Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
I don’t want to leave, but what can I do? I should probably apologize for kissing her, but I’m not going to do that. There’s no way I can apologize for that.
“I have to go,” I tell her.
She laughs. “I know. Go. I’ll be watching.”
I walk away, and the whole way to the chute, I’m wishing I’d kissed her again.
As I walk out, the announcer makes a joke about me deciding to show up, and I climb in. I go through the motions of securing my footing, wrapping my hand around the reins, all of it. I know I need to get my head in the game, but instead of focusing on the twelve hundred-pound bull underneath me, my thoughts are stuck on Lila and that kiss. I look up, and she’s climbed to the top of the gates with her eyes glued on me. Hell, from here, I can see her swollen lips. I know I shouldn’t have kissed her. I tighten my hold and give my nod, and the chute opens.
Chapter 6
Lila
He kissed me. Ace Tucker kissed me.
I touch my fingers to my lips as if I can still feel him there.
I lean against the railing and watch as Ace gets ready to ride. He smiles at me, but I know him, and I know him well. He regrets kissing me. Most likely, after this ride, he’s going to apologize to me and tell me it shouldn’t have happened. Or worse, that it meant nothing.
I sigh softly and watch as he wraps his hands around the reins. The chute opens as soon as the buzzer sounds. The announcer is talking about how this is his last ride, and the audience is counting the seconds. When he rides the full eight seconds, I’m jumping up and down with my hand in the air. He jumps off, and when he does, I’m not sure what happens, but he must land wrong or something, and he falls to the ground.
The bull stomps around him until the clowns get him away, and I’m over the fence like a shot. I drop to my knees next to Ace and run my hands across his chest, down his stomach, hips and legs. He groans, and I grab his thigh. “Where does it hurt, Ace?”
He lifts his hands and puts them on my shoulder before pushing me back and hovering over me. He turns his head to look for the bull that’s still in the arena but luckily on the other side. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
I jut my chin at him. “I could ask you the same thing. You’re hurt. Don’t deny it; I heard you groan.”
There’s a hush over the crowd and I see the doctor walking toward us. Ace is mad, but I know he’s a little surprised by my actions. “I groaned because you had your hands on me, and the whole damn arena doesn’t need to see me sporting an erection, princess.”
He sits up, and the whole time, he doesn’t stop talking. “You know better than to just jump in here. You could have gotten hurt.”
I jump to my feet as he does it a little slower. I grab his hat and put it on the top of his head. As soon as he’s up, the crowd starts cheering. He takes one step and winces. I stand under one arm, and the doctor moves to the other side so we can each give him some support.
We go straight to the evaluation tent and help him sit down in a chair. The doctor starts asking Ace questions, but he’s still glaring at me. I point at the doctor. “Answer him.”
“The only thing that’s hurt is my ankle.”
The doctor nods and takes off Ace’s boot and then sock. It’s already swelling. I watch the doctor feel around on it. “You need an x-ray.”
Ace shakes his head. “No, I’m good.”
“You okay, Ace?” my dad asks as he pops his head into the tent.
Ace clears his throat. “I’m good, Reilly.”
I stand up and roll my eyes. “Hey, Dad, can you get my car to Ace’s? I’m going to take Ace to the hospital in his truck and then I’ll have a way home afterward.”
My dad nods his head and takes the keys from me.
“All right, can you all help me get him to his truck?” I ask the men gathered around me.
“I’m not going to the hospital.” Ace is shaking his head and giving me a stubborn look, but I ignore him.
I pick up the sock and boot from where the doctor set them down. “This is going to hurt, but I know you, Ace Tucker, and there’s no way you’re walking out of here without your boots on. Take a deep breath.”
I put on his sock and wrestle with his boot. I give him credit because he doesn’t wince or complain, but it could be because he’s so busy trying to tell me that he’s not going to the hospital. I lean forward and put my hands on his waist. “All right, you ready?”