Page 31 of Destry

Then, it happened.

My grip slipped.

The bull bucked harder than expected and my gloved hand jerked loose just enough to throw off my balance. Before I could correct the slip I launched forward. I hit the dirt hard and a cloud of dust lifted around me, but before I could process the fall, I heard the thunder of hooves coming back around.

I rolled.

Fast.

The bull came back, ready to trample right over me, but I moved quickly, barely missing the stomp, then he was back again and I barely managed to roll out of the way, dodging him for a second time. My body moved purely on instinct until the wranglers got in, distracting the bull enough for me to get clear.

When I finally pushed up to my feet, the arena was dead silent because the ride was over. I had just lost that qualifying round and no one expected that. I damn sure didn’t.

Jace jogged up with his expression hard. “You good?”

I waved him off with a tight jaw. “Yeah.”

He studied me for a second but nodded. Before I could process anything else, I heard a smug voice behind me.

Colt.

“Damn, that bull didn’t like you very much. Didn’t think I’d see you hit the dirt that early.”

I didn’t even look at him. I shouldered past him hard, knocking him off balance as I stormed out of the arena with my pulse still pounding. I barely heard the noise behind me. My jaw was tight and my hands were clenched because my mind and body were still processing the fall. Losing damn sure didn’t sit right with me but it never did.

Didn’t matter that I’d been doing this for years or that I knew damn well not every ride was gonna be perfect, it still fucking annoyed me.

I paced near the side of the arena, brushing my hands over my head, trying to shake off the frustration. My thoughts were all over the damn place, stuck between replaying the ride and knowing there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to change it.

Then I saw her.

Savvy.

She took her time getting to me, like she wasn’t sure if I wanted company right now but I didn’t hesitate. I reached for her, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her into my chest, kissing her hard and deep, pouring all the adrenaline, frustration, and something else I wasn’t ready to admit into this kiss. That bull could have trampled me and my thoughts were a lot deeper than just losing a ride.

She kept her hands on my chest, but didn’t pull away or push me off. When I finally pulled back, she blinked up at me, completely thrown off.

Her voice was breathless when she spoke. “What are you doing?”

“Kissing you and if you don’t know that, then I must be really fucking bad at it.”

“No, I mean, why?” She shook her head, still looking confused. “You just lost a qualifying round.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Yeah, I know.”

She frowned. “Aren’t you upset?”

I dropped my chin. “I’m fucking pissed. But being upset isn’t gonna change the fact that I hit the dirt out there.”

Her expression twisted and something flashed in her eyes…panic.

“Shit, this is my fault,” she whispered.

I frowned, immediately annoyed by that. “How the hell is it your fault?”

She frowned hard. “You’ve been with me these past few nights, we’ve been?—”

I kissed her again just enough to make her stop overthinking for once.

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