The Bull Rider's Cowgirl. April Arrington

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СКАЧАТЬ though. You know what she said to me?”

      Colt shook his head.

      “She said I don’t pay her enough attention.” He propped one hand on his hip, waved the other in the air and adopted a high-pitched voice. “‘Judd, you’re just not sensitive to my needs.’” He slapped his leg and scowled. “Shit, man. I’m sensitive.”

      Colt bit back a laugh.

      “Don’t you think I’m sensitive?”

      “Yep,” Colt said. “Sensitive enough.”

      Colt’s smile slipped. That was what he was becoming. What Jen was turning him into. Too damned sensitive. Which was exactly why he was standing here hyperventilating over the risk of Jen getting thrown off her horse despite the fact that she was a strong rider and it’d been months since her last fall.

      Though it’d probably help if he didn’t know how hard that dirt hurt when you slammed into it at high speed. Or how difficult it was to roll outta the way, get back on your feet and avoid a thousand-pound animal crushing the air out of your lungs.

      Yeah. He might deal with it better if he hadn’t experienced that himself.

      “Hell. Whatever.” Judd scanned the stands, gaze lingering over one section. “There’s always another one out there.”

      Colt nodded. Judd was right on that count. There was always another woman. Plenty of them. And Colt had spent more nights than he cared to remember over the past four years trying to enjoy them. Only problem was, he no longer wanted them. Hadn’t wanted anyone but Jen since the second he’d laid eyes on her.

      He glanced to his left, managing to catch a quick glimpse of her face as she looked up before facing the barrels. Her long, red curls slipped over her shoulder, obscuring the curves of her cheek and mouth.

      His body tightened. That mouth. That beautiful, soft mouth she’d used two weeks ago to whisper a sweet plea in his ear. That she’d trailed temptingly across the stubble on his cheek before kissing him.

      What would those lush lips of hers have felt like if he’d given in and kissed her back? Kissed her the way he’d wanted to for years? Deeply and passionately. How would she have responded? With slow, coaxing movements? Or hot, hungry—?

      Colt jerked his head to the side. Shut it down. He had no right wondering. No right even contemplating it. Jen was too good a woman for a sexy, meaningless fling. And that’d never be enough for him, anyway. Not with her. Jen wasn’t like the women he played with on the circuit. She was a competitive, focused athlete. One who wasn’t impressed by smooth talk or skilled touches. She was above that. Deserved better.

      A woman like Jen deserved a ring, a picket fence and a baby. The whole shebang. The kind of woman he wasn’t interested in and wouldn’t be any good with.

      So he’d turned her down. He’d torn himself away before he had a chance to screw up and give in. Had arranged for a mutual friend he trusted to get her back to the motel safely, then had hauled ass with the first woman who threw herself in his path.

      Colt’s face tingled, his neck burning. He’d known just the sight of him leaving with another woman would tick Jen off enough to sober her up a bit and take her mind in another direction. She didn’t need to know the farthest he’d gone with Autumn Langley was to the parking lot to help her into her truck. That he’d pulled a 180 right there on the cracked pavement and politely refused the rest of Autumn’s advances.

      He winced and rubbed his fingers over his cheek. Or that Autumn had smacked him a good one and accused him of leading her on. Using her to make Jen jealous. Which, no matter how good his intentions had been, was exactly what he’d done.

      Yep. It was better he just be that guy. The one not worth crying over. That was the kind he’d been for years, anyway. The kind he’d always be.

      “Next up, folks, is Jen Taylor.” Cheers broke out around the arena at the announcement. “She hails from Hollow Rock, Georgia.”

      Colt straightened, hands grabbing the rail again.

      Jen took her place at the top of the alley. She sat tall in the saddle, her red hair shining against her turquoise blouse, providing a fiery contrast to Diamond’s white hide.

      A shot of heat streaked through Colt. Damn, she was beautiful.

      “Jen’s partner is Diamond,” the announcer shouted over the crowd, “though you probably know them as Fire and Ice.”

      The fans in the bleachers above Colt jumped to their feet, yelping as handfuls of their popcorn bounced off his hat. Colt’s smile returned. Jen was good. Better than good. And everyone knew it. He’d seen her work her way up through grueling hours of practice, endless tours on the circuit and dogged determination.

      The same determination that scared the hell out of him when she rode. She didn’t hold back during a run. Wouldn’t let Diamond, either. She burned across the dirt like a flame and Diamond curved around those barrels like a slick coating of frost.

      “Jen looks ready,” Judd said, nudging him with an elbow. “Think she can pull it off?”

      “Hell, yeah.”

      A 15.32? Jen could crack that in her sleep. So long as she kept her focus.

      Colt trained his gaze on Jen’s face. Her brown eyes remained pinned to the pocket by the left barrel, lush lips moving slowly in a silent mantra. Diamond shuffled his feet in anticipation as he waited for her permission. A nod, a swift kick and they were off, blasting down the alley and heading for the first barrel at full speed.

      The first turn was flawless. Jen checked him with two hands at just the right moment, gripped the saddle horn and led him around clean and easy. Diamond tore out of the turn and dashed to the next. The second rotation carried off without a hitch.

      The pair blazed over to the last barrel but Diamond stumbled. His front hoof slipped on the uneven dirt, jerking Jen forward. The rail rattled under Colt’s grip and his boot shot to the lower fence rung. His stomach heaved as the audience gasped.

      “Hold on, Red,” he bit out.

      She did. Diamond regained his footing and darted around the last turn. Jen loosened the reins, giving Diamond control, and they blasted across the finish line to the applause of the crowd.

      Colt relaxed and released his death grip on the fence.

      “Damned shame,” Judd said. “That trip’s gonna cost her.”

      “Don’t care.” Colt pushed off the rail and headed for the exit. “She’s still in one piece.”

      Though her pride had probably taken a hit at not earning the best time.

      “Hey, where you going?” Judd called. “We’re up soon.”

      “I know.” Colt waved him off. “Be back in a minute.”

      With swift strides, he dodged whooping spectators under the blaring voice on the PA system.

      “Beautiful ride by Jen Taylor. Time is 15.37, placing her second. Let’s give that gal a hand...”

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