Page 68 of Slow Burn

I spin on my heel and march up to the man operating the bull. He shakes his head when he sees me, giving me a once over. Okay, I’m not exactly dressed to be riding a bull. I came dressed for girls night, so I’m wearing my favourite skin tight skinny jeans, a pair of black strappy heels, and a black satin camisole, no bra.

It’s a nip slip waiting to happen. Or a broken ankle, either of the two scenarios are possibilities.

But I’m locked in, and my years of yoga practice are about to pay off. I climb onto the bull after the operator makes me remove my heels–too much of a liability I guess.

And then it starts. At first, it’s easy, a slow rocking motion I can move with, letting my hips roll beneath me. Soon though, it intensifies, and I clench the muscles of my inner thighs to give me stability, and tighten my core, keeping things locked but loose. I focus on my breath, the way I do when I’m trying to hold a challenging yoga pose.

Inhale, exhale.

There’s hardly a sound from the crowd while I ride, because I’m fucking killing it.

When I pass Beck’s current record, the roof just about lifts off the building.

My arms are burning, core shaking, and I know I’ll never beat Austin’s time, so I let myself get thrown, landing breathless on the ground.

Sutton and Skye are there to pick me up, each offering me a hand.

“That was fucking awesome,” Sutton says.

“Yeah, holy shit, Ly,” Skye agrees.

The girls are as smug as I am when we get back to the table. Austin has a shit eating grin on his face.

“I think you just got bested by my little sister, Beck,” he jeers.

Beck gives me a resigned nod, and reaches out to shake my hand. When I take it, my hand is small in his, the roughness of his fingers against mine sending a jolt through me. The memory of his calloused thumb brushing across the bud of my nipple flashes through my mind.

“I stand corrected,” he says, his voice low. “That is an impressive core you have.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I can’t help the grin that forms on my lips.

Beck pushes past me, his hand gently nudging me to the side. “I should be going.”

“Aww, sore loser!” Skye chides. Sutton joins in her teasing, but Beck simply tips his hat and heads for the door. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, wondering what got into Beck that he decided to leave early.

“Don’t pay him any attention,” Sutton says with a laugh. “He just needs to go lick his wounds.”

While I’m sure Beck took a bit of a hit to his pride just now, there is nothing about him that screams fragile ego. There’s more to him than meets the eye, and I have the sudden need to go after him, make sure there isn’t anything else that he’s holding inside.

Chapter 27

Beck

“Are you going to give me your hat, or what Beckett Hollis?” Lyla’s voice snaps behind me as I near my truck on the far side of the parking lot of the bar.

I turn to face her, leaning on the handle of the driver’s side door. She’s standing with her hip popped, arms crossed over her chest.

“My days of giving out my hat at the bar are long since over, Lyla,” I answer. I know I had a reputation in my youth, and I won’t deny I was a bit of a player, but those habits died the day I realized every woman I took home was just a feeble attempt at getting over her.

Her mouth quirks up into an adorable smirk. “What if I want you to give it to me?”

“That–” I say, glancing around to make sure no one is out here watching. “–would be a very public display of affection, Trouble.”

Even if Austin wasn’t out at the bar with everyone tonight, the gossip train travels fast in Sage Valley, and if anyone caught sight of me giving Lyla my hat, it would be like setting that train on fire.

“So, you haven’t told Austin,” she says in confirmation.

I reach out to her and pick her hand up, tugging her close to me and tucking us both around the side of my truck. The night is young yet, so everyone is still inside, the muffled thump of country music beating from inside the building. Still, if anyone came outside, we’re far enough away that the chances of someone seeing us are slim. Not zero, but slim.