by Shey Stahl
He shakes his head, standing, but denying me contact. When he knows everyone is gone, he gives the nod to the bartender in the room and he disappears too, without question. Makes me wonder if he’s done this before.
Like he’s some kind of godfather or mafia kingpin, he lurks in the shadows of the bar, making his way to the door. He locks it and then turns to face me, walking forward and teasing me by slowly unbuttoning his shirt. When he has it off, he lets it fall to the floor before me. Moving his hands to his buckle, he grins, a slow country boy smile. “You wanna do that part?”
At the memory of our night in the barn, I throw my head back laughing. “I could . . . if you need me to.”
He twists the words around. “I think you know I need you,” he says with a shadowy smile.
He said that, right? That wasn’t just my brain playing tricks on me, was it?
Overwhelmed by his mere presence, my heart pounds in my ears, my smile evident no matter how hard I try to mask it.
Grayer takes the final step toward the bull, his hands spread out. One behind me. One in front. I pat the space in front of me, motioning for him to get up there with me. He does and lifts me up so I’m straddling him. I ask, “Cowboy up?”
And he whispers, “Come find out.”
Oh yeah, cowboy up.
He leans forward, his mouth on the curve of my neck. Dragging his parted lips down, he runs them over my collarbone and to my shoulder as he removes my tank top. The strap of my bra falls, but he doesn’t take it off yet. Growling lightly, he bites at my shoulder. “Do you know how fucking sexy that was?”
I say nothing and that frustrates him because when Grayer Easton asks a question, I’m beginning to understand he expects you to answer him. His hands move from my hips to angle my face in his direction. “Do you?”
I nod, giving him what he wants, my answer. “I do.”
His hands wander, over my bare thighs and higher until they’re at my ribcage. I can tell he wants to go further and I do too.
“How far are you gonna let me take this in here?” His hands run over my breasts and higher over my erratic, running wild heart.
“Whatever you want.” I mean it too. I’m ready and willing to give him anything and everything he wants from me.
He stops moving his hands suddenly, and then watches me, intently. “At some point there will be a bed involved. But not right now.”
And then he kisses me, humming when our tongues meet. When that’s too much that we can’t breathe without heavy gasping breaths, his mouth moves to my neck. He’s loving my skin with teeth nipping and his tongue moving. I have to sigh because they’re the most desperate sounds with each pass of his mouth over my skin, like it’s not enough for him. Like it will never be enough.
I’m right there with him. I need him in this bar, on this bull. My eyes travel over the length of his body, but more importantly, his chest and then his buckle.
That buckle.
It’s been on my mind since he left me.
He knows what I’m thinking, the corners of his mouth twitch. “There are better things than my buckle, baby.”
I get his buckle undone as he leans back on his hands, allowing me access.
“Fuck. . . .” He groans when he leans forward to wrap his arms around me, wincing in pain, shifting his position as if he’s uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong?”
“My zipper is digging into my balls.”
“Oh,” I say, giggling.
After adjusting his jeans, he brings me forward again and I curl my arms around his neck threading my hands in his hair, my legs wrapping around his hips as he pulls me into him. Strong arms move around me and then his hands grip my hips. He groans when I rock against him, eager to have him inside me. His hands move and pull himself out of his jeans but pauses. “Goddamn it. I don’t have a condom on me. We used all the ones I had in my wallet.”
“Oh, uh, well I’m on the pill.”
“Okay. . . .” He’s hesitant and I know why.
“I’m clean, Grayer. I always use condoms.” Part of me thinks I should ask the same because of the girls I’ve seen at the arena today, but I don’t. I may hate myself for it later, but I let it go.
He nods, his only indication he’s okay with it. Moving quickly, he takes my jeans off and drives in deep, his muscles coiling in an effort to stay still. And then once he’s fully sheathed inside me, it’s fast and desperate, everything those looks told me this would be.
