Flanked (9 page)

For the first time in his career, he would be willing to skip riding in a competition, the thing that was most important to him at this stage of his life, just to get to the part of the night where he’d be with her again—and he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that scared the hell out of him.

The crowds had never bothered Garret before.

Hell, he’d ridden in Las Vegas at the most important event of the season. He’d ridden in front of the huge crowd and television cameras at Madison Square Garden in New York City and not blinked an eye. But today, Garret was nervous. It had nothing to do with the audience packing the arena, or the rank bull he’d drawn, or that he was nearly a thousand points behind the Brazilian rider who was leading the world standings. It had everything to do with one violet-eyed woman sitting in the VIP seats pretending that she didn’t know him.

She knew him all right, just as he knew her. Knew exactly how she looked and sounded when she came. Knew she loved that piercing tugged and the feel of his teeth on her clit because she enjoyed a bit of pain with her sex. Knew she’d held back last night rather than give in fully to the pleasure he could have given her when he’d worked her G-spot until she was writhing beneath him. If he’d had her alone, in a bed and in private, far from any prying ears or eyes… Oh yeah, he would have had her screaming.

Crap. Now he was hard as a rock. Not a good situation when surrounded by people and cameras. A worse situation since he was about to jump on the back of a ton of bucking bovine.

The announcers were already in the booth and the entertainer was in the arena working the crowd. It was nearly show time and Garret needed to get his head in the game. He ran his gloved hand down his bull rope, working the rosin into the fibers, making it sticky for a better grip when it was wrapped around his hand during his ride. Good thing he could do this in his sleep, because he sure as shit couldn’t concentrate. Not with Silver sitting right there above the chutes. He glanced over his shoulder one more time and found she was watching him.

A smile bowed his lips. At least it wasn’t one sided. If he was going to be obsessed with a girl, there was some small consolation in knowing she was feeling the attraction too.

“Hey.”

Chase startled Garret out of his thoughts. “Hey. You get Leesa settled?”

“Yup. I pointed out Aaron’s sister to her and told her to sit next to her.”

“Great.” Cozy. Wonderful. Now maybe Silver and Leesa could chit chat about him. Maybe Leesa would even tell Silver all about the drunken prank he’d played on her and Chase last year. Garret smothered a sigh. Chase had no way of knowing Aaron’s sister was also the girl he’d spent a considerable amount of time getting to know in the biblical manner last night.

Garret glanced up again. Yup, there they were, sitting side by side and chatting. It was strange, kind of like his and Chase’s girlfriends were up there together. Silver was not his girlfriend. He didn’t have a girlfriend and he didn’t want one. At least he hadn’t thought so.

See you in your truck tomorrow night.

He’d replayed Silver’s promise in his head a good hundred times today. Maybe there was something to be said for knowing there was a hot chick waiting for you at the end of a long hard day. Maybe Chase and Mustang and Slade and Luke and all the other riders who’d become serious and monogamous lately weren’t so crazy after all.

And maybe Garret was just thinking with his dick.

Wouldn’t be the first time. He shook thoughts of monogamy and women out of his head and focused on something he actually knew something about. Bull riding. “I’m gonna need to get a new bull rope soon.”

Chase looked up from his preparation. “I love mine. I can give you the name of the guy who made it for me if you want.”

Garret nodded. “That’d be good. Thanks.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention on the shark cage in the center of the arena, please.”

Frowning, Garret swung to look where the amplified arena announcer had instructed—the round, raised platform in the center of the dirt. The television station’s sideline reporter Annie Grant was up there along with her cameraman, Carl, and veteran rider Luke Carpenter. “What do you think’s going on there?”

Chase shrugged. “No clue. Maybe Annie’s gonna do a live interview with Luke.”

“I guess.” Garret was about to go back to his prep work when Luke got down on one knee. That stopped Garret’s hand in mid-stroke on his rope.

Unless he was strapping on his spurs, or praying, there was only one other reason for a man to get down on one knee. “Holy shit, he’s gonna propose.”

“What?” Chase’s eyes opened wide and he swung his gaze to the center of the arena. “Crap, I think you’re right.”

