Page 77 of Catching Sparks

My head is foggy, but I manage to shake it side to side. “Not yet.”

“Stop looking at me like that, or you’ll get fucked in a bathroom stall, then.”

“Who said anything about fucking? Hmm? I’m here with my friends, and you were just ill.”

He uses the hand not cupping my ass to grip the edge of the bar as he dips his head and murmurs, “Two days in bed with you, Poppy. I had this ass dangled in front of my face for two days and wasn’t allowed to bury my face in it, so, no, you’re not here with your friends. You’re here with me, and you’ll be leaving with me whenever you can’t take the empty ache in your pussy any longer. I’ll be waiting to take it away. All night long if I so choose.”

I clench around nothing, my panties ruined.

“You’re not the only one here who might be up for that task, Garrison,” I whisper, loving the way he has to lean in further to hear the words.

The first scrape of his jaw against my cheek is electric. Blood rushes to the skin beneath his touch, buzzing.

His grip on my ass turns punishing, and I’m grateful we’re on the opposite side of the bar as our friends so they can’t see his possessive hold on me. Not a single one of them would understand how much I love it. Ache for it.

Despite all the questions in my mind, having this man lay a public claim on me like this is enough to turn me inside out. Even if it might ruin all of my plans before they begin.

He turns his face, and his mouth catches my jaw, lips parting as he says, “If you’re trying to get a rise out of me, it won’t work.”

“No?”

“No, honey. It won’t.”

“We’ll see.”

The arrogant tone in his statement is what I focus on when I push away from the bar and leave him standing there alone. I stride past the bar, head high and hips swaying a bit more than necessary, knowing he’s watching and hoping he’s already feeling his control waver. Anna’s eyes catch mine the moment I step into the open walkway, her smirk only adding to my confidence.

An older man is currently on the back of the new mechanical bull, a small crowd gathered around him. He’s hanging half off the thing as it bucks, his right leg almost sticking straight up in the air while he grapples for a new hold. Two seconds longer, he’s falling onto the mat below the bull. The crowd shouts as he climbs to his feet and cups his hands around his mouth to yell a booyah!

Anna’s sweet perfume hits me a beat before she sidles up beside me and asks, “You do know how to ride one of those, right?”

I laugh, a bit disbelieving. “You’re asking that now? Once I’m about to hop on the death trap?”

“I mean, Bryce tried to convince me you were capable, but I figured I’d ask you myself before I encouraged you.”

“I’m not amazing at it, but yeah, I can ride a mechanical bull.”

She nods loosely. “He’s watching you already. Wait. Are those cowboy boots?”

“Yeah. I nearly fell to my knees the moment I saw,” I admit.

“He’s glaring at me now. Did you piss him off before you even left his side?” she asks, the words strained as if she’s trying not to laugh.

I smirk, ignoring the urge to look over at him. “He thinks I’m going to be the one begging him to take me home tonight.”

“He’s a fool,” Bryce says, sliding up on my left. Her shoulder bumps mine, and I lean into her for a moment. “Now, get the hell up there. I’ve added your name to go next.”

With a hard swat at my ass, Bryce sends me lurching forward, narrowly avoiding tripping over myself. That’d be enough embarrassment to have me leaving this place and moving to Switzerland for the rest of my life.

Garrison’s eyes are a hot and heavy weight on my back as I slip through the crowd of people and make my way to the barrier of protective cushion that runs along the edge of the ring. Flashbacks to my first few years of legal drinking hit me full force when Thomas, a Steele Ranch farmhand with a head of buzzed blond hair half-hidden beneath a baseball cap, offers me his hand, and I take it, allowing him to help me over the barriers without flashing my panties to everyone. It’ll happen the moment I hop up on the thing, but once is better than twice.

“Go, Poppy!” Bryce shouts, sticking her fingers in her mouth to whistle. “Make that bull your bitch!”

I cup the top of my hat in my hand to remind myself it’s there and prepare for the jump. The last time I was on a mechanical bull, I was at least twenty pounds lighter and way more agile than I am now. A cold flush trickles down my spine, poisoning the excitement that I’ve built up. Garrison is watching, and if I break this stupid fucking bull, I’ll never get past that mortification.

Hands grip my hips and lift me into the air, forcing a cry from my lips. I frantically shoot my arms out in front of me and grab for the rope around the bull’s neck, holding on for dear life. Thomas all but seats me on the cold padding of the mechanical bull and then offers me an encouraging smile when I swing my leg over and sit fully on its back.

The hem of my dress rides high up my thighs, exposing far more skin than I was planning on tonight. I don’t let myself focus too much on that, though. Nobody is going to get a flash of my goodies that I don’t want to.

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