Page 8 of Destry

The gate swung open.

Black Widow shot out like a bullet, twisting hard with his back legs kicking up higher than I expected. I adjusted fast, squeezing tightly, feeling the power beneath me.

Four seconds.

He jerked left and faked a move before launching right. A dirty fucking trick. I barely stayed in place.

Six seconds.

My grip burned and my muscles strained but I locked in, staying just ahead of his rhythm.

Eight seconds.

The buzzer rang and I let go, throwing myself off only for Black Widow to spin at the last second, coming straight for me.

I hit the ground hard, rolling fast, barely fucking missing a wild kick to the head. The wranglers were already moving in and distracting him but for a split second I was close enough to feel the gust of wind from his motions.

I pushed to my feet and dusted myself off with my heart pounding. That had been too damn close.

Jace hollered from the rail. “That’s what the fuck I’m talking about but you almost lost that pretty face of yours.”

I shook out my arms and forced a grin. “Still good looking, though, so that means you’re still chasing my leftovers.”

Movement caught my attention.

Savannah stood just outside the barn, arms crossed with her expression somewhere between annoyed and reluctantly impressed. She didn’t say anything, just delivered a pointed look before turning and walking away.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

She was mad as fuck because now she owed me a drink and I was damn sure collecting.

CHAPTER

FIVE

Savvy.

I walked away before I could do something stupid like check to see if he was actually okay. I had seen plenty of bull riders take close calls and Destry Callahan was no exception. Hell, he was better than most but that had been too close and the worst part…he wasn’t even fazed.

I didn’t have to look back to know he was probably grinning and shaking dust off like he hadn’t almost gotten his head stomped in. The thought irritated me more than it should have.

I stormed toward the stables with my boots kicking up dirt and my fists clenched at my sides.

Damn him.

Damn that cocky ass smirk, stupid confidence, and his reckless need to prove he could take on the meanest bull in the lineup. For what?

A drink? Or to just impress me. The thought had me grinning even though I didn’t want to.

I should have told him to go to hell the second he made that bet. Now I was stuck, because of course he made the full eight, and I wasn’t the kind of person to go back on my word. Not that I even wanted to…

“Everything alright?”

I looked up to see Maya, one of the other rodeo workers leaning against the stall with a curious expression.

“Fine,” I muttered, grabbing a brush off the hook and dragging it down the side of the nearest horse with more force than necessary.

“You sure don’t look fine.”

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