Come catch me, Goldie.
He always is.
My phone goes again, and I look down and see Hudson's name.
Hudson: You left your ring on the bedside table, Harper.
“You coming?” Colten shouts over the crowd.
I shove my phone in my purse. I’ll deal with that later. I need to see my man.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Ace
Song- Dangerous, Sleep Token
"Fucking fuck, Ace. That was close." Jett's voice is somewhere between awe and fury. "How the hell did you get the rope back?"
I'm bent over, drowning myself in water, pouring half of it over my head and the rest down my throat. My hands are still shaking. My ribs feel like they've been rearranged. There's dirt in places that dirt has no business being.
"Incredible ride, man." Liam, one of the other riders, nods as he passes. Genuine respect. The kind you only get when everyone in the room knows you just danced with something that should've killed you.
"Thanks." I nod. Can barely catch my breath.
That was probably the closest I've ever come to dying in that arena. That split second. I thought I'd lost it. And the only thing that went through my head wasn't the crowd, wasn't the score, wasn't the title.
It waswhat a fucking idiot I am, dying the week I got my girl back.
"Ace Sterling!"
Harper's voice cuts through the noise like a bullet, and I straighten up just in time to see her pushing through the back gate, shoving past a stock hand twice her size without apology.
A smirk twitches on my lips.
"Hey, gorgeous girl."
Tears are still streaming down her cheeks. Her mascara's smudged. My hat, the cream Stetson she stole, is gone, probably lost somewhere in the stands when she was screaming her throat raw. She looks wrecked. She looks beautiful.
I close the distance between us, and I don't hesitate. I kiss her like my life depends on it. Because a few minutes ago, I was sitting on that fence with dirt in my lungs and Gravedigger's breath still hot on my back.
She kisses me back just as hard. Her hands cup my face, and she pulls back, staring into my eyes with that look. The one that's equal parts relief and rage, the one that says I love you and I'm going to murder you for putting me through that.
"Congratulations, Acey," she whispers.
I kiss her cheek. Press my lips close to her ear.
"That is the one and only time you can ever congratulate me for lasting eight seconds," I murmur.