“You’re like a goddamn addiction,” he breathes against my lips. “I want to drive you crazy like you’re doing to me, but I can’t resist long enough.”
I moan into his embrace, melting around him, giving myself to him. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced because he’s not wearing a condom and I can feel every inch of him inside me. Maybe it was the way I teased him on the bull, or the fact that I hadn’t stopped thinking about him the entire way here, but it certainly doesn’t take much and I’m already close.
Grayer growls, his eyes never leaving my face. He knows I’m close as his hips slam into mine even harder and I rock myself into him. His head drops forward, his teeth sinking into his lower lip, and it gets me. The sight is too much to bear and it sends shivers throughout my body.
His cock swells inside me, his body stilling and strained, shaking beneath me as my name on his lips falls in a strangled plea as he comes inside me. I can feel him pulsing, every jerk of his body, and his breath hot and heavy on my skin.
I laugh when he slumps against me, my back arching and my hands in his hair.
“Now what?” I chuckle, thinking we should probably move. I’m completely naked straddling him on a mechanical bull and he’s only in his jeans.
“Someday I’d like to get you into a bed,” he says, kissing my lips and then my neck.
“That might be nice.”
He hums in response.
And then I ask, timidly, “Have you done that before?”
He shakes his head immediately. “Nope. Another first for me.”
The words give my heart a little tug.
Judges are allowed to award a bull rider a re-ride—a second opportunity to compete on a different bull—if they feel his first bull did not perform at the level of other bulls in the competition and, therefore, did not give him a fair chance to earn a high score. The re-ride bulls are selected prior to the event and kept with the other bulls that are in the draw should the need for a re-ride arise.
The next morning, I wake up in bed with Grayer and though I want to have sex with him, he’s running late and we’re also in a hotel room with Ty and Haylee. Lucky enough, Grayer upgraded the room to a suite so there are at least separate bedrooms.
I give Grayer a pouty face I thought for sure would work, but he sighs. “Remember when I said bull riders were always running late?” He’s throwing clothes on and then his boots and reaching for his hat.
I nod, sitting up in bed, completely naked and pushing the sheets away so he has a good view of everything he’s leaving behind. His eyes travel over my body and he groans. “I wasn’t lying. I’m late. Again.”
I look at the clock to see it’s nearing noon. “I thought it didn’t start until tonight?”
“It doesn’t. But I have an appearance to make and then I have to go to the arena.”
“Oh.” I’m kind of disappointed he won’t be staying in bed with me but then again, I knew this, coming here, that it would be this way. He has obligations.
He seems sad. “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tonight though? There’ll be a car waiting for you around five to take you to the arena. Feel free to call up room service or whatever you want. It’s on me.” I nod again as he kisses my forehead, my cheek, my lips, neck, and then pulls away when he starts to climb on the bed, wanting more. “Fuck . . . you’re too hot.” Stopping himself, he pushes away and turns and walks away. Down the hall, he beats on the door to Ty’s room. “Get up, dude. We’re late.”
Moments later, Ty’s s
tumbling out of the room half-dressed, following his brother.
I’m sad when he’s gone and think about what I’m doing here. The thought reminds me that I need to call my mom because I totally forgot last night to let her know we made it to Biloxi safely.
“Hi, baby!” she answers on the first ring, knowing it’s me.
“Hey, Mama. Sorry, I didn’t call last night.”
“That’s all right.” She breathes a sigh of relief. I know she won’t say it, but she was worried about me. “How was it?”
I sigh. “Amazing. How’s Dad and Morgy Moo?”
Mom laughs lightly, the sound almost musical. “He’ll get over it. He threw himself into showing that Kaden boy around the farm. And Little Miss Morgan is excited to get some postcards from you, so make sure you send her some.”
“I will. I’ll pick some up today and mail them.” I chew on my nails. “Is Dad mad?”
“No.” She’s lying and I know it. “How was the rodeo?”
“It was amazing! They have another round tonight and then the short go. Grayer got a ninety-five last night.”
