Collision (5 page)

“Thank you for inviting me.” She smiled up at him and then
watched as his eyes blazed. Holy cow, she could drown in those eyes.

Before she could even think to pull away, he leaned one
forearm on the door by her head and wrapped his other arm around her waist,
capturing her lips with his own. Without thought, she melted into him, her
hands coming up to tangle in his lapels. The kiss started out sweet, just a
gentle brush of his mouth on hers. Despite that, a heavy tide of ecstasy swept
over her, drawing her closer to him and flooding her sex with moisture.

He groaned and ran the tip of his tongue over the seam of
her mouth, seeking entrance. She opened to him as the last of her resistance
drained away, leaving only a staggering need to get closer, to be engulfed
completely by him. His tongue made a thorough, intimate search of her mouth and
her heart fluttered. He pushed the hard planes of his body against her,
shifting to cup her bottom in his hands. His insistent hardness pressed into
her belly and a surge of agonized need roared through her. She’d never felt
anything like this.

He lifted his head, breathing hard. “Let’s go in your room.
We shouldn’t do this here.”

Finally realizing where they were and what they were doing,
she pushed him away. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she choked
out, “We shouldn’t be doing this at all.” Leah couldn’t bring herself to meet
his gaze.

“I thought you wanted me to kiss you. You’ve been giving me
signals all night,” Brady told her, frustration evident in his voice.

Leah winced. She hadn’t discouraged his attentions, but now
that she could see where this was leading she needed to stop it before things
got out of control. “Look—”

“I apologize. I didn’t realize my advance wasn’t welcome.”
He let out a loud breath. “I’ll see ya in the morning.”

Before she could say another word he’d turned and let
himself into his room. Slumping back against the door, she touched her fingers
to her lips, swollen from his kisses.

* * * * *

For the entire next day while they did more interviews,
Brady avoided speaking with Leah unless he had to. Their easy camaraderie of
the day before was gone, replaced by cool professionalism on her part and
silence on his. He knew he wasn’t handling the situation maturely, but dammit,
the woman had him tied in knots and he didn’t like it one bit. He’d never met
someone who ran so hot and cold. One minute she was melting in his arms and the
next she was pushing him away as if he were a leper. He had plenty of fish in
his sea—he didn’t need to deal with one who’d freeze his balls off.

When they were done for the day they went to the front desk
of the hotel to pick up the package with their tickets to Pueblo. Brady was
chagrined to find David had booked them in adjoining seats. Great. Just what he
needed—to be stuck on a plane with Leah for hours, so close he could hardly
not
touch her. Smelling her subtle, spicy scent as it wafted through the air around
them. He feared he was destined for an extended hard-on with no chance of
relief. No matter how cool she behaved toward him, he still wanted her with a
desperation that disgusted him.

This time, he let her handle her own baggage. In silence,
they went through security and made their way to the gate. Sitting down to
wait, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Leah checked messages on her
phone. He’d seen her do that a couple of times, and there were never any
messages as far as he could tell. He wasn’t sure what to make of that, or of
the sigh she heaved as she closed the phone and shoved it back in her purse.
From their conversation last night it was obvious she wasn’t close to her
folks, but she must have friends, right?

Their flight boarded and he settled into his aisle seat. As
they took off he wished he had something to do. He wasn’t much of a reader, preferring
to watch movies when he had free time. He closed his eyes and willed his body
to sleep, but all he could do was replay that kiss over and over in his head. How
she’d tasted, like spring rain and a hint of the coffee she’d had after dinner.
What she’d felt like, with her soft skin and sinewy, athletic body. And how
she’d moaned, as if she’d taken a bite of the most mouth-watering dessert on earth.
Shifting in his seat, he attempted to subtly adjust his cock in his jeans. At
this rate he was going to be insane by the time they got to Pueblo. Time to
enact a plan.

Turning, he addressed her. “Look, we need to talk.”

She looked up, her eyes betraying no emotion. “So talk.”

“We can’t go on like this. We’ve gotta work together and if
it’s like this we’re both gonna lose our minds.”