“Annie Grant…” Luke’s voice echoed throughout the arena as the initial chatter of the crowd was replaced by a hush.

Annie covered her mouth with one hand as Luke held the other. One look at the close-up of her face on the big screen showed Garret the pure shock in her expression.

“She had no idea.” Putting himself in Luke’s position, Garret’s heart rate sped. “What if she says no? In front of all these people.”

What a nightmare. A guy might never recover from something like that. Garret would gladly face the rankest bull in the pen rather than what Luke was facing now.

“She’s not saying no. No way.” Chase watched the screen too.

“Would you make me the happiest man on earth and do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Luke finished the proposal—microphone, crowd, cameras and all.

Annie made her living speaking on camera, but it seemed she didn’t have any words now. She didn’t say anything as Garret waited for the answer, along with the thousands of others. As her eyes filled with tears, she nodded. She bent down and wrapped her arms around Luke where he still kneeled in front of her. The arena exploded in cheers and applause and Garret finally felt the relief that Luke must be feeling ten-fold.

“Jeez, that was nerve-wracking.” Garret blew out a slow breath. “There should be a rule or something that they have to answer with a clear yes or no within eight seconds of being asked.”

Chase stared at him and laughed. “Oh man, it’s pretty obvious you don’t have a girlfriend. Women never do what we want them to, and you sure as hell can’t give them rules.”

Garret made a face at both Chase and his new and annoying know-it-all attitude about women now that he had Leesa as a girlfriend. He went back to focusing on his rope. Well, not solely on his rope. Garret glanced over his shoulder at Silver one more time. He could imagine she for one didn’t follow rules well, if at all, and he didn’t need Chase to tell him that. Her piercings and tattoos told him plenty, not to mention their out-of-the-blue sex.

Garret knew a lot more about women—and this one particular woman—than Chase would ever know.

Chapter Seven

“Wow.” Silver watched the action in the center of the arena. She was shocked, and the bull-riding competition hadn’t even begun yet.

“Yeah, wow is right.” Next to her, Chase Reese’s girlfriend, Leesa, let out a short laugh.

She glanced at Leesa and saw her wiping her eyes, her attention still on the larger-than-life image on the big screen of the happy couple as they hugged and accepted congratulations from well-wishers.

“Do you know them well?”

Leesa shrugged. “We’ve only met a couple of times, but I hear Chase talk about Luke and Annie all the time.”

Silver’s brow rose as she wondered what was absent in her own DNA that watching two perfect strangers get engaged didn’t reduce her to tears. She didn’t cry at weddings either. There must be some sort of crucial female hormones or something she was missing. Silver’s gaze hit on Garret, looking hotter than hell. His leather chaps framed his tight denim-clad ass as he planted one booted foot on the bottom rail of the fence and bent to adjust his spur. She got a flutter between her legs.

It seemed she had plenty of other female hormones, at least of the sexual variety. Given a choice, she’d take sex hormones over sappy hormones any day.

“So is this your first time?”

“First time?” Silver glanced at Leesa. First time for what? Having sex with a virtual stranger in a parking lot? Sneaking around with one of her brother’s best friends while he slept?

“Watching Aaron ride live,” Leesa elaborated and Silver breathed in relief.

She really had nothing to worry about. No one could possibly know she and Garret had fucked like bunnies in his truck last night, where they’d likely be again tonight if she had anything to do with it.

“Uh, I’ve seen him ride in a few local rodeos when he was in school, but never at this level.” Silver swept a hand to encompass the huge, packed arena.

“I know what you mean. The size of the crowd, the sold-out venues, it does make it all seem a little surreal. Especially when the girls hang out afterward, waiting for Chase to sign their programs…or breasts.” Leesa pursed her lips and gazed down at a row of girls wearing tiny shirts and even tighter jeans as they hung on the railing trying to get the attention of the riders behind the chutes.

Silver nodded. “So I’ve noticed. I suppose I’m putting a cramp in Aaron’s girl plans for the weekend staying in his room, huh?”

Leesa cocked a brow. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. One weekend off from buckle bunnies won’t kill any of those boys.”

Silver let out a short laugh. “I’m sure you’re right.”

