She’s had this insight into me and my racing for some time now.
I wonder if she’llregret sharing it with me. But then she might not remember. She probably wouldn’t have told me, if not for all the bourbon.
She had yet to respond. Had he actually made Ceci Rivers speechless? He hadn’t thought such a thing possible. Certainly not for him.
But as the silence continued, he began to fear that maybe he’d insulted her. He hadn’t meant to.
He cleared his throat, doing his best to disguise it as a cough. “Well, now’s your chance to show off your skills.”
She said nothing, still staring back at him with those questioning eyes. Eyes more gray than blue. Eyes that had originally surprised him because he’d thought they didn’t fit her. But maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe they were more her than the dazzling blue eyes, which she usually flashed in public.
The brilliant blue ones caught the eye because they were stunning. But the gray ones were more interesting. Looking into them, he was gripped by the feeling that he’d never get to the end of them.
He tilted his head and indicated with his arm the mechanical bull that sat still without a rider.
She turned. After marching up to the bull, she hopped onto it, needing no help even though a couple of men had hurried forward to do just that.
The crowd of onlookers, mostly men, whooped and hollered.
He watched her rock forward and back. Her thighs gripping the bull. Her motion was so smooth, so fluid, and her hold on that bull so tight. The guy who’d ridden before her had been thrown at this level. She had him beat. But she signaled to the man at the switch to flip it and, when that wasn’t enough, to flip it again. And again. And again.
Clarke tugged at the collar of his shirt,wiping away the beads of sweat that had sprouted on his forehead and behind his neck.
Was his dick twitching? Yes. Was it primed and ready to salute her? Hell yes.
But there was something else he was feeling. Not between his thighs but in his chest.
Admiration?
She laughed through it all. Her cheeks alight with fire and her eyes gleaming. He thought again about what it was that drew all eyes to her. Even if she wasn’t the prettiest or most beautiful woman in the room, she’d always be the one who was most full of life. There was something in her that burned so savagely; once someone was caught in her orbit, she’d snag them like a spider did with flies in its web.
Was there no escape?
If I got caught, would I want to escape?
He couldn’t say. He only knew he wanted her to hold on. Wanted her to beat them all.
And then he heard the crowd of onlookers, all men, shout “throw the switch” over and over again. He looked around, and seeing the lustful looks on their faces, he suddenly wanted the bull to throw her. He wanted her off that bull. Now.
“Ceci!” he heard a man shout.
And then a second. “Go, Ceci!”
And then a third. “Ride ’em, Ceci!”
He suddenly regretted that stupid four-legged or two-legged joke.
He clenched his fists. His heart was pounding. And still she held on.
She told the guy to throw the switch again. He shook his head but finally relented. She lasted less than a minute before she was thrown.
Clarke’s hands softened, his shoulders lowered, and he felt a surge of relief wash over him, marveling at the fact that even at the momentwhen she lost hold of the bull, even when she was sailing through the air, and even when she hit the mat—through it all, she never lost that laugh or smile.
Ceci
Breathless, Ceci got to her feet. Her legs felt a little shaky as she walked back to Clarke.
He’s not exactly what I thought he’d be like.