Leah sighed and Brady smiled to himself. Already he knew
that meant she was going to give in. “You’re right.” She leveled a hard gaze at
him. “But we can’t have a repeat of last night. We need to remain purely
professional.”

He nodded, schooling his features into a somber expression.
He had no intention of staying professional with Leah, but didn’t want to spook
her. “If that’s what you want.”

“It would never work between us,” she insisted. “We come
from two different worlds. Plus, in a few weeks I’m going back to Connecticut
to start training for my season and your tour is continuing. Besides, I need to
concentrate on skating and trying to salvage what’s left of my career.”

“Of course.”

“I’m glad you agree,” she said, though she looked suspicious
of his quick assent.

“So we’ll be friendly. That’s okay. But I have to warn you.
There are these women on tour.” Her eyebrow rose. “They’re called ‘buckle
bunnies’. Basically, they wanna sleep with a bull rider and they don’t care
where, when or how it happens. They can get pretty aggressive sometimes.” He
gave what he hoped looked like a casual shrug. “I just didn’t want you to be
caught off guard if you see them hitting on me. The successful guys get
approached more because we make the most money. Sometimes they come right out
and say some pretty raunchy stuff, trying to get our attention, or they’ll
drape themselves all over us.”

Leah’s eyes widened and he had to bite back a smile. “You
mean like groupies?”

“Yeah, I guess you could call them that.”

“We have groupies too, but they’re not usually sexually
aggressive. Skating is a much more civilized atmosphere, I guess.” She winced.
It was getting harder and harder to keep a straight face. “Not that your tour
isn’t civilized—”

He broke then, smiling. “That’s okay, darlin’. We’ve been
called a lotta things in our time, but civilized isn’t one of them.” He had her
on the ropes now, he just needed to land the knock-out punch. “So anyway, I
wanted you to be prepared for that.” He waited a beat and then said, “You still
up for going shopping tomorrow? The event doesn’t start ’til Saturday, so we’ve
got all day tomorrow to get you all gussied up for your appearances.”

“I guess so.” She wrinkled her nose and he took that
opportunity to finally, finally touch her again.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her hand and running the pad of his
thumb along the smooth skin. “Dressing comfortably for once won’t kill you. And
I promise I won’t make you get anything you think is butt ugly. Deal?”

She stared down at their joined hands for a moment and then
at him. “Deal.”

“Good.” He half-turned toward the front of the plane then,
reluctantly letting go of her hand. He closed his eyes again, feigning sleep.
She had no idea what she was getting herself into. With the subtle seduction he
was about to unleash, she didn’t stand a chance of remaining aloof. After
spending as long as he could stand pretending to sleep, he gave up and instead
shifted in his seat just a bit more so he could watch her without detection as
she stared out the window at nothing. As they began their descent into Pueblo,
she jumped when he remarked, “Not long now.”

“No, not long now,” she whispered, still turned toward the
window. She refused to meet his gaze, even when she had to feel his eyes on
her. Her breathing had accelerated and he saw through her reflection in the
window that a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

He grinned. He’d wondered if he was the only one being
affected by their closeness. Despite her attempts to convince him otherwise,
she wasn’t unaffected. Far from it. Now all he had to do was break through the
walls she was throwing up and he’d have her, and having her would be one of the
sweetest things he’d ever experience. He was sure of it.

When they reached their hotel and got to their rooms, Leah
put the keycard into the lock and spoke to Brady without looking at him. “I’ll
call you tomorrow morning when I’m ready to leave. I have a few phone calls to
make first.” He crowded his body behind hers and fingered a trailing lock of
her hair, tucking it behind her ear.

Leaning in to fan his breath over her neck, he said,
“Looking forward to it, darlin’. I can’t wait to get you outta these clothes.”
With a low sound of amusement, he moved on to his own door.

The next day, she put off calling Brady as long as she
could, but it was already ten thirty and she knew if she didn’t call him soon
he was going to bust down the door. Sighing, she dialed his room. He picked up
on the first ring and she couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, it’s Leah. I’m ready
whenever you are.”