So Chase’s girlfriend wasn’t happy about the hordes of female fans hanging around her man. Silver couldn’t say she blamed the girl. Leesa and Chase looked as if they were pretty serious about each other. The matching gold rings that looked suspiciously like wedding bands, except that the couple wore them on their right rather than left hands, was one clue things were serious. So was how attentive Chase was with Leesa, constantly checking on her, live or by text message, making sure she was okay. These two only had eyes for each other. It was kind of sweet, in a better-you-than-me kind of way.

Silver saw Garret take a marker from a fan who proceeded to point to the spot just above her breast on her T-shirt where she wanted him to sign. His gaze cut up to Silver, seated just above them in what she was told were very good seats. Oh, they were good all right. Good enough she could see the girl’s nipples. Garret scrawled some semblance of a signature and backed away from the fan, but not before he shot Silver another quick, guilt-filled glance.

How should she feel about knowing Garret could—probably would—have anything he wanted from nipple girl if Silver weren’t there for the weekend putting claims on his time with guaranteed truck sex? She considered that. They weren’t dating, but if Garret decided to call off their little date tonight and go off with a fan, Silver sure as hell would be pissed.

Was that jealousy? Who knew? She’d had boyfriends, but she could never say she’d really been in love. She and Garret scratching each other’s itches sexually last night couldn’t be considered anything close to dating, forget about love.

She sighed. It was too much to think about. All she wanted was an hour or two alone with Garret, to enjoy his body and not think about anything. Silver’s gaze found nipple girl again, still hanging out by the railing and staring in Garret’s direction. That girl better find another object for her obsession, because that particular bull rider was Silver’s, at least for tonight, and she made a habit of always finding a way to get what she wanted.

“They’re loading the bulls for the first flight.” Leesa’s announcement drew Silver’s attention back to what she was supposedly here for—watching the bull riding,
not
watching the bull riders while thinking about riding them later.

“Um, okay.” Silver nodded and wondered what exactly Leesa meant.

The chestnut-haired woman next to her laughed. “That means the first few bulls have been loaded into the chutes. The first five riders will go as soon as the opening ceremony is done. They’ll introduce the riders and there will be the singing of the national anthem, a prayer and then it’s show time.”

“Ah. Good.” Silver should really know this stuff. She supposed if she paid more attention to her brother’s career she would. Maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on him about knowing nothing about her own life.

“You can see the line-up in the program to find out what flight the guys are riding in.” Leesa was quicker at interpreting Silver’s total lack of bull-riding knowledge than she’d anticipated. “Skeeter’s in the first. Chase and Garret are riding in the second. Aaron’s in the third.”

“Oh, all right. Thanks. I really need to get to more competitions.” Silver hid her cringe. This girl must think she was an idiot.

“You should have seen me last season.” Leesa leaned closer. “I didn’t even know what Chase did when I met him. I thought he rode horses for a living.”

“Thank you.” Silver laughed at the confession. “That makes me feel better.”

“Good.” Leesa smiled as the lights in the arena dimmed. “And here we go.”

Silver braced herself for what was to come—whatever that may entail.

“The stock contractor said he’s likely gonna turn away from your hand.” Aaron shouted that advice to Garret in the chute as the bull beneath him reared up. Skeeter grabbed the back of Garret’s vest and held him steady until the animal settled down again.

Sure, it was good information, but Garret knew enough not to adjust his stance to anticipate which way a bull was supposed to go, no matter what Aaron or the stock contractor said. These were animals with minds of their own. If his horn got hooked in the gate, or if he felt the rider’s weight off-center, he may choose to go the opposite direction. That’s why these bulls were chosen for this level of competition. They were good at what they did, that being bucking off the rider. It was nice to try and plan, but a rider stayed on a bull by taking it one jump at a time and making corrections as he went.

He’d be up next, after Chase who was in another chute taking his own wrap on his bull. As he tried to readjust his position after the jostling the bull had just given him, Garret was aware of the clang of Chase’s chute opening. The crowd cheered for Chase’s ride in the arena, but Garret couldn’t watch. He was rewrapping the bull rope around his glove as Aaron pulled it tight for him.