by Jillian Neal
She gripped Austin’s hand. “Just please be careful.”
His responding smile took her breath away. By the time his lips connected with hers, she was woozy. A moan she’d tried to quiet spilled into his mouth as soon as she opened for his tongue. His hands gripped her shoulders then traveled to her back and pulled her in. His body consumed hers with the scorching brand of his tongue that sent heat spiraling throughout her. In that moment, her bones felt as liquid as the heat now flowing rapidly between her legs. More. God, she wanted more, but he pulled away. She fought not to beg him to forget the stupid bull, and come back to the room with her. If he wanted a wild ride, she’d give him one. She’d give him most anything he wanted.
“I’ll be fine, honey. I’m not gonna do anything that might keep me from bedding you as soon as possible.” Another wink. My God, how could he possibly be so calm? She’d blame stupidity, but Austin was far from dumb. And it wasn’t him doing something that worried her, it was the bull.
Instinctively, she glanced back towards Brant. Having him in her sights kept the hysteria of what he might do next at bay. Staying one step ahead of him was always the key to survival. But the shock and fury that hardened his face as he glared at her was terrifying. She tucked back into Austin’s embrace, hating herself for being afraid in the first place. That kiss had apparently been Brant’s first clue as to her and Austin’s coupling. Austin had actually hit him the night before, and he really didn’t remember who’d done it. He was such an idiot. She pressed her face to Austin’s vest, trying to hide from the world around her.
Austin cradled her to him and brushed another kiss on top of her head. The safety of his muscled embraced and the heat that existed inside of him chased away the icy clutches of fear that Brant always brought on. “What’s wrong, darlin’? I’ve got you. I’ll be gone less than a minute. I swear I’ll be fine.”
She managed a nod, but in that moment Austin must’ve spied Brant’s glower. “So, he’s what’s wrong. I don’t know what he did to you, Summer, and I honestly don’t want to know. I have a pistol far too conveniently located for me not to react to him hurting you, but hear me say this, it will never happen again. Not as long as you’re with me. I will keep you safe and treat you the way you should always have been treated.”
“I know. Thank you. I don’t understand how this is happening so fast. I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime. I feel safe with you. Doesn’t that scare you? If the bulls don’t, shouldn’t this?”
Austin cradled her chin in his rope-roughened right hand and brought her gaze to his. “In my experience, darlin’, all you need to change your entire life is eight seconds.”
“You’re sure you want me to be yours even with all of the shit I have going on right now?” There, she’d said it. The plaguing thought that had been eating at her all damn day.
“Summer, there have been very few things I’ve been more sure of than this. Relax and let’s see where this goes, please. If you hate me come morning or hate me next week in Cheyenne, I still want to help you get J.J. Can we just take a deep breath and settle in for a little while?”
“Maybe, but every time I try to take a deep breath all I smell is bull sweat and shit.” Her statement was both literal and figurative, and was a pretty good description of her life ever since rodeo season had begun in early spring.
Laughing, Austin shook his head at her. “I love your filthy mouth, darlin’. I’m hoping I get to hear some more of it tonight in our room, but for right now, I need to see how this is gonna go.” He gestured his head to first chute. A kid named Wes Kelly was seated on a bull and the timer was already ticking. Summer swallowed harshly. In her three years on the circuit she’d seen four riders hooked, one break most every bone in his body when he got trampled, one killed, and more concussions than she could count even if she used both her and Austin’s toes. Sweat-laced adrenaline permeated the air.
Her body jerked when the timer sounded and the door opened. She cringed as Wes flew off the bull on the first spin. He hit the ground hard and the bull turned to make a point. Summer allowed herself to breathe again when the bullfighters distracted the beast with relative ease. Austin shook his head. “Kid needs to be trained. That was less than a second.”
The next man climbed the chute headed down onto Dallas Devil. Summer felt sick. Brant was doing something to that animal. She had no doubt. He hadn’t been ridden more than five seconds all season, and he was angry and aggressive long before his flank strap or a rider was on.