“Be right over.” He hung up the phone and Leah chuckled,
setting hers down in the cradle before going into the bathroom to make a final
check of her appearance. Not thirty seconds later a knock sounded. She opened
the door to reveal Brady clad in a deliciously tight pair of jeans, a
button-down shirt that stretched over his chest and biceps like a lover might
after really good sex, and a devilish smile. “Ready?”

“In a sec.” She grabbed her room key and purse and they
headed out. Leah was surprised when Brady simply turned her to the left out of
the hotel.

“The store is within walking distance,” he explained.

Leah eyed her shoes and then him. “For you or for me?”

Laughing, he answered, “If your ankle starts to hurt I’ll
carry you. How’s that for a deal?”

“Great,” she mumbled. There was a reason she wasn’t a pairs
skater—having people all over her made her nervous, and even more so when it
was Brady. She vowed to make it to the store herself no matter how sore her ankle
got. Brady pointed out various landmarks as they walked, including the arena
where the event would take place over the next couple of days. As he told her
all about the Pueblo River Walk, which was still under construction, she raised
an eyebrow. “You know an awful lot about this area. Are you on the tourism
board or something?”

Brady laughed. “We’re here twice a year and the NBT’s
corporate headquarters are here. All told, I’m probably here six or seven times
a year.” They walked a bit more until they came to a huge warehouse-type store.
“Come on, sweetheart, we’re here.” Brady ushered her inside, his eyes
twinkling. She didn’t trust that twinkle one bit, but trudged in after him. He
headed for the women’s section and turned to her, assessing her from head to
toe.

She absolutely refused to squirm under his scrutiny, no
matter how uncomfortable and warm it was making certain parts of her body that
she’d rather remained dormant. “What?” she finally asked.

“Well, I can’t ask you how much you weigh, so I was trying
to see if I could tell what size you were just by looking at you.”

Leah tapped her foot. “And what conclusion did you draw?”

He grinned. “That I’m not stupid enough to guess.” He
reached out and ran a fingertip down her cheek. “But from what I’ve seen and
felt you’ve got nothing to worry about in the body department, darlin’.”

“If you keep giving me compliments like that I might swoon,”
she retorted, brushing by him to move toward a display of jeans.

Before she knew what was happening he’d swept behind her,
wrapping a steely arm around her waist and pulling her back against his hard
chest. He had a very annoying habit of doing that, she’d noticed. He hummed from
deep in his chest when their bodies met. “I’ll give you compliments all day
long, pretty lady. You’re fucking gorgeous, and you know it. You make me
crazy.” He flicked his tongue into the delicate shell of her ear for the
briefest of seconds and then withdrew. Backing off, he continued in a more
normal tone as Leah swayed, trying to reestablish some sort of equilibrium.
“So, jeans. You’ll need probably three pairs. Don’t wanna pack too heavy—it’s
easier to do laundry than to pack tons of stuff.”

Leah pivoted to face him, hoping he didn’t notice the high
color in her cheeks from his outrageous statements. “In case you hadn’t
noticed, I have one suitcase, plus a small carryon bag and my purse. I’ve been
traveling my whole life—I’m not new to this game.”

Brady blew out a loud breath, gripping the back of his neck
with his hand. “I’m sorry. Of course you have. What’re you gonna do with all
those clothes once we buy you new ones?”

She gave an indifferent shrug. “I’ll decide what to keep and
ship the rest home.”

“Ah.”

“What does ‘ah’ mean?”

“It’s just— I spend most of the money I make on improvements
to the ranch. I mean, I’m not poor or anything, don’t get me wrong. I’ve done
well on the tour, real well, but spending money without even thinking about
it—that’s weird to me.” He looked away from her, his mouth turning down.

“I won’t apologize for having money, Brady.”

His gaze flew to hers. “Is that what you think I was
inferring?”

“I don’t know!” Throwing up her hands, she asked, “What is
this conversation even about?”

“Honestly, I can’t remember,” Brady replied, shaking his
head and smirking.

“Look, let’s just pick out some comfy clothes and get out of
here.”

“Deal. Then you can take me to lunch.” He touched her nose
with the tip of his index finger and she had to resist the urge to grab it,
whether in exasperation or something else entirely.

