Page 98 of Riding the Storm
“I’m not saying it’s simple,” I go on. “Hell, I don’t even knowwhat it looks like yet. But I know one thing: every time I think about leaving this place, it feels wrong. And every time I look at you, it feels right.”
Her breath catches, and I can tell she’s fighting it—the part of her that wants to believe me and the part that’s too damn scared to.
“Don’t do this,” she says finally, voice trembling. “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
“I mean every word.”
“You’re a bull rider, Bryce. It’s who you are. That’s not something you just turn off.”
“You’re right. I am a bull rider, but I’m tired of it being all I am. I want more. I want a home. Something that’s gonna last and live on long after me. I want you.”
She looks down at her hands, twisting them together. “And what happens if you change your mind? What happens when the next big sponsor calls or when you get bored and need something new?”
I take a breath, then step up onto the porch. “Something new? Hell, Chuck. All I have to do is roll over because I never know what version of you I’m getting from day to day.”
Her eyes narrow on me, and for the first time, the weight in my chest lifts.
“So, what exactly is your exit strategy?”
“I have another two years on my current PBR and sponsorship contracts. I’m going to finish those. Call it my farewell tour.”
“PBR,” she repeats.
“Yeah. I’ll be careful. Careful as any rider can be so I can come home to you in one piece. And, fuck it, if it makes you and everybody else happy, I’ll even wear a damn helmet.”
Her lips twitch. “I bet you could sweet-talk some helmet company into offering you a partnership. Have some trashy model sit on a fence, you standing there between her legs, kissing her while wearing it. That’d have every cowboy itching to have one.”
I shake my head. “Still pissed about Monica.”
I reach out slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. She doesn’t move. Doesn’t stop me.
“You scare the hell out of me, Charli Storm,” I admit. “You’re stubborn,sharp-tongued, impossible to read. But I can’t get you out of my head. And I’m tired of pretending I can.”
Her breath shudders out. “Ry …”
She stares at me for a long moment, then shakes her head slightly, like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “I don’t even know what you’re asking me for.”
I bend to a knee so we’re eye to eye. “Everything.”
The swing creaks softly as she shifts, looking out into the dark pasture, where the stars are starting to burn through the sky. Finally, she says, almost too quietly to hear, “Well, if you want everything, you’d better cowboy up because it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say before taking her lips with mine.
Iwake up in Bryce’s arms. He’s curled in behind me, and I feel his morning erection resting against my backside.
“What time is it?” I ask as I blink the sleep from my eyes.
“Early,” he says as he slides his hand around to caress my breast. “I need to get up and help Cabe.”
“Oh,” I say as I arch into his touch.
His hand travels down between my legs. “Always wet for me,” he growls.
I bring one leg back and hook it over his hip. Opening myself to him.
He slides into me gently from behind as his hand lazily circles my clit.
“I like having you in my bed in the morning,” he says as he buries his face in my neck.