“And tonight, Cody’s own, Todd Lilmer, takes on Dallas Devil. The Devil hasn’t allowed a rider eight all season long, folks. If Todd can tame the beast, he has a chance to take third right behind Austin Camden and Travis Anders. This is his chance for a spot in Cheyenne. Looks like he’s gonna give it all he’s got.” The crackle of the ancient speakers didn’t mask the announcer’s obvious concern. Summer wondered if the announcer knew Todd personally.
The flashing red of the awaiting ambulances came into focus when Summer stared out towards the parking lot. Nausea twisted in her gut. She couldn’t quite access the carefree girl she’d been in her barrel riding days. That took skill, guts, luck, and speed, but bull riding was man against beast. More often than not, the beast won.
There was a young women beaming at Todd and holding a little girl. Todd blew them both a kiss.
Summer longed to march over to her ex standing by the chute gate in complete safety and beat that evil grin off of his face. This rider had a family. What happened to them if he wasn’t okay? Not that Brant would ever care. He didn’t care about his own family. Why would he care about someone else’s? All that mattered to Brant was pleasing his own father. Summer had met Brant Preston Senior a handful of times, one being at the wedding. He was an asshole, just like his son. Only difference was he held all the money in the family, and the rest of them all slopped up his shit to get any.
Clutching her chest, she let Austin hold her back to his vest. Her heart hammered rapidly and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
“He’ll be all right, sugar. Breathe for me.” Austin’s soothing voice sounded tunneled against the start buzzer. The gate shot open, and Dallas Devil bulleted out like the demon spawn he was. She gnawed her lip as Todd rode buck for buck.
“Shit,” Austin cursed at the three-second mark when Dallas snarled and shifted hard right, bucking with all of his infuriated might. Todd slipped forward and bowed towards Dallas’ horns. Suddenly, Austin spun Summer against his chest blocking her view. He was a half-second too late though. She saw the bull’s horn pierce Todd’s throat, landing right between the covering offered him by his protective vest. Jerking her head back so she could see, Summer covered her mouth as Todd Lilmer hit the ground right under Dallas Devil’s hooves.
The crowd was on their feet. The bullfighters were trying to get him away. Todd was on the ground, being trampled.
“Oh my God!” She couldn’t watch anymore. She let Austin shield her from the carnage.
“He’s all right.” Austin’s gasped breaths matched her own. “They’re helping him up. Might have a broken hip. He’s breathing though.”
“What about his throat?” Summer tucked herself tighter into Austin’s chest, certain most of the girlfriends of riders didn’t react this way.
“Doc’ll get him fixed up.” Austin didn’t sound near certain enough for her to relax. The woman and the little girl were both in tears. Fear consumed their entire beings as they raced after the stretcher that had been lifted out of the ring.
The rides before Austin’s seemed surreal. She couldn’t quite understand why they kept happening. All she could see before her was Austin being hooked the way Todd had been.
She’d gotten thrown dozens of times when she was training to race. Difference in a horse and a bull was the horse didn’t try to kill you after they threw you. Besides, back then no one really cared if she got hurt. Now, she had a little boy that depended on her. She had something worth living for. In that
moment, Summer finally allowed herself to wonder what Austin was running from, or what he was running to. If he felt like he had anything worth living for, would he still climb on that damned bull to prove his worth?
She’d known the man twenty-four hours. How had he become so important to her? She didn’t know, but maybe he was right. Maybe it did only take eight seconds. If she measured time in those increments, she’d known him far long enough to be falling in love. Hadn’t she? Is that what worrying like this was? She wasn’t certain she cared for love if this was it — not that it could’ve stopped her. She knew she loved her baby boy, and she worried about him like this, too. Before she could contemplate further, Austin was rosining his gloves. Her heart lurched to a hard stop and then resuscitated itself and flew the next moment.
“Austin … ” She shook her head, but couldn’t formulate a plea.
“Meet me wherever I climb out of this thing, sugar. I’ll be fine.”