Moving away from Brady and his ever-distracting touch, she
scanned the racks, pulling out a few pairs of jeans, which she handed off to
Brady. “Make yourself useful and hold my stuff. This might take a while. Since
my thighs aren’t exactly normal-sized, sometimes it’s hard to find jeans that
fit.”

“Yes ma’am,” he drawled, “though I happen to think your
thighs are perfect.” When she didn’t answer he chuckled and then followed her
to another section of the store. There, he helped her pick out some plaid
shirts with pearl snaps down the front. “A staple of every cowgirl’s wardrobe.”
He then led her to a display of denim miniskirts and she raised an eyebrow.
“For dancing at the honky-tonks. Come on, Leah, you’ve got killer legs—you’re a
professional athlete. And besides, in those skimpy little skating outfits you
wear you’ve gotta be used to people seeing your body, so what’s the big deal?”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that some of these are
practically indecent. I don’t normally wear skirts this short.”

“So be a little scandalous. Who cares? I dare ya.” He winked
and she rolled her eyes in response.

“Yes, because you daring me is going to make me buy one…”

“Come on, sweetheart, show me a little somethin’ somethin’,”
he pleaded.

“Fine. But I’m only buying one.” She picked out a skirt that
looked to be one of the longer ones and added it to the growing stack of
clothes in his arms. After adding t-shirts and assorted other items, they
dumped everything in a dressing room and headed for the boot department.

Leah zoomed in on a hot-pink-and-maroon leather pair with
dark-pink stitching. Following her, Brady groaned. “Those aren’t cowboy boots.
Those are…” he gestured wildly. “I dunno what they are, but they sure as shit
aren’t real cowboy boots.”

Planting her hands on her hips, she regarded him. “And why
do I need ‘real’ cowboy boots? Am I a ‘real’ cowboy? No, so I think I should be
able to get whatever I want. And I want this pair. I never buy anything
outrageous, and believe me, for me these are very outrageous. Besides, I’m going
to get another more staid-looking pair, these are just the coolest boots and
I’ve got to have them.” Picking them up, she hugged them to her chest and he
groaned again. “Look, I’ve done everything you wanted today. I picked out all
sorts of clothes that I never thought I’d wear because you said they would help
me fit in. I want these boots and I’m buying them.”

“Fine. But can we look for a normal pair now?”

“Of course.” Beaming, she continued to clasp her find to her
breasts. The boots were totally unlike anything she’d ever even considered
purchasing, but she was feeling devilish. Brady moved in front of her and her
gaze shifted to the fine cut of his jeans over his well-muscled thighs and
butt. Again it occurred to her that it wasn’t fair for one man to have this
many good genes. It seemed like God really should’ve spread things around more
evenly. Maybe then she wouldn’t be staring at him and trying not to drool all
the time. She sighed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, turning around.

“Nothing,” she stammered, pretending intense interest in the
boots to her right so Brady wouldn’t see the heat creeping up her neck. “I like
these.” She held up a simple pair of black boots decorated with delicate silver
studs.

Brady smiled. “They look like you. Let’s go try everything
on.”

For the next half hour she tried on clothes, grateful that
at least her skating allowed her to stay at a decent size, barring her overly muscled
thighs. By the time she was done, Brady had everything up by the register and
the cashier had begun to ring up her purchases. “Thank you for organizing
everything. I expected to have to do that once I got out.”

He shrugged. “I had nothing better to do. No biggie.” She
paid for her purchases and they got a cab back to the hotel. After putting everything
in her room they went back down the street to a little diner Brady knew of and
ordered lunch. Leaning back in the booth, Brady stretched his arms out along
the top and Leah fought to keep her gaze on his face. “So tomorrow’s the first
event,” he began. Leah nodded and he continued. “David said you’re coming with
me to a party with some of the sponsors, including Nelson Motors. A lot of the
NBT brass’ll be there too, since the corporate headquarters is here. It’s a dog
and pony show. I’ll be the rangy mutt. You can be the sleek, gorgeous
racehorse.”