“That’s good, right?” And then she laughs. “What’s a short go?”
I laugh. “Yeah, he’s leading so we’ll see how he does tonight. The short go is a round that only the top fifteen riders from the preliminary rounds compete in.”
Mom sighs and it’s a loving sound like she’s happy for me. “Are you happy, Maesyn?”
I think about it, wondering if this was what I wanted, the freedom I’d been dying for. “Yes. I am.” And then I think about Wyatt, and everything that happened when we got here.
“He . . . has a son.”
Mom’s silent, then she gasps. “Grayer does? I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah.” I let out a laugh. “Me either. Surprised the heck out of me too.”
“How old is he? Grayer’s pretty young himself.”
“He’s two I guess. The mom, Britany . . . I guess her and Grayer used to be friends. I don’t know a whole lot about it.”
“How do you feel about that?”
I sigh. “I still don’t know. I didn’t have much interaction with the kid, just saw him in passing, but I don’t know. I guess I’ll just see what happens.”
Mom and I talk for a few more minutes before she needs to go pick up Morgan from the sleepover she had at our cousin’s house last night.
We hang up and it takes me a while, but I can’t believe I’m here, in a bed I slept with Grayer in, in a hotel room and going to watch him ride later today. It’s crazy how quickly everything can change.
I spend the day with Haylee by the pool at the hotel, where she tells me everything that happened last night, in detail. Apparently Ty has a tattoo across his lower stomach that says, Born to Ride.
I’m not surprised.
It’s then, after we’ve talked about our nights, she levels me a serious expression. One that holds questions. “And, whoa, girl. He really has a kid? That’s crazy.”
I breathe out deeply, still trying to wrap my mind around it. “I know, right?”
“Are you mad he didn’t tell you?”
I shrug. “Not really. It just surprised me, ya know?”
“Yeah. At least it’s not a wife you didn’t know about.”
She has a point for sure.
We order lunch, again by the pool, and think to ourselves, it’s much better than gas station food and sleeping in her truck.
Like Grayer said, there’s a car waiting for us at five to take us to the arena. It was all very similar to the night before, except this time we made it in time to see the beginning of the show where the riders come out with flames and an extravagant light show.
Grayer is on a bull named Tank and manages to score a ninety-two and then in the short go, he scores a ninety to win the round in Biloxi.
Seeing him that excited over the win is worth not seeing him all day.
After the event, we’re standing in the parking lot. Reid left with Britany and Wyatt right after the event finished. I guess they caught a flight back home to Texas.
That left the rest of us in the parking lot behind the arena. I’m torn. What now? Is he going to ask me to leave? He said meet me in Biloxi and I did, but we never talked about what would happen after that. “Will you sign my tits?” I ask, pushing my chest toward him. I had three beers at the event. I think maybe that was too much and I’m making a fool out of myself.
Grayer rolls his eyes. “Put them away.”
I give him a grave expression. Or try to at least, but then I end up laughing. “I’m serious. I want you to sign my tits.” Believe it or not, I’m not even the first person to ask him that tonight. And I’m not sure if it’s that I push my chest in his face, or that I have the inability to take no for an answer. But Grayer accepts the marker I found in my bag.
Wrapping one hand behind my neck, he leans in, his body pressed against mine. “How about I sign your pussy instead?”
I close my eyes and hold my breath. I never want to part from his embrace. “Okay, if you insist.”
He bends down to my ear, his finger under my jaw. “I fucking insist.”
Laughter around us draws our attention elsewhere, reminding us of the fact that we’re not alone in the moment.
Grayer leans into my side watching Haylee and Ty flirt, a longneck bottle in his hand. “Ty has a thing for brunettes.”
It’s late, around midnight and we probably should get some sleep, but it seems these guys are ready for anything with wild eyes and bright smiles. I guess riding a bull will do that to you. I can’t imagine the adrenaline wears off quickly.
