Page 76 of Eight Second Hearts

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask.

His eyes dance to the bruises on my neck and then away. “Just. . . I’m not usually considered great company.”

I take his hand. “Well, I think you are, Tripp Savage,” I argue, smiling up at him. “Anyone who thinks otherwise just hasn’t gotten to know you well enough.”

He smiles back and it changes his entire face. The man is insanely hot on a normal day, but when he smiles, he’s almost fucking angelic. No wonder he’s often somber. It’s for everyone else’s benefit so they’re not blinded. Clearly.

My eyes fall over to the mechanical bull at the end of the barn. “That what you trained on?”

He nods. “When I wasn’t on a bull, yeah, I was on that thing.” His eyes crinkle. “Wanna try it?”

“Oh, uh. . . I don’t know.”

“Come on,” he encourages. “It’ll be fun. Let’s see if you can ride a bull or not.”

“Pretty sure it’s gonna be not,” I laugh as he leads me over to it.

“Just gotta hold on for eight seconds is all,” he grins.

“Yeah, I’ve seen how long those eight seconds can be,” I fire back, shaking my head. But I bounce onto the padded floor and move over to the mechanical bull. “I just climb on?”

He nods and comes over to help me up with his hands on my waist. “Hold on here with your dominant hand. Your other one goes in the air.”

“Okay,” I say uncertainly. I do as he says and watch as he moves over the control panel.

“Ready?”

“Nope,” I say, “but go ahead anyway.”

He hits a button and the bull tilts forward gently. My hand falls and I grab at the leather strap. “Hand in the air,” he chastises.

I throw my arm back up, and the moment the bull tilts back, I go tumbling off to the pad, laughing at just how fast I fall off. “Yeah, that’s way harder than you made it seem like.”

He chuckles. “Here, let me show you.” He gestures for me to get back up on the bull and I do while he fiddles with the control panel. “I used to have to practice by myself so there’s a setting to delay the start and go on autopilot.” He taps it and hurries onto the padding before leaping onto the back of the bull behind me, pressing his chest to my back. His left arm comes around me to grab the leather. His right arm circles my waist. “Here we go,” he says when it beeps.

The bull starts again, tilting forward slowly before tilting back much faster. I shriek, but he holds me tightly, keeping us both on the bull as if this is a cake walk for him. It probably is.

It’s only when the bull bucks forward again that I become aware of just how close we are. He grinds against me, his hips moving with the mechanical movements as he presses me back against him. My awareness skyrockets and I’m suddenly solely focused on where we touch.

“Arm in the air, cowgirl,” he says in my hair, his voice husky, and I shiver despite the bull beginning to move far faster. “No bull rider has their hand down.”

He runs his arm up mine, forcing it in the air, holding me on the bull solely with the strength of his one arm and his thighs. My cheeks flush as the bull spins, drawing laughter from my lips at the adrenaline rush of it all.

The machine beeps and the bull begins to stop. “Eight seconds,” he murmurs in my ear, his body still pressed to mine. “That makes you a bull rider, Indie.”

“Hardly,” I laugh, turning my head to look in his eyes. When I get a look at him, I freeze. The tension skyrockets between us as we stare at each other, his pretty blue eyes tracing my face. “You can kiss me,” I whisper. “If you want to.”

His face tightens. “I don’t deserve to,” he rasps softly. “You deserve far better than the likes of me, Indie.”

I push his arm off and swing my leg over before swinging my other back over so that I’m facing him. There isn’t much room, so I end up having to drape my legs over his thighs and wrapping them around his waist. I wrap my arms around his shoulders.

“And what if I say I want you to kiss me anyway?” I ask, staring into his eyes. “What then?”

His hand traces down my face. “Then I’d say you’re crazy.”

“I’ve been called worse for being a war correspondent, Tripp Savage,” I say. “If you’re gonna give me an excuse not to kiss me, I expect better than that.”

His lips quirk up. “Nope,” he admits. “That’s the only warning I’m gonna give you. I’m too selfish to convince you otherwise.”

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