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Laughing, Leroy bent me back in a dramatic dip at the song’s end.
“Beer?” he asked in a faux seductive tone.
“Sure.” We’d worked up a sweat.
With a hand at the small of my back, Leroy led me toward the old-fashioned-looking bar opposite the dance floor.
Atley stood in our path. His expression made me think of a summer storm—thunderclouds and lightning. Heavy, hot, and dangerous. I wanted to speak, to throw myself at him, and to walk on past. Indecision made me clumsy and instead, I tripped.
His hand shot out, catching my upper arm. He looked at Leroy, and after a second of silent communication, the other man’s hand fell from my back. We were alone in the crowd. The hard pulse of blood in my veins replaced the throb of the music in my ears.
“Easy, darling. No rush.” He slid his hand up my arm and found the nape of my neck. The stubble on his jaw grazed my cheek as he spoke, stirring up memories of a long walk down a hotel hallway.
His hand on my neck and the sound of his deep voice were better than any porn I’d ever seen on the internet. My legs were weak, my skin was too tight, and my panties had to be damp. Atley Rivers’s touch shook my very foundation.
I’d give anything, do anything for us to be back in Dallas where there were no repercussions to our attraction. One night hadn’t been enough.
I released a shaky exhale and tipped my head back, our lips separated by inches. Time, pregnant with possibilities, slowed to a crawl. Atley’s hand squeezed the back of my neck, and my lips parted. I was so ready.
“I’m so home I want to go drunk!” Gabriel crashed into my back. He draped an arm over my shoulder, dislodging Atley’s grip on my neck. I staggered sideways under Gabriel’s weight. He was totally hammered, and together we almost collapsed to the floor.
It was probably for the best that he’d interrupted. A few more moments and I’d have wrapped my legs around Atley’s waist and kissed the hell out of him in front of all of Elmer. Consequences were so far away, and his lips had been so close.
Atley’s mumbled curse about the damn Frenchman ripped away the last of the lust fogging my brain.
“Gabriel, you’ve had a few too many tonight,” Atley said. A muscle in his jaw ticked with annoyance.
“Celebrating. We won.” He hugged me like I was the trophy.
“Of course you won. Rae is amazing.” He spoke to me, his eyes roaming over my face like he was memorizing every feature.
I couldn’t breathe or move; his words had paralyzed my lungs and my feet.
“She is amazing. We are going back to Napa, to Napa to Napa…” Gabriel sang.
The reminder that I was leaving hit me and Atley hard. He jerked Gabriel away from me, and I pressed my hand over my racing heart. Heat from my flushed chest burned my palm.
“The only place you’re going is to bed. I’m driving you home.” Atley grabbed Gabriel’s upper arm and steered him toward the exit.
A million thoughts about how the night could have been different if I’d kissed Atley rooted me to the spot. I admired his glorious ass as he led Gabriel away.
On the way out, Atley stopped to talk to Jameson and the other guys gathered near the foosball table. All of them turned and looked at me as Atley spoke to them. One by one, they nodded. Shit.
My feet finally unstuck, I marched the last few feet to the bar and collapsed on the gleaming wood surface, dizzy with the ramifications.
“Here, it’s water. Looks like you need to cool off.” Lara pressed a plastic cup into my hand, and I downed it in a single gulp.
Chapter 9
Atley
When the text messagebuzzed on my phone, I didn’t have a free hand to deal with it. I had a death grip on Victor’s halter, poised to administer a dose of oral dewormer. He was only the fourth horse of the morning, and I’d already been lifted off my feet once and had another spit out fifty dollars’ worth of meds on my boot.
Text messages weren’t my top priority. Getting all the horses and,lord give me strength, the donkeys living at Blue Star dewormed today was. Equines that were in close contact needed to be dewormed on a similar schedule to encourage herd immunity. I kept the animal medical records, so this lovely job fell to me.
I slipped the fat tube between Victor’s lips and as far back toward his throat as I could manage. In position, I shoved the plunger home. Bullseye! A full dose no fuss, no mess. If only all the horses would make my job this simple. I patted Victor on the forehead as the black and white paint smacked his lips and poked out his tongue at me. Looked like he was enjoying the apple-flavored paste more than the first few.
I left his stall and noted the date and type of dewormer I used in Victor’s medical file. As I administered the meds to the next two horses in the barn, a few more texts came in. I ignored them as well.
