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The tension leaves me almost immediately, and I smile down at him. “You seemed pretty fond of my ass just a few minutes ago.”

He laughs beneath me and flips me onto my back in one swift motion, his hand catching my ass as he settles between my legs. “To be fair, I’ve been fond of this a lot longer than tonight.”

His grin is back now, lazy and familiar, and something low in my stomach responds even though there cannot possibly be anything left in my body capable of reacting to this man tonight.

Apparently there is, because when he drops his mouth to my neck, kissing just beneath my ear, I let out a soft moan. “You’re awfully cocky for someone whose performance was average at best.”

His eyebrows lift. “Average, huh? Is that a dare, Sunshine?”

I laugh, but Chace catches the sound with his mouth before I can come up with something smart enough to save myself. His hand slides over my hip and pulls me tighter beneath him as he kisses me, that smug grin still there against my lips. When his mouth moves down my jaw and finds my neck again, a fresh wave of heat blooms between my thighs even though my entire body should be completely spent.

Maybe getting Chace Walker out of my system is going to take a little longer than I thought.

Chapter twenty-four

Chace

Icarefully pull the condom off and tuck myself back into my jeans before looking for somewhere to toss it, quickly spotting a trash can in the corner beside the chair Addie insisted we prop under the doorknob to keep anyone out. I hadn’t planned on being in here long enough to get caught, but I humored her.

Once I’ve buckled my belt, Addie is already heading for the door, tucking her shirt back in and making a hopeless attempt at fixing her hair. There’s no fixing the flushed, freshly fucked look all over her, though, and I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. Yeah, I did that.

The PA system crackles to life outside the tack room door. “Number forty-eight, move to the holding area.”

“Shit. Shit, shit.” Addie mutters, already reaching for the door.

I take one look down at her bare feet and can’t help laughing. “Boots, Sunshine.”

“This is your fault. Shut up, Walker.” She snatches her boots off the floor and nearly loses her balance trying to shove one on too fast, which only makes me laugh harder.

I crouch in front of her and hold the boot steady while she braces one hand on my shoulder and slides her foot into it. Then I grab the other and do the same, still grinning while she glares down at me like she’s deciding whether being late is worth murdering me over.

I slide my hands up her thighs as I stand, grabbing her waist and pulling her into me, not quite ready to let her go with those hushed moans of hers still ringing in my ears. She looks up at me as I smile down at her. “Calm down. You’ve got a solid ten minutes before they call you.”

“Ahh! And I’ve still got to grab Dusty!” She slaps my chest and pulls away, but I catch her arm and tug her back long enough to plant one last kiss on her swollen lips.

She gives me a look before turning toward the door, and I smack her ass as she goes.

“Kick ass, Sunshine.”

Addie grins over her shoulder, yanks the chair out from under the doorknob, and takes off toward Dusty’s stall.

I’m still wearing the same stupid grin I’ve had for the last four days as I stroll out of the tack room, after making sure everything is exactly how we found it before I dragged Addie in here thirty minutes ago.

I’m feeling pretty fucking good lately. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve spent the last four nights sleeping on something other than an air mattress in a tent, or the fact that I’ve gone to bed every night breathless and spent, only to wake up and do it all over again when the sun comes up. Yeah, it’s all the sex. Definitely the sex.

It’s wild how much can change in four days and somehow still feel completely normal. Whatever Addie and I have fallen into, I don’t have a name for it. Right now, I’m having too much fun to give a shit. I still wake up before her most mornings, make the coffee, and bring hers back while she’s barely awake enough to take it from me. The difference is now I’m climbing back into bed beside her, and more often than not that coffee ends up forgotten on the shelf while we find a much better way to start the day. Yesterday morning, the camper was rocking before five, and by six I was standing over the stove making breakfast like that hadn’t become a perfectly normal part of our routine.

The rest of our days have fallen into the same easy rhythm. Addie spends most of hers with Dusty while I bounce between helping her and making myself useful with the stock contractors, and somewhere along the way we always seem to find each other again for a quickie. Thursday, we drove a few towns over for a jackpot and added another check to her growing pile, and if she puts down the kind of run I know she can today, she could make another serious jump in the standings.

Yeah. Life’s pretty fucking good.

By the time I make it to the arena, Addie is already mounted and circling Dusty near the holding area. Looks like I was right, and she made it with plenty of time to spare. Letting loose never hurt anyone, and by the looks of her, the flustered version of Addie from the tack room is long gone. This is the Addie I’ve watched countless times—the focused, dedicated, calm Addie. Her shoulders are loose, her eyes fixed ahead, and she’s already shut out everything around her except the barrels she’s staring down. I hook my arms over the top rail and watch her take one last lap before they finally call her number.

Dusty launches the second they’re clear, and just like that my stomach knots like I’m the one about to make the run. I’ve watched enough of these now to know when she’s on. And she’s fucking on. The first barrel is clean, Dusty folding around it without losing much speed, and by the time they drive toward the second, I’m already leaning farther over the rail. She keeps him tight through the turn and sends him hard toward the third, and a grin starts spreading across my face before she’s even headed home.

“Come on, Dawson,” I mutter, gripping the rail as Dusty stretches out beneath her.

They fly across the line, and I look towards the clock immediately. The time flashes as the crowd cheers, but I’m already laughing because I know what it means. Another damn good run. Another step closer to where she’s been fighting to get all season. Pride hits me so hard and fast it catches me off guard. Not because I had anything to do with it. I didn’t, unless you count loosening her up all week. This is all Addie. Every early morning, every entry fee she could barely afford, every hour she spends making sure Dusty gets what he needs before she ever thinks about herself. She earned every bit of this.