Page 26 of Wild and Unruly
“It really is.” I take a moment to breathe in the air and move us toward an area where I know we can let the horses graze and we can talk. “I miss riding in competition sometimes, but this is something you can never take for granted.”
“Absolutely.” She takes in a breath, letting the sun warm her face as she tilts it up. “So, what was your strong suit?”
“My strong suit?”
She waves her hand at me, and I playfully grab at it, holding it in my own and interlacing our fingers together. I glance at her and see her biting her lip, hiding a smile at the move, and a blush rises on her cheeks. “Yeah, you know, what did you compete in?”
“Well, as a kid, it was reining, same thing CT does now,” I say. “I’ve thought about doing more of that and cutting, but I really enjoy team roping.”
She looks at me and smiles. “Yeah, I could see that. I think Dani or Logan mentioned you and he used to do that together?”
“We have.” I nod. “We got pretty good at it, too. But he’s a family man now. He wants to stay close to home and not travel to shows every weekend.”
“Bummer,” she says, and it’s kind of hilarious how I expected her to say that was understandable, that it’s good he wants to be with his family—which it is—or how he was showing Thea he was committed and not running off on her every weekend. Which is not Logan whatsoever.
But it was nice to hear someone kind of take my side. “Yeah,” I admit. “It is because we were getting good, good enough to keep going, and now I’m out because I don’t have a partner.”
For a few moments, we ride to the spot I know in silence. “What kind of partner do you need?”
I shrug. “It can be anyone who can rope and stay on a horse.”
“Well.” She looks at me with raised brows. “I can stay on a horse.”
“Yeah, you’d be perfect, but…” I pause, keeping my gaze on her and frowning a little. “You saying you want to be my partner?”
She shrugs this time and sighs. “Well, I’m saying that I could probably practice a little and help you out.”
“What about the article?”
“I’m still doing that. I’d have to practice when I’m not working, just like you.”
I hesitate with my next words because I’ve been trying really hard not to bring it up, but I can’t help but wonder. “I thought you were leaving soon.”
“Hey, if you don’t want me to be your partner, I’m okay with that. Just say so.”
Somehow, I’ve hurt her feelings. I can tell by the way she’s acting, like she’s hiding her feelings, which is not at all what I want.
I want to know every thought in her head.
“Here, come here.” I pull my horse over to a tree and loosely tie him around the base so he can graze.
Bonnie is still on her horse, and I walk over to her, waiting for her to dismount before taking her horse to another tree and repeating the process.
Then I walk over and grab her hand, pull her to another tree that looks out over the mountains. “Holy shit.”
Her words make me smile, and I pull on the hand I’m holding, positioning her in front of me and facing her. “Hey.” She looks at me, her expression guarded. “I’d love it if you were my partner.”
Relief passes over her features, then she says, “Don’t feel pressured.”
“Bo, I’m not the kind of guy who lets others pressure him,okay? I would love to compete with you.” I reach up, grasping her chin between my fingers and bringing her eyes to mine. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up only for you to leave.”
Her eyes get a little dimmer, and she says, “I have to leave at some point.” My heart hammers in my chest at her words, but then her long eyelashes flutter, and she looks up at me from below them. “But not yet.”
Her words open a floodgate of emotion, and I can’t hold myself back any longer. Pulling her chin to me, I press my lips to her mouth, putting gentle pressure on her lips until she opens, and I’m able to explore her mouth with my tongue, wrapping my arms around her and holding her to me.
She pushes on my shoulders until my back hits the tree trunk, and I let my body slide down, hers naturally falling with me and straddling my lap. Having her sit on me, having her body pressed to mine, is one of the best feelings of my life, and I pull her to me until there’s not a chance of even air getting between us. Her lips are open and pliable with mine, letting me take control.
Her moans spur me on, and I thrive off of every little sound she makes, letting my hands roam around her body. Her hands move up into my hair, and she starts to pull my hat off, looking around for a place to set it down so she can continue exploring.