His right leg crested the gate and his boots came down on top of Perfect Storm, who shifted against Austin’s weight. Summer studied Austin’s eyes and the chiseled planes of his jaw. She couldn’t locate a single ounce of fear. He settled on the bull and exchanged hisses and grunts with the animal. Austin leaned down and whispered something to the bull. Summer assumed it was indeed a meat packing joke. She almost smiled.
She’d stubbornly refused to pray to a God that allowed horrible things to happen far too often ever since her ridiculous marriage to Brant Preston. In that moment, as time seemed to slow and the seconds on the gate clock felt like hours, she breathed a prayer of protection over Austin. There was something to the two of them. She finally admitted it to herself. She couldn’t lose him before they figured out what it might be.
Jackson and another bullfighter had replaced the fighters previously in the arena. They joined the crowd’s raucous applause. The belled rope went over the bull.
“Current PBR champion, Austin Camden, is set to ride Perfect Storm. If we see him with a score higher than 78 tonight, folks, we’ll be handing him the Cody buckle after the rodeo. On your feet for Camden, rider for Minton Chaps and Denim out of Oklahoma.”
With a confident nod, Austin gripped the rope and the chute burst open. Summer’s breath tangled in her throat. She could hold her breath for eight seconds, surely, so why did she feel like she was being gagged?
To her shock, Austin’s free hand seemed to know the bull’s next move with each passing moment. It guided him like the perfect compass. His muscles cinched and released in perfect time with each buck. He leaned right when the bull spun left with perfect skill and precision. Cam was standing beside her, screaming and jumping up and down.
“Beautiful ride! Look at him go!” The announcers bellowed. The entire stadium was chanting, “Camden!’”
She’d never seen anyone master a bull the way he did. He was incredible. She’s all mine. Biting her lip, she accepted her own fate. She was all his, but he was hers as well. She clasped the pendent her grandmother had crafted for her and held on tightly.
Five seconds, six seconds, seven seconds, she joined the screaming crowd, bouncing on her tiptoes. My God, he was gorgeous. He arched his back into the next buck. Eight seconds. The buzzer reverberated against her soul. Cam wrapped her up in his exuberant arms and jumped with her. Laughing, she pulled away after a few jumps and raced to the gate 100 yards from where she’d been cheering him on. Austin let go of the rope and rolled away from Perfect Storm. His ass would probably be bruised come morning from where he hit the dirt. She’d have to see if she could make that feel better.
When he crested the gate, she raced into his arms. He lifted her, spun her around, and planted a kiss on her lips that told the entire rodeo world she was taken.
“Camden’s scores are coming in, folks, and if my eyes ain’t lying to me, I believe that would be former title-winning barrel racer, Summer Sanchez, daughter of Rodeo King Mitchum Sanchez, he’s got helping him celebrate his near perfect ride.”
Summer never wanted him to stop kissing her. Electricity and glee from the crowd banded them together. The jealous glares of the buckle bunnies welled a healthy dose of pride in her veins. He held her tighter. She flew with him in that moment, much longer than eight seconds, and she never wanted to come back down to earth.
“And it’s a 92.8 for Camden. You’re looking at the Cody champion, ladies and gentlemen. He’s gonna be the one to beat for the PBR title this year, and I’m glad I’m not the one trying to best him. I’m not sure it can be done.”
Austin couldn’t believe his score any more than he could believe how good it felt to celebrate with Summer, who’d been cheering him on. Life didn’t get much sweeter than this. Laughing, Summer held his face in her hands and kissed him again while the entire town of Cody, Wyoming, heralded his name.
“A 92! Austin, that’s incredible,” gasped from her.
“You’re my lucky charm, darlin’. I told you I wouldn’t do anything that’d keep me from celebrating with you tonight.”
Chapter Six
An hour later, Austin’s cheeks started to ache from holding the smirk permanently affixed to his face. He couldn’t have arranged this better if he’d tried. Standing in the wings of the makeshift area of Cassie’s Honkytonk, set for the buckle ceremony with his arms around Summer watching Brant Preston squirm was perfection. Only thing better was going to be having the beautiful little spitfire in his arms, naked and willing, all for him as soon as he got her back to his room.
Brant and a few PRCA board members worked through the awards for the timed events provided by Preston Cattle.