Leah chuckled and he smiled in return. There’d been no rangy
mutt in evidence since she’d met him, and certainly not the other night when
they’d gone out to dinner. The man certainly knew how to wear clothes. “Wear
something kinda nice, but not too nice,” Brady said. The sponsors and the NBT
guys’ll probably be in suits, but they don’t expect anyone else to be. I
usually wear jeans and a button-down shirt. Maybe dust off my hat a bit.” His
dimples deepened and her gut clenched briefly.

“Right…” She knew that no matter how nonchalantly he made
himself out to be there was no way Brady took these things too lightly. He
couldn’t afford to. If he didn’t show up on time and behave as expected he’d
hear about it from the NBT the same way she would from the Figure Skating
Association.

She hadn’t seen him ride in the ring yet, either, but she’d
be willing to bet he was dead serious when it came time to compete. You can’t
be the best at what you do without putting your heart and soul into it. In that
way they had something in common, only she was trying to hold on to her
fleeting fame and he was just cresting the mountain. “Got it. So we’ll schmooze
the sponsors, then I saw I’ve got some sort of autograph signing, then nothing
for a while, and then some pictures with the leaders after the first round.
Should be an easy enough day.”

Brady nodded. “I’m sure they’re trying to ease you into it,
not scare you.” He grinned, showing even, white teeth. “While you’re signing
autographs I’ll be getting my gear together for riding. Once you’re done
signing you can go to will-call to pick up your ticket. I’ll leave a ticket
just in case Nelson or the NBT forgets for some reason.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”

“Maybe not, but it’ll be there just the same.”

“Thank you,” she muttered. Why did it feel as if she was
letting him take care of her? She didn’t like being reliant on anyone for anything.
She felt much more comfortable when she had control over her world. It was time
to take that control back. “So when we get back I need to go work out my ankle.
I haven’t done much for it in a few days besides some stretches. I can’t afford
to let my rehab slip. My skating is hinging on my ankle being able to handle
even more difficult jumps and spins than I’ve done in the past. Anyway, I
assume you can entertain yourself?”

Brady snorted. “Yes, I can entertain myself.” Then he rubbed
at the stubble on his chin. “Though I could use a good workout too…”

Leah clenched her teeth and tried to remain calm. The
thought of him in shorts and a t-shirt, displaying all those muscles while he
went through his workout had her mouth watering. She could almost taste the
male sweat already. Was he planning to stick to her like glue for the entire
tour? Hell, she might not even make it through the afternoon. If she didn’t get
some Brady-free time soon she was liable to grab him, toss him to the floor and
see just how good
he
was at bucking. “It’s a public facility. I can’t
stop you.”

“Maybe I’ll do just that. Work up a little sweat, you know?”
He looked at her, smirking, and she groaned internally. Did she have a thought
bubble over her head or something? Brady’s cell phone rang then. Pulling it out
of his pocket, he grinned. “Hey, man, you guys in town?” After listening to a
few words, he said, “We’re at the Blue Dolphin. Come on by.” Shoving the phone
back in his jeans, he said, “My best friend Conner’s here. He’s also a bull
rider—a damn good one too. He’ll be over in a few with his fiancée Jessica.
They can’t wait to meet you.”

“I bet,” Leah answered, knowing Conner and Jessica would
undoubtedly think the same thing Brady must have when he’d first met her—that
she was a stuck-up, spoiled, rich brat. She considered for a moment what he
thought of her now and why she cared if she’d made a better impression on him
since their first meeting. “Did you tell them about my nickname?” she blurted.

Brady’s eyebrows shot up at her outburst. “No, but they
looked you up online.”

“So they think I’m a rich, stuck-up bitch? Great. Maybe I
should go.” She began to rise but Brady grabbed her arm. She stared down at the
spot where their bodies met. It felt all tingly and her body tightened.

“Sit.” She’d never heard that tone of voice from Brady
before. It sent a shiver up her spine and she sat back down without further
argument. “I’ve talked to Conner since then and told him you’re not like that.
They really are looking forward to meeting you. Now finish your lunch.” Heat
coiled in her belly at his tone. She’d never liked bossy men, so why did she
react this way when Brady spoke to her with that edge of authority in his
voice?