I look over at Haylee and smile. Haylee told me this morning they slept together, and it was the greatest night of her life. And for Haylee to say something like that, I’m assuming it had to have been. “Haylee has a sudden fascination with bull riders,” I tell Grayer, watching him.
Grayer nods and leans back into his truck, giving another nod to the door. “I’m assuming Haylee’s okay with Ty riding with her?”
My heart jumps. He wants me to come with him!
Haylee and Ty hear him say that, both acting nonchalant about it, but it’s clear they both had a good time last night. “I’m okay with that,” Haylee says.
Grayer laughs and removes his hat to toss it inside the truck when he opens the door. “All right, we’ll go back to the hotel to get your truck and then you’ll follow me. And if you get lost, Ty’ll help ya out.”
I turn around, unsure what’s happening when Grayer grabs my hand. “You’re with me, honey.”
I wish that were true in a hundred different ways. “Where are we going?”
He arches his eyebrow when I step up into his truck, the door hanging open. “You wanna come to my place, right? Then it’s off to Tulsa next weekend.”
I try not to squeal. “Is there a bed there? Because I’m disappointed that we didn’t try one out last night or this morning.”
Before I turn in the seat, he stands between my legs, his hands on the door frame as he leans in. “I have a bed there, yes, and I promise . . .” His lips part and find mine, the sweetest tempting kiss is laid upon me, but it’s different from his kisses before. Sure there is tenderness there, but it’s passionate and promising too. “To make it up to you.”
“I’m holding you to that, Eight Seconds.”
The hand a bull rider uses to grip his bull rope is called his "riding hand."
She’s a distraction I don’t need, but can’t resist. I should have told her about Wyatt. I don’t know what I was thinking, but clearly I wasn’t. I can’t believe she’d been so cool about it and went with the flow of it.
“Do you have custody of Wyatt?” Maesyn asks, just before we head to New Orleans. It’s a nine-hour drive back to Decatur and there is no way I’m making that drive after a ride.
Britany had called and got us a hotel room in New Orleans for the night since the girls had never been there. We could have stayed in Biloxi again, but I
wanted her to experience New Orleans.
I stumble over how to explain our situation with Wyatt in a way that makes sense. Everyone, including Britany’s parents who hate my goddamn guts, thinks we’re crazy for the way we’ve handled all this. “We split custody pretty even. When I’m in town I take him, but we don’t have a set plan.”
I knew Maesyn would be curious about the arrangements with Wyatt, and officially speaking, she hasn’t really met him other than in passing. I still can’t get her take on the situation either, or how mad she is that I asked her to come see me three thousand miles away and didn’t tell her I had a son. Not my best move by far.
“Will he be at your place?” she asks, her voice soft and even. There’s certainly no anger to it at least.
I glance over at her, the passing street lamps lighting the side of her face. “Not when we get there, but I’ll probably take him for a night before we leave for Tulsa. I usually do.”
She smiles. “What’s he like?”
Pride swells in my chest thinking of my son. “He’s . . . a lot like me. Determined. Stubborn. But he has the good qualities of Britany and her softer side.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
I swallow, like a lump’s lodged in my throat. “Not in the way you think, but yes, as the mother of my child I will always love her. She’s actually my best friend. I’ve known her for years and she’s always been there for me.”
I wait to see how she’s going to react to that. Most girls would get defensive, and have done so in the past. They’d tell me, well, make it work with her then or constantly compare themselves to Britany. Even before Wyatt . . . they just couldn’t get past the fact that my best friend was a girl.
But Maesyn, she’s never anything I assume she’s going to be, so I wait for her response.
Her smile’s genuine when she says, “I think that’s great that you guys are friends and make it work for Wyatt. I can’t wait to meet him.” She laughs. “I mean, like officially at least.”
My chest swells again, this time not with pride, but hope that maybe this might lead to more. And fear for it working out. I don’t need to be in a relationship. Especially not with the world finals coming up and the chance at a repeat championship on the line, but I’m reckless enough to let her in.