A representative from the PBR joined Brant as Austin stepped forward. Brant simpered, and Summer’s grin expanded further. Perfection. This was the epitome of perfection. A chuckle escaped Austin’s lips.
“I’m Harrison Enrow from PBR, here with Clifton Taft from Minton Chaps,” he gestured to Clif while he put his arm around Brant, “and I know Mr. Preston from Preston Cattle is thrilled to present this buckle to one of the most skilled riders we’ve seen in a long time. I’ve been head of the PBR for the last two decades, and I can think of only a handful of riders with Mr. Camden’s ability. The Minton team picked well, and I know we’re all anxious to see him perform this year in Vegas. Come on up here, Austin, and tell us who you have with you. Seems like I recall this pretty young lady receiving several buckles of her own.”
“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Austin winked at Summer, whose cheeks were glowing sunset pink. He wanted to kiss each of them for an appetizer to what he’d be consuming as soon as he got her back to the hotel. “This is Summer Sanchez … my girl.”
She cocked her jaw to the side and gave him another one of those eye rolls. Damn, but if he wasn’t careful he was likely to fall head over heels for Summer and go right ahead and admit that to her.
Mr. Enrow beamed at Austin and then went on to recount the finer points of his ride.
Brant’s lip curled, and his face screwed up like a bratty child that had finally been punished as he sidled closer. “You think you can just fuck my wife, Camden?” he hissed.
Pulling Summer closer, Austin’s left eyebrow ticked upwards. He spoke through his teeth, still smiling like the cat that caught the canary. “Drivin’ you crazy, ain’t it, Preston? You didn’t even know what you had when you had her, and we all know you don’t have the cahones to keep a woman like her satisfied.”
“You’re a cocky bastard, Camden. I warned you last night. Don’t think I won’t see to it you go down for sticking your nose where it don’t belong.”
“Simmer down, Preston. You’re stepping in shit in them fancy alligator boots. You lost your chance. I’ve got her now, and I know precisely how to handle my girl. I’ll give her everything she needs.”
“Austin!” Summer elbowed him rather hard.
Before she could scold him further, he was shaking Enrow’s hand and accepting the buckle. One more notch in his season. Nothing stood between him and Cheyenne. Ima
ges of Vegas played in his mind, reflected off of the overhead lights of the bar. He had no trouble envisioning Summer standing by his side there as well. After he got the PBR title and buckle, they could spend a week or two living it up in on the strip. You really gonna stick with her for the next four months? His mind continued to taunt him. With one glance her way, in those sexy little jeans with heat still settled in her olive skin, the jeers disappeared entirely. He wanted her now; he’d deal with the next few months later.
Preston handed out the bronc riding buckles, and then the PRCA reps sent everyone to the dance floor.
“You are such an idiot,” Summer fumed as Austin pulled her in his arms.
“You suck at dirty talk, darlin’. Try switchin’ idiot for stud.”
Narrowing her eyes, she played at laying her hand on his chest but pinched his right nipple instead, hard enough to leave a mark. Lust sizzled in his veins. His cock took notice of the slight pain and the mark she’d left behind.
Laughing at her outright, he waggled his eyebrows. “Careful, baby. Turnabout’s fair play, and it’s about all I can do not to take you out to my truck, lean you over the tailgate, and fuck you so hard you can’t walk.” That heat that set him on fire ignited in her eyes. “Mmm, you like that idea, don’t you darlin’? Tell me,” he coaxed as he began to sway her back and forth.
“Did you not hear what he said? Austin, you have no idea what Brant’s capable of. Now you’ve gone and made me some kind of prize like some punk-ass caveman. I’m not a competition. I divorced him a year ago. I don’t want to have anything to do with him, but Brant does not like to lose.”
“I don’t give a damn what Brant Preston likes, honey. And by the way, he’s the one still calling you his wife. I didn’t make you a competition. He did. So, let him be the ass-licker he is. You put those sweet little arms around me, feel me against you, and let me dance with you. We’ll talk all you want about your ex tomorrow. Tonight, you’re mine. All for me.”