I spun on my heels, flipping him off over my shoulder as I stormed toward the house. “Fuck you if you think I’m ever going to let you fuck me again.”
Reed’s soft chuckle followed me in the front door. I was lying to myself—and to him—and I knew he could see right through it.
“We’ll see about that,” I heard him say in the dark.
I slammed the door behind me. Ugh! I hated him so much. This was going to be the longest circuit in the history of rodeo circuits.
Reed was officiallymy fucking shadow. By the end of our six-hour drive the next day, we pulled up to the campground at the Big Basin Buckeroo in Idaho. While I was unloading Mushu, Reed didn’t waste any time setting up the temporary electric enclosure beside the trailer, filling his water bucket, or dishing him out a flake of hay. As soon as I left to check in, he hovered like a damn hawk, ready to dive, talons primed, if someone somuch as looked at me wrong. Of course he was glowering and brooding the whole fucking time.
“You got the fancy shit.” Kale whistled when he saw us walking through camp. “So does that mean we’re partying at your strip?”
“Hell yeah,” I said.
At the same time, Reed said, “No.”
I gave him a glaring side-eye. “Back off,daddy.”
His eyes only darkened at that.Shit, that’s hot. It was like a warning, but I liked playing with fire.
“I see you brought a bodyguard with you. Shit. Christian told me what you’re dealing with. I’m so sorry, Lina. We’ll keep a lookout for this asshole.”
“I got it handled,” Reed said firmly behind me.
I rolled my eyes so only Kale could see. “Thanks, Kale. You’re both welcome to come by and chill tonight.”
Kale looked at me, then Reed, then back at me. Whatever he read on Reed’s face made him take a step back. I chanced a glance toward him. He was taking his job here a little too seriously. If he kept this up, I wasn’t going to have any fun while I was out here. So much for letting off some steam with my friends.
“Uh … I’ll text you later,” Kale said before walking off.
I shook my head, storming back toward our fifth wheel camper, not even taking the time to see if Reed was following me. From the sound of the boots behind me, he was right on my tail.
Mushu glanced up from his feed as soon as we approached, his eyes curious.
I stopped at the side of his pen, spinning around to face Reed. Surprised, Reed skidded to a stop, his head lifting to stare at me beneath his cowboy hat.
“Look.” I folded my arms across my chest, staring him square in the eye. “If you think you’re going to run my social life while I’m here, I can promise you that we’ll both end up miserable. If you’re here to make sure that creeper doesn’t get anywhere near me—which I appreciate—you’re going to need to back the fuck off. I also have a job to do, and if all I have is you breathing down my neck every second of every day, you’re going to stress me the fuck out. I need quiet and calm when I’m preparing for an event. And when I’m not, I need to be able to let loose and throw shit to the wind. You got it?”
Reed’s jaw ticked, his brow furrowing. He didn’t seem to like what I had to say very much. “Got it. Spoken loud and clear.”
He walked around me, heading up the steps of the camper to press the button to extend the window where his bed would be—in the convertible kitchenette. I shook my head. There was no way anyone was going to want to party at our RV strip with this party pooper glowering in the corner the whole time. I’d just have to go elsewhere to unwind, but how the fuck was I going to lose Reed? But even the thought of being out without his protection scared me a little.
Shit, this was so fucked up.
11
reed
Lina dropped her hands, giving Mushu his head as they sped through the alley into the arena. She sat atop the saddle like the fucking queen she was—long and lean, and stretched out low on his neck as they moved to the first barrel. Leaning back in her saddle, she looked over her shoulder at her next target. They were magnificent together as they moved as one, looping around and heading toward the second barrel at breakneck speed.
It was hard to drag my eyes away from her. My stomach twisted up in knots watching the timer tick up while scanning the crowd for threats. Not knowing what the fucking creep looked like had me on edge during the entire race. He could be anywhere. It made me want to rage that I couldn’t keep him from watching her.
Lina and Mushu had already rounded the third barrel and were heading home when my eyes returned to her, so I readied myself at the gate to meet them.
She flew in, stopping the timer and locking in her time. She pulled up on the reins and let out a whoop as Mushu slowed to a near-skidding stop. The saddle creaked as she turned to check her time. I gripped Mushu’s bridle, helping to steady him.
“I did it! I hit my old record, baby!” She was beaming, her face bright and her brown eyes dancing.
My breath hitched in my throat. Fuck, I wanted her to look at me that way, but she was leaning down to stroke Mushu’s neck and whisper praises in his flicking ear. I never thought I’d be jealous of a horse, but here I was—for more than one fucking reason.
